Chapter 1

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Star Wars

The Galactic Republic is in a time of unstable peace. Though all seems to be tranquil, many in the galaxy know that any incident could cause this time of peace to shatter.
Plague, civil unrest, natural disasters and the greed of those more powerful then the lower class could all lead to war.

To combat this, the greatest peacekeepers in the galaxy: The Jedi Knights, work tirelessly to protect those in need to try to keep the peace.
But even the Jedi have their limits.

Recently, Galactic Republic have been getting reports of slave trafficking rings working in the outer rim of the galaxy. Though slavery has long since been abolished in the Galactic Republic, many outlying systems still keep this practise in business and have secretly been spreading it to other planets in the Republic. On one such planet, Shikoya, this is most apparent. As such, two Jedi have been sent to investigate the rumour of this planet using children as slave labour.

Shikoya was a barren planet, barely able to sustain any life. Multiple deserts covered its surface, along with several large oceans. Very little vegetation could be seen from orbit, but it was still brimming with life and was a well known spot for ships to stop and resupply between big space journeys.

One such ship had just come out of hyperspace, it being a gray YT-2000 freighter ship with light blue trim.

Inside the ship, a young man was walking through the corridors. He was a white skinned humanoid individual, with blue hair on his head and coming out of his rear to form a tail. He had a long white horn coming off his forehead and instead of feet, he had a pair of hooves keeping him up. Other then those parts, he looked like a perfectly normal humanoid.

He was dressed in a purple shirt and black pants, which were beneath some silver armor that was located on his chest, shoulders, arms and elbows. A strange tube-like instrument, was hanging from his belt.

He arrived in the main cockpit of the ship and when he got there, someone else was sitting there piloting the ship.

That someone was the same species as him, only her skin was purple and her hair and tail were a darker shade of it with pink and purple stripes running through them. She was wearing a dress that was bluish purple at the chest and arms, dark purple around the waist and had a dark blue skirt that went to her knees. A purple cloak-like addition was flunk over her shoulders and was tied together at the front, going down to just above her waist, whilst a pink tie was hanging from her collar.

She was also wearing black knee high boots over her hooves and around her waist was a black belt, holding a similar tube-like device the other one had.

The older male sat down and looked the planet over, "so this is it?"

"Shikoya," the female nodded. "You sure this is where the kidnapped children are supposed to be?"

"The investigation turned up some pretty big leads on several planets the trafficking ring has been working out of. Shikoya was one of the most likely places. Despite being in the Galactic Republic, it barely has any law enforcement controlling it. That means it would be easy to set up a base of operations here."

The girl sighed, "what's the senate thinking? If they're not gonna take care of this place, why bother absorbing it into the republic?"

"So they could use it as a transport hub without needing to pay any tolls or tariffs," he replied. "But you're right. It's not a great place. Especially for a young girl like you." She rolled her eyes, "it would have been better for me to come alone."

"You know why the council didn't want you to," she replied. "If you're not gonna take an apprentice of your own, you'll have to deal with Master Celestia sending me." The ship was about to enter the atmosphere and as it did, the computer systems connected to the planet's database. "There's a large city on this side of the planet that we can touch down in."

"What's it called?" He asked.

"Klugetown."

Klugetown was one of the largest cities on the planet. It was built atop a number of large flat rocks, all of differing heights that made the town uneven in places. It was also one of the few places on the planet to get fresh water, so many beings flocked to it to keep from dehydration.

The tallest and largest of these rocks was in the very middle of them, which acted as the city's main ship dock. There, many different businesses were setup to peddle merchandise to the crews stopping to refuel and resupply. One of these businesses was a small store that had a bunch of machine parts and random junk.

In one of the back rooms, a human was busy working on something. He was a teenager with orange skin, blue hair and wearing ragged black clothing. He was also wearing a pair of goggles, protecting him from the sparks of the laser he was using on the machine. Said machine was the head of a blue protocol droid.

As he worked, someone stepped into the back room. That someone was a klatooinian, the individual staring at him. "Flash. You finish that thing or not?"

"Almost," he replied as he continued to laser the inside of the droid. "And...done." He closed the back of the head before moving over to the droid's main body, the human screwing it onto the head. As it did, the droid activated.

"Oh?" He looked around, "where am I? This doesn't look like my master's ship."

"Don't worry," Flash told him. "You're in a repair shop. Your masters will be here to pick you up shortly."

The klatooinian rolled his eyes, "don't know why you bother to care about these things. It's not like they have feelings." Flash rolled his eyes, having had this argument many times. "Whatever. Get on to the next thing you need to fix." Flash nodded and moved back to his work bench, whilst his boss pushed the droid outside to return him to his owners.

Another two hours passed and Flash managed to complete quite a few repairs, his boss sat at the front of the store selling the spare parts and other stuff to anyone stupid enough to believe his word. Eventually, it was time to close up the shop.

Flash finished his last repair and sighed, putting the tools down before getting up and heading to the front of the store. "Alright," he told the klatooinian, "I'm heading out."

"Whatever," his boss replied as he counted his takings. Flash continued to stand there for a moment, eventually letting out a cough that caught his attention. "Oh yeah." He took a few coins from the pile and threw them towards Flash, the teen catching them before he reached into a draw and took something else out. It was a small battery, Flash catching it as it was thrown at him as well. "Now get out of here."

Flash frowned, but pocketed the items and pulled his goggles down. He also pulled up the front of his shirt collar, using it as a mask as he stepped outside. The surrounding area was full of smog and other nasty things to breath in, making the mask necessary.

Many different aliens lived in Klugetown, some looking like lizards, fish, pigs, bats, moles and whatever else you can imagine. Many of them were running stalls, whilst others were just loitering around. Flash was making a beeline through the streets and as he did, he heard someone calling out.

"Step right up. Step right up. Try your luck and find the ball." He looked around and saw a rat-like alien standing behind a stall with a large sack of many besides it. On the table were three wooden cups and a ball. "Find the ball and win all the money I've already won. Lose and your money gets added to the sack."

Flash watched as someone, likely their first time on the planet, step up and put some money in the sack. "I can win. My eyes are great."

"We'll see," the rat replied before putting a cup over the ball. He then started sliding them around one another, moving at incredible speed. "Find the ball, win the sack. Find the ball, win the sack. Don't take your eyes off the prize." The player followed the cup with the ball and so did Flash, both able to keep up with it.

But only Flash noticed when the guy did a trick and flicked the cup in a way that the ball flew into another cup, the action so fast nobody else was able to see it.

"Alright," he stopped, "pick a cup." The player pointed at the middle one and the rat held it up, revealing it had no ball inside. He then held up the other two and revealed where the ball was. The player groaned and walked away, the rat asking for another customer.

Flash took out the few coins he had been given and smirked, walking forwards and throwing them into the sack. "Let's do this." The rat smiled and started moving the cups around, moving at an incredibly high speed. As he did, Flash focused on the cup with all his concentration. And as he did, the rat flicked the side of the cup up and made the ball move out of it. But before if flew out of the cup, Flash carefully flicked his finger and the ball suddenly moved back into the wooden structure.

The rat was completely unaware of this, having kept his eyes on Flash. He finally stopped, "pick a cup." Flash pretended to think for a moment, looking like he was gonna pick the left cup. But then, he picked the cup on the far right and the rat smiled before lifting it up. "Too-huh!" His eyes went wide as he saw the cup had the ball in it, everyone around them cheering as Flash picked up the sack. "What? How?"

"I've got very good eyes," Flash told him. "You look surprised. Like you were sure the ball wouldn't be there." He raised an eyebrow and the rat could see Flash had caught onto his scam.

He didn't say anything, Flash taking the sack and walking off. He was careful as he made his way through Klugetown, since the place was infested with criminals. He took a bit out and used it to buy himself some food, spoiling himself by getting double what he normally bought. He eventually managed to get out of the main port and arrived at a bridge, which led down to another rock that was lower down. This area was the slums of the town, though the whole place could be considered slums, as it was full of a bunch of rickety buildings.

As he reached the bottom of the bridge, he spotted a bunch of kids playing. One would think they were in the greatest place in the galaxy, considering how happy they all looked.

One of the kids turned to him and smiled, being a blue ortolan of around ten years old. "Hey Flash!" Besides him was a smaller ortolan, who looked about six or seven.

"Hey Ryduck. Hey Synch." The younger ortolan waved before spotting the sack Flash was holding.

"What that?" He asked, his way of speaking not perfect yet.

"Just a little something I managed to get off of a scam artist." He held the sack out, "go take it to your parents and tell them to split it with everyone else. Should get you all a hot meal." Ryduck smiled and nodded before running off, Synch following behind him.

Flash smiled, knowing his parents would share it with the rest of the families in the slums. In this place, if you didn't stick together you didn't survive.

He continued through the slums until he reached an old looking shack, that looked like it would fall apart any minute. He stepped inside and looked around. "Springer, you in here?"

"Right here." He smiled as his droid friend appeared in front of him.

He wasn't like most other droids Flash had ever seen. This one was a dog-themed robot whose body was mostly blue. His main body was a box-shape, with two blue rectangular front leg-like limbs at the front of his body. The front of his body was black and his neck was yellow, whilst his head was mostly blue with a black section around his eyes and down the top of his metal snout.

Said eyes were, in fact, a series of metal lines that alternated between dark and light red. On the sides of his head were a pair of blue ears that stuck up, with black teardrop shaped parts hangin from below them. Underneath his neck was a white bone-shaped panel that looked like it opened up. In fact, a lot of his body looked like it was made out of many different compartments. "Hey man," he spoke as his eyes flashed.

"Hey bud," Flash moved over to a busted up mattress and sat down. "How was your day?"

"I managed to beat my record for counting the number of cracks in the wood," Springer replied. "Other than that, as boring as all the other days I've been in here."

"Sorry bud," Flash sighed. "But if you go floating around town, anybody could snatch you up. And if you tried to defend yourself, who knows what'd happen."

"Yeah," the droid nodded, "but it still sucks. We've been here for seven hundred and forty two days and I've spent seven hundred and five of them stuck in here. I just wish we didn't go from being stuck on one planet to being stuck on another."

"I hate it too," Flash nodded. "But it's not like we have any way of getting transport off this planet. If I could, I'd send us straight to Canterlot." He reached into his pocket and took out the food he had bought along with the battery. "Here, you must be feeling low." Springer nodded and stopped floating, deactivating his hover skirt and allowing Flash to carefully push him onto his side.

Flash then opened up a compartment located beneath him and quickly changed out the battery inside for the new one. Once the compartment was closed, Flash put him right side up. "Much better," Springer sighed as Flash ripped open the food packet and dug in. As he did, Springer opened up a compartment on his back. "It's still safe by the way."

Flash looked inside the compartner and smiled at what he saw, nodding. "Thanks. Knew letting you hold onto it was smart."

"I just hope you don't end up needing it. This ain't exactly the friendliest place in the galaxy." Flash nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly as he continued to eat his food. The sun would soon set and Flash would need to be up early again tomorrow, so he would need to get to bed.

As he did, he thought about what Springer had said. There had to be a way for them to get off the planet and head to the destination he had heard so much about. But how?

At the same time, two individuals were making their way through the city limits.

The pair had docked their ship in one of the hangers and had dawned dark cloaks they could use keep themselves from drawing attention, as they looked around the city. The female of the pair split off from her brother and hid in one of the alleyways. As she did, he heard some bird aliens as they talked.

"You hear about the Storm King's gang?" One of them asked in a hushed whisper, "apparently, they managed to grab a bunch of kids from another town."

"Dude, you know you shouldn't talk like that. This place is crawling with the Storm King's goons. If they catch wind of use talking about them, we'll be joining those kids in the mines."

"His goons can't be everywhere," he told him. "And why would they want old buzzards like us. We're too big to fit down those shafts." We walked off and as he did, the girl took a device out of her cloak.

"Shining, you there?"

"I'm here, Twilight. What's up?"

"I think I might have found something. Someone called the Storm King is apparently the one in charge of the slave trade on this planet. They're stealing children to send down mines shafts."

"I see," Shining frowned from his spot. "This planet has a lot of active mines. We're gonna need to find some more information if we want to locate these kids."

"Alright. I'll keep looking around. You be careful."

"You too," Shining nodded before cutting the call and hanging up. He was about to step out of the alleyway, when he suddenly sensed something and spun around. As he did, something shot towards him at incredible speed. But not fast enough.

Shining raised his hand and as he did, the tube on his belt flew off and into his grasp. With the flick of a switch, a blue laser flew out of the end to form a sword that Shining swung around. This allowed it to deflect the laser that had been fired at him back towards the source in the shadows.

A scream of pain filled the air, as someone staggered out of the darkness. It was a brown alien that dropped a blaster on the ground, Shining rushing over to point his sword at him. "Who are you? Working with the Storm King?"

"What if I am?" The alien asked, "you're a jedi...aren't you?" Shining said nothing and moved the tip of his sword towards his neck. "You don't kill."

"No," Shining smirked, "but I doubt your boss will have much use for you if you're missing all your limbs." He moved his sword to the alien's elbow, ready to slice through it at the flick of the wrist. "Now, where are the slaves you've kidnapped? Where's this mine of yours?"

The alien's stared at him, as his brain tried to figure out if this guy was bluffing or not. But then the heat of his blade grew hotter and the sword drew closer. "Alright. Alright! I'll tell you." Shining smirked, glad they could come to an agreement.

The next day.

Flash was busy working on another droid, this one an old astro mech that looked like it had been through some pretty intense space battles.

"Okay," He reconnected two of the wires inside it, "how does that feel?" The machine beeped and booped, Flash nodding as if he actually understood him. "Alright." He reconnected another two wires, "and that?" The mech's head spun around, as it gave off a bunch of happy beeps. "Glad you're satisfied. But try and stay away from asteroid fields. I get they're the faster path, but the extra time's useless if you end up crashing and floating through space. The droid beeped before rolling out of the back room, Flash smirking as he got to work on something else.

But before he could, he heard a beeping coming from his pocket and out a communicator. One that only Springer had the code for. "Springer? What-"

"FLASH!" Springer's voice called out, "we're under attack. It's the Storm Brigade!" Flash's eyes went wide as he realised what Springer was talking about. The Storm Brigade were a group of criminals under the control of the Storm King, who ruled the planet with an iron fist.

Flash quickly jumped up from his seat and ran out the room, out of the shore as his boss called out to him. Getting fired was the last thing on Flash's mind, as he ran through the city trying to get back to his home. He eventually reached the bridge leading down to it and as he did, he saw the wooden shacks were all on fire.

Running down the bridge, he prayed that Ryduck and his family were all okay. He reached the bottom and as he did, he saw several members of the Storm Brigade running around the place. They were giant white ape-like creatures, carrying staffs that sparked with lightning at the end.

Flash ran towards them, as they ran towards the edge of the rock. Once there, they leapt off them and down towards the desert ground. It was a good twenty meter fall, so Flash thought they were nuts. But then he reached the edge of the cliff and saw that there were a bunch of ropes attached to the rock. The Storm Brigade were scaling down them, towards where a bunch of speeder bikes were located.

Some of these speeders had hover carts on the backs, with large cages atop them. And Flash had a feeling he knew what were in those cages. "LET THEM GO!" He cried, about to leap down the ropes himself.

But before he could, several lasers shot towards him. He was forced to jump to the ground, looking over the edge and seeing more of the apes on the ground with blasters. Once the last of the apes reached the sandy ground, they all rushed to their speeders and prepared to escape.

"NO!" Flash cried, holding out his hand. The speeders began to take off, the ones with the cages at the front. But one of them shuddered to a stop, the one riding it unable to figure out why it wouldn't activate.

Instead of trying to fix it, they leapt off and climbed onto the back of another. It sped off and the Storm Brigade were gone, with all the slum's children alongside them. Flash could only stand there and looked absolutely shocked, only to hear a voice.

"Flash." He looked around and saw two older ortolans, Ryduck and Synch's parents. Both of them looked injured, but would live. They were upset though. Scratch that, they were absolutely heartbroken. "They took them," the mother cried. "They took my babies."

Flash felt terrible for the parents, then looked around at the remains of his home. So many parents, all injured trying to protect their children, were staggering towards him. Rage flew through his entire body, as he thought about what those monsters could be doing to the children. But he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, knowing that anger would only make him less effective at finding a solution.

He then noticed Springer floating towards him, the robot not looking damaged but Flash could tell he was rattled. "I'm sorry," he told Flash. "I tried to protect them, but their electro spears forced me to shutdown and reboot."

Flash knelt down and patted him on the head, "it's okay. Thanks for calling me." Springer's head nodded as Flash looked out towards the desert, then down at the broken speeder. "I'm going after them."

"What?" One of the aliens asked, "we appreciate you want to help. But how could you possible get our children back from those monsters?" Flash turned to Springer and nodded, Springer nodding back and opening the compartment on his back.

Something then shot out of it and Flash caught it, revealing the device to be a silver and black tube-like object with two spikes sticking out the end. The slum livers stared at it in confusion, until Flash pressed a button and revealed what it really was.

It was a laser sword, but not like the one Shining had used. Instead of being a round blade, this one's laser was flat like a traditional metal sword. It shined light blue and the two metal spikes that had pointed forwards had moved down ninety degrees, transforming them into a crossguard. The sword gave off a regal appearance.

The slum livers all went wide-eyed, the lot of them knowing exactly what it was. "Flash," one of them gasped, "are you..." He could finish the question, as Flash deactivated the sword and crouched down.

Springer floated up to him and pushed himself higher into the air, allowing him to place his legs on top of Flash's shoulders. As he placed himself against his back, chords shot out the bottom of his legs and wrapped around his arms before connecting to slots in the bottom of his body.

This allowed Flash to stand up and keep him connected to him like a backpack, the human jumping off the side and grabbing the rope the crooks had used. He quickly scaled down it and landed on the sand. "Springer, scan for any metal under the surface."

Springer's ears moved back and forth as he did, then picked something up. "Ten degrees to your right and three meters ahead." Flash moved in that direction, "stop." He did and knelt down, placing his hand in the sand and pulling out a device of some kind. It was a part of the speeder that had broken, Flash stepping over to it and plugging it into the bike.

When he did, the machine revved into life and Flash climbed aboard. Once he was sure Springer was properly attached, he hit the gas and the machine rocketed across the sand.

Due to the bike's high speed, the wind caused by them was enough to carve a groove in the surface of the desert. Given enough time, these grooves would be filled by the wind. But Flash was hot on the criminal's tails, which meant he could follow the groves before they filled in.

However, it was clear these criminals were based someplace far from Klugetown. As such, the sun had begun to set before Flash managed to track the criminals down.

As the last rays of the sun's light filled the horizon, Flash rode up a tall sand bank and came to a stop. He did this because he had spotted something in the distance. A large building, located upon a giant rock sticking out of the ground like Klugetown.

Flash knew this building had to be the place the children had been taken to. And he knew the place was going to be heavily guarded. But he couldn't let that stop him. He revved up the speeder and raced towards it, knowing the darkness of the night would be his best friend at this moment.

Flash was not the only one who had found this building.

Atop another sand dune, Twilight and Shining were both lying on the sand looking at the place through binoculars. "Okay," Shining nodded, "this has gotta be the place."

"I can't believe that guy sent us on a wild goose chase," Twilight frowned. "If we weren't the good guys, I would have actually agreed with chopping something off of him." Shining nodded, annoyed that the alien he had interrogated had given him a bunch of different places to look for the children. Unfortunately, the real place had been the very last one they ended up searching.

Shining looked through the binoculars, finding the entrance to the mine at the base of the rock that the building was on top of. The rock itself had been transformed into part of the building, with several vents and windows sticking out the side of the rockface. No doubt whoever was in charge was living in the large mansion atop it, whilst his underlings and maybe even the slaves were living in the rock.

"We need to find a way in there," he told Twilight. "But how the heck are we gonna do that without getting seen?" Twilight was wondering the same thing, but then noticed something on the side of the rocks.

"Hey, what's that guy doing?" Shining looked through the binoculars and Twilight directed him where to look, the older horned individual spotting a human climbing up the side of the rock face. On his back was a droid of some kind. One that Shining didn't recognise. "Is that a K-9 Multi-Droid?" Twilight asked, looking amazed. "Why is such a rare make of droid on this planet?"

"Doesn't matter. What matters is what the heck that guy's doing." Shining looked higher and realised the teen was climbing towards a vent. "He can't be serious."

Flash grunted as he finally reached the ventilation hole, which he knew had to lead down to the mines.

The hole was large enough for him to crawl through and Springer to float inside of. He just hoped it didn't get smaller at any point. "Alright, bud." Springer hovered off his back and down the tunnel, "I'm counting on your night vision." Springer nodded as they began to make their way through the stone tunnel.

Ten meters in, Springer came to a stop. "The tunnel becomes a drop here." Flash nodded and had been expecting this, taking out a rock he had found outside and dropping it. He counted and when he heard the clattering, he did the math in his head.

"Thirty two meters," he gulped. "How wide is this tunnel?"

"Not too wide," Springer replied. "You should be able to grab onto the other side." Flash nodded, but he got the feeling he was not gonna enjoy this.

Back outside, Twilight and Shining managed to sneak over to the mine's entrance. Instead of going in the vents, they decided to use the front door.

Said front door was being guarded by a bunch of security droids, which were five foot tall white robots with human upper bodies. Their lower bodies had four legs, each with a wheel on them that they used to more around. Both hands had a blaster on the end of it, whilst their heads had looked like that of a mantis.

There were four of them and the pair managed to sneak behind a bunch of barrels located outside the mine, both trying to see if there was a gap in their defences. But there wasn't.

As such, Twilight focused her attention on a bunch of barrels opposite them. She raised her hand and focused, as one of the barrels fell over and made a clattering sound. This caught the droid's attention and they all started moving over to investigate. The pair quickly used this chance and rushed over to the entrance of the mine, rushing into the cave and finding an elevator lift.

They got on it and hoped the machine didn't make any noise, Shining activating it and sighing when it barely made a squeak. As they flew down into the mine, the pair each took the hilt of their laser swords off their belts. Twilight's was an entirely different design to her brother's, but was equally well built. They both looked down into the darkness, hoping they could find a way to get all the slaves out before anyone in charge could cause them any trouble.

Flash groaned as he carefully shuffled down the stone vent shaft, Springer on his back.

They had been doing this for a while and Flash's arms were starting to get tired, but he wouldn't need to worry about going much further. "Bottom of the shafts five meters down."

"Perfect." Flash closed his eyes and took a deep breath, concentrating before letting go off the wall. They fell and Flash spun through the air, landing perfectly without injury. He didn't need Springer's night vision to tell him how long the tunnel was now, since he could see a light coming from down it.

He rushed over and found a large metal grate blocking the exit, Flash and Springer looking through it.

In front of him was a large open space, which was full of droids and multiple aliens that were all chained up. The aliens were busy slamming away at the rock walls, using old style pickaxes and drills. Whenever a rock was ripped off the wall, it was thrown into a large metal minecart. Theses carts were connected to speeder bikes, being driven by the same type of ape creatures that Flash had seen before.

The droids were pointing their weapons at the aliens, clearly attempting to prevent anyone from causing a disturbance.

Flash spotted several mine shafts littered around the room, which several alien slaves were being led into on a speeder pulled flattop. Flash frowned at the horrible treatment, the teen and his droid knowing they couldn't let this happen. They would find a way to free all these aliens, but he needed to find Ryduck, Synch and the rest of the children.

He took out his sword and used it to carefully cut through the metal grate, being sure nobody was looking his way when he did so. Once the grate was open, he snuck through it and leapt down. As he did, he noticed several cages being suspended from the ceiling.

He heard a bunch of crying that were coming from them and as he rushed over to hide behind an empty minecart, he managed to get a better view and saw a pair of large blue bodies. Ryduck and Synch were both there, both crying for their parents. And they weren't the only ones, for every child from Klugetown's Slums were in the cage.

Their cries broke Flash's heart, so he looked around and managed to spot a rock on the ground.

Once he was sure nobody was looking, he threw the rock and hit Ryduck on the arm. The ortolan looked around and Flash made just enough movement to catch his attention, the child gasping when he saw him. Flash quickly made a shushing motion, Ryduck nodding as the other children noticed him.

Flash quickly ducked down to avoid being seen by a security droid, whilst Springer continued to scan the area.

He saw that the manacles holding the slaves were all electrical ones, designed to shock them if they tried anything. But that also meant they were all being controlled by a single computer. "I have an idea," Springer told his partner. "If we can find a control room, I can hack into the security system and deactivate these droids. I can also turn off the manacles."

Flash smirked. "Without the droids, there's no way the Storm Brigade will be able to subdue this many people. Great idea, bud. Any idea where this control room will be?"

"Probably near the entrance, since it's likely the slaves all dug this entire place out." Flash nodded and looked back up at Ryduck, mouthing that he would be back for them. They nodded and he started making his way through the mine without being seen. It wasn't easy, since the droids were well programmed to constantly be vigilant.

He managed to get out of the area and headed into the oldest looking tunnel, believing that would be the way to the entrance. Luckily, there were no droids along this route and Flash was able to get through it into another large open space. This one had barely anyone in it, but several more shafts that made Flash thankful he had found the children when he did.

He spotted a large metal box-like room in one corner of the room and headed over to it, the pair looking through one of the windows and seeing a bunch of computers. "Looks like we found it," Flash smirked as Springer got down off his shoulders. He flew over to the door and as he did, the end of his nose extended to revealing what looked like a blaster barrel.

A laser shot out of it and hit the door, blowing up the lock and causing the door to swing open. But as he did, an alarm suddenly sounded. "Oh that can't be good," Springer gulped as he flew into the room. Flash frowned whilst looking around, expecting the droids to arrive at any moment. And sure enough, sounds came from out of the tunnels that were getting closer.

Flash stepped forward and took out his weapon, "you get in there and work on taking down the defences. I'll hold them off as long as I can."

"Flash," Springer would have looked concerned if he had moving facial features. "You can't fight off all those droids on your own."

"Don't worry," Flash activated the sword. "I was trained by one of the best." The first droid arrived and Flash charged forward, the robot firing its blaster only for him to swing his sword around and deflect it. Before it could fire another blast, Flash reached it and sliced its head off.

More droids arrived and Flash took up a defensive stance, blocking every laser that came his way. Some of these lasers, he deflected back into the droids to destroy them. But others he simply charged at and cut down with a single swing of his sabre.

Springer took this moment to get into the control room, moving over to the computer as his ears turned towards it. The ends opened up and the ears extended metal tubes, which plugged into a socket on the machine. His eyes flashed as he worked on getting through the firewalls and other defences this computer had. "Hold on Flash. I'll get this done as quickly as I can."

Flash sliced the head of another robot and as he did, several more rolled into the cave.

The teen spun on the spot, deflecting several blasts back at the droids around him before throwing his sword towards the new arrivals. The blade spun through the air and cut through them before they could try and blast him, then boomeranged back towards Flash whilst cutting down several more droids along the way.

Temporarily weaponless, Flash jumped around doing several kicks and flips through the air. This caused the lasers to miss him and some ended up hitting other droids instead. The machines that were hit fell to the ground, as Flash landed in the middle of the room whilst his blade spun towards him.

One droid drove up to him, hoping that being at point blank range would allow it to not miss. But as it fired, Flash ducked down and the laser completely missed him. What didn't miss was the laser sword, which spun over Flash's head and impaled itself into the droid's chest.

As it dug itself into the metal, Flash jumped back to his feet and grabbed the handle of it. The droids fell to the ground, slicing itself through the blade as it did whilst Flash ran towards the final group of droids. They all tried to blast him as well, but had as much look as the others. Flash reached them and in the blink of an eye, dispatched the lot of them.

Droids all dealt with, Flash remained on alert. He knew that any second now, more droids could arrive to attack.

It was then that Flash heard a sound coming from a nearby doorway, the teen figuring that must lead to the outside. Which means something or someone had arrived inside and was heading their way. "Springer! I need you to seal the doors so they don't come in."

"I'm not even through the firewall yet!" Springer called back, making Flash groan as he moved over to the doors.

"Fine." He took a deep, "need to be careful. These might not be droids, so I can't just cut them apart. If they're living things, I'll need to incapacitate them without doing any harm." He groaned, since holding back wasn't something he was very good at. But no matter what, he would save the captives and free them all. "Bring it on!"

The door dinged to indicated it was about to open, making him get into a battle stance. Then, they slowly began to open and Flash charged forward.

"RAAAAAH!" He yelled, pulling his sword back ready to attack. But then, he saw who was on the other side and instantly slid to a stop. "No way."

Twilight and Shining stood in front of them, the pair having dropped their cloaks whilst their blue and green laser blades were in hand. The pair stared back at him, as Flash stared at them and focused his attention on the blades in their hands. Slowly he realised who he was looking at, whilst the pair of them focused on the laser sword he was carrying.

"Are you...jedi?" He asked, the two unsure how to reply to him.

Up in the mansion located atop a rock, someone was enjoying themselves in a large room filled with music.

In the centre of this room was a large couch that had an satyr alien, with cloven hooves, white fur and short black horns sticking out of his head. He was dressed in fancy clothing and sitting on the couch, as scantily clad female aliens stood around. Some were fanning him, whilst others were feeding him grapes and several were dancing o the music being played.

He sighed as he enjoyed the lavish life he was leading, only for the doors of the room to slam open as one of the ape aliens ran inside.

"Boss," he yelled, "we have a serious situation." The satyr alien growled as he sat up.

"This better be good. If you ruined my leisure time because the ice cream maker broke again, you're gonna be in serious trouble." The ape shook his head, "well what is it?"

"An alarm went off in the mine. We tried to activate the security footage, but it refused to activate. Something's going on down there." This got the satyr growled at this and got up, telling the females to leave him.

They did so as he moved over to a drinks cabinet and poured himself something. So, someone was trying to mess with his operation. Well, he wouldn't allow that.

He turned towards the ape, "get everyone kitted up. We're going down there." The ape nodded and rushed out of the room, the satyr taking a deep swing of his drink. Whoever these fools are, they were going to wish they never messed with the Storm King's son.

Chapter 2

View Online

Flash Sentry stared at the two people that had just appeared through the doors of the mine he and his friend were attempting to overthrow.

Flash looked them over and realised they were both a type of being known as equestrians, but the species wasn't what had his most attention. Instead, it was the laser swords the two of them were holding. The blue and green swords were the type of weapon only one group were known for using, which made Flash's heart stop as he couldn't believe he had actually run into two of them.

"Are you...jedi?" The two stared at him for a moment, clearly unsure how to reply to his question. They were more focused on the laser sword he was holding.

"What if we are?" The male asked before pointing at Flash's weapon, "where did you get that Lightsaber?" Flash frowned as he looked at the sword, whilst the male turned to the female. "Twilight, you know this guy? He looks about your age."

Twilight shook her head, "I've never seen him around the temple." Flash looked back at her, "who are you?" He knew this was gonna be a long and awkward conversation, but he also knew he didn't have time to explain it right now.

That realization was shared by the other two, as a bunch of droid sounds once again filled the air. They were coming from the surrounding tunnels, making the three of them be on edge. "I'll explain later. Right now, we've got some robots to cut up."

The two frowned at one another, still wanting answers but also knowing they needed to focus on saving the kidnapped hostages. As such, they stepped up on either side of Flash and readied their Lightsabers. "I'm guessing you're the cause of the alarms we heard?" Twilight asked, Flash nodding with a sheepish look.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Springer and I were trying to hack into the control room and accidently set it off." Twilight was about to ask who Springer was, but Flash turned his attention towards the metal box that was nearby. "How's it coming, bud?"

"Almost through," Twilight looked through the door and saw the robot dog she had seen earlier. "Once I'm in, I should be able to switch off the droids and manacles." The jedi both realised what the pair were up to, as the droids finally arrived on the scene.

As soon as they were in sight, the machines started firing at them. Flash and the two charged forward, using their Lightsabers to shield themselves until they were close enough to start cutting the robots down. Flash used the same techniques he had before, catching the two's attention.

"Form one?" Twilight asked, wondering where the heck this boy had learned a jedi sword form and become so proficient with it. It was clear from watching that his way of using it was slightly altered, but it was effective. "Who is this guy?" Her attention was then drawn back to the droids she was fighting, the girl using a slightly different style of sword fighting then Flash was wielding.

The same was true for Shining Armor, who seemed to have a more steady fighting style. Instead of being fast and attacking in a flurry of motion, Shining's movements were more precise and he didn't waste energy with pointless movements.

Twilight, whilst able to defend herself, clearly wasn't as good a sword fighter as Flash and Shining. In the time it took her to cut down one droid, the other two managed to beat three or four. Instead, she thrust her hand out and caused several droids to be thrown backwards by an unseen grasp. They each slammed into the walls and broke apart, Twilight then grabbing several other droids the same way whilst defending herself with her Lightsaber.

Inside the box, Springer continued to work on breaking into the security system. And finally, he managed to do just that. "YES!" He cheered, "I'm into their systems. Now to switch off all the droids."

The others heard this and expected the robots to fall to the ground. But what they didn't expect, was for the lighting above them to suddenly go off and for them to be dropped into complete darkness. Only the lights of their swords allowed them to see everything, whilst giving the droids a target to shoot at.

"Springer!" Flash cried, barely managing to avoid the blaster fire.

"Sorry," Springer called out as he tried to find the light controls again. It took a few moments, in which time the three were forced to fight blind, but he managed to get the lights back on. As he did, Flash managed to slide along the ground to avoid some lasers and cut the legs off several droids.

This caused them all to fall and accidently shoot one another, whilst Twilight turned some of the droids around so they were pointing at each other as they fired. Shining managed to block several more blasts and as he was about to slice one in half, the droid's lights suddenly turned off and they all went dead.

"Got it!" Springer cheered, as the robots all fell to the ground and were completely defenceless.

Flash sighed as he switched off his Lightsaber and moved over to the box, Shining and Twilight following him as he jumped into the control room. "Way to go, bud. Now, try and switch off the manacles."

"No problem," Springer smirked before the lights went off again. "Oops." The lights switched back on and after a few more beeps, he nodded. "There, the manacles should be deactivating." As he said that, he switched on several screens and they were shown security footage of the mine.

And sure enough, the slaves all found their control manacles deactivating and falling off of them. The slaves looked shocked and quickly revelled in their freedom, whilst Shining noticed several apes in armor that did not look happy. "Does this control room have a way announce stuff throughout the whole mine?"

"Um?" Springer began looking and nodded, "yes it does. There should be a microphone somewhere." They looked around and Twilight found it, holding it up for her brother to take.

"Alright. Send this out on all channels." Springer looked to Flash, who nodded telling him to do as Shining said. Springer opened the channel and Shining began to speak. "Attention hostages. You may have noticed your manacles have been released. Please don't use this as an excuse to go nuts and rampage. If we're going to get you out of here, we need order."

"What's he doing?" Flash asked Twilight, who smiled.

"Establishing himself to them."

"I am Shining Armor," the man continued. "Jedi Knight. I have come to help free you and that's what's going to happen. All of you, try and make it towards the entrance. And if there are any slavers who are down here, thinking you can regain control, then forget it. We won't let you get away with such an apoorant act. So do yourselves a favour and surrender." He put down the microphone as Springer continued to look through the systems.

"I'm logged into their security feed. There's no monitors in here to show you, but the slaves are heading this way. And they're fighting back against the captors that are trying to regain control."

"What about Ryduck and the other kids?" Flash asked, surprising Shining and Twilight. "Are they okay?"

"I see them. They've been let out of the cages and are heading this way." Flash sighed in relief, then turned to the Jedi as they gave him a look.

"Those kids all live in the same area as me. They were kidnapped and that's why I came. I was trying to save them."

"They live on this planet?" Shining asked.

"A bunch of the slaves lived here. The Storm Brigade have been terrifying the people living here for a while. And nobody's able to fight against them."

"That's horrible," Twilight frowned. "Well don't worry. We're gonna free those kids and get them back home to their families."

"Thanks," Flash nodded. "Though I doubt that'll keep them safe." This confused the siblings, "this entire planet's practically under the Storm Brigade's heel. So unless you Jedi are planning on taking them all down, these kids are gonna stay targets. Unless you're willing to take them and their families off planet."

"They'd be willing to leave?"

"They live in the slums," Springer stated. "Trust me, not a great place to live. If they could afford it, they'd have left this planet a long time ago." Flash nodded whilst the siblings shared a look, only for Springer to notice something. "We got problems."

"What's wrong?"

"The elevator's been called up. Some kind of master control is blocking me from stopping it. The Storm Brigade must be coming to try and regain control."

"Great," Flash growled, "now what do we do?"

"I'm not sure," Shining frowned. "That elevator up might be the only way to escape."

"It might not be," Springer told them. "I'm looking through the mine's mapping systems and I think I've found a way out."

"How?"

"There's a large shaft located in section eight of the mine that goes in a steady incline for several miles. The end of the shaft is only a meter or so below the bedrock. If we break through it, we'll have a clear route to the outside."

"Except for the few trillion tons of sand that would come raining down on us," Twilight points out.

"There are a bunch of shafts coming off of this one that we can hide in. The force of gravity would push the sand passed those shafts and continue to fill the mine. We'd be safe and have a way out."

"Then that's what we'll do," Shining grabbed the microphone as Springer opened the channel. "Everyone listen. We have a new plan. You have to get to the tunnel in section eight. It's blocked off now but we have a way to open it up. Get there, quickly." They waited as Springer watched through the security footage.

"Looks like they got your message," Springer announced. "They're heading that way now." They nodded as Springer continued, "but the elevator's reached the top. The reinforcements will be here any minute."

"Then let's not stick around," Flash stated. The others nodded and Springer unplugged himself from the computer, Flash letting him back on his back. Once he was in backpack mode, the three rushed out of the control room with Springer giving them directions on how to get out of there. "Question. You said you had a way to open the passage up. How?"

Shining smirked before holding up one of his arms, showing he had some kind of wrist mounted computer on it. Pressing a few buttons, it formed a hologram of a ship.

Outside the mine, hidden within the dunes of the desert, the ship Shining and Twilight had arrived on was parked.

But suddenly, the ship's systems activated and the engines began to power up. The ship slowly began to lift itself off the ground, blowing the sand away as it did. One of the consoles then lit up with words appearing on it. 'Pilot Tracking System Online'.

"The Shooting Star's on it's way."

"The what?"

"Our ship," Twilight explained. "When it reaches us, Shining will use the weapons on board to blast the tunnel open. Then we can escape."

"But there's almost ten feet of sand between your ship and the rocks?" Springer pointed out. "Are its weapons gonna be enough to blast through that?" Twilight and Shining smirked at one another, only to then hear sounds coming from up ahead. As they turned a corner and arrived at a circular intersection, they saw a bunch of aliens running down several more corridors.

When they saw them, the former captives held up the mining tools they now had as weapons and prepared to charge. "WAIT!" Shining cried, hoping to get as much of his voice to them. "I'm Shining Armor." The slaves looked surprised by this, Shining holding up his Lightsaber as if that was meant to prove them wrong.

The slaves didn't look convinced, but then someone pushed their way to the front. "FLASH!" It was Ryduck, Flash's eyes going wide as he, Synch and several more of the children ran towards him.

"Guys!" Flash ran out and hugged them, "are you okay? Those creeps didn't hurt you, did they?" They all shook their heads, Flash sighing in relief. "Okay. Now let's get you out of here and back to your parents." He stood up and turned to the slaves, "you can trust us. We're the ones who undid your manacles." The kids told them he was telling the truth. "Look, we're gonna get you out of here. But to do that, we're gonna need you to follow us."

The slaves all shared a look, then turned back to them and nodded. "Alright," Shining stepped forward, "now let's get out of here. Springer, lead the way." Springer nodded and told Flash to head down one of the corridors, Flash running ahead of everyone as they made their way through the mine.

As they did, several more slave groups joined them until they were a large group that was having trouble keeping ahead of whoever was coming after them. All they could do was hope whoever was leading this group, wasn't the smartest cookie in the tin.

Back at the entrance, the elevator reached the bottom and opened up.

The Storm Brigade's leader stepped forward, holding a large blaster in hand as he wore a bunch of strong looking armor. The rest of the ape creatures were also wearing similar devices, as the leader put on a pair of shades.

When he did, they started glowing and allowed him to look through the walls of the mine. Eventually, he came across a large heat signature. "Ahh, there you all are." He charged up his weapon, "remember to keep them on stun. We don't want to do any permanent damage. I want these slaves back mining before the sun's up. Got it?"

"YES SIR!" The cried before charging forward, ready to recapture their hard caught mining equipment.

Springer continued to lead them through the mine until, eventually, they came to the opening of another tunnel and Springer stated that this was the entrance to the mine.

"Alright," Flash stopped and turned to everyone. Shining and Twilight stepped up next to him, Shining holding up his computer. "Is it here?"

"Should arrive in about one minute." Shining then turned to everyone else. "Listen up. This tunnel is closed off and we're gonna use our ship to blast a hole in it. When that happens, a whole lot of sand is gonna start pouring in here." This got the slaves worried. "Don't worry. We were told this shaft has several tunnels that you can hide in. We'll blast the mine open and let the sand pour in. Once that happens, everyone make a break for it. Okay?"

They all nodded as Shining and Twilight began to lead the slaves up the path. But Flash stayed behind, looking around and catching sight of several strong looking slaves. "Hey, you guys need to stay behind!" The slaves stopped and looked at him, "it might take them time to get us out of here. If the Storm Brigade show up, they'll start blasting us. He have to give the others the time they need."

The slaves all shared a look, clearly not happy about being the last one's out. But it was better then not getting out of there at all. So, they all nodded and stayed where they were. Eventually, the last of the slaves made it into the tunnel. Flash headed up it along with the other strong slaves, all of them holding their tools ready to fight.

Up at the front, they reached the end of the tunnel and found it ended just like Springer had mentioned. "What now?" One of the slaves asked, as Shining checked his arm guard again. The ship should be right above him, the Jedi Knight turning to his sister and nodding.

Twilight took a deep breath and sighed before placing her hand on the wall, the purple skinned girls focusing to reach out and connect to the sand. As she did, Shining changed the hologram to a screen. The image it showed was of a large plain of sand, this being footage from his ship's external sensor.

As he watched, Twilight continued to focus. "What are you doing?" One of the slaves asked, only for Shining to smirk as he showed them the image. They all saw his gauntlet and watched as part of the desert began to move.

"My sister's moving the sand away." More and more sand began to spread apart from itself, forming a circular hole in the desert. "Once the hole's big enough, we're gonna blast it with our ship." He looked down the tunnel, "everyone get inside one of the side tunnels. You'll need to protect yourself when we blast this place wide open." The slaves didn't argue and did just that, as Shining looked around for Flash and the others slaves.

As the rest of the escapes began to file into the other tunnels, Flash and his group of strong slaves prepared themselves.

Springer was sending out scans to tell when they were about to have company. And sure enough, one scan detected something. "They're coming." Flash activated his Lightsaber and stepped forward, as footprints filled the air and signalled their opponent's arrival.

The leader of the Storm Brigade was at the front and when he saw Flash and his laser sword, his eyes went wide. "Jedi?" He started firing at Flash, who used his Lightsaber to block the laser. The others started firing as well, but Flash just kept blocking more and more of them.

The others slaves wanted to help, but her forced to jump into a tunnel to prevent themselves from getting blasted. Flash could only remain on the defensive and as he did, the Storm Brigade got closer and closer. "Hurry up!" Flash yelled back to the others, hoping their little plan was gonna be underway soon.

Twilight groaned as she forced more and more of the sand away from the rock.

Shining watched the video and saw that the hole was almost big enough. "You've almost got it!" He told his sister, as the last of the sand was pushed away from the rock. "Alright, let it go!" Twilight did so, the pair hoping the sand wouldn't fall back atop the rock. "Let's get to safety." Twilight nodded and they ran down the tunnel, getting into the first side tunnel they could find.

Shining activated the weapons systems on his ship and targeted the hole, making sure to charge them up as much as possible without making them explode. "Everybody ready?" Twilight called out, making Flash realise the blast was coming.

"And here...we...GO!" Shining hit fire and the ship launched the lasers, which flew into the hole and exploded. At the same time, the entire mine shook violently.

"What's happening?" The leader cried, only to hear a rushing sound. "What was that?" Flash deactivated his Lightsaber and ran into one of the tunnels, as the rushing sound got louder. Seconds later, sand exploded down the tunnel. Much like Springer had suggested, the angles of the tunnels meant that all the sand ended up rocketing down the main passageway.

As such, the Storm Brigade quickly found themselves staring down a tsunami of sand that rolled towards them at forty miles an hour. They all screamed and tried to run for it, but the sand quickly caught up with them and they were pushed back down the way they came.

The sand kept passing the other tunnels, so much so that those inside them fear the sand would end up settling and they would become trapped.

But to their relief, the flow began to soften and the sand level slowly went down until the entrances to the main tunnel were clear. "Everyone okay?" Flash asked when he got out of his tunnel, with everyone else coming out and appearing no worse for ware.

"Let's get out of here!" Shining cried, the others nodding before they began to rush up towards the exit. Flash stayed behind, focusing his attention back on the sand filled lower section of the mine. But once he was absolutely sure nobody was coming out to get them, he followed the slaves up the surface.

What they didn't know, was that someone had managed to survive the sand tsunami.

On the other side of the sand blocked tunnel, someone's hand exploded from the pile. This was followed by another hand, which clawed against the ground to pull the one they belonged to out of the sand. The leader of the Storm Brigade gasped as he managed to breath, pulling himself free of the sand and coughing.

"They won't get away with this," he growled before taking out a communicator. "All ships, scan the area around my signal for any life signs above ground. Destroy them!"

Twilight and Shining were some of the first out of the tunnel, the hole blown in the side of the mine allowing them to climb up using the sand ramps that had formed.

As they got out, the Shooting Star a short ways away. Then they looked back at the tunnel that the slaves were flowing out of. "We can't fit all of them into the ship," Twilight pointed out.

"You're right," Shining frowned. "Get the kids on board. I'll try and figure out what to do." Twilight nodded and started telling the children to make their way towards the ship, whilst Shining tried to figure out the best thing to do for the rest of the slaves.

It was still night, but the sun would rise in an hour or two. If they didn't get these people someplace safe, they would either day of heatstroke, dehydration of be captured again when the Storm Brigade recovered. He watched as more and more slaves filed out of the tunnels. He then tried to find Flash, but the teen was nowhere in sight.

Shining wasn't the only one who noticed Flash's absence, as Ryduck also noticed. He was waiting to board the ship, but was too worried about his friend. "What if he didn't get away from the sand in time?" He asked, deciding to head back towards the mine. However, halfway to it the person in question ran out of the cave.

"Anyone else in there?" Shining asked him, Flash shaking his head. "Good. Now we just have to worry about what to do with all these people."

"We sure could use some more ships," Flash sighed as he tried to think of what to do. But before he could, they all heard a sound that made them look up.

Doing so revealed four ships flying towards them, all being about the same size as the Shooting Star. But they knew that this far away from civilization, they couldn't be friendly.

And sure enough, the ships all opened fire. The lasers rained down on them, making the people scream and try to run. But the only place to run was back into the mine. Back into their prison.

Flash and Shining both activated their Lightsabers, but realised the blasts from these ships were too powerful to block. Meanwhile, Twilight managed to get the kids on board the ship. There was only one that wasn't accounted for. "Where's my brother?" Synch cried, making Twilight look back.

Ryduck was running for his life, the lasers exploding the sand around him as he tried to get back to the ship. But one laser hit the ground close to him, the shockwave knocking him flying. His screams filled the air and Flash heard them, the teen looking around and gasping when he saw who was in trouble.

Twilight was about to run to him, but Flash got there first. "Come on!" He cried, but another ship launched a laser that flew straight towards them. He sensed this coming and looked up, right as the laser got in closer.

Twilight gasped, flinching since she didn't want to see them be destroyed. But there was no explosion from that area, making her open her eyes.

When she looked back, she was in for the shock of her life. For the laser was suspended right in front of the two, having formed a red orb that was vibrating right above them. She knew what this was, but it couldn't be possible.

Shining was also shocked by this, the man looking over at his sister and trying to see if this was her doing. But it wasn't. In fact, the one who seemed to be doing it...was Flash. The teen's arm was out stretch, the orb floating right in front of his open hand. A look of great concentration could be seen on his face.

"That's it, Flash!" Springer cheered, as Flash let out several grunts. And as another ship flew by, he roared before swinging his arm around. The orb moved with him, flying off in another direction and slamming into the ship. This caused it to explode against the vehicle and make it fall towards the ground, crashing into the sand as it did so.

Flash fell to the ground in exhaustion, panting as Ryduck picked himself up. "Flash...how did you do that?" But before he could try to answer, another laser exploded near them as Shining rush up.

"Come on!" He cried, grabbing their arms and pulling them towards the ship. Several of the escapees had fled into the ship, packing it full. "Twilight, activate the EMP field generator!" Twilight nodded and rushed into the ship, pushing through the people inside until she reached a section of the ship.

She started flipping several switches, as Flash, Shining and Ryduck reached the ship and got inside as well. As soon as they did, Twilight activated something.

An antenna extended from the top and when it did, it sent out a blast of energy that struck every other ship trying to blast them. When they did, those driving the ships found their controls going dead. They all cried out as they tried to regain control, but nothing worked.

One by one, they crashed into the sand and slid through the dunes. They were all completely dead, now nothing more then just hunks of metal.

With the laser rain stopping, the slaves once again began to leave the mine. Shining, Flash and Twilight all left their ship, Flash telling Springer to stay inside since it was the only place he wouldn't be shut down. They each looked around and saw the ships that had crashed around them, the pilots all beginning to pull themselves out of the ships.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Shining asked his sister, who nodded back.

"What?" Flash asked.

"Those ships should be able to carry all these people," Twilight explained as she took out her Lightsaber. "I think we should discuss compensation for what these Storm Brigade goons did to these poor people." Flash smirked, liking that idea.

They all held up their Lightsabers, as the Storm Brigades pulled out their own weapons. And so, the three charged forward.

Back at Klugetown, the families of the slums were trying to repair their damaged homes as best they could.

They could only hope that by the time they were repaired, their children would be back. But they held little hope of this, given who Flash was going up against. They all knew it was more likely for them to never see Flash or any of their children ever again. And that broke their hearts.

However, as the sun began to rise, one of them noticed something being illuminated in the distance. A ship.

They all moved to the edge of the rock, as it flew closer towards them. And it wasn't alone, as a bunch of identical ships appeared behind it.

The ships flew closer to Klugetown and whilst one remained level, flying only a few feet off the ground, the other ships took to the skies and flew higher and higher. Eventually, they flew out of sight whilst the first ship came to a stop right next to the rocks and landed on the sand.

The people living in the slums watched in confusion, until someone stepped out of the ship.

Flash Sentry walked out into the sand, looking up at the rock that he had called home for over two years. He saw his friends and neighbours, all staring down at him looking hopeful. He then smiled before looking back at the ship, as Ryduck and Synch walked out.

This was followed by the rest of the children, making the parents scream seeing them. The adults quickly began climbing down the rope and when they reached the bottom, they ran to hug their children. "Oh, my babies!" The ortolan's mother sobbed as she held both her children, whilst the father turned to Flash.

"Thank you."

Flash smiled, "I'm not the one you should be thanking." He turned back to the ship, as Shining and Twilight stepped out.

Shining walked forward, looking like a general about to address his troops. "Everyone, listen up." The slum livers focused on him, curious about who he was. "My Name is Shining Armor. I'm a Jedi Knight sent to investigate slavery going on on this planet. Be assured, that we're going to investigate these acts. But for now, the lot of you are still in a lot of danger."

"Didn't you stop the Storm Brigade?" One of the men asked.

"We stopped this group. But who knows how many more of them there are out there. Until we can be sure this slave trade has ended, there's a chance you could all be attacked again. That's why, I'd like to offer you the chance to leave this place." That statement shocked them all. "Your friend, Flash, told us how you would happily leave this place if you could. My sister and I are happy to give you transport off of this planet."

"Where would we go?" One of the men asked.

"Well we'll be heading straight to the Planet of Canterlot. The Jedi will be happy to house you until you can figure out what to do with your lives. You can either stay on Canterlot to try and make a life there, find transport to another planet, or try to make enough money to get your own ship and go wherever you want. It'd be up to you."

The people all shared looks, the individual families beginning to discuss what they should do. Shining and Twilight returned the ship, Flash following them as Springer was still on board. After a minute or so, Ryduck and his family began to make their way to the ship.

They got on board, the father speaking up. "We would like to go with you, if that's okay?" Shining nodded, as another family arrived and said the same thing. One by one, each of the slum living families agreed to get on board.

"Looks like that's everyone," Flash smirked once the last group boarded. Twilight had gotten them all situated in the two cargo holds, since it would be a bit of a long voyage. The families didn't have much room in the two cramped spaces, but they were used to that sort of living.

Shining was busy doing pre-space flight checks, the Jedi eyeing Flash and his Lightsaber as he did. He knew he should ask about it, but with everything that was going on he needed to focus. It appeared Flash intended to come with them, so there would be plenty of time to ask who he was.

Twilight stepped out of the cargo holds and as she did, she spotted Flash and Springer looking around the ship.

"Wow," he whispered, "this place is really awesome. Best ship I've been on."

"It's nothing special," Twilight smiled. "how many ships have you been on?"

"Including this one? Two that could actually fly." Twilight raised an eyebrow, wondering what he meant by that. But before she could ask, Shining's voice called out.

"We're ready to take off!" They looked around to see him heading towards the cockpit, the three of them heading there with him. Shining sat in the main pilot's seat with Twilight sitting next to him. Flash sat on a chair behind them as Springer pushed himself onto the last one, Shining activating the ship's power and causing the engines to power up.

Flash smirked as he felt the ship vibrate, looking out the window to see the desert below moving away as they lifted out. This was gonna be a fun trip.

Or so he thought.

Suddenly, the console beeped and Shining barely had time to read the warning light before the entire ship rocked. An explosion occurred above them, likely caused by a laser hitting the outer huel.

"What the heck?" Flash cried, "what was that?" They got another warning light and Shining reacted as fast as he could, hitting the boosters and making the ship rocket forward. Another laser flew down and would have hit them had they not moved, the blast instead making the sand explode.

They all looked up and saw a ship flying above them, its gun trained upon them. It was another of the Storm Brigade's ships, the three realising they must have had more. But who was flying it?"

"You're not getting away!" The leader of the Storm Brigade roared, as he opened fire on the ship.

The Shooting Star managed to avoid these attacks, as it swerved back and forth and even did a barrel-roll. It attempt to get higher into the air, but he accelerated and the ship got above the freighter to block its rise.

"You tried to make a fool out of me. You ruined my operation and put me in a very dangerous situation. You will make up for it when I throw you all down that mine." He fired again and hit several parts of the ship.

The four held on as the ship rocked, Twilight getting several warning signs from her computer.

"The shields are holding but we can't take another blast like that." Shining nodded, looking up to see the ship preparing to fire again. It only had blasters on the bottom of the ship, so they would be safe if they could get above it. But with this ship keeping them from doing that, they would have a hard time escaping. Unless...

"Hang on!" He cried, pulling on of the leavers down. This caused the Shooting Star to rocket to a stop, causing the Storm Brigade ship to zoom ahead of them. He then punched it and the ship flew forwards and upwards, getting above the enemy ship before it could adjust itself. "Twilight, get us ready for hyperspace!"

Twilight nodded as she started typing away at the console, plotting a course to their intended destination.

But before she could finish entering the coordinates, the opposing ship spun around so its guns were pointed upwards and fired. The laser slammed into the bottom of the ship and caused several explosions, rocking the ship as alarms went off.

"Uh oh," Twilight gulped.

"What?" Shining asked.

"That blast just took out our shield generator. If we enter hyperspace without a proper shield, we'll be ripped to shreds."

"Can you fix it?" Flash asked.

"Not from within here. If we wanna repair it, we'll have to land and go outside to do the repairs." The ship shook again, as another laser hit them.

"Oh yeah," Flash nodded. "I'm sure that guy will let us take a ten minute break to fix up the ship he's trying to damage." The ship rocked again, "isn't there anything we can do?"

Twilight frowned. "Not unless you know how to fix a shield generator, and have a way to keep yourself from falling off a moving ship being blasted at." It was then that a cough filled the air, making them look down and see Springer. They all realised what he was insinuating.

"Can your droid really fix our engines?" Shining asked, Flash frowning at him for both doubting Springer and treating him like he was just some machine.

"Yes I can." The droid leapt off the seat and floated down the corridor, Flash and Twilight going with him. And as Twilight took Springer to the ceiling hatch, Flash headed for the cargo hold.

"What's going on?" Ryduck's father asked, as a the ship rocked again.

"Our Storm Brigade friends can't seem to take the hint!" Flash cried, holding onto the side of the door to stop himself falling over. "Don't worry, we're gonna get you to safety. We promise."

"You ready?" Twilight asked Springer, who stopped hovering as his feet glowed.

"Magnetic clamps on!" He announced, Twilight nodding before she activated the hatch. A glass container dropped down from the ceiling, trapping Springer inside before he was lifted into the air. The hatch opened and he was pushed outside, the robotic canine praying his magnets were strong enough.

Shining had flown back down towards the planet, having spotted a large rock field that he hoped to use to outrun the other ship. The Storm Vessel fired, but The Shooting Star swerved around a rock to avoid it. Springer pulled himself along the outer haul as he did, reaching the underside as Shining pulled up to avoid crashing into a large rock.

"Careful!" Springer cried, the force of the wind almost pushing him off the ship. But he managed to reach the damaged area that had a large hole in it, the droid's body compartments opening up to unleash several tools that he started using to repair the damaged systems.

Flash and Twilight returned to the cockpit, as Shining continued to try and escape this insane pilot.

"Over there!" Flash then pointed to a hole in the rocks, "looks like a tunnel system." The siblings didn't like the idea of flying in a confined space, but another near miss made them decide to use it.

Shining flew them into the entrance and sure enough, it was a tunnel system. But there was one problem. "I need a sonar sweep."

"I'm trying," Twilight hit several buttons. "But that blast must have also damaged the sonar." The light from the entrance was fading. Soon enough, they would be in pitch darkness. If they didn't do something soon, they were gonna crash into something because they couldn't see.

Flash was staring into the darkness and as he did, he sensed something. "Turn left!" Shining didn't argue and did so, turning enough to avoid smashing into the rock wall that had just appeared. "Right!" Shining did so again, bringing them into another tunnel as the storm vessel followed and tried to blast them. "Straight up!"

Twilight looked back at him, shocked to see he had his eyes closed. He wasn't seeing through the darkness.

'The force is heightening his sense of direction,' Shining realised when he saw this to. 'That's hard to do, even for an skilled Jedi. Who is this kid?'

"Left! Right! Turn us on our side!" Shining swerved them and they flew through a narrow passageway, the other ship doing the same.

As this was happening, Springer was getting closer and closer to repairing the shield generator. "Almost done." The shipped rocked and he almost lasered the wrong part. "Do you mind? Droid trying to work here." A laser then nicked the ship again, doing a tiny amount of damage. "You guys better lose this guy before he breaks something else I have to fix."

Flash could sense something up ahead and had an idea. "Get ready to shoot straight up."

"When?" Shining asked, but Flash remained silent and felt out through the force. The siblings were impressed he could do this, since this wasn't something a Jedi with his experience should be able to master. But they could sense he wasn't going to let them down, so waited for him to speak. But as they did, the ship behind them fired a few more shots and almost hit them. If they didn't get out of its way soon, they were gonna take too much damage to even fly."

The Storm Vessel began to draw in closer and closer, as the targeting sensors locked on to their main propulsion. "I have you now."

"And," Flash extended as the pilot hit the trigger, "NOW!" Shining shifted the ship upwards and it curved, managing to get into a hole in the ceiling, seconds before the laser fired and exploded in front of the ship that had been chasing them. The smoke caused by the explosion blinded the pilot, stopping him from seeing the curve that was coming up.

"WOW!" He cried at the last moment, pulling to the left but not before the side of his ship ground against the rock. As he did, several alerts came up. One of them saying his shield generator had been damaged. "NOOO!" He roared, attempting to get out of this rock and find his prisoners.

The Shooting Star shot through the tunnel and as it did, a light appeared in front of them. A way out.

"Yes!" Shining cheered, as Flash opened his eyes and Twilight smiled. As they did, an alert came up that caught their attention. The shield generator was back online. They could go to hyperspace. "Twilight, set a course."

Flash got up and headed over to the hatch, stopping by each of the cargo holds and telling the others they would be off this planet soon. They all cheered for this, as he reached the hatch and opened it up for Springer. The droid was lowered down, the hatch closing as he did so.

When he hit the ground, the glass retracted and Flash smiled at him. "Springer, you did it bud." He hugged him and Springer patted his shoulder with his head, showing his own joy.

The ship shot out of the rock and flew straight up into the sky, breaking out of the planet's atmosphere. As they did, the storm vessel escaped through another hole. The ship scanned for the Shooting Star and found them in orbit, as its warp engines were beginning to power up.

"NO!" The pilot shot up and tried to chase them. If he could get in close before they jumped, he could still blast them out of the sky. But before he could get close enough, the ship vanished in a whoosh of motion. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

As the Shooting Star flew through hyperspace, the children were in the cockpit staring at the majesty of it.

They were all amazed and wanted to see more, but their parents told them it was time for them to rest after the busy day they had had. They all moaned, but were brought back to the cargo bay. Flash watched them go, happy that they were safe and could now start a new life somewhere better. And not just them.

He knelt next to Springer and patted him on the head. "It won't be long now bud." Springer nodded. But before he could say anything, he noticed Shining coming up behind them and raising his hand.

Suddenly, Flash's Lightsaber flew off his belt. The teen gasped as he felt his weapon fly into the hands of this stranger. "HEY! That's mine!"

"This is the weapon of a Jedi," Shining stated. "You're skilled with it, sure, but you're not a Jedi." Flash glared at thim, along with the rest of the freed slaves. Twilight then stepped up to him.

"You can use the force," she pointed out. Flash frowned as she carried on, "and you've been trained in saber combat. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were Jedi. But I don't know you. So who are you? And who taught you to use the force and a Lightsaber?"

Flash remained silent for a moment, then knelt down and patted the droid on the head. Springer nodded and suddenly, the bone shape on his front opened up to reveal a compartment. And inside that compartment was some kind of flashdrive that Flash picked up.

He stood up and moved over to the Jedi, holding the drive out to them. "My name is Flash Sentry. And you're right. I wasn't raised in your Jedi Temple. But I was raised to be a Jedi."

Twilight took the drive and looked it over, realising it was meant to be placed in a holo-imager. "What's on this?"

"I don't know," Flash shrugged. "It was given to me by my master. He told me that if I ever met a Jedi, I was to hand that to them with the instructions that it's meant for the Jedi High Council."

"And who is your master?" Shining asked, crossing his arms.

"A powerful Jedi that would have gone missing almost two decades ago. He was a member of the Council before he went missing. Master Grand Hoof." Shining and Twilight's eyes went wide, the pair clearly knowing that name. They looked at one another, then back at Flash. Clearly, there was more to this teen then they originally believed.

What they didn't know, was that this meeting would affect their lives and the lives of many more in the galaxy.

Many systems away.

In a dark corridor, someone was marching through it towards a location. This figure was equestrian, based on their hooves and horn, but their features were hidden beneath black leather clothing that covered their entire body.

Their head was covered by a black mask, with an forehead lump to hold their horn inside. On their belt was a black and gray Lightsaber, the figure walking with great purpose as they turned a corner towards a set of large doors.

Guarding these doors were a pair of creatures that looked equestrian, but had insect wings and bits missing from their horns. They were wearing black armor over gray suits and carried long spears, the pair standing to attention as the figure approached.

They didn't even give them a second glance, as they walked passed and pushed the doors open.

These doors led to a large throne room, cloaked in darkness with only a few torches providing the little amount of light that filled it. And at the back of the room, a large throne sat atop a small staircase. And sitting upon that throne was a figure in dark black and gray armor, with a red cloak trailing down his back.

The figure reached the bottom of the stairs and knelt, then spoke in a muffled voice. "Lord Sombra."

The figure leaned forward, their face appearing within the light to reveal another equestrian. They were gray, with black hair and a red horn on their head. "Solara." The figure reached up and pressed something on the side of their mask, causing it to open up and allow them to pull it off their head. Doing so revealed a young equestrian woman with orange skin and flowing red and yellow hair. "Report."

"One of the Storm King's mining operations has been compromised. Reports say that Jedi were the cause of the issue. I'm afraid all mining on Shikoya has ceased." The one named Sombra growled at this.

"That fool was an idiot for using slaves on that planet. Should have used droids. He had better find a new source of ore and fast. I will accept no delays." The one named Solara nodded, "what of our other projects?"

"No word yet from Tirek or Doom Raizer," she replied. "Chrysalis is currently completing the training of our next batch of soldiers. They should be ready within the month."

"And what of Armalum?"

"The last he checked in, he appeared to be on schedule. But I haven't heard anything from him since." Sombra nodded as he leaned back.

"You had best be ready, Jedi. Soon, the sith shall rise and your old ways shall be left in the dust where they belong." He laughed at this, as the teen girl replaced her helmet. When it was in place, her eyes glowed red.

Chapter 3

View Online

The Shooting Star finally came out of Hyperspace and as it did, Flash and Springer finally got their first look at the Planet of Canterlot.

He had only ever heard stories of the planet from Grand and others. A colossal cityscape, which covered the globe's entire circumference. It was surrounded by three large forest moons, one of which apparently belonged to the Jedi and was their main source of food and nourishment for the order.

"Amazing," Flash whispered as Shining set in a course for the Jedi Temple. A beeping sound filled the room and Flash looked confused, Twilight noticing this and smiling.

"Security Code. To make sure we are who we say we are." She typed in said code and the beeping turned to a ping before stopping.

"I thought Canterlot was open to anybody?" Flash asked. "Why do you need security codes for a planet that's meant to be home to thousands of different races?"

"It depends on where you intend to land," Shining replied. "Certain areas of the planet are designated for specific roles. Since we're heading into the Jedi area of the planet, we need to show that we are Jedi or have some connection to the Jedi. You never know who might try and take us out."

They flew into the planet's atmosphere and were surrounded by clouds, which blinded them for a moment before finally breaking through it and being surrounded by many tall buildings and towers.

Flash and Springer looked out the windows and down towards the planet's surface. As they did, they saw that only the top layer looked pristine and well maintained. Below those areas, a lower level could be seen that appeared rather glum looking. Stream and smoke were coming out from these levels, Flash frowning as he leaned back.

"You're not gonna send Ryduck and his family down there, are you?"

Shining frowned. "That depends on what they want to do. If they wish to make it out in the universe on their own, they may find the lower levels are the only places they can find work. But if they decide to let the Jedi protect them, they can be given housing in one of the Jedi colonies and planets."

Flash nodded, hoping his friends chose to do that.

They kept flying through the city and eventually arrived at what appeared to be a large pyramid, whose tops had been cut off, with sections sticking out the sides. "Is that the Jedi Temple?"

"Yup," Twilight smiled. "If the council let you in, this'll be where you'll call home." They flew down to an area surrounding the temple that appeared to be a large number of ship hanger, Shining flying over to one of them and pressing some buttons on the console.

The top of the hanger suddenly opened up, as a platform was raised up to replace the roof.

Shining manoeuvred the ship around until they were above the platform, then slowly lowered it down and landed atop it. Once the ship had landed, Shining cut the engines as Twilight and Flash began to tell the rest of their passengers that they had arrived.

"Alright everyone," Twilight told them. "When we disembark, you'll need to let our medical facilities take a look at you. If any of you are injured, they should be able to help. Also, we need to make sure none of you are accidently carrying something that could spread and cause issues to the rest of the planet. Shikoya isn't exactly the most sanitary planet and you might have picked something up that you're not aware of." They all nodded, as Shining lowered the landing bridge.

Twilight lead them all out onto the hanger, where a blue protocol droid was waiting for them.

"G-4-C-E," she told the droid. "Can you take these people to the medical centre and ask the doctors to do a complete medical check up on them.

"Of course," the droid bowed before turning towards Ryduck and the rest of the refuges. "Please, follow me." The droid began to walk away and the large group began to follow, the parents making sure to keep their children close so they couldn't run off.

Flash and Springer climbed off the ship, waving goodbye to his friends as Shining followed them. Once he was off, he closed the ship's docking bridge and they stepped off the top of the hanger, towards a walkway leading in the direction of the temple. As they did, the platform began to descend into the hanger as the roof slid down.

Flash and Springer watched that in amazement, whilst Twilight and Shining moved towards the temple. "Are my friends gonna be okay?"

"They don't appear to be injured," Twilight assured him. "So long as they're not carrying anything dangerous, they'll be perfectly fine. Once the medical checks are over, they can start making a decision about where they want to go." Flash nodded, happy his friends would be able to have a better life. "You should probably focus on what's gonna happen to you."

"Huh?"

Shining looked back at him. "Whether you can enter the Jedi Order will be up to the council. You might have been trained by a Jedi, but that doesn't guarantee you'll have the right to join. You'll want to focus on making yourself look as presentable as possible."

Flash gulped, wondering what might happen if the Jedi refused to let him join. Would he have to leave with Ryduck and the others? To try and find a new life out there in the galaxy?

They arrived at the entrance of the temple and as they did, they spotted two people walking towards them. One was a pink skinned woman the same race as Twilight and Shining, only she had a pair of wings on her back. She was dressed in a light blue top and a black skirt, with a brown cloak over her back.

The other was a black skinned individual shorter then any of them. He had big blue bug eyes and a short curved horn, whilst wearing a green shirt and brown pants, with a cloak of his own over his shoulders.

Shining came to a stop, Flash and Twilight doing the same as the pair reached them. "You're back," the woman smiled. "I'm guessing everything went well."

"You have to ask?" Shining smirked, "this is me we're talking about."

"Exactly," she sighed before noticing Flash and his droid. "Who's this?"

"It's a long story," Shining replied. "Do you think you can help him get cleaned up and into some better clothes? He's probably gonna end up meeting the council and I don't want him looking...like this." He gestured to the teen and Flash frowned, the woman laughing.

"Sure," she nodded. "Thorax. Can you head to the clothing district and get our guest some new clothes? And maybe something to clean the droid off with."

"Yes Master Cadance," Thorax nodded before running off. The woman named Cadance then gestured for Flash to follow her, Flash and Springer giving the other two a look.

"Don't worry," Twilight assured him. "Cadance will look after you. Just don't go wandering off." Flash nodded and followed the equestrian into the temple, Springer heading in with him. As they did, Shining and Twilight entered the temple and headed in a different direction.

They navigated the place with ease, thanks to years of living there. They soon found an elevator and rode it upwards, Twilight looking nervous. "Would you relax. Celestia will be proud of what you did."

"Thanks," Twilight nodded, "but that's not what I'm worried about."

"The kid?" Shining asked, Twilight nodding as Shining took out the holo-drive. "There's no guarantee that he's telling the truth. He might be lying to try and get into the order. It'll be up to the council to decide if he can be trusted." The elevator finally stopped and they stepped out into a corridor, which had a woman sitting behind a desk next to a large set of doors.

She looked up from her work and smiled at them. "I'm sorry, but you'll need to wait until the council finish discussing another matter of great urgency." They nodded, as she typed something on a computer.

The pair sat down and waited. Unfortunately, whatever this matter was took over an hour to resolve. As they waited, Twilight went over everything they did during the mission. She had to make sure she had her reported properly memorised so see wouldn't leave out any details.

Then, finally, the woman they knew as Merigold got a message and smiled. "The council are ready for you now." They nodded and after giving their thanks, headed towards the entrance the council chambers.

As soon as they stepped into the room, Shining and Twilight were greeted to the sight of the Jedi Council. The most powerful Jedi alive and the ones currently leading them into the future.

Many Jedi of different races were amongst them, but two stood out in particular. They were both Equestrians, like Shining and Twilight, only these ones had a pair of wings on their back. There was a tall one with white skin and hair that was pink, blue, green and teal. She was wearing white Jedi robes and held the central seat of the council room.

The other had dark blue, almost black, skin and her hair was two shades of lighter blue. Her Jedi robes black and she sat to the right of the other Equestrian.

As the two stepped into the centre of the room, the taller Equestrian smiled. "Welcome back. I trust your mission was a success."

"Yes Master Celestia," Twilight nodded. "We located the slaves and were able to free them. But..."

"But?" The other Equestrian asked, "were there complications?"

"Not exactly," Twilight replied. "We were assisted by one of the residents of the planet. He managed to sneak into the slave camp and it was only thanks to him and his droid that we were able to escape so easily."

"I see," Celestia nodded. "I sense there's something about this individual you believe we must know about."

Shining chose this moment to step forward and speak up. "His name is Flash Sentry. And he's been trained in the ways of The Force." This statement surprised the council.

"By trained," the other Equestrian stated. "You mean he's strong in the force?"

"No Master Luna," Twilight shook her head. "He's been trained. Like actually trained, by another Jedi. We saw him use The Force with the kind of ability you wouldn't normally see unless someone had instructed him in our ways."

"I see," Celestia hummed. "I don't remember a Flash Sentry ever being part of our order. How old is he?"

"My age," Twilight replied. "Maybe a year or so older. But he doesn't just have skill with The Force. He had his own Lightsaber." Again, the council were shocked by this. Shining took this opportunity to show them the Jedi weapon, which instantly floated out of his hand and over to Celestia's.

As it did, another master caught sight of it and seemed to recognise it. "That's Grand Hoof's Lightsaber!" They all turned to him, as he stood up to take a closer look. This Jedi appeared to be human, in his late sixties, except he had a pair of wings like Celestia and Luna. Only one of them was real, as the other had been replaced by a metal prosthetic. He had purple skin and blue hair, a scar running over the bridge of his nose.

He took the device in his hands and turned it over, examining it. "Skybreaker," Luna spoke, "is that really..."

"There've been some changes, but I can sense Grand Hoof within it." He activated the blade and was surprised to see the flat, sword-like, shape the Lightsaber produced. "A Broadsaber? Grand's Lightsaber wasn't like this."

"Flash said he was trained by Grand Hoof," Twilight stated. "He didn't say much else, but he gave us something to give to the council." She took out the hologram drive and Celestia brought it over to her. "He said his master gave it to him."

Celestia hummed, having a feeling she knew what was on this device. She chose not to play it, instead asking for all the details on the mission. The siblings began to retell everything that happened to them, the council nodding as they spoke and asking an occasional question.

But then they got to the part about Flash and were amazed when they heard how much skill Flash seemed to have, a few gasps escaping their lips when they heard a select few moments explained. Finally, the tale came to an end and they were quite amazed by it.

"You both did amazingly," Celestia told them. "You bring honour to the Jedi Order."

"Thank you Master," Twilight smiled. "So...what's going to happen to Flash?"

"We will review what is on this data drive," Celestia explained. "Then we will wish to speak to him. You said Cadance took him to get cleaned up?" They nodded. "Once he's finished, please bring him here." They nodded and were both excused, the Masters waiting for them to leave before speaking. "Your thoughts."

"This slave trade gang is worrisome," Luna told her. "We will need to increase our efforts to find and dissolve them. This Flash Sentry might be a mystery, but he can't be all we focus on." The other Masters nodded, but they also knew they had to see what was on that hologram drive.

Celestia gave the drive to Luna, who took out a holo-imager and plugged it in. As soon as the lights were off, the device protected the hologram into the centre of the room.

Said hologram was of a man in his late fifties, early sixties, with light gray skin and dark grey hair. He was wearing Jedi robes and he had a scar over his eyes. "Grand Hoof," Skybreaker's eyes went wide as the man spoke.

"If you're watching this, then you must be the Jedi Council. If you're not the council, then please stop watching and try to get this too them. And if you're Flash..." He looked annoyed, "stop being so nosy!" The Jedi laughed at this, those that knew Grand knowing that was exactly him. "Now, I'm sure the only ones watching this now are the council, so I'll begin."

"Please do," Celestia smiled despite the hologram not being able to respond to her.

"I am Jedi Master Grand Hoof, of the Jedi Order. Many who know of me probably think I'm dead. And to make sure we're all up to speed, I'll explain what happened to me." They nodded, glad to finally have some answers. "Years ago, I was chasing down a member of a rogue terrorist faction, who had targeted a transport cruiser hoping to send a message to the people of that planet they were opposed to."

"I remember that," Skybreaker nodded. "Grand chased him onto the cruiser and managed to get on right before it took off. I followed him in our ship and tried to contact the bridge to tell them they had a stowaway on board. But I couldn't get through to them or Grand."

"I managed to capture the terrorist, but he had already attached some kind of device onto the ship. The device sent the hyperdrive into overload and caused it to activate at full power, without any navigation or the proper shielding. Because of that, the ship went into hyperspace and the engines blew out. I'm sure whoever saw it thought the entire ship was destroyed." Skybreaker nodded. That had been what he thought, especially with the debris that had been left.

"So they went into hyperspace without active shields or navigation?" One of the other masters asked, "the ship should have been torn apart."

"The ship was blown out of control. I was thrown into another sector of the ship and it took me several minutes to return and find the device. I managed to destroy it with my Lightsaber and the ship was finally able to come out of hyperspace. But by then, it was heavily damaged and we had no idea where we had gone. The ship's power failed and we could barely had enough oxygen to survive a day. I rushed to the cockpit and found the captain was already searching for someplace to land."

Everyone watched as the hologram suddenly changed to show an image of a planetoid, which was a combo of land and water. Most parts of it were forested, but there were a few desert continents and an ice cap on top of it.

"Anybody recognise it?" Skybreaker asked, the masters all shaking their heads as Grand spoke.

"A forest moon on the outer rim. I don't know much more about it. But it was the only location we could reach that had a breathable atmosphere. We barely managed to reach it before our propulsion gave out. We were forced to make an emergency landing and crashed down in a forested area. Let me tell you. It wasn't a smooth ride and we lost several individuals."

"Don't those cruisers have escape pods?" Luna asked, the others shrugging as Grand reappeared.

"After the crash, we did what we could in order to survive on this planet. We reconfigured the remains of the ship into shelters and created as many emergency beacons as we could. But we later discovered the planet's atmosphere was laced with ion particles, which made getting a signal out difficult. As far as we could tell, we were going to be stuck there for a long time. And that's where Flash comes in."

"Finally," one of the masters stated.

"You see, a couple were travelling on the cruiser to planet that had just discovered some ruins. Their names were Misty Vail and Trail Blazer, a pair of archaeologists studying ancient cultures on distance planets. However, it turns out Misty was pregnant. It was only a few weeks, but she quickly began to show and we realised we were going to have to make this hospitable for her and the child. That child was later named Flash Sentry and he was strong in the force. And I mean really strong. Every time his cried, he caused the entire building he was in to shake."

"A baby could use the force that well?" Celestia was surprised. Mostly, force sensitive babies could only knock off a book or lift a cuddly toy.

"When I learned of his power, I realised this was the will of The Force. I had been marooned on the planet, so that I could teach Flash the ways of The Jedi. And as soon as he was able to understand, I began training him. It wasn't easy, especially with his parents. They were scared I wouldn't allow Flash to be anywhere near them, but I promised to let them stay close to their child. His training went on and I taught him everything I could. I taught him our history as best I could. I trained him in trusting The Force and letting it guide him. And when he was old enough, I trained him to wield a Lightsaber."

Skybreaker looked down at the weapon in hand, seeing how Flash had clearly altered it. He couldn't help but wonder if that was because of need or desire.

Grand Hoof seemed to frown as he noticed something. "This holo-drive doesn't have a lot of space left. I'm afraid this is where I have to cut the story short. If Flash is with you, he can fill you in on anything else. All I can say now is to please consider allowing him into the Jedi Order. I know he might not have been raised there, but he's been working his entire life to one day join and become a Knight. One of his first words was Jedi. If you're watching this, then I'm not there to finish his training myself. So all I can ask if for you to take him in and give him a chance to show you what he can do."

The masters all frowned at this. It was unheard of to take in a Jedi hopeful after a certain age. But those were usually candidates that knew nothing of The Force. If Flash had been trained since childhood...

"I pray this message reaches you safely," Grand bowed. "This may be the last you see of me, but I hope things are well with the Jedi. May the Force be with you." With that, the holo-message ended and the Jedi Masters were left to wonder about this boy.

"What do you think?" Skybreaker asked.

"I'm honestly not sure," one of the masters stated. "If this boy had been raised to be a Jedi, then we should at least give him the chance to prove he has what is needed to be one."

"He might have been trained as a Jedi," another master countered. "But he has not lived the life of a Jedi. He has not gone through the trials of the Padawan and is far too old to take them now. He hasn't even made his own Lightsaber. Rebuilding Grand's doesn't count."

"Maybe," Luna looked indecisive. "But it's not like he's had the chance to do so. Being raised on a forest moon most of his life and then who knows how long on Shikoya. If he's really dedicated his life to the Jedi, it would be wrong of us to simply turn him away." She turned to Celestia, "sister? Your thoughts?"

Celestia took a deep breath and tried to think, eventually nodding. "I would like to meet this boy before actually making a decision. There is still much we do not know." She pressed a button on her chair, "do we have anybody waiting for us?"

Marigold's voice replied. "Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor have returned with someone. They seem to be waiting for you."

"Send the boy in." She closed the line and they turned their attention back towards the door, as they waited for this mysterious Padawan to show himself.

And sure enough, the doors opened and he stepped inside. As he did, they took in his appearance and found he was wearing less ragged versions of his former clothes. Gray Jedi pants and a blue Jedi shirt now accommodated him. He was wearing the same boots and now had a pair of black leather bracers around his arms. His hair was now cleaned and he had styled it to try and look as presentable as possible, though they could tell it was already starting to shift back into its normal pointed up appearance.

He stepped into the centre of the room and stood straight, trying to look as Jedi-like as he thought possible.

"Welcome," Celestia told him. "We are the Jedi Council. And you are Flash Sentry? Am I correct?"

"Yes Master," Flash nodded. "Can I just say, it is an honour to meet you all. I've waited my entire life to stand here and ask for your acceptance."

"I see," Celestia nodded before holding up the holo-drive. "Be thankful your master chose to record this message. Without it, we might not have been so keen on meeting you." Flash sighed at this. "The message told us how Grand got onto the Forest Moon you were born on and how he came to train you. But nothing about what happened to him or how you got to Shikoya."

Flash sighed again. "He made that message five years ago. Three years before I left the moon and found my way to that giant oven." He looked sombre. "He...never made it off that moon."

Skybreaker sighed, Celestia and Luna also looking upset whilst Flash stared down in shame. "What happened to him?" Skybreaker then asked, Flash thinking for a moment. Clearly, he was trying to figure out the best way to explain. Then, he seemed to have an idea.

"Would it be possible for me to bring Springer in?"

"The K-9 droid Twilight told us about?" Celestia asked, "what for?"

"Springer was with me when it happened. He has the memory of it stored in his databanks. He could plug into the holo-projector and show you what happened." The Masters shared a look and all nodded, giving Flash permission.

Springer had been outside, Merigold being given a message to let him, Twilight and Shining into the Chamber.

When they did, Flash quickly got to work plugging him into the holo-projector. They were all pretty impressed with his technical skills. If being a Jedi didn't work out, he could have a promising career as a mechanic. "Alright," Flash plugged in the last cable. "You got the day's recordings, bud?"

"Yup," Springer nodded. "Apologies in advance if I failed to record something you wanted to see. A lot was happening and I was trying to keep from getting blown up." Flash activated the projector and a holographic screen appeared, showing images of what had happened that day.

Flash frowned at the sight of his younger self, using his master's Lightsaber. Watching this caused him to remember that day. Remember it vividly.

Over two years ago.

Flash was in a forest clearing. The same forest clearing he had spent every day in training. He swung the normal blue Lightsaber around, Springer standing to the side of the clearing watching as he practised his saber skills. Flash's gaze was focused on perfecting his katra, repeatedly swinging the blade the same way over and over, until the movement was made reflex.

After the hundredth time doing it, he stopped and deactivated the Lightsaber. He then clipped it to his belt and turned to Springer, whose storage opened to allow him to take a towel out of it. Flash quickly began to wipe his face as they made their way back home.

Along the way, Flash and Springer took a short detour. Eventually, they arrived at a small but sizeable field. In the centre of it was was a large three, which Flash stepped up to. As he approached, he saw the large trunk of the tree had a small collection of words burnt into it.

These words were the names of those who had past on, which thankfully was only a small number of people. Most of them were from the initial crash, but others were those that had gotten sick, injured or were simply too old to go on living.

Those individuals had all been cremated, their ashes buried at the base of the tree before their names were inscribed onto the tree's trunk. This place had become somewhere very few people like to spend time, but also a place of remembrance.

Flash arrived at the trunk and two names stuck out, these two one on top of the other with a heart around them.

Trail Blazer
Misty Vail

Flash placed his hand on these names, sighing as he stood there. He tried to come as often as he could, but knew he shouldn't let himself be so attached. A Jedi could not allow his emotions to get the better of them. He remembered how badly he had reacted when it happened. He couldn't let himself lose control like that again.

He remained there for a few minutes, then turned away and headed back towards the settlement. He took several deep breaths as he did, letting the pain of his loss fade from his heart.

Several minutes later, he finally arrived at the only home he had ever known. The remains of the giant space cruiser, that his parents had come to this planet on. It was mostly stripped bare at this point, used to make other devices needed by those trapped on the planet.

It was also surrounded by many buildings, either metal ones constructed from the hull of the ship or wooden ones made from trees that had been cut down and stripped bare.

Flash saw two children running around the village, the teen sidestepping to avoid them. He smiled as they ran off, remembering when one of them's parents got together. Flash had been at their makeshift wedding.

There had been over a hundred people on the cruiser when it crashed. Many of them were couples already, but many others were single and eventually ready to mingle and Flash found he wasn't the youngest member of this community for very much longer.

He and Springer arrived at one of the buildings, which had a large satellite on it, and moved the animal pelt door to look inside. There, a caphex was sitting at a strange device that looked like it had been made out of several pieces of junk. On it was some kind of radar screen, which kept pinging.

"Hey," he smiled, "find anything?"

"No," the caphex replied, "nothing. Like every other day over the last decade and a half."

"Hey," Flash told him, "we'll find someone. This part of the galaxy can't stay abandoned forever. A ship's gonna pass by sooner or later. And when it does, we need to be ready."

The caphex nodded, but clearly didn't think anything was gonna happen. But it seemed the universe was eager to prove him wrong, as in that moment something appeared on the screen. "Wait," he fiddled with the dials, "what was that?" Flash looked closer as well, as the radar pinged again and an image appeared on the screen. "A ship!"

"YES!" Flash smirked, only for the image to disappear. "What's wrong?"

"It must be on the edge of our range," the caphex stated. "If we can just boost the signal." Flash didn't need to be told anymore, he and Springer climbing behind the device and opening a panel.

"You ready bud?" Springer nodded as they got to work, Flash tweaking with some of the circuits. Whilst Springer connected to it and used some of his own power to boost the signal.

"I got 'em!" The caphex cheered. "Sending the signal now." He began transmitting, praying the hip picked it up.

Many people heard the commotion and began to make their way over, wondering what was happening. "They getting it?" They heard Flash ask, the caphex laughing.

"Signal has been received. They know someone's here and calling for them!" He kept watching the screen and his joy increased. "The ship's coming closer. You can stop the boost now. They're close enough." Flash and Springer got out from behind the device and stepped out of the building.

Seeing everyone, he smiled and spoke up. "A ship's just got our signal. They're coming to help us!" People cheered, as Flash looked around. "Anyone know where Grand is? He'll wanna know about this."

"I think he went out to gather food," someone spoke up. Flash nodded as the caphex continued to track the approaching ship. As he did, he noticed more ship suddenly appearing. Their signals were much weaker then the first's.

"I think they're sending smaller ships to comb the planet for us." Sure enough, the larger ship stayed above the planet whilst the smaller ones got in close. As Flash looked up to the sky, he had a curious thought.

"The signal should lead them straight to us. Why send a bunch of ships to search?" They kept watching the sky and eventually, a ship appeared. It was some kind of two man star-fighter, an older looking model based on what Flash had seen in the ship's databanks.

It flew down towards them and as it did, Flash suddenly got a very bad feeling.

"We need to move, now!" The others didn't seem to understand what Flash was saying, wondering why they would move when they could finally get off the planet. "EVERYONE! TAKE COVER!" They might not understand, but they knew to trust in Flash when he got a bad feeling.

And moments later, they understood why. For as the fighter got closer, parts of it opened up and folded out a pair of blasters. The next thing they all knew, lasers were raining down from the sky.

Screams filled the air, as the lasers caused the settlement to start exploding. Some weren't able to escape the blasts and were either killed instantly, or sent flying and killed when they crashed into something. Those individuals would be the lucky ones.

Flash took out his Master's Lightsaber and when deflected the blasts heading to him. Luckily, the laser's weren't too powerful. He was able to keep himself in one piece as Springer rushed over to him. Flash then held out his hand and one of the destroyed shelters was lifted off the ground, then sent hurtling towards the ship.

It smashed into its wing and caused it to spin out of control, eventually crashing into a tree and exploding. But as the wreck fell to the ground, more ships began to show up.

Springer climbed onto Flash's back and once he was secure, the teenage Jedi rushed after the other surviving members of his settlement. But the ships kept blasting at them and many others were gunned down.

Several ships shot past and flew in the direction they were running, clearly planning to cut them off. "Why are they attacking us?" Springer asked, as they barely managed to avoid getting crushed by a shot down try.

"I don't know!" Flash cried, hating himself at that moment for making the signal reach that ship. Another explosion then forced Flash to back-track a few feet and run in a different direction, leading to them being separated form the others.

They ran as fast as they could and the ships weren't appearing to follow them, Flash taking this chance to stop and catch his breath. He panted, as more explosions and screams filled his ears. He couldn't stand that sound and wanted to cover his ears, but another sound stopped him from doing so.

A twig snapped and he spun around, his eyes going wide seeing a figure in dark blue armor marching towards him.

The armor appeared insectoid in appearance, a pair of mandibles coming off the cheeks that appeared to be for show. They were carrying black laser rifle, which they quickly pointed at Flash. But Flash already had the Lightsaber at the ready and as soon as it fired, he deflected it away and charged forward.

"RAAAAH!" Flash could feel his anger welling up inside of him, the teen deflecting another blast as he got in range. He then cut the end of the blaster off and the attacker staggered back, tripping over a rock and falling to the ground.

Flash pointed his Lightsaber at the armored individual, looking ready to impale it through the chest. He could feel his anger growing stronger, but took a deep breath and pulled the blade back. The figure was surprised. "I'm not a murderer. Not like you!" He turned away from him, the figure picking itself up and pulling a knife out from behind it.

It charged at him, but Flash spun around and cut his arm off.

The figure screamed and Flash pushed him back with The Force, smashing its head into a tree and knocking him out. "I'm not a murderer. Doesn't mean I won't defend myself if needs be." But as he said that, more noise filled the air and signalled the approaching of someone else.

Flash readied his blade and as he did, he found more of those armored individuals stepping out from behind several trees. They were all pointing their blasters at him and Flash realised he couldn't deflect them all. And he couldn't throw this many individuals back.

One of them fired and Flash barely managed to deflect the laser back, as the others opened fire. The teen quickly found himself overwhelmed, as the lasers flew towards him. He deflected as many as he could, but one finally hit him in the leg. "AUGH!" He staggered back and clutched his leg, as another fired at him.

He tried to deflect, but the pain in his leg made him miss and the blast hit the end of his saber's hilt.

"GYAH!" Flash was forced to drop the Lightsaber, the laser vanishing whilst the hilt fell to the ground and smoked. Flash could barely believe what he saw, whilst the others prepared to kill him. Flash closed his eye, preparing to become one with The Force.

But just as they fired, the soldiers suddenly found themselves spinning and pointing their weapons at each other. As such, the lasers flew around the forest and hit the suited figures, their armor doing nothing to protect them as they all fell to the ground.

Flash was surprised by this, but then heard more movement. "Flash!" He spun around and gasped at the sight of his master, Grand Hoof running towards him and frowning. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "we're good." But then he looked down at his master's weapon and picked it up, a look of shame apparent on his face as he saw the damage done. "I'm sorry. Your Lightsaber..."

Grand saw the destroyed weapon and frowned, clearly knowing that surviving this attack wasn't gonna be easy without it. "It's okay. Losing your Lightsaber is practically a Jedi rite of passage. I certainly needed to rebuilt mine a few times. And it doesn't look too bad. Just the emitter and beam containment. Those shouldn't be too hard to fix."

Flash nodded and hissed as he held his leg, the burn he had gotten from the laser blast stinging like heck.

"You sure you can walk with that?" Grand asked. Flash nodded as Springer asked to get down, Flash letting him off his back. Springer quickly scanned his leg and determined it was only a flesh wound, but suggested cleaning it up to avoid infection.

Grand nodded and picked Flash up, carrying him bridal style as Springer floated behind them. He also used The Force to summon two of the blasters, which floated behind them as they made their way to a stream that was used to gather water.

By some miracle, they didn't run into any more soldiers along the way and Flash explained what had happened. "It wasn't you fault," Grand told him as they reached the stream. "Did you know they were gonna attack us?"

"No."

"Then you were right to summon them. This was the risk we all agreed to when we built the transmitter." He used the water to clean Flash's laser wound and ripped some of his cloak in order to bandage it up. "Listen, we need to get off this planet."

"How?"

"Those soldiers didn't just appear. They had to have landed somewhere. And since they won't be using them anymore, we can make our escape with their fighters." Flash nodded and once Grand was finished wrapping his wound, they began to make their way through the forest. Flash could walk, though his leg still strung. But he was a Jedi and could tune out the pain when needed.

They eventually ran into more soldiers, forcing them to take cover behind trees and rocks. The pair nodded, Flash making sure his blaster was ready. They then leapt out and started firing, hitting the villains before they could fire back.

Flash realised this was the first time he had taken a life, but he didn't get the chance to think about it. He was quickly forced to keep running, as more of these armored figures attacked.

They ran and shot and eventually outran the remaining soldiers, as they spotted what they were looking for up ahead.

One of their fighters was just sitting there, completely unguarded and just waiting to be taken. "It'll need an activation code," Grand replied. "Springer, think you can hack into it?"

"I'll try," Springer agreed as they ran up to the ship. Flash carried him up into it and opened the cockpit, placing Springer in the pilot's seat and seeing the other seat behind it. It was gonna be a squeeze for the three of them.

As Springer hacked into the ship, more explosions caught their attention and they looked ahead to see several soldiers were approaching. "Flash! We gotta give Springer time!" Flash nodded and jumped down, the pair beginning to open fire and avoiding the incoming lasers.

But with every shot, their blasters drew closer to running out.

Flash leapt behind a tree and waiting for an opening, then fired whilst Grand used The Force to push several of them back. There seemed to be no end to them, but eventually they stopped coming.

Flash took a deep breath, glad that was finally over. "Springer, how much longer?"

"Almost done. Just need another minute." They nodded and kept an eye out for any more soldier, but it appeared they were all gone. However, Grand could sense someone close by and moving even closer.

It wasn't until the presence was right on top of them, that Grand managed to pick up where they were and spun towards them. But as he did, the figure leapt out of the bushes and pointed a blaster at Flash. "NO!" Grand reacted on reflex and grabbed Flash with The Force, throwing him out of the way. But as he did, the assailant fired and the laser flew past Flash and hit him in the chest. "Augh!"

Flash hit the ground and saw his master receive a deadly strike to the chest.

Time seemed to slow down, as the attacker fired three more times and hit Grand in the chest, arm and stomach. Grand fell to his knees, but raised his own blaster and fired into the attacker's chest. The soldier cried out as he staggered back, Grand firing two more times before his strength gave out.

Flash picked himself up off the ground and saw the two fall to the ground, "NOOOO!" He got up and rushed to his master's side, "Grand Hoof!" He sat him up, but Grand gasped in pain as he did. "Hold on. You...you're gonna be alright. Just stay with me!"

"No," Grand shook his head, "this is it for me. My time in this form has ended. Now, I will become one with The Force!"

"NO!" Flash cried, tears beginning to fill his eyes. "Please don't go!"

"I have no choice," Grand told him. "Now, you have to go. More soldiers will arrive eventually. You have to get off the planet before it's too late." Flash shook his head. "Do you still have the holo-drive I gave you?" Flash nodded, "good. Go the Canterlot and give it to the Council. I'm sure they'll take you in and help you complete your training, with a new master."

"I don't want a new master!" Flash yelled, as Grand smiled.

"Remember the first rule I taught you. Don't be attached to the master, but to the lesson." Sounds began to fill the air. Someone was coming. "You have to leave, now!" Flash stood up and tried to pick his master up, carrying him to the ship. But he was too heavy and Flash's leg still wasn't one hundred percent. "GO!" Grand pushed him away and wheezed as he did so. He fell to the ground and the light was beginning to leave his eyes. "You will be a great Jedi one day." With that, he went still and Flash could only stare at him.

Springer, though sad for the loss, knew they had to leave. "Flash, come on!"

Flash finally nodded and got up, rushing up to the ship and climbing into the cockpit. He moved Springer to the back seat and sat down, as he looked around. "How the heck am I supposed to fly this thing?"

"Just follow my instructions," Springer replied as he plugged into the rear controls. He managed to get the engines going and told Flash which buttons to press, the ship's power booting up as the thrusters began to fire. "Alright, the leaver to your left is currently at ten percent power. Slowly push it forward to increase that power."

Flash grabbed the leaver and slowly did as Springer told him, resulting in the ship taking off. As it did, Springer retracted the legs and the fighter flew higher and higher up. Once it was above the trees, Springer told Flash to grab the joystick between his legs and push it forwards. He did so and the ship suddenly shot forwards, Flash and Springer being pushed into their seats by the speed.

"WOOOOOO!" Flash couldn't help screaming, as the ship shot through the air. Springer began explaining what everything else could do, Flash quickly understanding. But before he could try and do any tricks, more ships suddenly appeared.

"Oh geez," Springer gulped. "I just got a message. They're asking why we've taken off." Flash didn't like that. "I don't think we're gonna be able to trick them."

"So what do we do?"

"We gotta either outrun them or...destroy them." Flash nodded and pushed the joystick forwards, increasing the fighter's speed to its max.

The other ships soon followed behind and began to catch up, looking ready to lock their weapons on him. But Flash quickly spun the ship onto its side and pulled back on the joystick, causing the fighter to pull away and change direction. The other ships followed suit, but this distance allowed Flash to fly over to a bunch of mountains in the distance.

He started swerving around them, Springer needing to use his magnet clamps to keep from being thrown about. "How are you doing this?"

"I have no idea!" Flash cried, as the ships followed him into the mountains and tried to fire on him. But he swerved around one of the peaks and found himself behind the approaching ships. "Guns!" Springer activated them and started firing the lasers, which struck one of the ships and made it explode.

The other ship followed Flash's advantage and flew around a mountain, getting behind him and opening fire.

Flash began swerving around the mountains, using them to avoid the lasers. He then flew straight down towards the ground and the attacker followed suit, the pair picking up speed as the ground got closer and closer.

"Flash?" Springer asked, "pull up!" Flash didn't, as the other ship was waiting for him to do that and leave himself open. "Pull up!" But he remained on target, "PULL UP!" The other ship took his advice and pulled up, but that was what Flash wanted.

The fighter's guns were on the top, which meant the only place to shoot from was when level or below the target. As such, Flash pulled up and also fired, the lasers unloading into the ship above. This caused it to explode, but Flash's fighter barely managed to change direction before hitting the ground.

Once they were back in the air, Flash pushed his ship to its limit to speed up towards the atmosphere. As he did, he looked back at the forest moon he had called his home his entire life. He said goodbye to his parents, to his master and to the many friends he had grown up with.

Realising he never figured out what had happened to the others, he suddenly hated himself even more. This feeling meant that when he left the planet's atmosphere, he barely noticed the great majesty of space.

"Flash!" He blinked and as he did, he realised he couldn't be lost his his own thoughts. He had just flown into the path of a massive black ship, which was staring at him like an angry whale ready to swallow him whole. "We have to get out of here."

"How?"

"This ship has a hyperdrive. But using it will take all our fuel."

"Can it get us to Canterlot?"

"No. But there is another planet that's inhabited in range. We might be able to get more fuel there."

"Do it!"

"Plotting a course!" But as he said that, the larger ship seemed to realise something was wrong and began pointing its guns at them. "LOOK OUT!" Flash pulled the ship away, seconds before the mother-ship fired. He barely managed to avoid getting a wing blown off, as he flew away from the ship.

The mother-ship began to pursue, sending out several more fighters to give chase. "Springer!" Flash cried, as his droid continue to set a course. He zoomed to the left, then to the right, then did a barrel roll to avoid the other fighters.

"Almost...got it!" Springer cried, as they levelled out. "We're ready. Punch it!" Flash grabbed the hyperdrive leaver but as he pushed it, one of the ships fired a laser that was dead on target.

As such, as the ship was pushed into hyperspace, one of its wings was struck. This didn't affect it in hyperspace, but when it came out Flash would have next to no control. They barely managed to make it to the desert planet, but lost control as they flew down into the atmosphere. They crashed into the desert and it was a miracle neither of them were hurt.

They would spend the next week marching through the desert, barely surviving with the limited food and water the fighter's storage had had. Flash had also gather all the spare parts from the fighter that he could carry, eventually using them to repair his master's Lightsaber. Alas, he had had to reconfigure the beam in order to work for the parts he had.

That was how Flash came to be stranded on Shikoya, forced to wait over two years before he met Twilight and Shining and could finally leave. But now, his future seemed uncertain.

Chapter 4

View Online

Flash shut down the holo-projector, having shown the Jedi what he had wanted them to see.

Silence filled the chamber, as the masters let themselves absorb everything they had seen from Springer's memories. Flash then looked over at Twilight and Shining, both staring at him with very different looks. Twilight was giving him a look of pity, clearly feeling sorry for Flash and everything he had gone through. Shining, meanwhile, stared at him with a look Flash couldn't quite read.

Finally, Celestia spoke up. "Well, you've certainly been through a lot in your young age."

Flash nodded as he stepped into the centre of the room. "I know you have very little reason to let me into the order. All I can do is ask you to give me a chance to prove myself." The masters stared at him with a variety of expressions. Some looked willing to give him this chance. Others did not, whilst the rest looked unsure.

"Twilight," Celestia turned to her apprentice, "please take young Sentry and his droid to the Padawan quarters." The other masters looked at her in shock. "Until we decide whether or not to allow him to stay, he will remain in the temple. If we do decide to let him join us, it's best he get to know the other Padawans right away." Twilight nodded and gestured for Flash to follow her, he and Springer leaving the room to the Masters and single Knight.

Once they were gone, Luna turned to her sister. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking this is a very unusual situation we're in." Celestia turned to Shining. "You saw him in battle. How different was he then from what he saw of him two years ago?"

Shining remembered the fight they had with the droids and nodded. "He was highly skilled, through it's clear he's only been taught one form of Lightsaber combat."

"I noticed that too," Skybreaker nodded. "Grand was a good Jedi, but his skills were more in The Force than in Lightsaber combat. He only ever mastered the form one style of Shii-Cho. Flash is gonna find himself in trouble if that's the only Lightsaber technique he knows."

"The boy might have been trained from birth," a master stated. "But one teacher is not enough to help a youngling grow ready to take the Padawan trials. There's a reason Knights only take apprentices once they've reached a certain age."

"But what would you have him do?" Another master asked. "This boy has spent his entire life working to join us. You can see how dedicated he is to the course. Should we really deny him this chance? His strength with the Force cannot be ignored."

"And this is Grand Hoof's final request," Luna stated. "He had faith in this boy. To say no to this would almost feel like we're dishonouring him."

Celestia let all this sink in and realised they weren't going to make a decision right now. "I suggest we convene for the day and meditate on this decision. Tomorrow, we'll vote on whether we should give this boy a chance to become a Jedi. Is that agreed?" They nodded and the council got up out of their chairs, many of the masters heading out of the room.

The only ones that stayed behind were Celestia, Luna and Shining. Celestia turned towards one of the windows and stared out at the city around them, an upset look upon her face. "Those soldiers that attacked Flash were a group I've never seen before."

"What do you think they were after?" Shining asked. "Attacking a bunch of standard civilians like that is unheard of. They weren't doing anything wrong, so why did they just open fire like that?"

"I don't know," Celestia frowned. "But this happened over two years ago. The fact that there haven't been any sight of them since then is worrying. They're clearly working in secret, waiting for the right moment."

"You think they might be planning a large scale attack?" Luna asked.

"I don't know," Celestia repeated. "We don't know anything about them. And until we learn something about them, all we can do is guess. And I don't like making guesses."

Luna nodded. "If we knew where that moon was, it might help us find something about them. But there's nothing we can use to start investigating."

Celestia frowned, getting a feeling that this group of assailants were going to be dangerous in the future. But Luna was right, they had no way of investigating them. "The holo-projector recorded what Springer projected through it. We should send the recording to the archives and have them get the best image they can find of these soldiers. We can then send that image to all the Jedi outposts and tell them to keep an eye out for them."

"Very well," Luna nodded as she took the projector and headed out. This just left Shining and Celestia alone.

"Is there anything you want of me, Master Celestia?"

"Yes," she turned to him. "If the boy is allowed to enter the Order, he will need a master to train him in the ways of the Jedi." Shining's eyes went wide. "You have seen his skills already and have been made aware of his backstory and situation. You would be an excellent teacher for him."

"Master Celestia," Shining looked a little unsure how he was supposed to answer her. "With all due respect, I'm not teaching material. Taking on an apprentice was never my plan."

"One often meets his destiny or the road he takes to avoid it," Celestia pointed out. "Would taking on an apprentice really be that hard?" Shining frowned. "Besides, most of the job has already been done for you. Grand Hoof taught Flash everything a normal Padawan would need to learn from their teacher. All you would need to do is look out for him whilst he puts what he learned into practise."

Shining let that info sink in, "can you give me some time to think about it?"

"Of course. I'm not forcing you into anything. If you don't wish to train him, we will try and find another Master to take him. However, Flash is much too old to take part in the tournament. If there are no masters willing to take him, he may not be allowed to become a Padawan."

Shining had a feeling she was trying to guilt trip him, but he wouldn't let that get to him. If he did take this teen on, it would have to be because Flash was worthy of him. If he was gonna become a teacher, it was going to be to a Padawan who could become one of the strongest Jedi in the order.

Flash, Twilight and Springer continued to make their way through the temple.

As they journeyed towards the Padawan sector, Twilight began pointing out parts of the Temple that Flash would need to become familiar with. "Down there are the archives," Twilight pointed. "If there's anything you wanna know about our history, it'll be found in there."

"Got it," Flash nodded as they kept walking. As he did, he couldn't help but glance over at her. This, of course, was something Twilight noticed.

"If you wanna ask something, ask it."

"Sorry," Flash scratched the back of his head. "It's just...you and Master Celestia are the same species, right?"

"Yes. We're both equestrians. Why?"

"Well...why does she and her sister have wings whilst...you don't."

"Oh," Twilight nodded. "I see. Well, equestrians come in multiple different types." She corrected her glasses. "Every equestrian is especially attuned to the force. Not in the same way a Jedi is, but they're still connected to it. And each type of equestrian can use that connection in a different way. My brother and I are Magi Equestrians. We're able to use our horn to channel the force in different ways. Not only can we lift objects easier, we can also shoot lasers or rebuild objects."

"Really?" Flash was surprised by this.

"Yup. What usually take Jedi years to accomplish, we're able to master by the time we hit double digits."

"Huh. Cool. What about the others?"

"Avians can fly and walk on clouds. Then there are the terrans, who are able to use the force in order to increase their physical strength."

"What about Master Celestia and Luna?" Flash asked, only to then remember the woman he had met earlier. "And that...Cadance woman."

"They're Omnies," Twilight stated. "That's a very rare breed of equestrian, who have the powers of all three equestrians in one. It's not really know how Omnies come into existence. Celestia and Luna were born that way and Cadance evolved into one, but how she did it isn't public knowledge."

Flash nodded as they continued through the temple, Twilight continuing to show him the many parts of it that he would need to know about.

Then, as they turned a corner, something suddenly came flying at them and tackled the purple Equestrian. "TWILIGHT!" Flash leapt back, reaching for his Lightsaber only to remember he didn't have it. "You're back."

Twilight let out a chuckle, using the force to pull her attacker off her. "Hello Pinkie." Flash stared at the girl and saw she was some kind of alien he didn't recognise. Her skin was pink and looked like it was made out of silly putty, whist her hair was a bunch of pinkie smoke that looked like it was a giant mass of curls.

"Twilight!" He then heard another voice call out, making them look around and see four other individuals heading towards them. Two of these individuals were human, one being a blue skinned girl with rainbow coloured hair, whilst the other was yellow skinned girl with flowing pink hair. Next to them were two alien girls whose species Flash was also unaware of.

One was a white skinned girl with purple hair, looking almost human. However, her eyes were strangely cat-like whilst her ears were pointed.

Next to her was a tall orange skinned girl, with blonde hair who had a pair of cow horns on the side of her head above a pair of black cow ears. Each of these girls were dressed in a different manor, though most of them had a Lightsaber strapped to their belts. The blue girl had two whilst the horned girl had what appeared to be a bladeless axe on her back.

"We heard you had returned," the cat eared girl smiled before they all noticed Flash. "And who's your new friend?"

"This is Flash," Twilight replied before turning to Flash. "And these are my fellow Padawans. Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack."

"Hey," Flash told them. "Nice to meet yah."

"You too," Rainbow nodded before seeing Springer. "Hey, cool droid. He yours?" Flash nodded, as the girl named Fluttershy knelt down and started scratching him like he was a real dog.

"He's cute," she smiled as Springer seemed a little confused.

"Flash will be staying with us for a while," Twilight told everyone. "It's a long story, but he might be joining us as a Jedi Padawan." That took the five by surprise, "I'll explain later." She kept walking and the others followed, eventually arriving at an area of the temple where the Jedi Padawans resided.

As they did, they past a window and Flash looked out to see a bunch of young children of multiple races playing in a courtyard. Some were running around, others were moving objects with the force and more were training with what he assumed were practise Lightsabers.

Twilight noticed him staring at them and realised what he was thinking. "If you hadn't been trapped on that moon, you probably would have spent your childhood playing down there with the rest of us."

"It's fine," Flash assured her. "I'm not going to worry about what might have been. What matters is what has happened and what will happen. That's all I care about." Twilight nodded, knowing that kind of thinking was what being a Jedi was all about.

They continued through the area of the temple until they finally arrived at an empty Padawan room. "This is where you'll be staying," she opened up the room and allowed Flash to step inside. The place was pretty spartan, having nothing but a bed, table and chair.

Flash stepped inside and Springer followed, the teen sitting down upon the bed and nodding. It wasn't anything great, but compared to the beds Flash had grown up with it was perfect. "Thanks."

Twilight nodded as she pointed towards a wall. "There's an electric outlet there. Springer can plug himself in and recharge himself if he needs to."

"Great," Springer nodded, "thanks a lot." The girls nodded and left Flash to get some rest. Even though he didn't look it, Twilight could tell he was exhausted. As the door closed, Flash laid down and let everything that had happened finally sink in.

"We made it, bud. We're finally at the Jedi Temple."

"Yeah," Springer nodded, "but do you think we'll get to stay? Some of those Jedi didn't look too keen on letting you join them."

"All we can do is hope. The Force led us to running into Twilight and Shining Armor. It wouldn't have done that if we weren't gonna become part of the Jedi Order." They pair remained there and let the exhaustion of the two days he had been awake finally catch up with him. He let out a yawn, whilst Springer went into sleep mode and plugged himself in to recharge his battery pack.

The next day.

The council had once again convened to decide whether or not Flash Sentry should be allowed to join the order. As they all sat down, Celestia began the meeting. "Alright. We've had time to think about this. I have also been meditating about it and made my own decision. Now it is time for us to place it in stone." Each of them took out a tablet.

There were twelve members on the council and each of them would secretly cast their vote. Flash would need at least seven Masters to acknowledge him if he wanted to become a member of the Order.

Each Master cast their vote and located in the decision. Once the last one had made their choice, most placed their tablets down and Celesta nodded to them all. "Okay, time to reveal whether Flash stays or not." Luna pressed a button on her tablet and a hologram appeared in front of them. It was two numbers, one in red and one in blue. If the blue number was higher, Flash could stay. If red was higher...he couldn't.

Speaking of Flash, Twilight had gotten him up that morning and the pair had arrived at the Jedi canteen.

Droids were currently serving a selection of different foods, the Jedi getting the type of breakfast they liked best. Flash and Twilight joined the line, Flash getting many looks from the Padawans that clearly didn't know him. He couldn't help but feel a little self conscious about that, but did his best to ignore them as he got the food.

Having spent most of his life eating food that had been gathered or hunted, then two years eating whatever he could afford on Shikoya, Flash stared at the strange food Twilight had recommended. Apparently, it was something called cereal and some strange white stuff that was apparently milk.

"Twilight!" They heard Pinkie's voice and looked over to see the girls Flash had met the previous day. They were sitting a bunch of young kids who appeared to be around ten or eleven.

They moved over to them and sat down, the younger kids staring at Flash. "You're that guy that's trying to get into the Order?" One of the girls asked, being an orange skinned human with purple hair.

"Yeah," Flash nodded.

"Scootaloo," Fluttershy told the girl. "Be nice. He would have already been in the Order if he hadn't been stranded on a moon." The girl named Scootaloo looked embarrassed.

"Sorry."

"It's fine," he told her. "The name's Flash Sentry."

"I'm Scootaloo!" The girl replied before the ones next to her spoke up.

"I'm Sweetie Belle," a white skinned cat girl like Rarity stated

"And I'm Applebloom," a yellow cowgirl like Applejack called out.

The last member of the group was a purple boy, who appeared to be some kind of humanoid lizard. He had a human face, but it was covered in scales. He had green spikes on the top of his head, which appeared to be running down his back and disappeared beneath his clothes before coming out on his tail. "I'm Spike," he introduced himself.

Flash nodded as he began to eat his breakfast. He found the milk tasted just like the milk he had grown up with, though the others had given him a funny look when he asked why it wasn't pink. As he ate, he learned that Spike, Scootaloo, Sweetie and Applebloom were all Jedi younglings. None of them had been cleared to take the trails of the Padawan or had their own Lightsabers yet.

Flash went on to tell them some of his own story, many sharing their pity when he explained how he got off his birth world.

By the time he finished his story, they had all finished their breakfast and were preparing to begin their day. Flash wondered what he was supposed to do, but in that moment Twilight's wrist started beeping.

Holding it up, Flash saw some kind of bracelet on her wrist that she pressed a button on. Doing so caused a holographic screen to appear above it with Celestia's face. "Twilight, is Flash with you?" She nodded, "can you please bring him to the master's tower. We've made a decision concerning him."

Flash gulped at this and as Twilight hung up, he finally felt his nerves beginning to build. "Don't worry," she told him. "Even if they don't let you join the Order, they won't just abandon you. They'll help you find a place in the universe."

"I hope you're right." Flash let Twilight lead him through the temple, the place still a confusing maze to him, eventually leading to the Jedi Council Chambers.

"Good luck," Twilight told him before he stepped inside. He really wished he hadn't left Springer in his chambers right now, the teen seeing the twelve Jedi Masters staring at him.

"Flash Sentry," Celestia announced. "We have considered your situation and voted one what we should do. And the results were...a dead split."

"Huh?"

"It was a perfect six vs six," Luna stated. "Half the council wanted you to join and half wanted you to leave." Flash frowned, wondering which ones that was. "Normally, the leader of the council would break the tie. But we had another idea. A test."

"A test?"

"You're too old to take the trials of the Padawan," Celestia explained. "But we've decided to test you and see if you would pass the trials. There will be three tests and if you can pass all three of them, you will be allowed to enter the Order."

"Great," Flash smirked, "when do I get started?" The Masters smiled, either liking his confidence or thinking his arrogance would do him in.

"You start right now," Celestia told him.

Flash was sitting in a small room, a tablet sitting on the desk in front of him.

Flash gulped, seeing the test he was going to have to take. "Is this really necessary?" He asked Celestia, who was the only other person in the room with him.

"Of course," she nodded. "One of the most important parts of being a Jedi, is adhering to the Jedi Code. All younglings must prove they can recite it before they are able to move on to the rank of Padawan." She pushed the tablet towards him. "You will be asked a series of questions based on the Jedi Code and will have to answer them with direct quotes from the code itself. If even one word is out of line, that question will count as a fail."

"I see," Flash sighed.

"I know this seems harsh, but it's the only way to determine if you're capable of joining us. Most younglings start learning this by the time they can walk. I understand if you don't think you can do it."

"No," Flash told her. "I'm going to pass this test." Celestia smiled and stepped back, sitting at her own desk as an electronic timer began to count down.

"You may begin." Flash instantly started reading the questions and after a few moments, began typing his responses. Celestia watched, wondering just how well he would do if he had never even seen the code before.

A few hours later, Luna, Skybreaker and even Shining Armor arrived at the room and found Celestia outside of it staring at the tablet.

"What's wrong?" Luna asked. "Did he not do well on the test?" Celestia didn't reply and instead, simply showed them Flash's score. They stared at the tablet and saw it read a seventy nine. "I see," Luna nodded. "He passed. Why do you look so shocked?"

"Think about it," Celestia told them. "Most Padawans spend hours studying the Jedi Code. And the only digital record of that code is kept in our archives."

Skybreaker was the one that realised what she was shocked about. "He shouldn't have been able to read it."

"Exactly. The only way he could know all of the Jedi Codes is if Grand recited it to him. Grand was always a strong believer in the code and could state it without even needing to think. But the fact that this boy was able to remember so much of the code, simply from what Grand told him, is incredible."

"Yeah," Shining nodded. "And Grand died two years ago. So either Flash has a photographic memory..."

"Or this boy continued to recite the code from memory on his own," Luna gasped. "That's incredible."

Celestia nodded. "If Flash had some actual tutelage with the Education Core, I wouldn't be surprised if he was able to get a one hundred percent score the next time he did this test."

"Well either way," Skybreaker nodded. "He did pass the test, so I guess we'll be moving on to the next." The others nodded, as Celestia opened the door and asked Flash to come out.

When he did, they lead him to an open courtyard. Except it had a bunch of odd shapes littered around the place. "Your next task will be to show us you control over The Force," Celestia told him. "Shining already mentioned how you're able to use it to see without seeing, which in of itself is a rather advanced technique. But this test should give us a better understanding of your control."

"Okay," Flash stepped forward, "what do you want me to do?"

"It's quite simple," Luna told him. "We want you to lift these blocks with The Force, then place them together to make a perfect cube in the allotted time." Flash spun around, seeing the many different shapes.

"Okay," he nodded, "I'll try. Never was a lot of good at puzzles though." He raised his hands and took a deep breath, as Shining and the Masters watched him beginning to focus.

"What do you think?" Skybreaker asked the others.

"The kid was able to stop laser fire," Shining pointed out. "I don't think this'll be all much harder." And sure enough, one of the blocks were lifted off the ground. The block was almost as big as him and just as heavy. Lifting it wasn't something a novice would be able to do.

Then, a second block was lifted into the air. This was followed by a third block, then a fourth.

They were amazed by this, though it seemed that was the limit Flash had as he brought them over. But they were curious whether it was a matter of weight or divided focus.

Flash stared at the pieces and tried fitting two together. When it didn't work, he pulled them apart and tried one with another piece. This seemed to fit into place and Flash nodded, especially when the pieces clicked together. He put the combined pieces down and lifted another two pieces, using them with the original two.

It was a slow process, but bit by bit he managed to place more and more blocks together. He then started combining some of the linked up pieces together, slowly building up the main body. But his time was running out.

"Come on," Flash groaned as two of the combined pieces refused to go together. "I know you go together. Come on." The others frowned, seeing Flash was starting to panic and lose his cool. They expected Flash to maybe throw the pieces down in frustration any minute.

But instead, Flash stopped and put the pieces down. He then took a deep breath, calming himself down.

"Grand clearly helped him learn to control his temper," Skybreaker looked impressed. They watched as Flash then lifted the pieces again, this time spinning them around to take a closer look.

"Oh, I get it." He removed one of the three pieces that made up that section and was able to connect it to another second. Then he returned the removed piece and they clicked together perfectly.

Flash's time was running out, but he remained calm and kept trying out the different floating pieces until, finally, they snapped together and formed a perfect cube.

"YES!" He lowered the cube and Celestia inspected it, wanting to make sure Flash didn't leave out any parts. But it really was all together and she couldn't help but smile.

"Well done. You not only had the dexterity with The Force to build this, but when things got tricky you were able to stay calm and look at the situation from a different angle." Flash smiled back, "you've passed this test."

"Hahaa!" Flash pumped his fist, only to see Celestia get serious.

"However, your final test will likely be the toughest one yet." Flash stood to attention again. "It'll take a little while to set it up, so why don't you take a break and centre yourself. You'll need your energy for this final trial." Flash nodded as the Masters left, leaving Shining to keep an eye on him.

The two made their way through the temple until they were once again in the cafeteria, which was beginning to fill up with Jedi looking to refuel themselves after a hard day of training.

The pair grabbed something, Flash getting to enjoy his first ever burger whilst Shining had chosen soup.

"Don't go eating too many of those," Shining could see Flash was enjoying it. "You really need to put some skin on your bones, but you need to have a proper diet if you wanna be able to do the work of a Jedi."

"I know that," Flash assured him. "But you try spending two years eating the cheapest food you can find on a planet that can't grow vegetables and has barely any animals living on it to use for meat." Shining had to admit, he had a point.

They ate and as they did, Flash looked around. "Looking for someone?"

"I figured Twilight and the others would be here." Shining looked around and realised his sister and her friends weren't there.

"Probably doing their Core work." Flash raised an eyebrow at this, not knowing what he meant by that. "They'll probably get something to eat when they have the time. But you need to focus on your upcoming trials. I don't know what Celestia has planned, but she's gonna wanna push you to the limit. If you become a Jedi, you'll be trusted with protecting the lives of many others. If you can't handle a fight, you'll be putting yourself and others in danger."

"I know," Flash nodded. "And yeah, I didn't get to do much practising over the last two years. But I'm gonna give this test everything I've got." Shining nodded, as the pair finished their meal. When they did, Shining's bracelet beeped like Twilight's had.

"Looks like everything's ready," he read a message sent over the hologram screen. "Hope you're ready." Flash nodded and the pair left the dining room, once again making their way through the temple until they arrived at an area Flash hadn't been too before. "This is the main training area. Once Younglings are promoted to Padawans, we bring them here to train for the dangers of the galaxy."

"How?" Flash asked, as they walked through a hallway with several doors on either side of them.

"You'll see," Shining smirked as they arrived at their destination. The door in front of them opened and they stepped into a large room, with many strange consoles on the walls. On far end of the room was a large glass wall, with a door leading into another room.

Celestia, Luna and Skybreaker were there, but they weren't alone.

"What are you girls doing here?" Flash asked Twilight, as she, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie were there.

"We're not sure," Twilight replied. "Master Celestia summoned us here." Flash raised an eyebrow and turned to the Jedi Master, who smiled as she stepped forwards.

"This is your final test," she gestured to the six girls. "A test of your Lightsaber ability. Because though Jedi are keepers of peace, we are not afraid to fight for it when the need falls upon us."

Flash turned to the six, shocked by what she was saying. "You mean I have to fight the six of them?"

"Not at the same time," Luna assured him. "You will face each of them individually. How you fair against their different styles of combat will help us determine your overall skill."

"Oh," Flash nodded, "cool. I think I can do that."

"So we get to fight this guy?" Rainbow asked, the masters nodding. "Awesome! I wanna go first!"

"Actually," Celestia smiled, "we've already determined the order you will face him. And Rarity will be the first to challenge him." Rarity nodded.

"I understand," she bowed. "I will do my best to make you proud." The masters nodded as Rarity unclipped her Lightsaber and handed it to Luna. When she did, Flash noticed the design of the handle was rather elegant in appearance. It was silver, with a black section in the middle. Not what Flash thought of when he imagined a weapon used by the normally simplistic Jedi.

Luna placed the weapon into a slot within the console, then took out Flash's own blade. He watched as the weapon was also placed in a slot, as a door opened up and Celestia gestured for them to enter.

Flash followed Rarity into a white room with gridlines, the pairs standing on opposite sides of the room as Flash looked around. "So...what are we supposed to do here?" It was then that the gridlines began to glow before the light filled the entire room, blinding Flash for a moment. When it faded, the pair were in a stone room with wooden benches lining it. "What the..."

"This is the temples holodeck training room," Rarity stated. "It allows Jedi to train in many different environments, without needing to worry about getting hurt."

"But how are we supposed to fight without our-" Flash stopped as a light suddenly shined in front of him, his Lightsaber appearing out of it when it faded. Rarity's Lightsaber had also appeared and the girl took it, activating it to summon a blue blade. "Also a hologram?"

"Yes," Rarity nodded. She then raised her arm and sliced her Lightsaber through it, her hand exploding as she did. "When these holosabers cut off a piece, the room removes that part. You still have it, but can't perceive it." Another flash appeared and her hand returned, the girl grasping her blade with both as she got into a battle stance.

Flash smirked, liking this way of training. He took his own sword and activated it, the pair staring each other down as Celestia's voice called out through the loud speaker. "The battle will end when one of you surrenders, is disarmed or incapacitated. Are you both ready?" They nodded and Flash took a battle stance, everyone watching as he took the basic beginners stance.

"Oh man," Rainbow smirked. "Rarity's gonna crush this guy."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Twilight stated. "Flash is anything but a newb."

Celestia nodded and turned back to the two. "Alright...BEGIN!" As soon as she said that, the two ran towards one another.

Flash was the first to attack, swinging his blade down to try and overpower Rarity. But Rarity managed to block with her own blade and used it to shift the direction of Flash's, his momentum causing him to stagger to the side as Rarity did some fancy footwork in order to move a safe distance away.

Flash quickly regained his balance and turned towards Rarity, who remained in a defensive stance and she began to circle the room and force Flash to follow her movement.

"I can see why you chose Rarity to go first," Shining nodded. "Her skill with form two is second to none amongst the Padawans. With Flash only knowing form one, he'll have a hard time against the form that was made to replace it."

"Maybe," Skybreaker nodded, "but form one does have its benefits. Especially with Flash's blade." The teen rushed forward and started attacking Rarity, who danced around the room showing incredible footwork. It was almost like a ballerina, Rarity's feet barely touching the ground as she moved.

Meanwhile, Flash was keeping up with her. He was fast, able to quickly recover whenever he was thrown off balance. He knew that if he let Rarity get on the offensive, he would be out of this fight.

"Shii-Cho was developed before the creation of the Lightsaber," Skybreaker stated as Flash leapt into the air and slashed his sword downwards. Rarity dodged the attack and finally went on the attack, thrusting her sword like it was a fencing saber.

Flash leaned back and the sword missed his chest, allowing him to swing his blade up and knocked the Lightsaber away. Rarity was also knocked staggering and Flash used the opening it gave him to attack, Rarity spinning around and barely blocking his strike. But the impact of Flash's strike was felt all throughout her body, forcing her down onto one knee.

Flash continued to push Rarity down, their blades locked together and preventing her from escaping. He thought he had her beat, but then she turned her attention towards one of the wooden benches.

The next thing Flash knew, the bench was flying towards him. "WOW!" He pulled back and the bench sailed between the pair, Rarity using this opening to jump back to a standing position and attack. But as the blade flew towards Flash's head, the teen held out his hand and the saber hit a wall of force energy and bounced off.

Flash then rushed forward and in the blink of an eye, sliced the end of her Lightsaber off.

Rarity gasped as her weapon was destroyed, only to then have the tip of Flash's blade pointed directly at her face. "You still wanna go?"

Rarity sighed and dropped her ruined weapon, raising her hand defensively. "I give up. You've already won." Flash smirked and deactivated his sword, as Rarity moved towards the door.

"You did great," Pinkie told her as she stepped into the control room. "Flash was just..."

"Flash was able to think on his feet," Twilight stated. "He didn't know he was allowed to use the force in this fight. But as soon as he did, he quickly incorporated it into the battle."

"Yes," Celestia nodded. "I probably should have mentioned that beforehand. My bad." She turned to the girls, "Fluttershy." The girl in question looked very nervous. "Don't worry. Winning or losing has no consequence. We just want to see how well he does against different forms of saber combat."

"I understand," she bowed before stepping into the room. Flash was swinging his sword around to stay focused, as she stood opposite him.

Her weapon appeared in front of her, Flash noticing it appeared to be made out of wood with metal around the top. She ignited the green saber and took a different stance to Rarity, Flash figuring she would likely fight in a different manner. But just looking at her, Flash wasn't sure how a girl like this was supposed to be a warrior.

"Are your ready?" Celestia asked, as Flash took his own stance. "Begin!" Flash shot forward and Fluttershy remained still, Flash wondering if she had frozen in fear.

But as he swung his blade down to strike her head, she raised her own to defend. She barely moved her weapon at all, shifting her stance just enough to block Flash but keeping herself steady. He pulled his sword back and struck from a different angle, Fluttershy countering in the same barely moving way. He did this several more times and Fluttershy barely took two steps as she countered.

"I see she uses form three," Skybreaker noted. "A very different style to one and two."

"Indeed," Celestia nodded. "Soresu focuses on economy of motion. Protecting oneself with the smallest amount of movement to keep one's energy high and their defences up. It is the ultimate expression of non-aggressive Jedi philosophy." They kept watching, as Flash began expending more and more effort whilst Fluttershy kept her defences raised.

Flash slashed at her neck, but Fluttershy blocked and spun on the spot. The momentum Flash expelled pushed him forward, as Fluttershy spun away from him. And as he did, she reached out and jabbed him in the shoulder. "Gyah!"

Fluttershy flinched, the act of causing pain clearly not one she enjoyed. "Sorry." Flash turned to her, raising his sword again and charging.

Once again, she defended with barely any movement whilst Flash kept pushing himself. "That's it," Twilight told her friend. "Keep him on the attack. Let him tire himself out. Then you can knock him down." The two locked blades and pushed against one another, Fluttershy quickly getting overpowered until she leapt back.

Flash frowned as he began to pant, clearly realising he was in trouble.

He then seemed to have an idea and rushed forward, looking ready to swipe at her. But as Fluttershy prepared to counter, he suddenly leapt into the air. This surprised the others, as Flash landed behind Fluttershy and slashed at her. The girl barely managed to spin around in time, blocking it but being knocked back due to her footing being off.

Flash capitalised on this and thrust his blade towards her, Fluttershy staggering to the side and attempting to once again raise her defence. But Flash leapt to the side and quickly struck her at her, once again barely missing as he jumped up.

"Ataru?" Twilight asked, as Flash bounced off the wall and attacked with speed. "I thought he only knew form one?"

"He does," Skybreaker nodded. "That's not Ataru. Flash is just using something he realises can get around Fluttershy's defences. Even though he never heard of it, he's beginning to develop into a new form of saber combat."

"He is good," Shining realised. As he said that, Flash summoned another bench over to him and used it as a springboard. He leapt at Fluttershy and spun through the air, Fluttershy attempting to block but getting overpowered by the repeated slashes Flash dealt to her.

Her saber was forced from her hand and she fell back, hitting the ground as Flash landed and held up his hand. Before Fluttershy could reach for her weapon, it flew into Flash's grasp and he ignited the blade.

Seeing she was now defenceless and facing two Lightsabers, Fluttershy raised her hands. "I surrender!"

Flash smirked and retracted the blades, throwing the wooden hilt away before offering a hand. Fluttershy took it and looked a little upset, but Flash smiled. "You were great. Forced me to fight in a whole new way."

Fluttershy smiled at this, "thank you. You're really good too." She headed out the room, the others there to console her.

"You did amazin', sugarcube." Applejack patted her on the shoulder, Fluttershy nodding as Celestia turned to the next one that would be facing Flash.

"Pinkie Pie. I think it's time Flash sees how unpredictable life in the Jedi Order can be." Pinkie nodded and skipped into the room with a smile, Flash noticing her and getting into a fighting stance.

She laughed, "isn't this fun? Getting to face off against one another and test our skills."

"I guess," Flash nodded. "But this is a test for me. I'll enjoy it when I pass." Pinkie smiled as her weapon appeared in front of her. And it was certainly a strange weapon, that was for sure.

It appeared to be a normal Lightsaber, but the end had a round cage-like structure surrounding it. When Pinkie grabbed it, she swung it around and something shot out of the end.

That something was a long blue blade, almost two and a half times longer then the standard blade. And as it completed extending, the blade suddenly went limp and fell down to form a long noodle-like structure. Pinkie then whipped it around, the laser chord sparking and buzzing as it moved through the air. With a flick, she struck it against the ground and it made a loud crash like lightning.

"What the heck?" Flash looked genuinely scared by this device, clearly having never seen anything like it. "What is that thing?"

"Lightwhip," Pinkie smiled as she kept swinging it around. She then whipped it upwards and the chord retracted, becoming about as long as a normal Lightsaber but still remained flexible. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Flash stared at it in shock, but quickly shook his head and focused himself. "Just another battle."

"Are both of you ready?" Celestia asked, the two nodding. "Then begin!" Flash charged whilst Pinkie whipped her weapon around, extending the chord as she tried to hit Flash dead on.

Flash leapt to the side and rolled along the ground, as Pinkie started twirling the laser ribbon around her. How she didn't accidently hit herself, Flash had no idea. But he had to attack.

He rushed forward and as the whip swung towards him. He blocked with his Lightsaber, but was shocked to see the chord coil around his sword and grip it tightly. "Wow!" He tried to pull it free, but Pinkie flicked her wrist and pulled his Lightsaber from his grasp.

Everyone watched as Flash's blade hit the ground and extinguished, leaving him defenceless. Pinkie then started spinning the coil around her, making it impossible for Flash to hit her. She then extended the whip forward and it shot straight for Flash's chest, the teen barely able to flip backwards so it flew above him. And as it extended, Flash completed his back-flip and landed back on his feet.

As he did, he summoned his Lightsaber back to him and charged.

Pinkie flicked the whip around again and Flash jumped down, sliding along the ground and eventually reaching the strange pink doe girl. He quickly ignited his blade and thrust it towards Pinkie's stomach, but she somehow stretched said stomach out of the way before leaping back.

As she landed, she retracted her whip to about a foot before swinging it downwards and extending it.

It shot straight down towards Flash, how barely managed to role out of the way in time. This made a loud crashing sound echo through the room, Flash picking himself up as Pinkie retracted her blade before extending it with another whip.

Flash saw it coming and knew this was his chance, so raised his Lightsaber hard and let the whip strike it whilst he ducked down. The chord quickly wrapped around the Lightsaber and before Pinkie could try and pull the weapon out of Flash's hand, Flash pulled as hard as he could and Pinkie was pulled flying towards him.

Flash hadn't been expecting that, but quickly reacted and leapt up to kick her in the stomach.

His foot sank into her body and stretched out the back of her, his eyes going wide at this before he sprang back in the opposite direction. "WOW!" He lost his grip on his Lightsaber as he was flung backwards, eventually crashing into the far wall and sliding down it.

He let out a moan and fell to the ground, but Pinkie didn't seem much better and held her stomach. "Oh...I hate it when that happens." Her face turned green and she was looking rather queasy

Skybreaker turned to the others. "Let's bring this match to an end before we have to clean up the training hall." They nodded and told Pinkie to leave the room, the girl rushing out as Twilight handed her a waste bin.

"Does that still count as a win?" Shining asked, Flash picking himself up and summoning his Lightsaber.

"I don't know," Celestia stated as she turned to Rainbow. "You're up." The girl cheered and rushed inside, Flash wait for her as she smirked.

Flash raised his blade and wondered if she would have a crazy weapon as well. But he would soon find her weapon looked rather normal. Or should that be, weapons.

Two Lightsabers appeared in front of Rainbow, both looking exactly the same as they were silver metal with black leather around the handles and a slightly curved bottom. She grabbed them both and when she ignited them, a pair of blue blades extended. However, these blades were shorter than a normal blade by between a half and a third.

Rainbow swung the blades around as fast as she could, Flash barely able to tell where they were they moved with such speed. When she stopped, she held one blade forward and the other in a reversed grip. "You ready to lose?" Flash's response made her smile.

"Now we're talking."

"Are you ready?" They nodded at Celestia's question, "then begin!" Rainbow shot forward at the B and moved with blinding speed towards him, Flash only blinking and finding her right in his face.

She spun around and swung her blades, Flash barely able to raise his weapon in defence. He stood his ground and both blades bounced off him and were pushed away, Rainbow sliding back before leaping into the air. As Flash was rebracing himself from the attack, Rainbow spun around and tried to kick him in the head.

He ducked under the strike and Rainbow landed behind him, the girl attacking with one blade that was blocked before attacking with the other. Flash was barely able to keep up with her, blocking one strike and narrowing avoiding another. It was like being struck over and over by waves of wind. Before he could recover from the last hit, he was forced to take another.

Flash blocked her double strike and pushed her back with The Force, Rainbow's light body making it easy to shove her away.

She managed to land and Flash ran forward, but she began spinning the blades around her at high speed to keep him from getting a clear target.

Flash watched the twirling blades of doom, trying to determine when they weren't protecting Rainbow. And when he believed he had it, he thrust his Lightsaber forward and the blade was stopped by Rainbow's cross sabers. "Nice try!" Using all her strength, she forced her swords up and pushed Flash's up with them.

She then did a backflip and slammed her feet into Flash's chin, knocking him staggering backwards. But Flash refused to be beaten and as Rainbow began to complete the circle, Flash threw his sword towards the ground.

It spun through the air and as Rainbow landed, it reached her and struck her right leg. "AUGH!" She cried, as the laser sword cut through her ankle and cleanly removed the foot. The dismembered limb exploded and Rainbow's stump hit the ground, the girl flinching as she was now unable to stand.

Flash quickly got back up and summoned his saber, whilst Rainbow started spinning her blades around to protect herself. But Flash simply ran forwards and leapt over her, the girl unable to properly turn and face him. As such, by the time she managed to hop around, Flash slammed his blade into one of hers and knocked it away. He then struck the other and cut through the hilt, destroying it.

Rainbow was now footless and weaponless, Flash pointing his blade at her head. She could summon her first blade, but Flash would cut her in half before it could reach her. "Okay," she raised her arms, "I give."

Flash groaned as he fell to the floor, feeling exhausted as Rainbow's foot suddenly rematerialised. "Do you need a break?" Celesta asked him, Flash replying that he just needed a minute. As he did, Rainbow got up and headed for the doorway.

She past Applejack as she left, the two nodding at each other as Rainbow huffed. "We'll need to talk to your Master about improving your training," Luna told her. "If taking out your feet is all that's needed to stop you, real opponents will start to target them as well."

"Got it," Rainbow sighed before they turned to the room.

Flash stood up and had regained his wind, whilst Applejack's bladeless axe appeared before her. "First the whip and now an axe? I thought Jedi were supposed to use Lightsabers?"

"Most do," Applejack replied as she hit the button. Doing so caused a green blade to appear on the end of the weapon. A smaller green blade appeared on the other side, Applejack swinging it around like it was the easiest thing in the world. "But some of us have our own thing."

Flash nodded and raised his own blade, knowing this might be tricky. "Are you both ready?" Celestia asked, the pair nodded as they took a battle position. "BEGIN!" They charged, Applejack's heavy footsteps causing the ground to shake a little.

The girl let out a roar, as she swung the axe down. Flash blocked with his sword, but the impact caused his entire body to shake. When Applejack pulled back, Flash staggered around with little balance as the cowgirl swung the axe around to try and cut into Flash's side.

He recovered in time to leap back enough for the blade to miss and when Applejack swung it back in the opposite direction, Flash raised his sword and shoved it into the metal behind the smaller axe blade. He expected the Lightsaber to cut through the metal, but it didn't.

"What?"

"Nice try!" Applejack pushed him away and when Flash tried to slash his sword down, she raised her weapon's staff and used it to block the attack. "A'h made this out of special metals, that are completely immune to Lightsaber blades." She once again pushed him back and the pair charged at one another, both swinging their blades at one another and locking them into place.

Applejack showed greater strength and was able to push Flash's sword to the ground, then spun around to try and kick him in the head. Flash ducked under it and leapt back, the jumped forward for another downwards slash. The cowgirls fell to one knee and blocked the blade with her axe handle, then pushed him back before charging.

Flash performed an upwards side swipe as Applejack swung her blade down, the blue Lightsaber stopping the green axe before Flash hocked the blades together. He then spun around and used the momentum and leverage to throw Applejack over his back.

"Wow!" She hit the ground rolling and barely managed to get back to her feet, as Flash charged and tried to cut her in half.

She quickly scrapped the smaller blade of her axe along the ground. The sparks this caused flew towards Flash and forced him back, allowing Applejack to rush forward and leapt into the air. "RAAAAAH!" She swung the blade down and Flash side-stepped it, the blade hitting the ground as Applejack quickly pulled back.

Flash slashed at her as she stepped backwards, but she used her axe to block both slashes. The two then swung their legs at each other, kicking the other's leg, with Flash following it up with a punch Applejack spun to the side in order to avoid.

She then thrust the butt of her axe into Flash's stomach, knocking the wind out of him and pushing him back with enough force to send him staggering to the ground. "Ahhh!" His Lightsaber went flying out of his hands, as Applejack raised her blade to deal the finishing blow.

But Flash grabbed two benches with the Force and brought them between the two, Applejack cutting them in half, which allowed Flash to force Applejack backwards before summoning his Lightsaber.

As Applejack bounced off the wall, Flash charged and she raised her axe to defend. But strangely, Flash struck it with the flat of his blade.

The reason became clear when Flash suddenly scrapped the sword down the handle of the axe before Applejack to push him away. In doing so, he cut right through Applejack's fingers and she screamed out as her axe fell out of her grasp. She fell to her knees, looking at the stumps that had once been her most dexterous body parts.

Flash pointed his blade at her and gave her a serious look, but also looked completely wiped.

Applejack sighed, "a'h give." Flash pulled the blade away and Applejack's fingers reappeared, only for the battlefield to then disappear.

"What gives? I thought I still had Twilight to face?"

"I don't think that's necessary," Celestia told him. "You've proven your skills and are clearly exhausted from five continuous battles. Continuing now would just be cruel." The two stepped into the room, Applejack going to stand beside her friends. Meanwhile, Celestia, Luna and Skybreaker stared him down.

"So..." Flash wasn't sure what to say, "what happens now?"

Celestia smiled at him. "Flash Sentry, you have passed all three of the tests we set you. Not only do you know the code, despite never officially reading it, but you showed great control over The Force's power, showed restraint when you faced an obstacle and showed your skills with a Lightsaber against many different foes. We see no reason not to grant you the rank of Padawan." Flash's eyes went wide, a smile appearing on his lips. He could hardly believe it.

Skybreaker stepped forward, Flash seeing he was holding his Lightsaber. "You might not have originally built this, but I know Grand would want you to have it." He gave Flash a serious expression. "But remember, this is a weapon meant to protect and defend. Never wield it in anger or hatred. Do you swear to this?"

"I swear," Flash nodded before being handed his sword.

Everyone smiled, but then Luna spoke up. "We still have one issue." They turned to her. "Flash has nobody to call Master." Flash frowned at this, still unsure how he felt about someone taking Grand's place. "If we can't find anyone, Flash cannot truly become a Padawan."

Flash sighed, not liking the sound of that. Who would want to take on a Padawan with no real experience?

"I'll do it." They all spun around, Shining Armor leaning against the wall. "I'll take him on as my apprentice."

"Really?" Flash asked.

"You've got a lot of potential," Shining told him. "The Order could use someone like you." Flash smiled, only for Shining to step up and poke him. "But don't expect me to go easy on you. I expect you to become a knight before anyone else your age. Until you're ready for that, you won't be allowed to eat, sleep, or scratch your backside without my say-so. Got it?"

Flash gulped, but knew he couldn't let Shining think he was scared. "Bring it on. I'll take anything you throw at me and more. Just watch."

Luna turned to her sister. "Are we sure this is a good idea?"

Celestia smiled. "I think it'll work out quite well." Flash and Shining stood side by side, Celestia getting a strong feeling that these two would do great things together. And she would come to realise that feeling was right on the mark.

Things were stirring in the galaxy and the Jedi would soon find themselves up against foes greater then any the Order had ever faced. It would take every Jedi they had to overcome it. To help keep balance in The Force.

Chapter 5

View Online

Flash could hardly believe he was letting himself do this.

The newest member of the Jedi Order was currently sat in a room with many other Jedi. Except these Jedi were all between the ages of ten and twelve. Many of them were talking to themselves, or playing a game of some kind, whilst others were practising with training sabers or on their Force control.

Amongst the group were Spike, Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, who were sitting a short distance away from him. Despite the four having met Flash and learned of his story, they and Flash were still like strangers to one another. In the month since Flash officially joined the order, he hadn't seen them at all.

That was mostly due to Shining Armor, putting him through hell.

From sunup to two hours past sundown, Shining forced him through every kind of exercise imaginable to get him up to speed with the rest of the Padawans his age. Hours upon hours of saber training, helping Flash slowly learn to use something other than form one, an endless number of obstacle course in the holo-chamber, constant studying to teach Flash the Jedi Code and their history. Shining hadn't been joking when he said Flash wouldn't eat, sleep or do anything without his approval. And Flash was loving it

Whilst most people would think Shining's training would be going overboard, Flash knew he had a lot of catching up to do. He had to make up for the years he spent unable to get the proper training he needed.

But now, the boot camp from hell was over and Flash had developed a lot. It was time for him to look into other aspects of Jedi life. Which was why he was currently there.

"The Jedi Cores?" Flash asked as he and Twilight were in the Jedi Archives studying history together.

"Master Grand never mentioned them?" Twilight asked, with Flash shaking his head. He was pretty sure he had never heard anything about that. But as he thought about it, he did remember something being mentioned. But not by Grand.

"Wait, Shining mentioned something about Core. We were having lunch and I looked around, wondering where you and the others were. Shining said you were probably doing your core work."

Twilight nodded, as Springer floated onto the scene from one of the archive servers. Since Flash had joined the Order, Springer had been registered to the Order as well. Alas, since he was a Padawan, Flash wasn't allowed to claim ownership of him.

Shining had agreed to become Springer's owner until Flash was a knight. Once that happened, he would transfer Springer back to him. As such, Springer had been helping out wherever he was needed. The Jedi didn't have many droids, but the ones they did have were treated well and used to maintain systems in the order whenever they weren't assisting Jedi in the field.

Springer floated next to Flash and handed over a new pad, which was filled with new info Flash had to memorise.

"So what exactly are these cores?"

"There are four cores inside the Jedi Order. The Education Core, Medical Core, Agriculture Core and Exploration Core. Each core has a specific purpose and helps the order function. The Education Core focuses on maintaining and updating the archives, for future Jedi to use. Its members are also in charge of teaching the younglings all the basic skills and abilities they'll need, such as reading, writing, doing math and that kind of thing."

"So basically...it's a normal school but run by Jedi."

"Pretty much. The Medical Core is focused on healing, either through the basic methods you find in hospitals or with special techniques using the Force."

"The Force can heal?"

"The Force can do anything. It's just the ability to use The Force to do it is difficult. Anyway, Healers either treat Jedi here at the temple or go out into the field and act as paramedics whenever they're needed. They're an important part of the Order." Flash nodded, understanding that. "The Agricultural Core is for farming and other necessities the Order needs. Where do you think the food you eat comes from?"

"Huh, never thought about it. So they're Jedi Farmers?"

"The core also goes out into the universe, to help planets suffering from famine or other issues that could make growing food difficult. If it wasn't for that core, many worlds would have died by now."

"Wow. And what about the last core?"

"That's the Exploration Core. Or the Jedi Seekers. Their mission is to explore the vast unexplored areas of the galaxy. Seeking out new life and new planets that can be used to establish colonies by the rest of the Republic. It's not easy and they end up facing many unknowns whilst they're out there, but they also discover many amazing things."

"Like what?"

"Like lost Jedi Temples. Former homes of Jedi, that were forced to aimlessly wander the galaxy during a time of great evil. When the Jedi were finally united and established their base on Canterlot, many of the temple locations were lost. But every now and then, the Seekers find one and discover many of their hidden secrets."

"So there's the Jedi Teacher, Healer, Farmers and Seekers? And I have to pick one of these cores?"

"Pretty much," Twilight nodded. "When we're Younglings, we're made to choose which core to join. Some know right away which one they want to be in, whilst others need a little help deciding. Eventually, each Youngling chooses a core and starts studying aspects of it. That way, they'll be ready to join whether they become Padawans or not."

"What do you mean, whether they become Padawans or not?" Twilight frowned at this, looking around as if she was about to say something taboo.

"Not every Youngling becomes a Jedi," she told him. "Most of the time, only one in four Younglings earn the rank of Padawan." Flash was shocked to hear this, whilst Twilight looked upset. "Nobody likes it, but that's just the way it goes. Not every Youngling has what it takes to be a Jedi. Remember those tests you took to join?"

"Yeah?"

"Younglings have to go through something similar. A tournament to show off their skills. If a Jedi Knight sees a Youngling they think has potential, they make them their Padawan. But not every Youngling gets chosen. And if they're not chosen by a certain age...it's decided they're not meant to be Jedi."

"So what, they just get kicked out?"

"Of course not. They're allowed to stay in the Order, but they won't be able to become Jedi. That's why they have the Cores. Most of the work done in the Cores is done by those who couldn't become Jedi. If the Youngling chooses to stay, they spend their lives in the Education, Medical, Agriculture or Exploration Core, doing what they can to help the Order. If they don't wanna join one of them...they're free to leave the Order and make their own way in the world."

"That feels kind of harsh," Flash frowned.

"It's worked that way for hundreds of years," Twilight stated. "And the same is done for Padawans who aren't able to gain the skills needed to be a Knight. And if you're serious about being a Jedi, you need to join one of the cores."

"Alright," Flash nodded. "But how am I supposed to pick one?" Twilight smiled at him, making the Padawan worry.

The door opened and a human woman stepped into the room.

She was middle aged and smiled as she looked over the group, then spotted Flash. "Hello Younglings. I notice we have someone with us that's a little older than the others." Every eye in the room turned to Flash, who let out a nervous chuckle and waved. "That doesn't matter. Today, we'll be visiting the many different cores of the Jedi Order and helping you decide which one you wish to join."

The Younglings all looked really excited about this, as she turned to lead them out of the room. Flash sighed, following at the back of the group.

They made their way through the temple and eventually arrived at the Archives. "Now," the woman said, "I'm sure you're all familiar with this large room." The younglings all nodded, as they saw the many Jedi searching through the multiple servers containing thousands of years of knowledge. "Well each piece of info you use in here, was catalogued by a member of the Education Core. And those of you who choose to join this core, will be responsible for protecting that information and updating it when necessary. Future generations of Jedi will use that knowledge to help them in their missions."

"Boring," Scootaloo whispered with Applebloom and Sweetie giggling. Flash had to admit, the idea of acting like a librarian didn't sit well with him.

"Ah," the woman smiled, "here comes one of our core's best young Jedi." Said you Jedi turned out to be Twilight, the girl walking out of the stacks carrying a tablet she was working on. She looked up and smiled at the Younglings, then at Flash as she stepped up besides the woman.

"Good day, Crescent Glow."

"Good day, lady Sparkle. I was wondering if you would be so kind as to explain the many important tasks done by the members of the Education Core."

"Of course," Twilight nodded. "As you've probably been told, we at the Education Core are the guardians of knowledge the Jedi Order uses. Whenever a Jedi needs information, they come to us. You were all taught how to read and write by the Education Core and when you become Jedi, you'll require our assistance when investigating a situation. Knowledge is power and those who protect knowledge will always been seen as heroes."

Several Younglings looked interested in this, as Twilight pointed towards a nearby table. "Why don't we try and see how well some of you are at researching." They all moved over to the table and found it covered in info pads. "Pick a random pad. Each one has a particular subject. Imagine a Jedi has sent a message asking for everything we know about that subject. Your mission is to retrieve that info as fast as possible."

The Younglings all looked excited by this and each grabbed a pad, Flash deciding to wait until everyone else had one before picking on up himself. Activating it, he found the subject he needed to research.

It was some kind of plant, yellow in colour with black lines running down the petals. He frowned, wondering how he was supposed to locate information on on it. He then noticed something written beneath it and scrolled down. "This plant unleashed a green mist that caused my Padawan to fall ill. He started sprouting yellow spots and his irises turned blue." The other Padawans were reading the clues they had been given, many of them scratching their heads whilst others rushed into action.

Flash looked up and tried to think. "Okay. It's a flower, so maybe it'll be stored under F." He rushed through the maze of servers until he arrived at the one that had a large F on it.

Once there, he found an access terminal and typed in the word 'flower.' However, he got over a million different results.

"Right. More specific." He typed in yellow flower with black lines which narrowed the list down to a few hundred. "Come on." He then typed in that it sprayed green mist, which caused yellow spots and blue eyes. Again, this narrowed it down to a few dozen. "How am I supposed to figure out which one's the one I'm looking for?" He held up his pad and saw the flower, then brought up the first flower on the list and saw the petal shape wasn't the same. "Okay, now we're getting somewhere."

For the next several minutes, he compared the plants with little success. And just as he was about to to reach the last few, Crescent Glow spoke up. "Okay Younglings. Time's up." Flash groaned and turned off the terminal.

Heading over to the group, he found several kids were already there. Spike, Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie weren't amongst them, soon coming out of the stacks looking annoyed. Seems they couldn't find what they were looking for either.

Twilight smiled at them. "As you saw, locating the information requested isn't easy." She gestured to the four who had managed it, whilst all the other Younglings had been unsuccessful. "Can you tell us how you found your subject?" She asked a girl, who nodded and showed the others a flower of her own.

Flash wondered if they had all been given plants, but then glanced at Spike's pad and saw it was some kind of alien creature.

"My subject was a red flower with green spots, which shoots out a blue mist that caused a Padawan to start spouting mushrooms. At first, I thought about looking in the F section for flowers. But then I thought, wouldn't something like this be placed in the medical database."

Flash's eyes went wide and he groaned, as she went on to explain the rest of what she did. Twilight smiled at her, "well done." She looked towards the rest of the Younglings. "What we do here might not seem exciting, but it's an important role. We have to get information to the Jedi as soon as possible. Time is always of the essence."

Flash groaned. The idea of someone being in trouble, because he couldn't figure out how to find something in this maze was kind of stress inducing.

The Younglings who had succeeded in finding the info, started showing the other Younglings how they could have found the info they were looking for. As they did, Twilight stepped over to Flash. "So? What do you think?"

"I think this core needs eggheads who find this kind of thing fun," Flash told her. Twilight frowned at this. "And that's definitely not me."

"Fair enough," Twilight nodded. "But this isn't the only Core. I'm sure you'll find one that's suitable for you."

"I hope so," Flash sighed as Rarity suddenly stepped out from the stacks. "Rarity? You're in the Education Core too?"

"Of course," Rarity smiled as she fiddled with the red glasses she was now wearing. "Honestly, it was the only Core I could stand to be in. The Agriculture and Exploration Core requires you to get all muddy. And the Medical Core is...a difficult Core to get into."

"Really?" Flash asked, "why?"

"Welcome to the Medical Core," Cadance smiled as the group arrived at the area that housed the Order's Medical Facility. "Here in the Medical Core, we use The Force in order to protect the lives of many creatures out in the universe."

Flash was still confused about why this core was so difficult to get into.

Cadance led them through a long corridor, which had many glass windows allowing them to look into other rooms. When they did, they saw Jedi of different ages and ranks, attending to injured individuals. Some were simply wrapping up an injury or giving someone an injection. But others were holding their hands over a patient as they glowed green, whilst others were waving theirs over an open wound and causing a strange purple substance to flow out.

"The Medical Jedi spend years honing our skills, to become the best healers in the galaxy. I'm sure many of you fear you can't become Jedi, because you're skills with the Lightsaber aren't as great as they could be. But there are other ways you can be of use to the Order."

They arrived at an empty room and there, they found Pinkie and Fluttershy setting something onto a long table. Flash wasn't surprised to see Fluttershy there, since her demeanour gave her the perfect bedside manner. But Pinkie...

"This is a basic exercise for Medical Jedi to practise with. You're all going to try it to see how well you can use The Force in a Medical Manner." Cadance, Pinkie and Fluttershy held up a glass, which was filled with a strange brown liquid. "As you can see, this glass contains coffee milk." The three then used The Force to make the glasses float. "Now, you're going to use The Force to separate the two components.

Everyone watched, as the liquid inside the glasses began to spin and swirl around. As they did, the brown liquid either grew darker or lighter. Eventually, two completely different liquids were swirling within the glass. One was white whilst the other was dark brown, with the brown liquid eventually sitting atop the white liquid.

Everyone was amazed by this sight, as the three brought the glasses back and Cadance explained. "If your teammates are poisoned, either by a venomous animal or from an enemy attack, you'll be thankful you learned this skill. But it's not an easy task."

Flash gulped, wondering if he was gonna be any better at this than he was at the last challenge.

They all stepped up to the table and stared down at the coffee milk, waiting to be separated. Cadance gave a basic explanation of what to do, but it just went over Flash's head. As such, he placed his hands over the cup and focused on making the liquid spin. Maybe he could find a way to force it apart.

The liquid began to rotate and he wasn't the only one. Everyone began trying to separate the milk and coffee, some appearing to have better luck than others.

Flash then heard a gasp and looked around, seeing Sweetie beginning to separate the milk and the coffee. The others looked around and also saw this, the two liquids quickly splitting apart with the brown one sitting atop the white substance just like the demonstration.

"Yeah!" Pinkie cheered, "you did it!"

"I did it!?" Sweetie whispered. "I actually did it?" The others applauded, making her blush whilst Flash returned to trying to separate his own coffee milk. The others also tried, with a few more managing to extract the two substances. But others were simply spinning the liquid in the glass. One made his milk spin so much, the glass broke and spilled it all over them.

"Well," Cadance laughed, "this skill isn't for everyone." As she said that, someone stepped into the room.

He was a tall gray skinned human with dark gray hair, wearing half-moon glasses and a pair of Lightsabers on his belt. "Ah, the Younglings have arrived." He turned to Cadance, "have any shown signs of being a potential comrade, in our fight against illness in the universe?"

"A few," Cadance nodded. "Everyone, this is Jedi Knight First Aid. One of the best healers to have ever been in the order."

"Greetings," he nodded. "I am happy to see so many young Jedi are interested in the healing arts. It is a difficult road to travel and requires even more hard work and study, than the Education Core. But if you tough it out and keep going, I know you will be able to do it."

Flash wasn't so sure, whilst another Jedi stepped inside. This one was a green skinned human with pink and blue hair and a copper Lightsaber on her belt. She was currently carrying a box full of flowers and plants. "Now, now, First Aid. Don't go trying to force them into a Core they're not comfortable in."

"Hello Heather," First smiled. "And I would never force a Youngling into this Core if they were not up to the challenge. That would only hurt the Core's strength."

The woman named Heather nodded as she put the box down. "Hello Younglings. My name is Heather Bloom. I'm one of the Jedi in charge of Ponyville, a section on Fengari. Can anyone tell me what Fengari is?" A few of them raised an arm and Heather pointed at Applebloom.

"It's the Canterlot moon the Jedi use to farm our food on."

"Exactly. And it's not just our farm. It's also where the Exploration Core do their camping and survival drills. After lunch, you'll be brought up to the moon to see how things work."

"Yes," First nodded, "after lunch. Right now, they are supposed to be focusing on the Medical Core work." Heather laughed as she turned to leave, telling the Younglings she looked forward to seeing them. "Now, where were we?"

For a little while, Cadance and First started teaching the Younglings many basic first aid skills. Even if they didn't join the Medical Core, knowing this stuff would be useful for them.

And whilst Flash did find some of the medical treatments interesting, he realised this wouldn't be the Core for him.

Eventually, lunch came around and the Younglings were sent off to get something to eat, whilst preparations were made to take them to the moon.

In the cafeteria, Flash grabbed a sandwich and a jello cup. As he sat down, he was quickly joined by someone else. "So," his teacher smiled, "how's your day with the Younglings going?"

"Well, I'm definitely not cut out for the Education or Medical Cores."

"Yeah, I couldn't handle those Cores either. Twilight was the brain-box in the family. I've never been one to sit around and do nothing."

"Oh yeah," Flash realised he should have asked this before. "What Core are you apart of?"

"Exploration," Shining stated. "I was with a team of Seekers, who discovered a lost Jedi Temple a few years back." Flash was amazed by this. "Let me tell you, that place was crazy. Those old Jedi knew out to boggle the mind. Almost didn't make it out of there."

Now Flash was curious. "Maybe that's the Core I should be in. I mean...I'm guessing most Knights take on Padawans from their Core...right?"

"Not always," Shining stated. "Sure, most Knights like to take apprentices who have similar interests to them. But that's not always the case. Look at Cadance."

"Is Thorax not in the Medical Core?"

"Nope. Agriculture. A lot of people wondered why Cadance chose him, since he didn't seem to have anything that stuck out. But she took him under her wing and the two have been training pretty well together. It's only been a year, but Thorax has gained a lot of confidence since she started teaching him."

"Huh."

"I think your friend, Pinkie, also has a Master in a different Core. He's a Seeker, like me. You'll probably meet him later. His name's Tidal Wave." Flash let this info sink in, glad to hear the choice of Core didn't affect your selection by a master. "Seriously, you shouldn't let me being a Seeker decide what you want to be. If the Farming Core speaks to you, go for it. And if it turns out you enjoy the life of a Seeker, Great."

Flash nodded and quickly ate his lunch, seeing a lot of the Younglings were already finishing up their meal as they were excited to go off planet. It might have just been to the nearby moon, but it was still the first time many of them would be going into space.

Once Flash finished, he and Shining bid goodbye and he headed off to where they would be meeting Crescent Glow.

Thirty minutes later, he and the rest of the Younglings were being escorted out of the Temple towards the Jedi ship hangers. This time, Flash wouldn't be leaving on the Shooting Star. Instead, it was a simple transport ship that looked like a minibus with rockets.

Leaning against the ship was none other than Rainbow Dash, the multi-haired girl smiling at them as they approached. "Hey pipsqueaks. You all ready to head off into space?" The Younglings cheered, Rainbow smirking. "Thought you would be. Lucky for you, the best Jedi Pilot is here to take you there. Climb in!" They began to get in, Flash being in the back with the kids whilst Rainbow and Crescent were up front.

Once they were strapped in, Rainbow powered the ship up and they lifted off towards the moon.

The Younglings watched the planet drift away, amazed at how incredible it was for them. The ship flew higher and higher, eventually breaking the planet's atmosphere and allowing them to get their first look at space. And boy, were they all impressed.

"Awesome," Spike whispered.

"Yeah," Flash smiled, "it is pretty cool." He couldn't help but wonder how he would have been, had his first time in space been like this instead of escaping a planet being attacked by bug aliens?

They flew through the space between the planet and the moon, which was very much like the moon Flash had grown up on. As they approached, he saw it was one large forest-like plantation. Several large sections were treeless, but instead had farmland and other settlements.

As they flew down towards the moon, fields upon fields of crops could be seen. Streams ran between each of the fields, keeping them well watered and allowing the food to grow healthy. In another area, open meadows were allowing animals to graze and live to grow and breed. One day, Flash might end up eating one of those creatures.

They arrived at the section of rocky concrete that the ship could land on, next to a large building Flash assumed was where the farming plans were made.

Standing beside the landing pad was Heather and Applejack, the two smiling as the Younglings disembarked. They were all amazed by the sight, as Heather stepped forward. "Welcome. I'm sure you're all looking forward to doing some hard work here on Fengari." The Younglings cheered, making her smile.

"Well, we welcome you to Ponyville. It's one of Fengari's most productive settlements. We have every type of crop you can imagine, originally harvested from all over the Republic." She began to walk towards one of the fields, with their guests following behind them. "As members of the Agricultural Core, it's our duty to tend these fields and protect the crops so they can grow feed many people. It's not just the Jedi that use these crops. They are also delivered to planets suffering food shortages."

"What about the animals?" Spike asked, as Heather smiled.

"The animals too. We need to make sure they're as healthy as can be. I'm sure none of you would want to eat something that was once very sick." They all nodded, as they arrived at an empty field. On that field, a red skinned individual the same species as Applejack and Applebloom was looking through a sack of something.

"Big Mac!" Applebloom cheered, making the man look up and smile with a wave.

Flash leaned down to Scootaloo, "do they know each other?"

"He's Applejack and Applebloom's older brother," Scootaloo explained. "He's not a Jedi, but he works the fields and is super strong." Flash nodded as Applejack used The Force to float a bunch of hoes over to them.

"Alright Younglings," Heather told them. "This field is open to be seeded. But first, it needs to be prepared." Applejack raised her hoe and used it to slam into the ground. She then pulled back and upturned the soil. "Each of you needs to dig a line in the soil, removing any roots or weeds you come across. It's hot and sweaty work, but it's important."

"Seriously?" Spike groaned as he Younglings all stood in a line on the field. "Isn't there a droid that could do this so much easier?"

"Of course there is," Applejack smirked. "But where's the fun in that? Besides, you can't expect a machine to do all your work for you. A strong body is one of the biggest requirements for being a Jedi. If you can't even plough a field, how'd ya'h expect to beat someone that's attacking you?"

Spike sighed, as Flash began to dig his hoe into the ground. Everyone watched him get to work, the farmers all seeing from the way he moved he had done something like this before.

"Isn't he the boy that grew up on a distant moon?" Heather asked, as Flash continued to turn up the soil and rip up any root or weed that had been hidden underneath.

"Eyup," Applejack nodded. "Guess we should have known he was used to farming. He probably did it as much as he did his Jedi training." They watched as Flash continued to cut through the earth, creating a perfectly straight trail whilst the others curved and connected to the lines next to them.

Some of the Younglings took to this much easier than the others, Applebloom chief amongst them. After Flash, she was the first to finish her line with Spike close behind. Eventually, the Younglings all completed their plough lines with some looking better than others.

Once that was done, they returned to Heather who handed each of them a sack of seeds. They swung these seeds around and started scattering them into the lines. They had to be careful not to drop the seeds outside the lines, this causing it to be a slow process.

Some of the Younglings started complaining, stating it was too hot or this was too boring. But eventually, they reached the end of their lines and were handed watering cans. Sprinkling the water into the lines, this caused the walls of the ploughed areas to fall upon the seeds and bury them. They had to be careful that just the right amount of soil covered each seed. Too much and it would never bloom.

Heather watched, as the Younglings completed the task. All had done a splendid job, but she could tell several weren't enjoying the task as much as the others.

One of them was doing extraordinarily well. "I hope that Sentry boy decides to join us," she told Applejack. "He's got a real talent for this work." They watched him wipe his brow, as he and the other Younglings all finished their work.

Big Mac had brought a bunch of drinks with him, everyone taking one to rehydrate themselves. As they did, Heather mentioned the other activities they would be doing. The work of the Agriculture Core was never done. From sunup to sundown, they would need to work to their hearts content in order to get the job done.

Some of the Younglings looked excited for that, whilst others looked like they were already ready to collapse from exhaustion.

Back on the planet, Celestia was in a room doing some meditation.

It was rare for her to get time to centre herself. But it was important she did in order to remain in balance, so that she could continue to run the Jedi Order to the best of her ability. She took a deep breath and felt herself let go of everything, allowing her mind to go blank and be one with The Force.

But just as she was feeling at peace, a beep signalled someone was at the door.

She took a deep breath and slowly breathed out, then spoke. "Enter." The door opened and Shining Armor stepped inside, Celestia levitating a round cushion chair like the one she was kneeling on in front of her.

"You wanted to see me," Shining sat down.

"Yes. How goes Young Sentry's training?"

"It's been smooth so far. We've mostly been focusing on improving his saber skills beyond the basic form one. We've also been testing his reflexes in a variety of different environments. Honestly, I see no reason why he wouldn't be able to go on Seeker Missions with me."

"Oh?" Celestia raised an eyebrow, "has he already chose the Expedition Core?"

"No. But if he does, he'll be ready. And honestly, I'm pretty sure he'll choose that one. It just seems like it fits him the most."

"Remember, Shining Armor. Leaping to conclusions can often lead to trouble. You should wait and see what Flash chooses for himself."

"Yes Master," Shining nodded. "But if he does choose the Seekers, I think he has what is needed to go on missions already. Best way for him to learn at this point is through experience."

"Very well." Celestia floated something over to her. "Then it's a good thing I called you here." Shining raised an eyebrow until Celestia handed him the pad over to him, allowing the Jedi Knight to look at the information on it.

"I see," he nodded. "I'll look into it. Will it just be me and Flash?"

"No. I've already appointed Skybreaker to investigate. You and Flash will be supporting him and his Padawan. It'll be a good way to show Flash what a Jedi Mission is all about. You'll be leaving tomorrow." Shining nodded and after giving his thanks, he stood up and headed out the room. "Good Luck, Shining. And you, Flash Sentry. I sense this mission will be an interesting one for you."

Shining Armor was making his way through the Temple, as he read the report on his upcoming mission.

As he turned a corner, he noticed Skybreaker and another Jedi walking towards him. This Jedi was a young man of maybe nineteen or twenty, with gray skin and darker gray hair. He was wearing a black shirt and white pants, with arm bracers and black gloves on his hands. On his back was a long black metal tube.

Skybreaker looked ahead and spotted Shining, nodding as he did so. "Shining Armor. I understand you'll be accompanying us on our next mission."

"That's the plan."

"Good. I sense this mission will require all the help we can get. Speaking of, will your new Padawan be joining us?"

"That depends. Would you rather he stay here?"

"He's already proven he has the skill to keep up. I think this would be a good chance for him, to test his metal in a real situation. However, this is a Seeker Mission. Only those of the Expedition Core can join us. Which Core is he joining?"

"That's to be decided," Shining looked up at the window.

"So he's not a Seeker?" The youngest of the three asked. "Why the heck is he coming if he's not a Seeker?"

"Iron Core," Skybreaker turned to him. "Calm yourself. There's no guarantee he'll be joining us. If he chooses to join another Core, that's his right. Though it will mean it'll just be the three of us."

Iron huffed. "That's fine. We don't need anyone else. We can handle this on our own."

"Don't be foolish," Shining stated. "Even if Flash joins us, that might not be enough. There's no telling what's going to happen. All we can do is prepare as best we can and hope we come out of this in one piece." Skybreaker nodded, whilst Iron frowned.

This was gonna be an interesting mission. That was for sure.

Back on the moon, Heather, Applejack and Big Mac had put the Younglings through their paces when it came to farm work.

Aside from planting crops, they were also feeding the animals, repairing fences and other things that need fixing, collecting the milk, eggs and other items and many other tasks that the Agriculture Core needed to do in order to keep the Jedi and many other worlds fed.

Flash and some youngsters were carrying bags of feed towards the nearby barn, when Flash noticed a greenhouse off in the distance.

As he stared at the building, he felt something. The Force was strong in that greenhouse. Or whatever was in there was strong in it. "What is that place?" His interest in the greenhouse caught the attention of Heather, who was walking by when she saw him staring.

"That's the medical greenhouse."

"Medical greenhouse?"

"You remember those flowers I was carrying, when I interrupted First's lecture?" Flash nodded. "They were special plants, grown through manipulation of The Force. Those plants have incredible healing properties and require great mastery of Force growing techniques. It's not an easy task, helping those flowers grow. That's why we keep them safe in that greenhouse."

"I see."

Heather walked towards the bark and Flash followed. "There are no small roles in the Jedi Order. Our lives aren't all about laser swords and reading minds. Even if something looks boring and difficult, that doesn't make it any less important. The simple fact is, people need food to live. And someone needs to make sure that food isn't dangerous. That's where we come in."

"I understand," Flash nodded as they all reached the barn. There, they placed the equipment away and Heather stepped in front of the group.

"Well done, all of you. I'm sure you all had fun today and I hope you were shown how great the Agriculture Core is. I'll probably be seeing a lot of you in the near future. And if any of you don't pick this Core, feel free to come give us a hand if you're ever feeling in need of doing some honest hard work."

Several of the Younglings looked like that had actually had a good time, a clear indicator that they would choose to return to this work when they became Jedi. But now, it was time to try out the Core many of them had been excited for.

Rainbow had returned and she wasn't alone.

Along with her was another woman, who was older with yellow skin and yellow and orange hair. "Sup squirts!" She smirked as she looked them over, "name's Spitfire. I'm the Jedi Knight that'll be helping you twerps get a taste of the Exploration Core lifestyle. Who's ready to go on an adventure!" They all cheered, with Spitfire beginning to lead the group into the forest.

Walking in a single file line, they made their way through the woods along a dirty path that had clearly been walked through many times. Flash stood at the back of the line, he and Crescent making sure none of the Younglings wandered off.

After a little while, they came across a large building that was a large dome with a glass roof. They stepped inside and were lead through the round building, until they came to an area with a large glass wall. Said wall was surrounding an indoor forest, which looked like the building had simply been built around. The glass roof allowed light to flow in, whilst what appeared to be a stream ran through the terrain.

"This is our Forest Training Dome," Spitfire stated. "If you wanna be a Seeker, you gotta be able to survive in any environment. We've got several other domes with many different biomes, but we're gonna start you off easy and see how well you do at surviving here."

Spitfire led them towards a door and they headed into the forest, which was a lot warmer than the forest outside given there was no wind to cool them down. They made their way through the trees until they came to a large clearing, with several logs for the Younglings to sit upon.

"Alright, time to see how much you kids know about survival. Who here can tell me the best way for a Jedi to make a fire?" Several Younglings raised their hands. "You."

"Two rocks?"

"Not a bad idea, but that takes the right kind of rock. Anyone else?" More hands went up, "you?"

"A stick on a log."

"Again, not a bad idea. But that can take a long time and the last thing you wanna do when you're tired is spend ages spinning a stick around." The Younglings all thought, with Flash remembering how he grew up. He raised his hand and Spitfire smirked. "New kid, shoot."

"Lightsaber." The Younglings all looked at him curiously, whilst Spitfire raised an eyebrow.

"Really. You wanna demonstrate how you'd make a fire with a Lightsaber." She stepped aside and pointed to a nearby fire pit, which already had a log and some sticks within it.

Flash got up and walked over to the pit, taking out his Saber as he did so. He held it over the log and ignited the blade, the Younglings looking amazed at the sight of the broadsaber beam. It hummed as Flash held it over the log, the laser inches from the wood's surface.

Slowly, part of the wood turned black from the heat and started smoking. As soon as it did, Flash extinguished his blade and got down to blow on the wood. Slowly, the smoke was replaced by a small flame. It quickly spread to the rest of the log and everyone was amazed to see how easily Flash had been able to make a fire.

"Impressive," Spitfire nodded. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"Grand Hoof," Flash replied. "He used to light the fires this way on cold nights. Way easier than rubbing two sticks together." Spitfire nodded and turned to the Younglings.

"Yup. That's definitely the fastest way to make a fire. This is a pretty common tactic for Jedi Seekers to use. Remember, kids. When you're out in the universe, you need to use every trick available to you. The galaxy can be a harsh place. So when you have an idea to protect yourself, then you'll need to do it. Doesn't matter what that might be."

Rainbow stepped forward. "Mind if I tell them a story?" Spitfire nodded. "It was one of my very first missions. We were investigating a snow planet and one of the scientists we had been sent with got lost out in a blizzard. My friends and I had to go out on snow steeds and by the time I found him, it got so bad there was no way to find our way back to the base. The scientist had been out there so long, he was close to catching hypothermia."

"What did you do?" Scootaloo asked.

"I used my Lightsaber to cut open my snow steed and stuffed the guy inside." The Younglings let out several cries of disgust. "Hey, it was thirty below out there. I think he'd rather smell like Tauntaun innards than get frostbite."

Spitfire nodded. "Being a Seeker might sound fun and exciting, but it comes with risks. We go out into the unknown and seek out danger, wherever it might be. If you can't handle it, you should go join the Education Core or something." She then grabbed two sticks off the ground. "Now, let's get to work on learning how to make a fire."

"But I thought we could use Lightsabers to make fires?" Spike asked.

"That might be the best way, but do any of you have a Lightsaber right now?" They all shook their heads. "Exactly. And even after you get one, you might not be able to use it. What if it gets lost or damaged? Only knowing how to do something one way, is a surefire way to get yourself killed. You kids are gonna be learning a bunch of different skills today."

The Younglings broke into groups and each gathered sticks and rocks to start their fires with. Flash was with Spike, Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. Currently, Scootaloo was spinning a stick between her hands to drill into the log.

"Come on." No matter how hard she spun it, the log refused to catch fire.

"You need to move your hands downwards," Flash explained. "And go faster." Scootaloo took this info and spun the stick faster, as her hands moved down towards the end. And just as she was about to touch the log, smoke came off the wood.

"Jackpot!" She pulled the stick away and blew on the long, causing a small fire to start whilst the others cheered.

Spitfire saw this and smirked, as Rainbow stepped up next to her. "That kid spent years living in the wild. Guess it makes sense he'd be good at this kind of stuff." Rainbow nodded, as Flash demonstrated how to hit the rocks together in just the right way to start a fire

Once the Younglings had mastered the art of making fire, they moved on to building shelters. Again, Flash's years living on a forest moon certainly came in handy. He was able to help build a small but effective tent that out of trees and leaves, which was just big enough to fit the kids inside.

After that, they collected berries and other foods that could be useful to fill their stomachs. Of course, they weren't allowed to eat anything without showing it to Spitfire. Each of the Younglings ended up finding something that was poisonous. But Flash seemed to have a perfect knowledge of all the dangerous plants and fungi, despite never having been in this particular forest.

He then showed his team how to cook the stuff, using the fire and a flat rock he held over the flames that he used to fry some of them. Others, he cooked by using The Force to lift water out of the stream and held it over the flames. As it boiled in his telekinetic grip, the others threw some of the vegetables into the water and watched them all get cooked without the need for a pan.

Spitfire and Rainbow watched in amazement, neither of them having ever done something like that. If they weren't surrounded by kids expecting them to be masters of these kinds of things, they would both be seeing if they could do that themselves.

And as time went on, Flash showed the two a few more things they didn't know. Like how to set traps in case something wandered into one's campsite.

"Tie it like this, then loop it around here and voila!" The Younglings stared at the branch turned snare trap, all of them amazed by it. "You guys will be able to get it if you try." Everyone nodded and started practising themselves.

As they did, Spitfire stepped over to him. "Kid, you're a natural at this stuff."

"I'm not a natural," Flash replied. "Anyone would be this good if they spent their whole life doing it. Knowing this stuff wasn't a cool thing I was interested in learning. It was something I had to learn in order to survive."

"I get that," Spitfire nodded. "Must have been hard. But it clearly did you some good." Flash nodded, as the sun was beginning to set on the moon. "So, you decided what you're gonna pick. You've seen all the Cores and got a taste of what life's like for each of them. Any one take your fancy?"

Flash let the question sit with him, as the Younglings enjoyed the meal he had showed them how to make. He remembered all those years he had been on his birth moon. All those years he had spent, wondering what else was out there. He always told himself that when he got off the moon, he would make sure he saw the rest of the galaxy. And he knew there was only one way he was ever gonna do that.

"Yeah," he nodded, "I have." He gave his answer and Spitfire smirked, knowing the teen had made the right choice.

The next day.

The transport ship flew down to Canterlot and as it did, the Younglings were all talking about the Core they had had the most fun with. Many were talking about the Education and Expedition Core, whilst the vast majority stated how much fun the Agriculture Core had been for them. Only a select few had found the Medical Core their favourite, which included Sweetie and a few others.

As the ship landed, Flash smiled at all their excitement and also felt excitement himself. He had chosen his Core and now, he just needed to tell his Master.

Speaking of his master. When the doors of the ship opened, Shining Armor was there waiting. Springer was with him, along with Skybreaker and Iron Core. By the bags they were carrying, Flash had a feeling they were heading somewhere.

"Hey," Shining smirked when Flash moved over to him, "have fun?"

"Yeah," Flash nodded. "And I've made a decision." Shining raised an eyebrow. "I wanna be in the Expedition Core. I wanna see what's out in the universe and help those that are in trouble. I don't wanna be stuck on one planet again."

Shining smiled, "I knew you'd pick that one. Which is why I told Celestia we'd take the mission."

"Mission?" Flash asked, only for Shining to throw him a bag.

"You wanted to be a Jedi. This is what being a Jedi means. We're heading to another planet and there's a chance we might get ourselves killed. You think you can handle that." Flash stared at him, then smiled before throwing the bag onto his back.

"Let's do this!" Shining smiled with Skybreaker nodding and Iron Core looking at Flash sceptically. They all headed off towards the Shooting Star, and Younglings cheering for their new friend who was getting to go off on a Jedi Mission. Flash might have no idea what was waiting for him, but he wouldn't let those that believed in him down.

No matter what, he was going to prove himself and complete this task without issue.

Chapter 6

View Online

In a distant corner of the galaxy, everything seemed peaceful.

There were no rocks, chunks of ice or ships causing problems. But that soon changed, when a ship suddenly came out of hyperspace. The Shooting Star.

Within the freight cruiser, Shining Armor was watching as Flash Sentry stood on his hands with a blindfold around his eyes. "You may not be able to see with your eyes, but you've shown you can see without looking. Now it's time to see how well you can see in this manner. Well enough to stop yourself from getting hit?"

In another corner of he room, Iron Core was sitting against a wall with a box of balls next to him.

Shining gave him a nod and Iron smirked before making several balls float. They surrounded Flash and as they did, Flash seemed to sense their presence. But before he could react, one of the balls flew at him and hit him in the knee.

He flinched as another one flew towards him, hitting him in the chest. Then one hit him in the arm and side.

Shining wasn't impressed. "Come on! Focus!"

"I'm trying!"

"Do, or do not. There is no try!"

"What? What does that even mean? How can I do something if I don't try." Shining tried to think of an appropriate response, but frowned.

"I'm not sure. Honestly, that one always kind of confused me too. Master Celestia certainly likes to say it a lot." Iron kept throwing the balls at Flash, who managed to dodge a few of them. But way more hit him and he was eventually knocked off balance and fell to the ground.

Iron laughed at this. "Seriously, can't even do something as basic as dodging a ball. How you gonna cope when you're getting shot at or chased by a monster?"

"Shut up," Flash glared at him as he removed his blindfold. Iron glared back, but Skybreaker and Springer stepped into the room before a fight could break out.

"We're almost there. Be ready to head out as soon as we land." They nodded as Iron followed his teacher into the cockpit, Shining stepping over and handing Flash his Lightsaber.

"Just ignore Iron. He's never been great at opening up to people."

"So he's a jerk?"

"He wasn't always. Growing up, he was supposed to have been really friendly. But then something happened to his best friend." Flash raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure exactly what happened, but it happened during Iron's Gathering."

Flash nodded. The Gathering was a rite of passage of Jedi Younglings. Travelling to the Planet known as Ilum and heading into a dangerous ice cave. There, they were meant to find and retrieve the kyber crystals needed to build their Lightsabers. It was a dangerous test and not every Youngling passed.

They and Springer joined the other two in the cockpit, allowing them to look out and see the planet they were heading to.

Said planet was a cloud covered globe, making it look like a giant cloud of mist located in the middle of space. "That's Vipire?" Flash asked, as Springer nodded.

"Yup. Vipire, the gas planet. A mountain covered planet with a gas core that generates and spews out a highly dangerous gas, which is toxic to most forms of life. It's also rich in minerals, which is why the Republic uses it to acquire materials needed for ships, technology and other items."

"Thanks Spring," Flash sighed. Ever since Springer had gotten to download information from the Jedi Mainframe, he had been eager to show off his new knowledge. "So...why are we here again?"

"There have been several attacks on the mining operations as of late," Skybreaker stated. "They've been unable to mine any materials because whenever droids are sent down to recover them, they're attacked by whatever is causing this."

"I get it. Since the metal mined here are so important, making sure the operations continue is crucial."

"Exactly," Shining nodded. "The Republic considered sending their own troops in to figure out what the problem is, but they have a tendency to go in guns blazing. That's why Celestia assigned us to look into it instead. Sometimes, the subtle approach is key."

"Subtle?" Flash looked over at Iron, who looked anything but subtle.

The ship flew into the planet's atmosphere and Flash expected not to be able to see a thing when they entered the cloud. But the mist that covered the planet was a lot further down then he expected. They passed through a thin lay of cloud and saw the main body of smoke was further down.

"We're not gonna go into there, are we?" The last thing Flash wanted to do, was fly through a cloud of toxic gas.

"Relax," Shining told him. "The place we're heading is above the clouds." They flew over the clouds and as they did, Flash spotted something sticking out the cloud. A giant pointed rock.

"Is that..."

"The top of a mountain," Skybreaker explained. "The mountains on this planet are huge. So big that they can have hug cities and towns built on top of them. Each of these terras act as their own territories. Some planets are divided into countries. This planet is divided into terra-top kingdoms. And each terra has its own mining business. A lot of them work for the Republic, but others work for non-republic planets or planetless groups. But most of those are the low quality material the Republic wouldn't consider using."

Flash nodded as they continued to pass several more mountain tops. Many of them had buildings on top of them, whilst others had large ship docks and whatnot. It was quite interesting to see how different this planet was from the ones Flash had already been on.

Eventually, they arrived at a massive mountain top. And just like Skybreaker said, it had a large city built on top of it.

At the mountain's very centre, a large castle could be seen surrounded by a circle of mansion that were surrounded by another circle. With each circle, the buildings got smaller and more packed together.

As they got closer, the ship's console beeped and asked for authorisation. Shining quickly typed in the code he had been given by Celestia and after a few moments, they had been cleared to land in the castle's ship bay.

They flew over the mountaintop city and then slowly flew downwards, as a part of the castle opened up to reveal a large hanger the ship could land in. Once they touched down, the Jedi made sure they looked presentable. "Remember," Skybreaker told them, "we are acting as representatives of the Republic and the Jedi Order. That means we have to be respectable in looks and manner. Understand?"

"Yes master," the Padawans nodded before heading out of the ship. As they disembarked, someone stepped into the hanger to receive them. It was a pinkish skinned woman, with purple hair and a single curved horn on her head, wearing a maid dress.

"Welcome," she bowed, "I am Shelora. If you would please follow me. My master is awaiting your arrival." They followed her out of the hanger and into a nicely decorated hallway. The entire place looked fit for a king. The humble Jedi all felt very out of place in such a location.

They eventually made their way through the castle until they arrived at a set of large double doors. The Jedi quickly did one final check to make sure they were presentable before the doors opened.

They found themselves in a large throne room with stained glass windows and silk carpets.

They made their way across the room towards a large throne, where a man with similar skin to Shelora sat. He had red hair and a pair of horns on his head, wearing bright red and white robes.

They stopped as Shelora turned to them. "May I present, the ruler of this terra. King Benirus."

"Your majesty," Skybreaker bowed. "We Jedi are at your service." The others bowed and Springer lowered his head.

Benirus stood up and walked down the steps towards them. "And I am thankful to have you. These mining disruptions are causing nothing but problems. If we don't start generating revenue again soon, my terra might fall into an economic crisis."

"We'll do our best," Shining nodded. "Is there anything you can tell us that might help us figure out what's happening?"

"All we have is the footage from one of our droids," Benirus stated. "When the issue started, we sent a surveillance droid down to see what was going on." He turned to Shelora and nodded, Shelora moving over to a panel and pressing it.

Doing so caused the stained glass windows to suddenly go black, whilst the lights switched off. A holographic screen appeared and they watched, as the image from a droid's point of few appeared.

Said droid was flying through a cave tunnel, which seemed to be lit the same way the Storm Brigade's mines were lit. He hoped that was the only similarity to that place.

They watched, as the droid turned several corners before arriving at an area full of smoke. The same smoke that was surrounding the planet. "You see why we use droids," Benirus stated. "The further down you go, the more gas shafts you find."

"Those shafts are what carry the toxic gas to the surface?" Flash asked, Benirus nodding as the droid changed its vision to infrared. It was difficult to watch, but they saw droid avoid several rocks and come to another area. And then, something flew at it hard and destroyed its camera.

"What was that?" Iron asked.

"We have no clue. But we're assuming it's whatever's causing this situation."

"How the heck can anything be down there?" Springer asked. "Are there creatures on this planet that breath that toxic gas?"

"There's one. The Relgarians." The screen changed to show some kind of creature. It was ape-like in appearance, but it didn't have a mouth or nose and instead had a bunch of gills on its neck. "They live inside the gas and can't survive outside of it. Despite their own lack of tech, their smart enough to understand machines. We were able to make contact with them many generations ago and started a trade agreement."

"What do you trade?" Flash asked, as the screen vanished and the lights came on.

"We trade medicines and others essentials they might acquire. In return, they give us a special fruit that can only grow down in the gas. The juice from it is toxic to them and us, but it can be used to make an incredibly effective fuel to run machines on."

"And you're sure this wasn't one of them?" Shining asked.

"I'm sure. They might not be the smartest creatures in the galaxy, but they're gentle giants. They have no reason to attack us."

"If you're sure," Skybreaker nodded. "We'll head down there right away."

"Head down?" Flash looked shocked, "you wanna go into a toxic cave?"

"Relax," Skybreaker told him. "We have a way of protecting ourselves." Flash hoped he did. "We'll need a map of the mines and the area these attacks are taking place in." Benirus nodded as someone suddenly walked into the room.

It was two individuals. One was a two horned woman, with bright pink hair and wearing a white dress with red trim. The others was a taller individual, who had a single broken horn and was wearing the kind of clothing a general would normally wear.

"Brother," the woman frowned. "You didn't tell me we had guests."

"My apologise," Benirus nodded before turning to the Jedi. "This is my little sister, Shiroara." The four bowed, "and our head of security."

"My name is Calvaris," he stated. "May I ask what these four are doing here, your majesty?"

"They are Jedi sent by the Republic, who have come to investigate our little problem down in the mines." Calvaris frowned at this, the Jedi sensing some form of annoyance coming from him.

"There's no need for them to be here," he told the king. "This is a matter of internal security. We should handle it by ourselves. I'm already preparing a security team to go down there and deal with the problem."

"Please don't take this the wrong way," Skybreaker told him. "But you have no idea what's awaiting you down there. And with the poisonous gas restricting your movements, you'll have a hard time if things get bad."

"And how are you any different?" Calvaris asked. "You don't know what's down there and you'll have issues if it turns into a fight. That's why we need to be the ones to deal with it. This is our planet."

"Calm down," Benirus told him. "I appreciate your hard work. But the more options we have, the better. It's going to take you a little more time to prepare your team to go down. But the Jedi can probably go down into the mines right away."

"You know our Order well," Skybreaker nodded. "We'll head down right away and see if we can't find the problem. And if we can't, your security team can act as backup." Benirus and Shiroara nodded, whilst Calvaris looked upset.

"Thank you," the king stated. "Shelora will show you to the mine's entrance once you're ready."

The knights bowed and all headed out, Shelora showing them the way back to their ship. "So...how exactly are we supposed to go down into a toxic mine without...dying." The three smirked and when they returned to the ship, Flash was shown what they would be using. "What is all this?"

Shining had just taken several items out of a locker inside the shooting star. The first was a helmet of shorts, which had an opening in the front that Flash's mouth and eyes would be seen through above the chin guard. The next were a pair of gloves followed by a pair of metal plates shaped like a boot-print.

"These are what we'll use to protect ourselves," Shining handed him the helmet. "The Jedi order has members from all over the galaxy. Some of those members also turn out to be super genius, who design and create new technology for us to use."

Flash frowned and placed the helmet on his head, though it seemed a little big for him. He then put on the gloves, which had a glass disk of some kind on the back of them, that were also pretty loose. He then stepped onto the metal plates, also too big, still wondering what the heck he was supposed to do with them.

"There's a switch on the back of the helmet," Shining told him. "Put your Lightsaber down and flip it." Flash raised an eyebrow, but removed his weapon before reaching back and finding the switch. As soon as he flicked it, the helmet, gloves and the foot plates suddenly shrank to perfectly fit him before his mouth and nose covered by a metal mouth-plate. The next thing he knew, the eye hole flashed and he realised something was filling that part.

The bottom of the helmet then unleashing a blue light, which flowed over his entire body. The light connected to the bottom of the gloves and the tops of the plates around his boots, the disks on the gloves suddenly lighting up. The right glove disk had a ring made up of three lights, one green, one yellow and one red. The left disk also had a ring of lights, but these were fifteen smaller lights that glowed entirely green.

As soon as the gloves were activated, the light around his body vanished. Flash looked himself over, still confused what had happened. He reached down and touched his arm, only to feel some kind of barrier around it. The same was true for his body, his legs and even the space in front of his eyes. "Force-fields?"

"Yup," Skybreaker put his own helmet on. "This suit will protect you from almost any kind of radiation or chemical toxin in the air. They have their limits, but the counter on your right gloves should help you realise how dangerous the environment is."

"Got it," Flash nodded before looking at the left glove. "And let me guess. Power monitor."

"Got it in one," Shining nodded. "The suits have about fifteen hours at full charge. Each of those lights will help you tell how much long you have. In twenty minutes, one of the lights will turn yellow. Then it'll turn red before dying completely."

Flash nodded and moved around the plates under his boots being brought up with him as he walked. "Okay, this is kinda cool." He picked up his Lightsaber and tried to attach it to his belt, but couldn't due to the force-field. "Though they might wanna add a belt to go with it."

"Yeah, we've had that issue too." Shining, Iron and Skybreaker were all wearing the suits as well, each carrying their own weapons. Both Iron and Skybreaker weren't carrying traditional Lightsabers, something Flash was only now noticing.

The pair saw this and smirked before activating them. Skybreaker's extended a pair of blue energy blades from each end, revealing it to be a double-edged saber that he spun around with incredible skill. Meanwhile, Iron's only sent out one blue blade. But the other side suddenly extended, making it look like a four foot staff with a Lightsaber on the end.

"A Lightsaber Pike?" Flash had read about them in the archives, but he didn't think anyone actually used one. "A light-whip. A light-axe and now this. Are there any other Jedi with unusual Lightsabers I should know about? I thought my blade would be the weirdest one in my age group."

Skybreaker laughed. "You're not the only one who thought that. Most Jed have the traditional Lightsaber, but this new generation seems to wanna shake things up." They all extinguished their blades before they and Springer headed for the exit, stepping out of the ship where Shelora was waiting.

The woman was carrying a tablet that she handed to them. "Inside is a map of the mines and all the places these attacks took place in."

"Thank you," Skybreaker took it before kneeling down to upload the info into Springer's database. The more copies they had, the better. Once that was done, they headed out of the castle until they arrived at a large building just beyond the walls.

"The maze entrance is in there," she stated. "I wish you all luck." They nodded as she headed back, the five stepping into the building and finding it was rather high tech. A bunch of hazard suits were lining the wall and at the back of the building was some kind of air lock elevator.

"Be ready," Skybreaker told them. "The second we head down there, anything could happen." They all nodded and stepped into the elevator, which became airtight as soon as the doors closed. The entire room then moved downwards, into the gas-filled mine.

At the same time, someone was in the castle with a strange device in hand.

The device projected an image of a relgarian. "The king is sending a bunch of Jedi down. You have to be careful. If they find you, who knows what they'll do to you. Don't let them see you or they'll strike you down before it's too late."

The creature, despite having no mouth, made noise. And a device around its neck somehow translated it. "We not scared of Jedi. Jedi heads soft. Rocks hard. Rocks smash Jedi heads like jam."

"Just be careful," they replied. "Jedi are no joke." The relgarian ended the call and the figure stepped out of the hiding place they were in, hoping things didn't turn out bad.

Down below, Springer and the Jedi finally arrived at the entrance to the mine.

As soon as the lift stopped, it let out several beeps before the doors opened. As soon as they did, the counter gloves started beeping and they looked down to see they were in the green. "The gas levels pretty low here," Shining stated. "Nothing our suits can't handle." They all nodded and stepped out of the elevator, looking around at the tunnel in front of them.

"Be on alert," Skybreaker stated as they made their way through the tunnels.

Their had their Lightsabers at the ready, but Flash suddenly had a thought. "How flammable is this gas?" They turned to him. "Just don't wanna blow myself up by using my Lightsaber?"

"Give me a moment," Springer beeped and booped. "I detect no flammable gas in the vicinity. You should be able to use your Lightsabers." They nodded and continued down the tunnel, the lights hanging above them flickering as they made their way through it.

As they walked, Flash was right behind Skybreaker and remembered his strange anatomy.

Slowly down a little Flash leaned over to Iron and whispered. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, but this is bugging me. What..." Iron rolled his eyes.

"What species is Master Skybreaker?" He spoke out loud, catching his master's attention and making Flash gasp. "You don't have to be secretive about it. He's not gonna get upset if you ask." Flash blushed as Skybreaker turned to him.

"Master Skybreaker is a hybrid," Shining explained. "His mother was a human and his father was an avian."

"Oh," Flash nodded. "Wait, I thought children of mixed races usually came out either the mother's species of the father's?"

"Nine times out of ten, they do." Skybreaker smirked as he spread his wings. "But on a rare occasion, you get a blending of their two species to make an entirely new one. Which is what I am. A hybrid."

"Cool," Springer smirked. "So you get the best of both worlds? Avian wings and human...feet?"

"Yeah," Shining sighed as he looked at his hooved boots. "Really wish evolution hadn't left us with these things. Our ancestors could develop wings and powerful horns, but couldn't find a better way for us to run without tripping up." The others snickered at this, as they continued down the tunnel.

After a while, they came to a folk in the road and Skybreaker checked the map. But Springer spoke up first. "The left tunnel will lead us to the closest area an attack happened." They nodded and headed down, Springer continuing to tell them which way to go.

They decided to just let Springer lead the way and after a few minutes, they arrived at the area the attack took place. And the whole area looked like a robot graveyard. There were droid parts all over the place. Most of them were common parts every droid normally had, but others were a few specific parts that weren't commonly seen on droids.

"Geez," Flash picked up a severed arm. "Whoever did this wasn't holding back."

"But where are the rest of the droids?" Iron asked. "The king hasn't sent anyone to retrieve the parts, so they should still be here. But they're not."

"He's right," Skybreaker nodded. "That must mean whoever's doing these attacks are taking the parts somewhere else." This made them raise an eyebrow, since relgarians weren't supposed to tech savvy. "And the fact that they didn't take all the droids also raises a point. Either they left what they couldn't carry, or they only took what they needed."

"Needed for what?" Flash asked.

"That's the question," Skybreaker nodded before telling them they had to head to the next area.

They continued through the tunnels until they arrived at another area of an attack, which was also full of robot parts. The same kinds of parts left behind at the other spot. "Okay," Shining picked the droid's leg up. "This can't be a coincidence. Something is attacking these droids for specific parts."

"But why?" Springer asked. As he said that, the four Jedi suddenly sensed something. "What's wrong?" He watched the four get into a battle ready pose.

"Something's here," Flash told him. "It's getting closer." Springer wondered what it could be and summoned the blaster from out of his nose. Increasing the power to his hover skirt, he floated up so his head was level with Flash's.

They stared at the many entrances into the area they were in, unable to tell exactly where the approaching creature was coming from.

But then, something came flying out of a tunnel and flew straight towards him. "WOW!" Springer fired a laser and hit the rock, destroy it. But more rocks began flying out of the other tunnels, the Jedi using their weapons to block them. Both Skybreaker and Iron spun their weapons around, their hands moving at a flurry with incredible skill and precision.

Flash and Shining stood back to back, their Lightsabers up in front of them as they slashed away at the rocks. Eventually, they all stopped and the Jedi glared at the tunnels. "Who's there!?" Shining cried, not expecting anyone to speak up.

But then, a rumbling filled the air and something rushed out of a tunnel. It was a relgarian, who roared as he raised his large fists into the air. He then leapt at them and Skybreaker held up a hand. The next thing the relgarian knew, it was floating in the air.

"Raaaah!" Skybreaker pushed him back and the creature was thrown into a nearby wall, but more relgarians began to rush into the chamber with rocks in hand and looking ready to do some damage. "Wait!" Skybreaker cried, as one of them threw a rock at him. He easily caught it with The Force and put it down, whilst the others continued to point their Lightsabers at them in preparation of an attack. "Let's not fight. We just wanna talk!"

"NO TALK!" One roared before slamming its fist onto the ground. When it did, the entire room shook and even caused the ground to start cracking.

The other relgarians saw this and started slamming their fists into the ground, making the floor crack more and more. Springer and the Jedi realised the ground beneath them had to be hollow, likely another mine or something, and with every hit they found themselves losing footing.

"Stop!" Iron cried, but it was too late. One of them slammed the fist down extra hard, causing the whole place to crumble apart.

Skybreaker spread his wings and flew, grabbing Iron as he did, whilst Springer remained hovering. But Shining and Flash weren't so lucky and found themselves falling into the hole that was caused. The pair screamed as they disappeared, dust and smoke filling the air and blinding the rest of them.

"We gotta get out of here!" Springer cried, as the relgarians had jumped up and somehow grabbed onto the ceiling in order to escape falling. But they were also blind and didn't see the three, as Springer lead them to the closest shaft that also lead downwards.

"This isn't good," Iron frowned. "Looks like the relgarians are to blame after all."

"We don't know that for sure," Skybreaker stated as they turned a corner and he dropped his Padawan. "Never make an assumption until you have all the facts. Let's just focus on finding Flash and Shining." The nodded and went off to search for their missing friends.

Down below, Flash and Shining groaned as they picked themselves up.

"You okay?" Shining asked, Flash nodding. "Hold still, better check to make sure you suit's not damaged." Flash let him inspect the helmet, eventually stating there was no damage. At least any he could see. "How's my helmet?" Flash also inspected his, nodding when he saw nothing but a few scuffs.

"You should be fine," he stated. "But what was that all about?"

"Wish I knew," Shining told him. "Those relgarians attacked us for no reason. Could be a misunderstanding, could be something more. We'll have to get back to the others and try to figure it out."

"If we can," Flash looked at the tunnel they had just fallen through. The whole thing was blocked off with rocks, making returning through it impossible. "Now what?"

"Good question. Springer and Skybreaker had the maps. We'll have to hope we find a way out of here before our suits run out of power." Flash nodded and they began to make their way up the closest tunnel in search of an exit.

Whenever they came to a folk in the road they would take the one that seemed to lead upwards. But whenever they did, they found the tunnels they lead to always headed back downwards. "We're lost, aren't we?"

"We were always lost," Shining told him. "Now we're just...more lost." Flash frowned as Shining looked around a corner. "Would you relax. This isn't the first time I've been lost."

"Oh, that's comforting."

"This happens a lot to a Jedi. It's our duty to protect the galaxy. That means going into places that you can easily get lost in. You wanted to be a Seeker and Seeker explore the unknown."

"I get that," Flash nodded. "But I didn't expect my first mission to go completely wrong right from the start."

"There'll always be complications on a mission," Shining explained. "It's how you deal with those unexpected situations that test the true measure of a Jedi." As he said that, a noise caught their attention and made them look around another corner to see something coming at them.

It was a droid. A mining droid that had a pickax for one arm, a shovel for another and a large stomach that looked like it opened. It was about ten feet tall and instead of legs, had tank treads on the sides. It was currently digging into the wall, the Jedi stepping out and wondering what it was doing down there.

But before they could ask, the droid stopped digging and turned to them.

As soon as it did, its single robotic eye turned from blue to red. It then moved its body and pointed its tools at them, the Jedi staring at it suspiciously. The next thing they knew, it shot forward at high speed and swung the shovel towards them.

"Wow!" Flash ducked under the tool, barely managing to avoid getting his head split open. At the same time, the pickaxe arm suddenly transformed into a drill. A drill that started spinning and tried to impale Shining. But he leapt back whilst Flash rolled under the droid's arm.

As soon as the pair were on either side of its, they ignited their Lightsabers and charged. The droid's upper body started spinning around around, morphing it into a tornado with a very sharp edge.

Both held up their blades and stepped forward, until the edges of the tornado touched the Lightsabers. Sparks flew as they made contract, the laser swords quickly melting the steel until the drill and shovel were gone.

The droid stopped spinning and stared at its now weaponless arms, the Jedi pointing their weapons at it. "Stand down!" Shining announced, but the droid opened its chest and started spinning again. Rocks flew out of it, big enough to do serious damage at the speed they were moving. Luckily, Flash and Shining were able to deflect these rocks with their Lightsabers. And once the rocks were used up, Flash ran forward and swung his blade into the droid's neck.

The head went flying through the body and Shining quickly caught it whilst the body went completely dead, the Jedi sighing as the extinguished their blades. "What the heck was that?" Flash asked. "That was not a droid malfunctioning."

"You're right," Shining nodded. "The way it was attacking was too focused to be a random glitch." Flash moved over and took the head from him, opening it up and beginning to look through the circuitry. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"I spent two years making a living by fixing droids," Flash replied as he took something out of the head. "Before that, I built Springer and helped build half the equipment on the forest moon out of junk. I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing."

Shining nodded. "Come to think of it, where did you get Springer? K-9 Multi-Droids were a limited edition droid model."

"He was in a box inside the cruiser. Probably being delivered to someone on another planet as a toy. I found him and worked on him in my spare time. Managed to get him working about a year before we left the planet. Glad I did. I don't think I'd have survived Shikoya if Springer hadn't been there. Definitely wouldn't have gotten into that mine and found you if he hadn't."

Shining understood that. Every good thing in Flash's life was given to him through sheer chance. If even one thing had been a little different, his life could have been infinitely different.

"Hey," Shining told him, "you're not alone anymore. Even without Springer, you've got us. The Jedi Order is a family and no matter what, we'll be there for you." Flash smiled at him, as he found something in the droid.

"Hello." He pulled a chip out. "This shouldn't be in here." Shining took it to look over.

"This is a combat droid chip," Shining stated. "Why would it be in a mining droid? It might have surprised us, but against seasoned warriors this thing wouldn't be much of an issue."

"Maybe," Flash hummed, "but maybe the targets aren't seasoned warriors." The two hummed at this, as they tried to figure out what the heck was going on in this mine.

But before they could think of anything, movement caught their attention and made them look around. As several more droids came around the corner. And as soon as they saw them, their eyes glowed red and they pointed their tools at the pair menacingly.

The Jedi stood tall and prepared for a fight.

Back above, Iron and Skybreaker were following Springer through the tunnels in an attempt to find their lost friends.

As they did, Skybreaker held up a bracelet around his wrist. "Shining Armor. Can you hear me? Come on, answer me." But there was no answer. Just static. "Damn it! The rock in this mine is too thick to get a signal through." He tried to change the frequency, but it wasn't easy with the force-field suits around their body.

"There's a tunnel that should lead us down to where Flash and Shining fell." But as they turned a corner, Springer's statement caused them to stop. "No!" The tunnel was blocked off, the ceiling having caved in and blocked it off. "You two think you can move it?"

Iron stepped over to the wall and placed a hand on it, focusing as he tried to figure out what was behind it. "The pile's several meters thick. And if we just pull the rocks off, we could bring the rest of the roof down on us. It'd take hours to get through there."

"We don't have hours," Skybreaker sighed. "If those relgarians attack us again, this isn't the best place to be pinned between. We might not have any choice. We'll have to go back to the surface and hope the king knows of a way to find them."

Iron sighed. "We do need to explain what we found."

"You wanna just leave them down here?" Springer asked, looking shocked.

"We can't help them from down here," Skybreaker told him. "Our best bet is to try and use the Shooting Star's systems to locate them. And we also need to tell the king about the relgarian attack. He might be able to figure out a way to make peace and if he does, he can start searching for them without needing to worry about being attacked.

Springer sighed, but knew he was right. As such, they headed back towards the elevator. But as they turned a corner, they found themselves coming face to face with a bunch of relgarians.

They did not look happy, all carrying rocks and other weapons to fight with. "Ah," Skybreaker stated. Iron activated his weapon and Springer pointed his blaster at them. "Wait. If we harm them, it could make ending this situation a lot harder." But then, a relgarian charged and leapt into the air.

He raised a giant fist, clearly wanting to smash it down on the Jedi. But before they could, Iron raised his hand and grabbed him in midair. "Stay down!" He thrust his hand forward and the ape creature was thrown back towards the others, knocking them all down.

"A little excessive," Skybreaker told him. "Come on!" They ran up the tunnel towards the elevator, hoping they didn't run into any more relgarians along the way.

The creatures picked themselves up and ran after then, their better speed making it to they were quickly closing the gap.

However, as they approached the elevator's tunnel, the relgarians seemed to be slowing down. "What's wrong with them?" Iron asked, the others looking back and seeing them appear to look out of breath. Then, Skybreaker looked down at his gauge and saw it was well into the green.

There's barely any toxic gas in this area. They need that to breath, so of course they'd be having trouble chasing after us." They arrived at the elevator and to their relief, it was still there. "Get in!" He opened it up so Iron and Springer could get in, the hybrid stepping in and turning to them. "This doesn't have to end like this."

The relgarians didn't get any closer, too exhausted and lacking the gas to continue. One tried to throw a rock at them, but Skybreaker closed the doors before it could land and the whole room rattles at the impact. Unfortunately, the elevator couldn't go up yet.

The reason was because the air inside the elevator was still toxic, forcing it to pump said air back into the tunnel. They waited and as they did, the elevator kept shaking due to the rocks continuing to slam against it. They feared they would break the air tight seal on the elevator, preventing it from going up. But finally, the elevator was cleansed and they were soon lifted up into the tunnel leading the the tarra's surface.

"That was way too close," Iron stated. Skybreaker nodded and once the new, clean, air was pumped into the elevator, he deactivated his helmet and the force-field vanished.

Iron did the same and as they flew up towards the surface, they all thought about the relgarians. "I'm positive now the relgarians are behind this attack," Skybreaker stated. "But the question is, why? The relgarians have never be aggressive before so what's changed?" Iron and Springer wondered the same thing, but were also worried Flash and Shining might be in serious trouble if they didn't find them fast.

Back below, Flash and Shining continued to fight against the killer mining droids.

The pair were cutting through the machines like nothing, the robots no match for the pair's fighting skills. They slashed through the metal, disarming and beheaded them with ease. But it wasn't overly easy. With the mine's limited space, the two couldn't move as effectively as they wanted to. They also had to be wary of one another's actions, trying their best not to get in each other's way.

Eventually, they dispatched the last of the droids and were running down a tunnel.

But as they turned a corner, Shining suddenly found himself running off the edge of a vertical shaft. "WOW!" He tried to stop, but couldn't in time to prevent his momentum from pushing him over the edge. He let out a cry and was about to fall, only for his hand to be grabbed.

"Gotcha!" Flash had caught him and was currently leaning over the edge, clearly barely being able to keep himself from falling the rest of the way. "Hold on!" Shining panted as he felt himself leaning against the wall of the shaft, the force-field around his body causing him to constantly bounce off the wall.

Shining quickly threw his Lightsaber up and over the edge, allowing him a free hand to grasp the wall along with his hooves. Unfortunately, hooves weren't exactly the best tool for climbing up the side of a cliff. "Next time there's a meeting about this gear, I'm going to suggest built in grappling guns."

"I'd ask for an anti-gravity options myself," Flash joked as he pulled Shining up with every ounce of strength he had. The pair grunted and groaned until, finally, Shining was able to grab onto the edge and hoist himself up.

The pair fell to the ground, panting as they stared up at the ceiling.

Once they got their breath back, Shining turned to his apprentice. "Thanks."

"No problem," Flash replied. "I gotcha back. That's what Padawans are for, right?" Shining sighed as he sat up, retrieving his Lightsaber as he turned towards the hole that lead to the shaft. He looked over to the other side and saw the hole was about five meters wide.

"You can handle that jump, right?" Flash looked to the other side and nodded.

"Heck yeah. I did jumps where further then that in training." Shining nodded and they both stepped back, letting The Force surround them before they rushed forward and jumped.

They flew over the hole and landed, Flash even doing a cool flip as they moved through the air. Once on the other side, they realized the tunnel was getting darker. The lights in this area weren't as bright.

After checking their gloves, seeing the gauge for the gas was close to the yellow, they decided to keep going since they needed to let those on the surface know about the droids being tampered with.

They used their Lightsabers for extra light and continued to search for a tunnel leading upwards. But no matter where they went, there tunnels either kept going straight and lead down deeper into the mine. "Can anyone hear me?" Shining was trying his bracelet communicator, but there was no signal so deep underground.

As they turned another corner, they came across another robot massacre. The droids were completely smashed to bits, but there seemed to be something more. "Is this...blood?" Flash ran his hand over the wall, which was stained red with something.

"Looks like it," Shining examined a droid part. "Weird. I don't remember this area on the map. In fact, this area stopped being mined years ago."

"You sure?"

"That's what the info said," Shining nodded. As he said that, he heard a whistling sound and stood tall. "You hear that?" Flash nodded and they followed the sound, being ready for anything that might come at them. And as they followed it, they noticed a light up ahead. It wasn't a very strong light, but it was strong enough to be noticeable in the dark tunnel.

They quickly found the reason behind the sound was a large hole in the tunnel wall, which was an opening out of the mine.

Stepping out of the hole, Flash and Shining found themselves outside the mountain. They were still a few meters in the air, standing on a ledge, but there was a path leading down to the base.

The toxic vapour filled the air, their gauges going a good way into the yellow as they stood there. But seeing no other choice, they began to head down the path in search of a place Shining could get a signal. As they approached the ground, Flash noticed some kind of grass was on the rocky landscape, being a brownish green colour and looking rather overgrown.

"Can anybody hear me?" Shining spoke into his communicator. But still, there was no return call. "Dang it. They must still be in the mine."

"Either that or this gas is somehow blocking the signal," Flash guessed as they reached the bottom of the mountain. Once there, Flash knelt down and brushed his hand through the grass. "Never felt grass like this before."

"It's had to evolve in order to survive down here." Shining tapped the side of his helmet. "Most of these plants would probably die the second we take them out of this atmosphere. The same way the relgarians can't breathe our air.

"Speaking of relgarians." Flash looked worried. "Do you think there might be some of them out here?"

"Probably," Shining nodded. "Which is why we've gotta get out of here as soon as possible." He looked back towards the terra and tried to see if there was a path that lead up the mountain. But after the ledge they had come out on, there was now outcrop higher. "We'll have to try and find a different way to get a signal." He turned to walk off, Flash following. "There's another mountain not too far from here. Hopefully, it'll be more climbable."

However, as they continued from the fog-filled environment, the pair suddenly found the ground vanishing out of nowhere.

"Huh?" They both looked down, only to find themselves falling a good few feet before crashing into the ground. "AUGH!" They groaned as they picked themselves up, glab their helmets had managed to protect themselves. "What's this doing here?"

"Captured!" They looked up and saw a bunch of relgarians staring down at them. "We catch Jedi. Jedi caught."

"Seriously?" Flash stood up, "they thought this would keep us in place."

"Nice try," Shining told them. "Now release us or we'll be forced to hurt you."

"Jedi stupid. Hole escapable not!" The Jedi shared a look before both leaping straight up, managing to get up out of the hole without issue. "What?" The pair ignited their Lightsabers and landed, both standing at a battle ready position. The relgarians charged, several pulling rocks and trees up to use as weapons.

The pairs swung their blades around and cut right through them, shocking the relgarians before Flash used The Force to push one into the hole. Shining did the same with another and they both worked together in order to hole the third.

The relgarians cried out, all crashing into the ground within the hole and moaning as they laid there.

The Jedi stepped up to the hole and stared down into it, giving them a serious expression. "Now then," Shining told them. "Why don't we have a little chat about why you've been attacking us." But before the relgarians could say anything, the sound of a laser filled the air and Shining was suddenly going stiff. "AUGH!" He fell to the ground, his entire body going numb.

"Shining!" He turned to the source of the laser, only to get him himself. "GYAH!" He fell to his knees before hitting the ground, moaning as he felt himself beginning to black out. And as he did, someone stepped over to him. Someone who appeared to be wearing a hazmat suit and breathing mask.

"I don't think so," they spoke with a muffled feminine voice.

"Shiroara!" One of the relgarians cried, as the three pulled themselves out of the hole. Flash let that name sink it and focused on the face mask, where he saw a pink strand of hair and two spots on the mask that were poking out. It was then he realised who had just shot him.

"Princess Shiroara?" Flash moaned, "what...are..." He couldn't say anymore, instead blacking out as he heard the princess speak to the other relgarians.

"Take them back to the village. We can't let them interfere." The last thing Flash noticed before losing consciousness was that he was being picked up, but couldn't understand what was going on. Why had the princess attacked them? Why were the relgarians listening to her?

His first mission was like nothing he expected. Flash could only hope that he would figure out what was going on before it was too late.

Chapter 7

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The Vapiren Terra of Fogra, a terra under the control of King Benirus and a mining kingdom whose main product were the various different metals and ores found there.

Currently, said terra was suffering a few issues due to their mining operation being disrupted. Jedi had been called in to investigate the situation and currently, half of those Jedi were riding an elevator leading up to the kingdom's surface. Skybreaker, Iron and the droid Springer were still reeling from what had just happened, the three having been attacked by relgarians and forced to flee. It didn't help that they had also lost two of their team.

"We have to speak to the king straight away," Skybreaker announced. "If we don't, who knows what'll happen to Flash and Shining." But as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, they found they weren't the only ones inside the building.

A bunch of single horned vapirens were currently getting into gas suits to protect themselves from the toxic gas inside the mine. One of them, was the Fogra Chief of Security. Calvaris. "Ah," he spotted them, "you're back." He then noticed the smaller number. "Where are the other two?"

"We need to talk to the king," Skybreaker stated. "We know what's attacking the mining droids."

"Good, you can tell me then. What is it? Is another terra trying to ruin us so they can steal all our business?"

"No," Iron stated. "It's the relgarians. They're the ones that attacked the droids and they attacked us as well."

"Well we don't know that for sure," Springer hovered up. "All we now is they attacked us. We shouldn't go jumping to conclusions. For all we know, them attacking us and the droids being destroyed could be completely separate."

"Even so," Calvaris put on his suit and lifted up a rifle. "If the relgarians are attacking, they need to be shown why they need to stay out of our mines."

"I've been wondering that," Skybreaker spoke up. "You said the relgarians live on the surface outside the mines. So how did they get in? From what I read in the info you gave us, the gas vents shouldn't be big enough for them to climb through. And they don't have the technical knowledge to make something that could dig through such a strong rock. How'd they get in."

"I don't know," Calvaris stated. "And I don't need to know. I'm going down there with these men and stopping them before they bankrupt our kingdom." He pushed past the Jedi and the soldiers started filing into the elevator. Once they were all inside, the doors closed and the lift was sent down into the mine.

"That guy's gonna get those men killed," Skybreaker stated. "Come on. We need to talk to the king." They nodded and headed out. "Springer, I've got a different job for you." Springer turned to him. "Go to the ship and use it to try and boost the signal to Shining's com. Or better yet, get a lock on his location."

"Got it," Springer nodded as they headed off in different directions. As they did, they hoped they could find Flash and Shining before it was too late.

What they didn't realise, was that Flash and Shining weren't actually in the mine anymore.

Flash let out a moan as he opened his eyes, his vision a little blurry but slowly stabilising as he centred himself. When he did, he realised he was in some kind of cone-shaped tent. A large wooden post was in the centre of it, which Flash was currently chained to.

He heard another moan and looked around the post, where he saw Shining sitting on the other side with his hands chained above his head as well. "Shining. You okay? Wake up?"

"Flash?" Shining began to look around, realising where they were. "Well, this isn't good."

"You don't say," Flash groaned.

"What happened? Last thing I remember, we'd just caught a trio of relgarians in their own trap."

"Yeah. Then you got hit by some kind of stun weapon."

"Great. These force-fields can protect against gas and radiation, but not getting hit by an energy bullet. The designer and I are gonna be having some serious words when we get out of this. But how long have we been out?" Flash didn't know, looking up at his power gauge and seeing around twelve and a half hours remained.

"Not too long. But..." Flash suddenly remembered who it was that shot them. "Princess Shiroara!"

"What about her?"

"She's the one working with the relgarians. She shot us." Shining hummed at this, then looked up at the metal shackles currently locking them against the wooden post.

"Any sign of our Lightsabers?" Flash looked around, but couldn't see a thing in the tent. Either the relgarians constructed it just for them, or they emptied the place out before putting them in there.

Flash was about to give up, but then he noticed a part of the tent looked a little loose. The tent was made of leather and the wooden post, but it had metal pegs hammered into the ground. And one of those pegs were half sticking out of the ground.

Taking a deep breath, Flash focused on the peg and reached out with The Force. As he did, the peg started shaking and slowly rocked itself out of the ground and the whole in the tent. And finally, it came flying towards Flash and he caught it. "Yes!" He reached up and started fiddling with the lock. But before he could unlock it, a clicking sound made him look around and see Shining's shackles fall off him. "How did you-"

"A little trick I learned from another Jedi master," Shining stood up. "If you know how it works, you can use The Force to pick a lock without needing any tools. I'll try and teach you it if we managed to get out of this alive." Flash rolled his eyes, as Shining undid his manacles.

Once the pair were free, they headed out of the tent once they were sure nobody was around. And when they did, they found they were still inside the badlands of Vapire. The fog still filled the air and there were many tents located around them.

They rushed towards the next closest tent, looking inside and seeing it was empty. They headed to the next tent and heard cries, making them glance in and see a baby relgarians laying on the ground weeping. They rushed away before a parent showed up and as they did, they heard a bunch of clattering and banging.

Following the noise, they weaved through the tents until they came to an area in the very centre of the village they were in. And when they reached it, they found an open area with many different droid parts piled up on top of the other.

Many relgarians were throwing the parts onto the pile, whilst a table could be seen at the very bottom of it. A table that Princess Shiroara was standing at as she took a droid apart.

"No," she groaned as she past the droid to a relgarian to throw on the pile. She brought up another droid and started digging through it, Flash and Shining sharing a look and wondering what she was doing. "No!" She let out a cry of annoyance, throwing the droid onto the ground. "None of them have one."

A relgarian stepped over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We find one. Just keep looking till find one."

Shiroara sighed as she opened up another but didn't find what she was looking for in that one either. "We need to find it and fast. If we don't, who knows what'll happen."

Flash and Shining shared a look. "What are they looking for?"

"I'm not sure," Shining replied. "But it can't be good. We need to get our Lightsabers and get out of here fast." But as he said that, they sensed something and looked around to see a relgarian had stepped up behind them and spotted the pair.

It growled at them before raising its arms and smashing them down towards the pair, who both leapt back as the large fists smashed into the ground and caused it to break apart. This caught the other's attention and made them look up, spotting the pair and all getting into a fighting stance.

"Who released them?" Shiroara cried, as several relgarians rushed ahead and attempting to punch the pair. But both leapt straight up and landed on the head of some relgarians, using them to bounce out of the surrounding crowd.

As they did, Flash spotted their Lightsabers on the table next to Shiroara. He quickly raised his hand and summoned them both to him, Shiroara attempting to grab them before he could. But she wasn't fast enough and Flash quickly tossed Shining's weapon back towards him, Shining catching it as the pair ignited the blades and landed on the edge of the relgarian horde.

Shiroara staggered away from them and reached down to grab her stun blaster, but Shining wasn't going to fall for that and used The Force to pull the blaster away from her. And before it reached him, he used his Lightsaber to cut the weapon in half. "Nobody move!" He then cried, pointed his sword at the relgarians attempting to get close to him. "Now we want some answers."

"Why are you destroying the mining droids?" Flash asked. "And why did you attack us." He turned to the princess. "And why are you working with them?"

"I'm not telling you anything," Shiroara stated. "We can't let them escape." The relgarians charged Shining swinging his blade attempting to scare them away. But the relgarians weren't buying that he would actually cut them and charged, Shining turning to Flash and gesturing for him to run.

He nodded and the pair began to run, the relgarians right on their tail as they tried to find a way to outrun them. But they were just too fast and there didn't appear to be any bridges or some convenient means of escape they could use.

But as they kept running, they noticed something in the mist. A figure.

"Who's that?" Flash asked, as they kept running towards it. The relgarians also saw it and skidded to a stop, letting out several roars of rage.

"Whoever it is, these guys clearly don't like them." The figure finally got closer enough for them to see what it was, shock appearing on their faces at the sight of a mining droid. "What the heck is that thing doing here?" The droid reached them and swung his body around, trying to cut their heads off using its shovel.

The pair ducked under the shovel as the machine continued rolling forwards at high speed, its pick-axe being replaced by a drill that it started thrusting at the relgarians.

The gas breathers roared as they leapt back, unable to fight against this machine which started spinning again to transform into a tornado. And as it did, it headed back towards the village. "Protect home!" One yelled, the lot rushing towards the droid and attempting to throw rocks and trees at it.

Flash and Shining was completely shocked by this, but knew they had to do something to help these creatures. So they ran forward and as they did, Shiroara came into view and gasped. "Try and disable it without causing too much damage. It'll have what we need." The relgarians tried to knock it over, but the droid was able to stay upright and attacked one of the tents.

Flash and Shining finally reached it, Flash being the first to reach it as it detected his presence. He then jumped down to his knees and skidded along the ground, using his Lightsaber to slash at its arms and cut them off. At the same time, Shining leapt above the droid and thrust his Lightsaber into its head.

The droid let out several whirring noises as it's electronic brain was melted, whilst Shining kept moving through the air and causing the Lightsaber to cut through more of it. The machine began to shake and rattle until its body went completely dead, Shining landing on the ground next to it and pulling the sword from the droid.

The relgarians stared at the destroyed machine, whilst Shiroara rushed up to it. "No, no, no, NOOO!" She inspected the machine and found its head was completely fried. "You idiots! You better hope what I'm looking for is in its chest." She opened up the area that held rocks and ore, opening up a panel inside of it and digging through its circuitry. "It's not there."

"What's not there?" Flash asked, "what the heck are you looking for?" Shiroara turned to glare at them, but Shining stopped forward and spoke first.

"We just saved all your hides, not to mention your village. Now we want some answers or else."

Shiroara looked like she wanted to argue, but a relgarian stepped up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We tell them. Maybe help, like Shiroara."

"They're Jedi. They don't want to help. They just want their mining operation to continue."

"Well, you clearly know nothing about Jedi." Flash crossed his arms. "If there's something happening here, we want to know about it. Our duty is to help and if something more is happening here, we're honorbound to assist." Shining nodded at this, agreeing wholeheartedly as Shiroara seemed unsure.

"Just tell us what's happening," Shining replied. "And afterwards, if you don't think we believe you, feel free to attack us. Just know, we will be defending ourselves if you try."

Shiroara sighed. "Alright."

Back in the city, Skybreaker and Iron had gained an audience with King Benirus and had explained everything to him.

"The relgarians attacking?" Benirus repeated. "That's...that doesn't make any sense. What would they have to gain from stopping our mining efforts? We've been living in harmony with one another for generations."

"There's no telling why they're attacking," Skybreaker stated. "Our droid also brought up a good point. They might have attacked us, but there's no guarantee they attacked the droids. We never actually saw them attack any droids."

Iron nodded. "But the damage done to them, certainly look like they were smashed apart by a powerful punch of hit by a rock."

"I must contact the relgarians chiefs," Benirus stated. But then he sighed. "But I don't want to go accusing them of something without proof. There are many tribes down in the badlands. If I accuse one of them of attacking us, every tribe could be outraged and our relations could be severely strained."

"Maybe," Skybreaker nodded. "But you also can't let them continue doing this. If they think they can get away with it, they're not gonna stop. You need to put an end to this, before it's too late."

Benirus nodded, standing up and turning to Shelora. "Bring me the communication pad for the relgarians." The maid nodded and headed out of the room, Benirus turning to the Jedi. "I hope I can smooth things out between us and the relgarians. I'd hate to have to send Calvaris down into the mine in order to attack." This statement confused the Jedi, both tilting their heads.

"But...he's already gone down into the mines."

"What?" Benirus looked shocked by this. "I never gave him permission to do that. He was supposed to wait until you returned and gave your report."

"Well he went down," Iron replied. "And he took a bunch of heavily armed soldiers with him. They looked ready for a fight." Benirus frowned, clearly not happy about this development. He would need to have a word with his security chief.

But as he thought that, Shelora returned with a confused expression. "My apologies, your majesty. But the pad we use to talk to the relgarians is missing." The three turned to her. "It's not in its normal location. I looked all over, but it doesn't appear to have been placed around the area it should be in."

"What is going on?" Benirus asked. "Did someone else take it? What would they want to talk to the relgarians about?" Iron and Skybreaker were also curious, but also had other worries to think about. Mostly, Flash and Shining's loss in the mine. They needed to be found and quickly.

Back on the Shooting Star, Springer was hard at work trying to find Flash and Shining.

He had increased the signal to their coms and was scanning the area below the ship for said signal, but nothing appeared. "Come on," he groaned as he messed with the settings. "This ship's scanners should be able to pick you up from the other side of the planet. Why can't it find you?"

"Springer?" The droid hoped that was Flash, but then realized it was Skybreaker. Please tell me you've found some sign of Flash and Shining."

"Sorry," Springer told him. "I've got the scanner on high, but it's not detecting Flash or Shining anywhere inside the mine."

"I see. Then you need to change your tactics." Springer wondered what he meant by that. "Try doing a scan of the area around the mine. It's possible they found a way out and are in the badlands. If they are, we need to get them out before the relgarians find them."

"Alright. What did the king say?" Skybreaker told him he would explain later and to focus on Flash and Shining. As such, the droid connected to the flight controls of the ship and used it to take off. As he did, he reconfigured the scanner to increase range in exchange for strength. Hopefully, Flash and Shining were only on the surface. If they had followed the mine's paths to an area below the badlands, he might not be able to find them.

Back down in the cloud, Flash and Shining were now sitting in a large tent, Shiroara and the relgarians sitting around them.

Shiroara stared them down, as she started explaining. "I've been friends with the relgarians since I was young. Whilst my brother simply continued our peace agreement, I wanted to get to know them." She held something up. A tablet. "So whenever I had the chance, I'd sneak this communication pad out of its usual place and message them. After a few years of this, the relgarians invited me to come visit."

"So you've been sneaking out of the castle and found a way down here without anyone noticing?" Shining asked, with Shiroara nodding. "Okay. But what does this have to do with the relgarians attacking the mines and that droid?"

"That droid isn't the first one to come here," Shiroara stated. "The first came about two months ago. It rampaged through the village and did serious damage to the place until the relgarians managed to take it down."

"Seriously?" Flash was starting to wonder if these things had a design flaw.

"That was only the first. More droids started showing up. Every time they did, the relgarians barely managed to stop it. Eventually, they followed the tracks of one back to the source. Our mine."

"So they're attacking these droids to stop them from attacking them?" Shining asked. "I guess it's understandable then. But why did they attack us? Why not just contact the king and tell him what's been going on?"

"I tried," Shiroara told them. "I spoke to Calvaris about it and he said he would look into it. He did and found none of our droids were missing, so it couldn't have been us. But I felt like he was hiding something. When I tried to tell my brother, he stopped me saying Benirus had more important things to worry about."

"So you're saying Calvaris might be behind this?" Flash asked.

"I don't know," Shiroara sighed. "I've known him my whole life. I don't want to believe that the man who's been protecting our terra for so long, would do something that might bring us into conflict. That's why we've been doing this."

"What does attacking the droids and us accomplish?" Shining asked.

"I wanted to inspect the droids. I thought maybe someone had added something to our droids to make them hostile towards the relgarians. But Calvaris has had them strictly guarded ever since I spoke to him. The only time they've not been watched was when they were sent into the mines."

Shining nodded. "Okay, I get it now. You've been knocking out the droids and bringing them here to study, hoping to find something that would explain why they've been attacking you."

"Exactly," Shiroara nodded. "But every droid we've found looks completely normal. I hoped we could capture the one that attacked us to dissect. But, you two completely destroyed it and now we have no idea what's causing them to go out of control."

The Jedi actually felt a little bad about this. However, Flash suddenly remembered something and turned to Shining. "We got attacked by a droid in the mines." Shining realised he was right and reached into his pocket, pulling out the combat droid chip they had removed from their attempted killer.

"You found this inside one of our droids?" Shiroara asked, the pair having explained where they had gotten it from. "Then this is the proof. If we show this to my brother, there's no way he'll be able to deny what's going on. He'll start to investigate the droids."

"Maybe," Shining frowned, "but that doesn't explain how the heck these chips got into some of the droids. Someone had to have placed them into the droids. Do you think it could be Calvaris?"

"I hope not," Shiroara sighed. "But I can't say it's not a possibility. I'm sure my brother will be able to figure it out." She gestured into the fog. "My transport's just over there. We can use it to get out of here and talk to my brother." The pair nodded but as they were about to follow her, Shining's com system suddenly beeped.

"Hello? Flash? Shining?" It was Springer, Shining laughing as he held up his gauntlet.

"Springer, is that you?"

"Yeah. You managed to get out of the mine?"

"You bet," Flash nodded. "Where are you right now? We could use a lift."

"Way ahead of you." Some of the fog was suddenly blown away, causing the relgarians to cough and rush back into it, as the Shooting Star flew down from above.

Flash and Shining smirked and watched the ramp come down, both turning to Shiroara with Flash picking her up. The two leapt up into the ship before it quickly took off, heading back towards the terra. Once inside the ship, they all took off their suits. Flash and Shining gasped at getting to breath actual air, removing their helmets whilst Shiroara had to struggle out of her hazmat suit.

They headed into the cockpit and found Springer along at the controls. "You two okay?" He asked as they left the clouds. "We were worried you might have died or something."

"We're good," Flash assured him. "Thanks for finding us."

"Thank Master Skybreaker," Springer replied. "He told me to search the areas around the mine. How'd you get out of there anyway?"

"We'll explain later," Shining stated. "We have something to show the king."

"Okay. But why is the princess with you?" Shiroara whistled, clearly not wanting to let slip what she had been doing. They headed back to the castle and landed in the hanger once again." Shelora was waiting for them and when she saw Shiroara, her eyes went wide before turning to a glare.

Shiroara laughed and nervous laugh as they were led back to the throne room, where Iron, Skybreaker and King Benirus were waiting. "Shiroara?" Benirus stared at his sister, "what are you doing here?"

"She was on the Jedi ship," Shelora stated. Benirus' eyes went wide at this, the king giving his sister a shocked look as the girl let out a nervous laugh.

"I can explain." Benirus crossed his arms, waiting for an answer. Iron and Skybreaker gave the other two Jedi a confused look, clearly wanting to know what was going on. "Well...you see..." She tried to think of a way to explain everything that wouldn't get her in trouble.

"She's been helping the relgarians destroy your mining droids." Shiroara gave Flash a horrified look, whilst the others looked shocked. "She's been in secret contact with them for a while and she was the one that got them to start destroying the droids."

"Shiroara?" Benirus turned to her, "is this true?"

"It's a lot more complex than that," the princess told him before glaring at Flash. "Why did you do that?"

"We don't have time for you to beat around the bush." Flash turned back to Benirus, "something's happening with the mining droids. Something other than them getting damaged. When Shining and I were down in the mine, we ran into some of your droids and they tried to kill us."

"It's true," Shining nodded. "We dissected one and found something inside."

"What?" Benirus asked, as Shiroara showed him a chip. He took it and looked the piece of machinery over. "What am I looking at?"

"A combat chip," Flash replied. "Used in battle droids when they need to attack something. If it had one of those within it, even the most peaceful and harmless droid would attempt to kill anyone it saw. And it's been put in a lot of your mining droids."

"You can't be serious," Benirus told him.

"Deadly," Shiroara stated. "That's why the relgarians have been attacking the mines. To find one with a combat chip in order to show you how much danger they're being put in."

"And you knew about this?" Benirus asked, Shiroara nodding. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I tried," Shiroara stated. "But Calvaris wouldn't let me. He said I couldn't waste your time without any proof. So I tried to get proof. And now I have it."

Benirus stared down at the chip, whilst letting this new information sink in. "So the only reason the relgarians attacked our droids was because they were trying to find proof of them being attacked."

"Mostly," Shiroara nodded. "And also to protect themselves. The droids they destroyed didn't have any of these chips inside, but we couldn't know that. Sorry about them destroying so many droids. But we didn't have a choice."

"Yes, you did." Benirus stepped up to the throne and sat down. "You could have come to me. I would have listened to you."

"I told you. Calvaris wouldn't let me." Benirus frowned at this.

"Yes, you did. Did the relgarians at least try to contact us? Our communication for them is missing, but did they at least try and get in contact with us?"

"Communication pad?" Flash turned to Shiroara. "Don't you have that?" Benirus glared at her, as she let out another laugh and slowly held the device out. Shelora took it from her and moved over to hand it to the king, who looked it over and frowned.

"If the relgarians really were being attacked, they should have contacted us and made a statement. We would have looked into it. "

"Calvaris did look into it," Shiroara stated. "He said the attacks had nothing to do with us, but the relgarians tracked one of the attack droids to a hole leading into our mine."

"Sounds like Calvaris is hiding something," Skybreaker stated. "Why else would he not tell the king any of this and head down into the mine?"

"Calvaris is heading into the mine?" Shining asked, the others nodding. "But if he runs into the relgarians, they'll open fire and could start a war."

"We can't let that happen," Benirus stated. "Shelora. Attempt to get in contact with the assault squad and get them back up here right now." Shelora nodded and was about to head out, but stopped when they heard a strange beeping sound.

Said beeping was coming from a communication pad. The one Shiroara had just returned to her brother. The one that was only able to connect to the relgarians. "Why are they contacting us now?" Springer asked, as Benirus answered the communication.

"Shiroara!" A relgarian voice called out. "We being attacked. Soldiers attack village. Booming sticks. Huts on fire. Help!"

"What's going on?" Shiroara asked, but the Jedi had already rushed out of the throne room with Springer. As they did, Benirus frowned.

"Calvaris. What have you done?"

As soon as they were in the ship, Springer got it flying whilst the Jedi began strapping their suits on.

Like an action movie, the four pulled their gloves on, stepped into the metal boots and placed the helmets on their heads. Once the force fields were activated, the Jedi grabbed their Lightsabers and were ready to leap into action when Springer got the ship over the village.

As it descended over the village, the Jedi stepped over to the docking ramp as t began to open.

Down below, the relgarians screamed as the lasers came flying at them.

Their homes were being destroyed, several of their tribesmen had been hit and knocked down and nothing seemed able to stop the invading force of soldiers. "That's it men!" Calvaris stated. "We cannot allow these creatures back into our mine. We will drive them off, or dispose of them once and for all.

"YES SIR!" They all cried, though several had upset looks on their faces. It was clear they didn't want to do this, but it was an order from their commanding officer.

One of the soldiers aimed at a relgarian, who seemed to have chosen to fight. It had just picked up a large rock and threw it towards them, the soldier raising his blaster to destroy it. But when he tried to fire, something happened.

His blaster refused to work. It made several sounds, but no laser launched. "What?" But then he remembered the rock and cried out as he leapt to the side. The rock smashed into the ground, sending rubble flying everywhere.

Many of the soldiers barely managed to escape getting hit by these rocks, as Calvaris ordered them to keep shooting.

The soldier picked up his weapon and looked for signs of damage, but it appeared perfectly fine. What the heck was going on?

He didn't get to wonder this long, as one of the relgarians rushed over to try and crush him with a single punch. But at the last moment, Calvaris appeared and fired at the creature's back. This made it roar and fall to the ground, hurt but still alive.

Calvaris stepped forward and pointed his weapon at the creature. "You won't be harming my citizens again." He was about to shoot him in the face. But then, something happened.

The sound of a ship's engine made them all look up and see the Shooting Star flying down towards them, stopping just high enough so it didn't blow the smoke away and choke the relgarians.

From out of the ship, four figures leapt out and fell towards them. As they did, blue lights appeared by their sides and they soon landed without injury, despite the thirty foot drop they had just done.

The four Jedi stood in a circle, back to back glaring at the soldiers around them. The soldiers looked happy, clearly thinking the Jedi were there to help. But Calvaris looked worried. Horrified, even.

One of the soldiers pointed a blaster at a relgarian and fired, but Iron Core somehow moved in the blink of an eye and got between them. As the blaster fired, he used his Lightsaber Spear to deflect the attack. This shocked the soldiers, who started firing but the other Jedi leapt into action and fought against the laser blasts.

"What are you doing?" One of the soldiers asked, as Skybreaker leapt in front of him and spun his Double-Edge Lightsaber around. The next thing he knew, his and several other blasters were destroyed.

"The Jedi have turned their backs on us!" Calvaris cried, "shoot them down!" They all fired their weapons, but the Jedi easily blocking them all with their blades.

Flash rushed forward as he deflected the blaster fire, then slid on his knees when he got closer and used his sword to cut through the barrels of the blasters. The soldiers cried out as Flash slid behind them, whilst Shining used his blade to do the same to other members of the attack squad.

Skybreaker spun his weapon around, his arms a blur as he sent the shot that he deflected right back at the ones that fired them. But some incredible stroke of skill, or maybe Skybreaker using The Force, each blast ended up hitting the blaster that fired it and destroyed the weapon.

Up on the ship, Springer was watching all of this and spotted a group of soldiers aiming at Iron, who was rushing right at them. And when they tried to fire, the soldiers suddenly found their weapons weren't working. "Huh?" Springer asked, as he watched Iron cut up several guns with his spear's laser blade whilst also using the metal parts to knock some of the guns out of the soldier's hands.

When they were out of their hands, Iron thrust his hand forward and the soldiers were all sent flying backwards.

The Jedi continued to cut their way through the blasters, the soldiers being no match for them. It didn't help that some of their blasters started malfunctioning before the Jedi got to them, making it impossible for them to fire and defend themselves.

The only one whose weapon didn't break was Calvaris, who kept firing at them. One shot almost hit Flash's shoulder, the Padawan leaping to the side and glaring at him. "Hey!" He rushed forward, Calvaris continuing to fire but each shot got deflected. Eventually, Flash leapt into the air and did several spins as his Broadsaber hummed. The next thing Calvaris knew, his blaster had been cut into seventeen individual pieces, which fell to the ground in front of him.

"No!" He cried, as Flash landed behind him. When he did, Flash noticed some rope from one of the destroyed tents and used The Force to grab it. Before Calvaris could respond, the rope wrapped around him and his arms were bound to his side. "Let me go!" Flash soon had him tied up and when the other soldiers saw their commander in trouble, they looked ready to fight to the death. However.

"ENOUGH!" A voice echoed through the air, everyone looking up and seeing a small transport shuttle fly down and land in the middle of the field.

The back of the shuttle soon opened, revealing a pair of figures wearing gas suits. Benirus and Shiroara, both stepped out of the shuttle and looked around and the damage done.

The Shooting Star also landed, Springer flying out as the royals stepped through the fog. Benirus did not look happy, as he spotted Calvaris tied up by the Jedi's hands. Several soldiers rushed over and surrounded them. "Your highness, you can't be here. The Jedi have betrayed us and-"

"Oh, be quiet." Benirus pushed his way through them and stepped over to Flash and Calvaris. He also saw some relgarians walking closer, Shiroara running up to them.

"Are you alright?" She asked them. Several relgarians were looking a little beaten up, but the ones that had been shot were recovering with no signs of permanent injury. "Thank goodness."

"Your majesty!" Calvaris cried, "what are you doing here? The relgarians-"

"Are not our enemy," Benirus held up the combat chip and threw it to the ground in front of him. "They were only attacking our droids because someone turned them into makeshift attack bots."

"Really?" Calvaris asked. "That's...interesting."

"Stop it!" The king cried. "Shiroara told me she told you about this and you ''looked into it''. But all you did was cover your own back." He turned to the Jedi, Shelora used a scanner on the chip and found something. A fingerprint. Calvaris' fingerprint"

"I see," Skybreaker frowned. "He was the one behind all this. He had access to the droids, the authority to make sure nobody walked in on him when he was installing the chips and was able to get rid of any evidence he had tampered with them."

"Yes." Benirus stared down at Calvaris, a look of disappointment and shame on his face. "Why?" He asked. "Why did you do this? Risk war with the relgarians. What possible outcome could you be hoping for?"

Calvaris sighed. "Your majesty. You are a just and loving king. You care about our people and their wellbeing. But not enough to do what is needed." Benirus tilted his head, wondering what he was talking about. "Do you remember last year, when I suggested we improve our terra's security."

"Yes," Benirus nodded. "And I agreed with you. We improved our security. Upgraded the weapons we had and modernised the scanners."

"But you didn't agree to all my suggestions."

"What suggestions?" Shining asked, as Benirus let out a sigh.

"He wanted me to approve a purchase of combat droids. Robots strong enough to fight an army." Flash and Shining remembered how dangerous those mining droids had been, and that was only with a combat droid's chip. If the chip had been in a robot actually designed for fighting, there was no telling what kind of damage it could cause.

"Your majesty," Calvaris stated. "We need more firepower. Our terra is in great danger and if we don't make preparations now, it'll be too late when we need them."

"Need them for what?" Iron asked. "What would you possibly need combat droids for?"

"Our terra is the richest terra on this side of the planet. And that's not just a coincidence. Our mines are still choked full of raw materials. We've been mining for generations and we haven't even scratched the surface. But the other terras aren't so lucky. They're mines are starting to run dry. They've been having a harder and harder time meeting their quota."

"Yes," Benirus nodded. "I remember hearing about this."

"And you remember what I told you when we learned about it. That when they finally run out, they're gonna search for a new mine. And the best mine to take on this side of the planet is ours. They're going to come and take the mine from us."

"I see," Skybreaker nodded. "So you think they'll try and conquer you, take your mine and steal all your business."

"I don't think it. I know it. Once they get desperate enough, they'll attack. And we have to be ready to defend ourselves when that happens."

"That still doesn't explain why you attacked the relgarians," Flash told him. "How would wiping out an entire tribe prepare you for an upcoming invasion." But Springer was the one who answered.

"You were planning on losing this fight." They all turned to Springer, who flew over to one of the guns Flash had destroyed and scanned it. "Yeah, I thought that was strange. The gun was designed to fail. That's why it didn't fire. You sabotaged it." He scanned another one, then another and another. "You made it so all these guns would fail. You wanted to lose this fight and force Benirus to buy the combat droids you wanted."

"Seriously?" Flash asked. "So if we hadn't shown up when we did, all your men would probably have been beaten to death by the relgarians or something." The soldiers that heard this looked shocked, each of them turning to Calvaris as if asking if that was true or not.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few," Calvaris sighed. "Those soldiers will likely be the first to die when the other terras attack. And when that happens, we'll be forced to subscript the civilians into fighting because we don't have enough manpower. But if we had the droids, they could fight instead. These soldier's deaths would allow thousands of innocent people to survive. It had to be done."

Benirus barely seemed to recognise his friend, as he went over everything he had just learned. "You attacked these innocent relgarians, threatening to destroy our relationship with them, so that they would attack our mines. Then you would head down, attack and lead our men into certain death. Then, once you were the only survivor, you would rush back to me and state the only way to stop the relgarians would be to buy the combat droids."

Calvaris sighed, "yes. I'm not proud of this, but it had to be done." He glared at the Jedi, "and it would have worked if you fools had just minded your own business."

"You attacked innocent creatures and threatened to start a war," Iron growled.

"That is our business," Skybreaker nodded.

"Besides," Flash stated. "Even if we didn't come, your plan never would have worked." Calvaris turned to him. "Benirus was going to contact the relgarians. The only reason he didn't is because Shiroara had the communication pad. He would have called the relgarians, they would have told him about the droid attacks and you would have been found out."

"Please," Calvaris smirked. "You really think his majesty would have believed them over me?"

"Maybe not," Shiroara stepped forward. "But he would have believed me. I was there during the last droid attack. Your little stunt might have resulted in my injury or death." Benirus glared at his, whilst Calvaris looked away.

"Calvaris," Benirus sighed. "I understand you care about the terra and want to protect it. But you've gone too far. Instead of telling me about your worries so that I could try and find a diplomatic solution to the situation, you attacked the innocent and threatened to start the war you feared would start. You didn't have any proof the other terras will one day attack us, but you went ahead and prepared for that situation anyway."

"What would you rather I do?" Calvaris asked. "Sit around and wait for them to be at our doorstep before taking action. We must protect ourselves from the enemy."

"But that's the point," Skybreaker stated. "You have no idea whether or not you even have an enemy." Calvaris glared at him. "If all you ever see are enemies, then that's all you'll ever have." The others nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly whilst Calvaris clearly didn't believe that.

He turned to the king. "Your majesty. I'm begging you. You have to add to our terra's defences. Please, what harm is there in getting a few combat droids. Even if the Jedi are right and nobody attacks us, isn't it better to have them and not need them then need them and not have them?"

Benirus sighed. "I don't know. I fear allowing any more war machines into our terra is just inviting something to show up and justify their need." He turned away from him. "I may consider adding combat droids to our defences." Calvaris smiled. "However, I have more important things to focus our terra's wealth on."

"Like what?"

Benirus turned to him, a glare on his face. "First I have to work on rebuilding relations with the relgarians, repairing all the damage you caused in your mad campaign. Then I'll have to replace all the mining droids that you made them destroy, not to mention rearming the soldiers thanks to you getting their weapons destroyed. That's assuming they even want to continue as guards. I know I'd be hesitant if my commanding officer tried to get me killed."

Calvaris looked down, shame clear on his face.

"As for you, Calvaris. I have no choice but to imprison you until I can decide what punishment is good enough for the pain you caused. It's only for your years of loyal service that I'm not throwing you into the worst dungeon I can find and throwing away the key." Calvaris frowned as Benirus turned away from him. "Get him out of my sight." The guards pulled him away, the three disappearing into the mist whilst Benirus' body shook with rage and betrayal.

Skybreaker stepped over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You did the right thing. Even if his intentions were for the best, his actions can't be justified."

Benirus nodded before turning to the relgarians, stepping over to them. Once he was in front of the group, he shocked everyone by falling to his knees and bowing his head. "I beg your forgiveness! I allowed this conspiracy to go on under my nose and your people suffered for it. I can do nothing but plead for mercy on behalf of my terra. And if you need someone to blame and punish for this attack, I offer myself in penense."

This shocked everyone, the relgarians the most shocked. "You give up life for those ruled by you?"

"It is a king's duty to put his people's needs before his own," Benirus stated. "These soldiers attacked you, but they were only following the orders of another. If you must take a life to forgive them, then take mine."

The relgarians glanced at one another, each trying to figure out what to do.

Then, one stepped forward and loomed over the king. Flash reached for his blade, but Shining stopped him. "This matter is out of our hands." Flash frowned, not liking the idea of letting someone be killed right in front of him.

The relgarian raised its fist, looking ready to end the king's life forever. But instead of slamming it down on him, the alien placed it on his shoulder. "Good king. Cares for all. Bad to make suffer for other's mistake." Benirus looked up in shock, as the relgarians turned to his clan and started growling and roaring. The others all seemed to agree with whatever he was saying before he turned back to them. "We good. But no let happen again."

"I promise you," Benirus picked himself up. "I'll make sure nothing like this happens again." He then turned to Shiroara, who rushed over and hugged him. "And to make absolutely sure, I'm making my sister here the official ambassador to the relgarians."

"Really?" She looked shocked, as Benirus nodded.

"Yes. It's clear how much you care for them. I can't think of a better person to be the bridge between out people. And if anything should ever happen with them, you can come to me and I'll listen. No matter what the problem might be."

"Thank you," she smiled before turning to the Jed. "And thank you all. Who knows what might have happened if you hadn't come when you did."

"No problem," Shining assured her. "And if Calvaris' wild fears actually do come true, always know you can call us for help." Benirus and Shiroara smiled, happy to hear that. This situation might not have started out the best, but now that things had calmed down they could focus on improving relations between the terra and relgarians. Soon, vapire's mining industry would be restored and all would be well.

Hours later, The Shooting Star left the planet's atmosphere with Springer and the Jedi aboard.

Flash stared out the window and smiled as the gassy planet grew smaller. He then turned to Shining, who was working on flying the ship. "So, how'd you think I did for my first mission?"

"How do you think you did?" Shining asked, Flash having a feeling he wanted to maybe tear the Padawan down when he started getting a little cocky. But Flash wouldn't give him that chance.

"Well, I could have done better. I let myself fall into that hole and get separated from the others. Can't make a rookie mistake like that again. It'd just be embarrassing." Shining glared at him, since he had also fallen into that hole. "I also need to work on my reaction time. Letting myself get hit by Shiroara's stun gun was just lame."

"Seriously?" Shining was starting to wonder if he should ask Flash to go inspect the airlock.

"But I did manage to find that combat chip in the droid. Who knows what would have happened if we didn't have that. Plus, I totally saved you from a deadly fall. So...I think I did about even."

"Yeah, sure you did." Shining decided to focus back on flying before Flash said something that would make the man want to crash them into a meteor. "But seriously, you did good kid. Keep that work up and you'll be a Jedi in no time."

"Really?"

"Really." As he said that, Skybreaker and Iron arrived with Springer right behind them. The four sat in the cockpit, staring at the vast emptiness of space. Shining had finished locking in the coordinates for Canterlot and once they were far enough away from the planet, he kicked the hyperdrive into action and the ship zoomed off into galactic corridor.

Their task completed, the Jedi would return to the temple in order to give a report on what had happened. And the Jedi Council would have nothing but praise for them, especially Flash since this was his first mission. The first of many, Flash hoped, as he continued his journey to become a Jedi Knight.

Chapter 8

View Online

The Planet of Canterlot, where the Jedi call home. The planet, which was one large city, had many different areas in it the hosted a bunch of different business.

One such business was a small cafe that was a quaint little spot compared to the surrounding metropolis. One individual was currently sitting at a table outside the cafe, enjoying some of its best drinks and buns. Cadance was sipping her coffee whilst reading from a tablet, looking up from it every now and then as if waiting for someone to arrive.

Eventually, someone did.

That someone was Shining Armor, who arrived from down the street and sat opposite her. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's fine," she assured him. "You're a Jedi teacher now. It's natural for you to get wrapped up in training your student."

"Err...yeah. That's what I was doing. I didn't lose track of time trying to beat the new record on my favourite game." Cadance gave him a look, "what? I said I didn't lose track of time doing all that. Totally Flash's fault."

Cadance sighed as she sipped her coffee. "So, how are things going with Flash. He living up to your expectations?"

"Mostly," Shining nodded. "He works hard, follows directions and doesn't try and be a big shot hero when we're out on missions. But he's still got a lot to learn."

"Well to be honest, a Jedi is never finished learning. I've been a knight for almost four years and I'm still learning new things. Like what it's like to be a teacher. Even a year on, I'm still facing new challenges whilst training with Thorax."

"Speaking of. If you're here, I'm guessing you gave Thorax the day off."

"He's been working hard lately. He deserved a bit of a break." She sipped her coffee again, "and Flash? Is he enjoying a day off?"

"Pretty much. Twilight invited him to tour the city area around the temple with her. Since he didn't grow up here, he doesn't really know the place like we do."

"Oh?" Cadance smiled a knowing smile. Shining rolled his eyes at this, knowing that look.

"Nothing's gonna happen between them."

"Really? How can you be so sure?"

"Because Flash knows if he tries anything, he would probably need several robotic prosthetics. One of which I don't think actually exists yet." Cadance sighed, knowing how protective Shining could be. "Besides, this is Twilight we're talking about. She's way too busy trying to learn everything she can about The Force. She'll never be interested in boys."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Cadance smiled. Shining stared at her, wondering if Twilight had told her something.

In another part of Canterlot, Flash, Twilight and Springer were making their way through one of the surface streets of the planet.

These surface streets were a large number of platforms built atop the lower areas of the planet, connected by foot bridges and other ways of getting from one place to another. Most people that lived on Canterlot got around by flying on speeders or other means of aerial travel. But for a simple Jedi Padawan, they were stuck taking the long ways around.

Springer flew ahead of the pair, interested in seeing what was further along. "Don't go too far," Twilight told him. "Canterlot isn't exactly crime free. If someone sees you and things you're on your own, they'll grab you without a second's notice."

"Got it," Springer waited for them to catch up. "So where are we going?"

"Yeah," Flash was also interested, "what exactly does a Jedi do on their very few days off?"

"There are lots of things you can do," Twilight smiled as they arrived at a street that housed a building almost as large as the Jedi Temple. "This is one of my most favourite locations. Canterlot Library. One of the biggest records of knowledge throughout this area of the galaxy. Every book that was ever written can be found in here."

"Really?" Flash was amazed. "I always figured every book ever written would need an entirely planet for a library."

"Oh, they do. This library has digital copies of every book ever written. If you want the actual paper books, you need to go to the Cal Sector." She let out a sigh, "I've always wanted to go there. But I never got the chance." Flash wondered what would happen if she did get to go there, though assumed she would likely end up screaming for joy the entire trip."

"I've never been much of a reader."

"That's just because you never got the chance to do much reading. Trust me. Once you've found a story you really like, you won't be able to to stop reading." Flash wasn't so sure about that. But Twilight had taken time out of her day to show him, so he didn't want to be ungrateful.

However, as they headed towards the building, a sound caught Flash's ears and made him head over to the edge of the section they were on. He looked over the edge, down into the depths of the city where the less successful members of the planet's populace lived. And down there, they saw a bunch of high speed vehicles racing through the gaps between sections.

"Wow!" Flash cried, seeing that they were speeder bikes similar to the one Flash had used to chase after the Storm Brigade.

The speeders shot through the air, swerving back and forth in order to get around the many obstacles and take the lead from those they were racing. "Awesome!" Springer cried, looking just as interested in the race as Flash. Twilight didn't appear so excited, in fact looking down right annoyed.

"I can't believe they're racing in the middle of the day like that. They're just asking to be caught."

"You know those guys?" Flash turned to her.

"Only by reputation," Twilight sighed. "They're street racers that go around competing in illegal races throughout Canterlot. Every two or three weeks, you hear about one of them getting killed or killing someone else in an accident."

Flash still felt like they were pretty awesome and watched as one racer shot through the air, moving at an incredible speed. As she did, Flash thought he noticed something about them. They were wearing a helmet, but their hair seemed to be sticking out the back. And said hair was rather unique. So unique, Flash had only seen it one other place.

"Hey, Twilight? What does Rainbow usually do one her days off?"

"I'm not sure," Twilight looked confused. "Why'd you ask?"

"Oh, no reason." As he said that, he heard a siren and looked around to see some kind of black and white speeder car flying through the street after the bikes. "What's that?"

"Canterlot security," Twilight replied. "They're always trying to catch the racers before they cause an accident." Flash nodded as Twilight pulled him towards the library. "That's not what we're here for. Come on." Flash frowned, but followed her into the library anyway.

In another part of the city, the speeder bikes were racing through the streets attempting to be the first one to get to a designated area.

One such bike had the rider with the unusual hairstyle Flash had seen, that hairstyle having every colour of the rainbow in it. And the blue skinned racer laughed as she flew through the street. "YEAH!" She cried, as she dived down into one of the lower levels in an attempt to circumvent some obstacles in front of her.

It also kept the security force from following, as she zoomed through several narrow passageways in an attempt to outrun them. The security cruiser tried to follow, but had to pull up when it reached an area it couldn't fit through.

The racer laughed as she pulled up and flew through an industrial area. And as she did, another speeder raced up from behind.

The two riders stared at one another, the other racer's face hidden behind a helmet and leather clothing. They then shot forward and the rainbow haired racer laughed. "Oh no you don't!" She gave chase, as they entered a section of the industrial area that had multiple power couplings.

Bolts of multi-coloured energy zipped between sections, creating arcs that would be dangerous to fly through. As such, the two speeders zipped up and down, left and right. All over in an attempt to dodge them. Then they saw an entire wall of energy right in front of them, which would be impossible to miss.

The pair stared at each other, neither backing down as they pushed their speeders to full speed. They moved towards the wall and didn't appear like they had any intention of pulling away, even though they knew flying through it would most certainly mean crashing.

At the last moment, one of the racers finally pulled away whilst the rainbow haired racer thrust her hand forward. And to the other racer's surprise, a hole opened up between the many strands of lightning.

"HAHAAA!" She rushed through the hole seconds before it disappeared, allowing her to fly straight ahead until she pulled up and returned to the main street. She kept flying and eventually came to a deserted area that acted as the race's finish line. And as she rushed towards it, the other racer appeared behind her and tried to catch up. But they were too far back and couldn't make up the speed.

As such, the rainbow haired racer shot between the two towers acting as the goal and cheered as she pulled her speeder to as top.

"VICTORY!" She cried, as the other speeder rushed between the towers. The two suddenly started circling around one another, heading downwards until they were hovering right above the ground. That was when the speeders cut out and dropped the last foot or so, hitting the floor with a load bang that jiggled the riders.

The losing racer got up and rushed over to the winner. "No fair!" They cried in a female voice. "Using The Force like that!"

The winner removed her helmet, Rainbow Dash smirking at her. "You know you totally would have done the same thing if you could. Not my fault you're not good enough to manipulate energy like me." The other racer reached up and removed her helmet, revealing a blue skinned girl with silvery white hair.

"Trixie demands a rematch! And this time, no using The Force."

"You sure you wanna do that?" Rainbow asked. "I'm pretty sure I felt you using The Force a lot during the last race. You probably would have crashed four times if you hadn't used it." Trixie glared at her, clearly not liking that she was completely right. "But sure, if that's what you want. I'll be happy to whoop your butt again." But as she said that, sirens filled the air and they looked up with a gasp at the sight of the security cruiser flying towards them.

"New plan," Trixie put her helmet back on. "We see which of us can escape security first!" She revved up her speeder and took to the air, Rainbow flying off with her.

"Geez," Rainbow laughed. "You don't have to be so terrified of getting caught."

"Easy for you to say!" Trixie cried. "Your mentor lets you get away with whatever you want!" The two swerved into another alleyway. "If Luna finds out I've been street racing, she'll have me cleaning the temple floor with a toothbrush. My toothbrush!"

Rainbow couldn't help but laugh at that. Luna could be a seriously strict mentor, even though Rainbow had heard stories of her Padawan days that included her getting in serious trouble. The pair raced through the city, knowing they needed to get back to the temple and hide their speeders before anyone noticed them.

Flash sighed as he looked through each and every aisle in the library.

Twilight was searching for the next volume in a book series she was a big fan of, leaving him to look around and find whatever he might be interested in. But so far, he couldn't find anything he might find fun to read. Springer was also there, floating beside him as he searched the different allies.

"Mommy!" He looked over and saw a little girl rushing over to a woman, clutching a pad in her arms that she held up to the woman. "I found a book! I found a book!" She held it up to the woman, who looked at the info on the pad and smiled.

"Alright. We'll try and read it together tonight." The girl cheered, hugging her mother's leg.

Flash smiled, the sight of a child and its parent something heartwarming to see. However, it also brought up very painful memories. Memories Flash would rather not remember.

Years ago.

A five year old Flash was sitting in his makeshift bed, his parents on either side of him as they held a tablet in their hands. Flash was doing his best to read the words on the tablet, which was that of a children's tale that he was learning to read with.

"And...they la...lived hap...hap..." He turned to his mother, who smiled.

"Happily," Misty told him. Flash nodded and turned back to the tablet.

"And they lived happily ever...after."

"Well done," Trail Blazer smiled as he switched off the tablet. "You're really coming along. In no time at all, you'll be able to read anything you want without even needing to try." Flash smiled, happy his parents were proud of him. "Alright, time for bed. You've got training with Grand Hoof in the morning." Flash nodded and laid down, his parents on either side of him.

Misty smiled as she rubbed her hand through his hair. "Good night, my brave little Jedi." Flash felt truly comfortable in his parents embrace, never realising that a day would come where he would never get to feel it again.

"Flash?" The Padawan was pulled out of his thoughts by Twilight's voice, the blue haired teen turning to her. Twilight noticed an upset look on his face, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," Flash nodded. "Just...happened to remember a...bittersweet memory."

"Oh," Twilight nodded, "okay. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I'm fine," Flash assured her. "Don't wanna waste your day off listening to me whine about something." Twilight watched him walk off and she could sense something was wrong, but knew it wouldn't do any good to pry. "So, any idea what the other Jedi do during their time off?"

"Well I know Pinkie enjoys going to a children's fun-house." Flash and Springer gave her a confused look, clearly wondering what the heck she was talking about. "It's a place for kids to spend their days, when they're not in school and their parents are still working. Mostly for families who don't have the funds to afford childcare."

In one part of the city, a large building was playing host to a bunch of rugrats.

In said building, a certain girl was dressed like a clown. She was currently balancing on a balloon, using it to roll around the place whilst she juggled a bunch of items in her hands. The kids watching this laughed as she suddenly started floating. Or, more accurately, the balloon she was on was floating and she was using her amazing balancing skills to stay on it.

She then threw the balls she was juggling into the air, as they started flying around the place as well. This entertained the children, making them happy to be there.

"And Fluttershy likes to spend her free time up on Fengari."

"The farm? But I thought she was in the Medical Core?"

"She is. But she really loves animals. So whenever she gets the chance, she goes up and enjoys herself in the woods. She even uses her medical training to make sure all the animals are healthy and happy."

In one of the farms, Fluttershy was using a stethoscope to check on one of the farm's many nerfs.

"Hmm," she listened to its stomach as Heather stepped into the barn. "Yup. Everything seems healthy." She stood up and moved over to the nerf, "your little baby's gonna come out real soon. Aren't you excited to be a mother?" The nerf mooed, as Applejack and Big Mac stepped into the room as well.

Both smirked at Fluttershy, happy they had her tending to their animals.

"What about Applejack and Rarity?"

"I don't think Applejack's ever taken a day off in her life." Twilight laughed. "That girl doesn't know the meaning of relaxation. If she's not doing her Jedi training, she's working on the farm or doing whatever else the masters need her to do. Her endurance is insane."

"That's nuts," Flash cried. "How can she keep going like that? There were days I wanted to keep training, but Grand wouldn't let me. He told me if I didn't get any rest, I'd hit burn out."

"Yeah, we tried to get her to take a break. But she can't sit still to save her life. If she's just sitting around, she gets seriously antsy. I think it might just be a trait of her race. Applebloom seems to have the same problems and Big Mac never seems to relax either."

Flash nodded, "and Rarity?"

"She enjoys making clothing. Half the Jedi wardrobe is full of her creations. Actually, I think you might be wearing some of her cloths." Flash looked over the blue and gray clothing he had gotten when he arrived. He had to admit, they had been really good. Light, flexible, but durable enough to survive him falling through a rock slide and a fight with a bunch of robots and soldiers.

"A Jedi Padawan did this?"

"Yup. Rarity's always had a keen eye for fashion. When the Masters saw this, they got her some sawing equipment. They always like helping Jedi explore their talents outside The Force. Ever since then, she spends her free time coming up with new clothing designs for us."

"Cool," Flash nodded as he wondered what Rarity was dong at that moment. He had to guess that not every Padawan was having a day off. Some were probably still training.

In one of the Jedi training rooms, Rarity was waiting patiently.

As she waited, she was checking her clothing to make sure there were no frays or anything. Then, the doors opened and a woman stepped inside. She was a pink skinned woman with dark red hair. On her forehead was a red gem the same colour as her hair, a similar gem being on the back of each of her hands.

"Rarity," she smiled at the cat girl as she stepped inside.

"Master Ruby," Rarity nodded.

"Are you ready to begin?" A Lightsaber appeared in front of her, being a simple gray one with gray one with a black grip section. She picked it up and ignited the blue blade, pointing it at her apprentice as Rarity summoned her own Lightsaber. The sight of it made Ruby's eyebrow twitch.

Rarity knew her master wasn't a fan of the fabulous design she had given her Lightsaber upon its construction. Ruby had always been in the belief that a Lightsaber should be a humble weapon that didn't try to look amazing. Rarity had never been able to understand that, believing that a little beauty shouldn't be looked down upon.

"Begin!" Ruby rushed forward and swung the blade towards her apprentice, who blocked it with her own Lightsaber before attempting to counter with her own attack, Ruby blocking it herself and using some fancy footwork to move around Rarity and attack. Rarity dodged with her own skilful manoeuvres, the pair continuing to dance around each other in an attempt to strike each other.

Their blades clashed again and again, Ruby smiling at Rarity's skill as the humanoid feline thrust her sword forward in an attempt to strike her chest.

She lent back and Rarity spun around, attempting to cut Ruby in half whilst she was still off balance. But Ruby held up the back of her hand and the gem on it glowed. The light flew out and formed a shield, which Rarity's blade struck and bounced off.

"Not bad!" Ruby leapt back. "You've really been working hard on your saber skills, haven't you?"

"Yes." Rarity spun her blade around and got back into a ready stance. "I lost against someone who was only ever trained with the basics of sword skills."

"You're talking about that new Padawan," Ruby stated. "The one Shining Armor is teaching?" Rarity nodded. "Yes, I can see why losing to someone who has such little formal training can feel annoying. I'll have to thank this Padawan for putting some fire in you." She charged and Rarity did the same, the pair colliding in the centre of the room and striking one another with several quick and speedy strikes. That was their style of battle. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

Back with Flash and Twilight, they had finished their trip through the library.

Twilight had gotten the book she was after, along with another six that would probably last her about a week, whilst Flash had gotten a few random books that he hoped would be interesting. Now, they were walking through the city towards a place Twilight liked to go for a bite to eat.

Flash expected some big fancy place that would have portion sizes smaller than his thumb. But to his surprise, Twilight took him to a section below the surface area. To some kind of food truck.

The alien running the truck smiled at Twilight, asking what she wanted in his own language. "Two servings of quaw quaw, with extra vlok on mine please." He nodded and got to work, Flash wondering what the heck he was about to eat. Soon enough, they were each handed a plastic bowl with a strange pink noodle-like substance covered in yellow sauce. Chunks of meat were also in it, Flash raising an eyebrow as Twilight quickly dug in.

Deciding to trust her, he grabbed some of the noodle and stuffed it into his mouth before he could think. And to his surprise, the noodles and sauce tasted great. "Wow," he smiled before taking another bite. "This is great!"

"I know, right!" The pair continued to enjoy their meal, as they continued to walk through the under section of the city. "I remember when Shining brought me here the first time. I thought we were going to get in so much trouble."

"Why would you get in trouble?"

"We were both younglings back then," Twilight replied. "And younglings aren't allowed out of the temple unsupervised. We snuck out and explored the city together, but I barely enjoyed it since I was sure we were gonna get in trouble."

"Huh," Flash smirked. "You need to learn to live a little."

"I do live," Twilight shot back. "I just don't like breaking rules. Is that a crime?" The pair laughed at this, Springer floating behind them as they found a stairway leading back up to the surface.

"You, I can understand younglings not being allowed out on their own. But I'm amazed the rest of us have so much freedom." Twilight looked confused. "Grand never really told me much about temple life. But a few other people on the moon told me stories they'd heard about Jedi. One said that Jedi weren't allowed to do anything fun when they had free time. If they weren't working or training, they were supposed to meditate and do nothing else. Anything else would be seen as a waste of time."

Twilight thought about this and laughed as they reached the surface. "Actually, they're not wrong." Flash looked confused. "Growing up, we are taught how to meditate and were made to do it a lot. Most young children take naps during the day. We were taught to meditate. But as we got older, we're allowed to expand our interests and search for what makes us happy. Sometimes our Core work can act as enjoyment. But if we find something else, we're not denied the chase to follow it."

"But we're still supposed to meditate?"

"When we can," Twilight nodded. "It helps us stay centred with The Force. But it's not a requirement. Not anymore, at least."

"Anymore?"

"The Jedi Order you know, wasn't always like this. About two hundred years ago, maybe a bit longer, the order was much more regimented. Anything other than Jedi work was prohibited and any free time a Jedi had was to be spent meditating. Celestia told me all about it." This confused Flash and Springer, with Springer asking the question.

"I thought you said this was over two hundred years ago?" Twilight nodded, making Flash raise an eyebrow.

"I know I probably shouldn't ask this," the blue haired teen announced. "But-"

"Celestia's over three hundred years old," Twilight stated. "She recently celebrated her three hundred and thirty third birthday."

Flash just stopped, Springer slamming into his back, as he tried to process this information. "What about Luna? Aren't they sisters."

Twilight nodded. "Luna's two hundred and thirty. She was actually Celestia's first Padawan. I heard it was quite a problem when Celestia chose to take Luna as her student. Since this was back when the Order looked down on personal connections. The Jedi back then believed that love and a connection were paths to the dark side."

"What changed?"

"Two hundred years ago, the Jedi order was in shambles. Many young Jedi Younglings and Padawans were turning away from the order, hating how restrictive it was." She tried to remember more details. "It all started with one Jedi Knight, about the same age as Celestia. He chose to leave the order and start his own version of the Jedi. One which was less restrictive. Many of the Jedi that left the order joined him." She leaned in closer, "I think Luna might have also been one of them for a time."

"Wow," Flash could barely believe that. "What happened?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. Celestia and Luna never talk about it. All I know is the two Jedi groups went to war with one another. Luna eventually chose to return to the Order and the war ended with the new group being disbanded. But the war took a toll on our Order and many masters were lost. Celestia was forced to take over and when she rebuilt the order, she realised changes had to be made."

"So now the order's much more flexible about how we spend our free time."

"Not just that. The old order use to condemn any form of romantic relations. I'm willing to bet that was why most of the Jedi left. They fell in love and couldn't deny it. Celestia never believed in that rule, so she and the new council abolished it when they rebuilt the order. Now Jedi can love and marry whoever they want, so long as they don't allow those feelings to interfere with their responsibilities as Jedi."

"That's good," Flash smiled. "I'm not saying I intend to get married someday, but it's nice to know the options open." Twilight nodded, as the pair finished their food and threw the containers into a nearby trash can. "So, what's next on the agenda?"

"I'm not sure," Twilight shrugged. "Guess I expected our library tour to take longer." The pair laughed at this, as Twilight looked around and seemed to realize something. "But hey. Do you mind if we head somewhere close by? There's someone I wanna go see that I haven't had the chance to in a while."

"Oh, sure. No problem." Twilight smiled and they began to make their way over to a section of the city, that was full of large buildings Twilight stated were apartment buildings. Surrounding them were large grassy areas full of trees and plants, which was basically a giant shared garden surrounding the many complexes.

They stepped into one of the buildings and rode the elevator up to the second to last floor, where they stepped out into a hallway with a flight of stairs leading both up and down. The hallway also had a single door, which Twilight stepped up to and knocked on. A few moments later, the door opened and an equestrian woman was standing behind it.

Said woman had gray skin and hair that was both white and purple, being dressed in a black shirt and pink skirt.

As soon as she saw Twilight, she gasped and pulled her into a hug. "Twilight!" Twilight hugged her back, "you haven't come to visit in so long."

"I know," Twilight smiled. "Sorry about that. Been really busy." The woman nodded and pulled back, then noticed Flash and Springer behind her.

"And who's this?"

"This is Flash Sentry," Twilight explained. "And his droid, Springer. Actually, he's Shining's new Padawan student." The woman looked surprised by this. "Flash, Springer. This is my mother. Twilight Velvet."

"It's nice to meet you," Flash held out a hand and she happily shook it.

"It's nice to meet you too. Please, come in." She stepped aside and allowed them in, Flash and Springer looking around to see the place was quite large. All they could see at the moment was the living room and a large kitchen, but the entire back wall was a giant window with a door that lead out to a balcony. Four doors, two on either side of the room, Flash assumed lead to the bathroom and bedrooms. Based on the size of the living room and kitchen, they had to be huge bedrooms.

"Is Dad home?"

"He's just returning some tools he borrowed from the neighbour. I think-" A dinging made them look back and see the elevator open again, revealing a blue skinned equestrian man wearing a dark blue jumper over a white white and yellow pants.

As he walked out of the elevator, he spotted his daughter and smiled. "Twilight." He rushed over to her and they hugged, the man then noticing Flash and being introduced to him. The man, Night Light, shook Flash's hand as they all sat down and Velvet went to get some drinks. "So, you're Shining's new student?"

"That's me," Flash nodded. "The poor sap your son's been running ragged ever since he took me under his wing." Everyone laughed at this, whilst Velvet returned with the drinks. "But I am grateful he agreed to train me. I'm not sure many other Jedi would have taken a student as old as me."

"Yes," Night nodded. "I did think you were a little old to be a new Padawan."

"Flash is a special case," Twilight explained. She began to tell them how they met Flash and how he was trained whilst marooned on a forest moon, her parents amazed to hear this as they listened intently.

"That's quite the story," Night stated once the story had ended. "You've been on quite a journey."

"Yeah," Flash nodded. "And I think it's just the beginning." They nodded in agreement, as Flash turned to Twilight. "I thought Jedi weren't supposed to have any contact with their parents."

"Of course not," Twilight stated. "Applejack spends time with her family up on Fengari." Flash realised she was right. "But it's a sad truth that most Jedi don't get to spend time with their families. Most of them come from families that can't afford to travel across the galaxy and visit their children as they grow up. Others come from families that just didn't want them and more choose not to contact their families. In the old times, it was forbidden for it was believed that an attachment to others would only lead to the dark side."

Velvet took a sip of her drink. "I remember being terrified when Shining was discovered to be Force Sensitive. We feared we'd never get to see him. But the Order promised that Shining could come back and see us whenever he wanted to. Although, after we gave him to the order, we didn't get to see him again until he was four years old."

Night nodded. "At the time, it felt like we were strangers to him. But slowly, we managed to build a relationship with him whenever he came around. But then Twilight was born."

Velvet laughed. "Honestly, we should have expected it. Her connection with the force was so strong, Celestia could feel it the moment she was born. Barely a few hours after bringing her in to the world, I was told I might have to give my daughter up."

Flash could see the upset look on Velvet's face, Twilight getting up and sitting down besides her. Flash could tell the family didn't like speaking of this event, but it clearly had to be done.

Watching the trio sit together, as a loving family, Flash was suddenly reminded of his own parents. And when he thought about them, he frowned as a memory flew through his head. A memory he didn't want to remember.

"I...I think I'd better go." Flash got up before Twilight or the others could stop them. "It was lovely meeting you all. Hope to see you again sometime." Flash bowed and headed out of the apartment, Springer flying off behind him. Once they were gone, the three equestrians shared a look.

"Was it something I said?" Velvet asked, Twilight unsure how to answer that. She could tell something was up. But what was it?

As Flash stepped out of the apartment, Springer floated behind him. "Flash!" He cried, "what are you doing? Why'd you just leave like that?"

Flash sighed as he walked through the park-like area around the apartment buildings. "I don't know. I...I just couldn't be in there. Watching Twilight with her parents...it hurt. It made me remember...things I don't wanna remember." Springer instantly put the pieces together.

"Oh," he nodded. "You're thinking about your own parents, aren't you?" Flash flinched, not wanting the memories to resurface. "You're never gonna get over it, if you don't let yourself feel the pain."

"I did feel the pain," Flash told him. "And you remember what happened." He found a bench and sat down, "I almost lost control and ruined everything."

"That wasn't your fault," Springer pointed out. He floated over and sat down besides him, "and none of us blamed you. How could we, after what happened."

Flash said nothing and looked up. "Maybe the Jedi were right about us not making connections. They're great when we have them...but when we lose them..." He closed his eyes and finally, after so long, he remembered that day."

Five years ago.

A twelve year old Flash was in his usual training ground, Grand and Springer there with him. Grand was leaning against a tree, whilst Flash and Springer were staring one another down.

Springer then fired a laser at Flash, who deflected it with Grand's Lightsaber. He deflected another blast, then another and another. After blocking the four and fifth blast, he let out a whoop and looked pretty proud of himself. "Did you see that?"

"Yes," Grand nodded. "You did quite well. But that's only because you can see." He then took something out and moved over to Flash. That something was a long strip of cloth, which he tied around Flash's eyes. He then tied the ends around his head two more times.

"I can't see a thing!"

"That's the whole point," Grand announced. "Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them. Let The Force be your eyes." Flash didn't look so sure about this. "Springer. Go for it."

"Are you sure?" Springer asked.

"You turned your laser down, didn't you?" Springer nodded. "Then even if you hit him, all he'll get is a light burn. Nothing he can't walk off." Flash gulped as he raised the Lightsaber and tried to sense the incoming attack. But when he heard the laser fire, he tried to deflect the attack but felt it hit him in the leg.

"Gaaah!" He cried, leaping up and bouncing on the spot. "Owww!"

"Try again," Grand stated. Flash once again took the stance and waited, once again trying to sense the laser. And when it fired, he swung the blade around but missed, the laser hitting his shoulder. "You felt that one," Grand told him as Flash rubbed his arm. "You were just a little off with the counter attack."

"This sucks!"

"Oh, grow up. You may one day find yourself in a situation where you can't see. If you let yourself become too reliant on your sight, all the enemy needs to do is take it away and you'll be in trouble. Now, try again." Flash groaned and took a stance, as Grand watched him. "I know this seems harsh, but it's important. Your connection to The Force is one of the strongest I've ever seen. But if you don't learn to harness that connection, it can dissolve and grow weaker."

"I know," Flash sighed. "But why do I have to train this much? It's not like I'm gonna be getting off this planet any time soon."

"You never know. A ship could arrive in orbit any moment." Springer fired a laser and Flash actually blocked it, then blocked the next one and the one after that. "

"YES!" He cheered as he blocked another laser, only to then get hit in the arm. "Gaaah!"

"And that's what happens when you get over confidant!" Flash frowned, but prepared to try again. But before he could, a voice cried out to them.

"FLASH!" They looked around, Flash removing his blindfold, seeing someone from the village rushing towards them. "Grand!" He reached them, panting as he was clearly having trouble breathing. "It's...it's your parents." Flash gasped and instantly began running towards the village, Grand and Springer chasing after him. As they ran, Flash's mind raced with what could possibly have happened.

Eventually, they arrived back at the village and saw a huge crowd surrounding something. Flash ran towards it and began pushing his way through, until people noticed him and let him past. "MOM!" Flash gasped when he reached the centre, seeing his mother lying on the ground. "Dad!" Trail Blazer was also lying, the pair not looking in best shape.

They both had large gashes in their sides, as their best doctor worked on trying to save them.

Grand turned to one of the gathers, "what happened?"

"We were out collecting fruits when we ran into a Rage Horn." Rage Horn was the name given to a creature that lived on the moon, a six legged creature covered in spikes that have a horn covering most of its head. They called them that because they had a tendency to attack the moment they saw someone.

Flash stared at the injuries his parents had received and even with his limited medical knowledge, he knew this wasn't something they could heal. If they weren't stranded on a forest moon and had an actual hospital, they might be able to save them. But...

"Mom," Flash started tearing up, "dad." His parents opened their eyes and looked up at their son, both bringing their hands up to place on his cheeks.

"Flash," Misty cried, "it's okay."

"NO!" Flash cried, "don't go. Please." He turned to Grand, "isn't there something we can do? We have The Force. There has to be a way we can save them."

Grand frowned. "I'm sorry. Force Healing is an ability almost no Jedi alive can use. Even in the Medical Core, the power the heal wounds this great does not exist." Flash couldn't believe this. He had been told the Jedi were the most powerful beings in the galaxy. But he couldn't even save his parents.

Misty and Trail both coughed, blood spilling through their mouths. Flash stared down at them, as they smiled at him.

Trail then turned to Grand, "take care of him." Grand nodded, as they looked into his eyes. "It's okay. This is just...the Will of the Force." Flash kept crying. "Be strong, Flash. Keep training. Keep doing what you know is right. And you'll be an amazing Jedi. I'm sure of it."

"We love you," Misty stated. As they said that, they reached over with their empty hands and grasped one another. And as soon as they did, their eyes slowly closed and their both breathed their last breath together.

Flash watched as their life left them, both their hands falling from his cheeks. He closed his eyes and grasped their held hands, as a cry of pain filled the air.

Grand sighed, knowing his student was likely feeling great sadness. But little did he realize how great the pain was. For in that moment, a powerful force push exploded out of Flash's body. One that sent Grand and everyone less flying backwards, many screaming in surprise whilst Springer was barely able to keep himself from smashing into a tree.

"What's happening?" One of the villagers cried, as more and more wind began to swirl around the pre-teen and his parents. Flash seemed completely oblivious to it, the twelve year of simply continuing to cry out as he felt his heart being torn apart.

"Flash!" Grand cried, but he knew the boy wouldn't be able to hear him through his grief. He let out a groan and started pushing his way through the wind, which began ripping up trees and throwing them around. Several houses were knocked down, whilst metal was sucked into Flash's vortex.

It wasn't easy and Grand was sure he would likely end up getting stabbed by something inside the tornado. But he kept pushing forward, using The Force as best he could to protect himself. And by the time he finally reached Flash, the tornado threatened to suck everyone else in.

Grand grabbed Flash and pulled him into a hug, holding him tightly and pulling him away from his parents. "It's okay!" He clutched him to his chest, "it's okay." Flash kept crying, "please calm down. Don't let your pain spread to those around you. I'm here." Flash seemed to respond to this, as the wind and force around him began to slowly die down.

Slowly, the vortex faded away and Flash continued to cry into Grand's chest. The Jedi Master looked around and saw nobody was hurt, but Flash's power truly was a sight to see. And without control, Flash could very well cause untold devastation.

In the days to come, Flash would mourn his parents away from everyone else. Grand would be there for him and when Flash finally stopped crying, his master had to stop him from leaving the village in an attempt to hunt down and kill the Rage Horn. Flash learned an important lesson that day. Revenge was not the way of the Jedi. But for the remainder of his time on the moon, people knew not to use the word Rage Horn around Flash. It would do nothing but upset him.

Present day.

"Grand said I had amazing power," Flash sighed. "But if I let myself lose control, that power can run wild and do a lot of harm." Ever since that day, he had done everything he could to keep himself from losing control again. Even when Grand died, he didn't let himself lose control. If he did and went too far, there might have been no coming back.

"Flash?" He looked up and saw Twilight standing over him, looking worried. "Are you okay?" Flash made sure he wasn't crying and nodded.

"I'm fine," he told her. "I'm sorry I left like that. I hope I didn't upset your parents."

"No," Twilight sat down, "they were just worried." Flash looked away, "I'm sorry." He turned to her in shock, "I should have known seeing me with my parents would remind you of yours." Flash sighed.

"It's not your fault. You shouldn't have to deprive yourself of being with those you care about, just because of me. It's my problem."

"No," Twilight told him, "it's our problem. Because we are part of the same family." Flash looked to her, shocked. "They and Shining might be my biological family, but they're not my only family. The order is my Family as well. And it's your family too. I grew up alongside Rainbow, Pinkie and the others. We're all like siblings. We're a family. And even though you didn't get to grow up with us, that doesn't change the fact. We're family. The moment you joined the order, we became bond through The Force."

Flash sniffed, as he felt himself being overwhelmed by Twilight's words. "Thanks. But...maybe it's best that I don't have a family."

"What?"

"When I lost my parents, I lost control and kicked up a storm that could have hurt a lot of people. If I lose control like that again..."

"Then we'll be there to help you." Flash turned to her, "you're not the first Jedi to lose control. I've lost control more than my fair share of times. But with the help of others, I was able to regain control and everything was fine." She placed a hand on his shoulder, "you don't have to block your feelings. Loss is a powerful pain and without others around to help you through it, you'll likely fall to the Dark Side. That's why the Jedi work together, to support one another the way a family is supposed to."

Flash couldn't help but smile at this, nodding as he understood. "Thanks, Twilight. For everything." Twilight smiled back before getting up.

"Come on. Let's head back to the temple. I've got some new books to read and I'm sure you're itching to read yours."

"Um...yeah. Totally." The three of them laughed as they headed back towards the castle, Twilight continuing to show Flash the different sights of the city as they headed there. And as the temple came into view, Flash remembered what Twilight had told him earlier about how the order used to be. "You said Celestia and Luna were around during that whole civil war thing?"

"Yup."

"So did they ever mention who the guy that started the new order was called?" Twilight tried to think, but clearly she was having trouble remembering.

"Som...something. I'm not sure. I think they only mentioned it once and I got the feeling it wasn't something they wanted to remember." Flash nodded, still curious about who that guy could have been.

When they arrived at the temple and headed up the stairs, they noticed a Canterlot Security Cruiser was parked in front of the building. "What's that about?"

"Oh no," Twilight frowned. "Not again." Flash and Springer wondered what she meant by that, as they spotted the cruiser's own standing in front of the temple.

It was a man wearing a brown leather uniform, his jacket and pants being light brown whilst his boots and gloves were dark brown. On his chest was a dark brown metal chest with leather straps running up his shoulders, the straps appearing to have pouches on them whilst a dark brown belt around his waist held a blaster holster. In his arms was a brown helmet that looked like it covered his eyes along with everything except his mouth and chin.

His skin was yellow and his hair was white, with yellow streaks.

Two Temple Guards stood in front of him, the pair holding up their double-edged Lightsabers that had an interesting feature to be collapsible. "Sir," one stated, "this is your last warning. If you attempt to enter our temple, we will have no choice but to consider you a treat."

"She can't hide in there forever!" The man growled, looking rather upset. "I demand she come out here, right this second or else."

"Hello, Lightning Blitz." The man spun around and saw them approaching, "what seems to be the problem this time?"

"The problem, is you're harbouring a known criminal." Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Rainbow Dash. Bring her out here, right now."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because she was competing in illegal street racing. And don't try and say it wasn't her. That hair colour of hers was a dead giveaway. I want her and her conspirators out here, right now." Twilight crossed her arms, clearly not happy with what he was saying. "Jedi. Think you can do whatever you want with no consequences. Well there are consequences. And when I catch Rainbow racing the next time, she will be in for a world of hurt."

"Well until that day, non-Jedi aren't allowed in the temple. So if you want to catch Rainbow, you'll have to wait out here. Come on, Flash." Saying that name got a response from Lightning, who turned to him.

"Flash Sentry?" Flash looked at him, puzzled about why he was staring at him.

"Yes." Lightning kept staring, then finally put his helmet on and turned to leave. "What was that about?" Flash asked as Lightning got into his cruiser and flew off.

"That's Lightning Blitz. He has...I wouldn't say an unfounded hatred of Jedi. He's always trying to catch Jedi doing something illegal to make us look bad. But Jedi don't break the law, so he's never had anything to charge us with."

"You might wanna have a chat with Rainbow about that," Flash stated as they walked into the temple. "But I meant, what was with the stare of death he was giving me." Twilight frowned as she thought about it, eventually sighing.

"Probably because of his grandfather." Flash and Springer gave her a curious look. "Lightning Blitz is actually the grandson of your former mentor." Their eyes went wide.

"Grand Hoof?" Twilight nodded, making Flash look up and watching the cruiser fly away. Flash had never thought about Grand having a family. Lightning barely looked any older than him, maybe three or so years older, which meant he couldn't have been very old when Grand left. Many questions filled his head. Questions about Grand's past and what it would mean for Flash's future.

In another part of the galaxy, near a planet with many different biomes, a ship had just come out of hyperspace.

Said ship was full of armored figures, many of them insect themed in appearance. Some were flying the ship, whilst others were standing guard. And in the centre of the ship's bridge, sitting atop a fancy looking chair, was the young Sith known as Solara.

The armored woman was wearing her helmet, staring at the planet as she did so. "It had better be here," she stated as they flew down towards the planet.

Chapter 9

View Online

Aboard the Shooting Star, which was currently flying through hyperspace, Flash Sentry was in his quarters sitting at his desk.

The Jedi Padawan had his Lightsaber on the desk, in several pieces, as he used a bunch of tools to do some minor maintenance on the weapon. He had nothing better to do, since they had spent the last three days flying through different sectors of the galaxy.

Unfortunately, Hyperspace didn't always work in a straight line. Flying normally and flying through hyperspace, was like walking to an area or riding a fast moving river to the same spot. The river was faster, but it appeared to wind out of the way of the place it would eventually lead to.

As Flash replaced a circuit that looked close to breaking, the doors opened up and Jedi Master Luna stepped in. "Ahhh, excellent. Using your free time to make sure you're ready. I wish Trixie would be so diligent." Luna's apprentice, Trixie, was currently sleeping in the next room over. To say Luna was exasperated was saying something.

"I'm just antsy," Flash replied. "If I tried to sleep, I'd spend the whole time wondering what the heck had happened to the survey team." Luna nodded as Flash finished replacing the circuit and started putting the Lightsaber together. Once he was done, he gave the weapon one final once over before igniting it.

Luna stared at the blue blade, the old fashioned shape still intriguing her. "Do you ever think you'll change it to be the standard blade?" Flash thought about it, as he moved the blade through the air.

"I don't know. Maybe. I'd prefer it not get damaged. But if I ever need to repair it, I'll probably have to use the normal parts you use on a Lightsaber." Flash thought about the weapon's original design and the many hours he had spent, training with it on the forest moon. After it had been destroyed and he was forced to rebuild it, learning to use its new shape had been difficult. But now, he had grown accustomed to the design and had learned to fight with it well.

He deactivated the Lightsaber, as Springer floated up to them. "Shining said we're almost there." They nodded and Luna headed off to wake her sleeping student. Once she was awake, they headed to the cockpit and found three others already there.

Shining Armor was at the controls, Fluttershy sitting behind him looking a little worried. He could understand why, given the nature of their mission that day. In the corridor behind the cockpit, First Aid was sitting at a computer terminal.

"Alright," Shining began to pull the ship out of hyperspace. "And here...we...are." The tunnel of light slowed to an eventual stop, the stars shrinking around them as they exited the hyperspace corridor. When they did, they spotted a planet in the distance.

"Activate the scanning function," Luna told First. "Let's see what's out there."

First typed at the controls, the ship's radar beeping several times as it searched the surrounding sector. "Nothing appears to be coming up," First stated before the scanner picked something up. "Hang on. Energy trail. Not too strong. Maybe a week or so. It's not one of our ships."

"So there was another ship coming through this area," Luna frowned as she and Trixie sat in the remaining two seats. "The seekers who came to investigate this planet, said there was no sign of ships passing through when they arrived. This is a blank planet."

"Blank planet?" Flash asked, Trixie turning to him.

"A planet that doesn't have space capability. If it has any intelligent life forms, they haven't evolved to the level of space flight." Flash nodded, as the planet grew closer. Said planet had a variety of different biomes upon it. It was a mixture of green and blue, large oceans surrounding green continents. A couple of areas were devoid of greenery, either being covered in rocks or snow.

"Sending out the receiver signal now," First pressed a few buttons and the console beeped. "If the survey team still has their coms on them, they should be picking up the signal now." They waited, but nothing happened. "That is not a good sign."

"Any idea where their last known location will be?" Fluttershy asked, Luna thinking.

"Before the reports stopped, the team stated they had discovered some unusual readings north of one of the continents. I can't be sure, but we should scan the northern half of the planet."

"You wanna scan a planet that big?" Shining asked, "that could take ages."

"Well unless you have a better idea." They all frowned, none of them getting a thought. But then, Flash remembered what First had said.

"You were able to detect the energy signatures of ships, right?" First nodded, as Flash smirked. "Can you see if any lead to the northern part of the planet?" First smiled and began typing away at the console, scanning the surrounding area and picking up the energy they had detected. When he found something, he followed it towards the planet.

"I have something." He sent the coordinates to Shining's control console, "the energy is on this continent in the north."

"Sweet," Shining smiled. "Taking her down." He set a course and the ship shifted through space, eventually pointing itself towards one of the northern continents that was covered in forest. The ship soon entered the atmosphere and as they did, they continued to send a signal hoping the survey team would locate it. But still, they had nothing.

"What happens if we can't find the team?" Flash asked, seeing the others looking upset.

"It happens," Luna sighed. "I've been on many a recovery mission and was unable to locate the Seekers we lost. We won't leave until we've done a thorough search of the entire planet. I refuse to leave anyone behind if they're alive." The others nodded, as the ship continued to follow the signal. But as they did, they suddenly got some kind of alert. "What's that?"

"Energy pulse," Shining replied. "The kind usually detected when-" He didn't get to finish, for at that moment a laser flew out of the forest and hit the ship.

The entire ship shook, as an explosion rocked the boat and caused those not sitting to be thrown to the ground. "Ow." Flash groaned, as the ship kept shaking.

"Strap yourself in!" First hit a buttons and another chair folded out of the corridor's wall, Flash quickly getting into it and pulling the straps on tightly. The others did the same, whilst Springer magnetised himself to the ground. As they did, another energy pulse was detected.

"Hang on!" Shining cried, as the ship swerved around and managed to avoid the hit. "Any idea where it's coming from?"

First kept scanning, as another laser was shot at them. "There does not appear to be a single origin. We are being attacked by multiple enemies." The ship rocked as another laser found its mark. "We can not keep taking this kind of punishment."

"Ground mounted laser cannons don't have a great range," Luna stated. "Get us up higher!" Shining pulled the ship into the air and as they did, another laser struck. But that was the last one to hit them as they flew out of range. But they weren't out of the woods yet.

"I'm getting several warning light," Shining announced. "We need to land and repair the damage before we fall out of the sky." They flew south as far as Shining was willing to risk, until they eventually spotted a cave in the side of a forest mountain.

They flew into the cave, glad to see that it was just big enough for them to fly into and swerve around so the cockpit was facing the exit. Once they landed, everyone unbuckled and headed out of the ship to check on the damage. Shining rode the ceiling hatch to the top of the ship, whilst the others checked the underside.

"Yikes," Springer gulped as he scanned it. "This doesn't look good."

"Good thing we didn't try and go to hyperspace," Flash frowned. "Several of these circuits would have caused the whole ship to blow." The other Jedi watched as Flash, Springer and Shining continued to examine the damage. Despite each of them having built their own Lightsabers and knowing how to repair them, their technical knowledge was nowhere near the same as those three.

"How bad is it?" Luna asked.

"Not as bad as it looks," Shining replied. "The damage shouldn't take too long to fix. Flash, go get me a tool kit. Springer, see what you can fix up on your own." They nodded and got to work, whilst the others stepped towards the mouth of the cave.

"What the heck even was that?" Trixie asked. "I thought this was a blank planet."

"It is," Luna frowned. "Which makes what happened rather worrying. The seekers didn't have any anything like that when they came here, so it couldn't have been them. So what the heck happened?"

"There was that other ship energy source," First pointed out. "Clearly, we are not the only people on this planet."

"So what do we do?" Fluttershy asked. Luna stepped back towards the ship, the others following as they headed back aboard whilst Flash and Shining began their work repairing the damage. They headed to the cargo hold, where something had been stored for just such an occasion.

As Flash was replacing one of the damaged parts, he noticed the others stepping out of the ship pushing some speeder bikes out with them. "We're going to go investigate the area those lasers came from," Luna stated. "Shining Armor, we'll be calling in every twenty minutes. Should we miss a deadline-"

"I'll try and get in contact with you," Shining replied. "And if I can't, Flash and I will try and find your once we have the ship up and running." Luna nodded as she got on a speeder, Trixie getting on behind her.

First climbed onto his speeder, with Fluttershy sitting behind him. "Good luck," she stated. "And if we get separated, may The Force be with us all." With that, she kicked the engine into gear and her bike shot out of the cave. First and Fluttershy followed, as the others continued working on ship repairs.

The bikes raced through the forest, heading north as they followed the coordinates towards the area the blasts had come from.

The speeders swerved between the trees, Luna and First using their connection to The Force to allow them to move at high speed without crashing into anything. At the same time, Fluttershy had her eyes closed whilst Trixie kept an eye out of anything that might be of interest.

But nothing attacked them, Luna and First looking ahead and seeing a river up ahead. "Hold on," he told Fluttershy as he picked up speed. As he did, he took out one of his Lightsabers. He gave it a flick and when he did, his weapon appeared to break in half. In truth, the bottom of the Lightsaber flipped down as a trigger folded out of the gap.

First pointed it at a tree on the side of the river and pulled the trigger, causing a blue light to fly out and hit the base of the tree. The laser cut though the wood, weakening it as Luna used a Force Push to make it break the rest of the way.

The three fell towards the river and the end crashed onto the other bank, First returning his weapon to its normal shape and connecting it to his belt as the speeder raced over the new bridge. Luna followed as they continued northwards.

Twenty minutes after leaving the cave, they pulled to a stop with Luna raising her gauntlet. "Shining Armor, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear," he answered. "Find anything yet?"

"Nothing," she replied as they looked around. "The lasers came from the general vicinity we're in, but we haven't seen anything yet. We'll call back in twenty minutes with an update."

"Roger that." They closed the channels and the Jedi all took out their Lightsabers. First held both his sabers and with a flick, they both changed into the pistol forms. Fluttershy took out her Lightsaber whilst Trixie grabbed her, this saber being silver with a black leather grip and sections coming off the tip.

Luna removed her weapon from the back of her hip, this Lightsaber appearing double-edged. But unlike Skybreaker's, the ends of her saber were different designs.

They all began to walk through the forest, being mindful of the tall grass that could be hiding an enemy. But as they moved, they reached out with The Force. There didn't appear to be any signs of life around them.

They searched the area for five minutes or so, with there still being no sign that anything was around them. Luna was beginning to think the lasers had come from some kind of automated defence system, likely left by whoever had come and gone.

However, as she was about to state this, she heard a snapping sound and raised her Lightsaber. One end of the weapon extended a blue blade, the others noticing this and being put on guard as well. They turned to Luna and watched her head towards the bush that the sound had come from, but still she couldn't sense anything.

But then, a red laser shot out of the bush and almost hit her. Luna barely managed to block with her Lightsaber, as something leapt out of the foliage.

Her eyes went wide when she saw what it was, a figure in black armor that was insect themed.

The figure held up a blaster and fired, but Luna once again deflected the blast before igniting the other end. She spun the double-edged laser sword around her, deflecting the oncoming blasts as she rushed forward. And at the last moment she pulled the handle apart, splitting it into two separate Lightsabers that she used to shield herself as she spun around and cut the end of the blaster off of her.

The soldier staggered back, as Luna pointed her saber at him. "Talk! Who are you and why are you attacking us?" The soldier said nothing, as the others approached. Fluttershy and Trixie ignited her blade, Trixie's also being blue, whilst First pointed his blast-sabers at him. "I'm warning you."

The soldier stayed quiet, then suddenly pressed a button on his suit.

Luna saw this and prepared to attack, only for a beeping to fill the air and make her gasp. "Move!" The four Jedi ran away from the soldier, seconds before he was consumed by an explosion.

The shockwave struck the four and they were all sent flying, the lot barely able to prevent themselves from crashing into some trees and hitting the ground instead. Luna, the closest to the explosion, staggering around. "Master!" Trixie rushed over to her, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she assured her. "It'll take more than an explosion to take me down." She reconnected her Lightsabers and stepped over to the now burning area that had once held the insect soldier. "Sacrificing his own life, just so he wouldn't give anything away." She frowned, then raised her gauntlets. "Shining Armor."

"Here."

"Is Sentry with you?"

"He's in the ship. I can get him-"

"No," Luna stated. "You need to keep him there." This confused the others, as Luna picked up a piece of the soldier's armor. "We were just attacked by someone. Someone wearing the same armor as the soldiers that attacked Flash and killed Grand Hoof." Shock appeared on the three.

"Are you sure?"

"I re-watched the footage many times. I'm sure. If Flash learns of these individuals being here, there's no telling what he might do. Revenge is a path that leads to the Dark Side. We don't want him walking that path."

"Understood. I'll keep Flash here, but the ship's almost fixed. We won't have much of a reason to stay if he don't have anything to do."

"I know," Luna nodded. "We'll continued to search the area. I get the feeling this soldier wasn't alone. Inform Flash that we've run into the ones that shot at us, but leave out the part about them being the ones that killed Grand. We'll continue to check around the area, but we'll continue to call in when we can."

"Got it." The signal ended and the Jedi continued to look around.

"There's something I don't understand," Fluttershy frowned. "Why didn't we sense...whoever that was?" This question struck Luna and the others as well. They had been sensing everything around them, so why had that soldier taken them by surprise?

But before they could hazard a guess, the humming sound filled the air and they looked around to see something flying towards them through the forest. "Everyone take cover!" They leapt behind some trees, as a large speeder flew through the forest. Said speeder was almost tank-like, with several guns on it.

And as the Jedi took cover, the guns began to fire and caused the trees to explode and collapse.

The Jedi remained hidden behind the trees, First quickly leaning around them and firing one of his blast-sabers. The blue beam struck one of the tank's cannons and destroyed it. But as it was, the sides of the tank opened with several more of those insect soldiers jumping out.

The soldiers got into a line and started firing at them as well, the Jedi feeling their tree defences being blasted apart with every shot. As such, they all leapt out and used their Lightsabers to protect them. First kept one of his weapons in blaster mode, whilst the other formed a blue blade that he used to deflect the lasers as they rushed forward and got close.

Having no other choice, they started cutting down the soldiers. Their Lightsabers slashed through the armor they were wearing like butter. Luna once again spilt her two sabers and started slashing at them with incredible skill and precision, born from centuries of Saber training.

Fluttershy continued her defensive style of Dueling, focusing on deflecting the blasts sent towards her instead of retaliating. But when one of the soldiers got too close, she was forced to do what she must to protect herself. "I'm sorry!" She cut their hand off before stabbing them, whilst Trixie used The Force to push several more backwards before charging.

She leapt into the air and spun around, her blade cutting through the blasters of the soldiers she leapt into without issue.

She landed and kept cutting through the horde, whilst First Aid rushed forward. He blocked with his sword and fired back with his blaster, only to have to avoid another large blast that had been sent by the tank. The explosion sent out fragments of rock, dirt and wood, one of these fragments skirting by Trixie and cutting her arm.

"Augh!" She stopped and clutched her arm, Luna seeing this and frowning.

She extinguished and reconnected her weapon before putting it away, dodging the laser fire as she turned to the tank. And with a great push, the vehicle was thrown onto its side and hit the ground with a large crash. This kept it from being able to fire, freeing the Jedi to finish off the last of the soldiers.

The four panted as the last soldier was cut down. But he wasn't dead.

Luna rushed over and before he could try and hit the button, his entire body was frozen. "I don't think so." She glared at him, "who are you? What did you do to the Jedi that were sent here?" As she asked that, First stepped over to Trixie.

The girl had a gash running along her shoulder, blood flowing out of it. He raised his hand and focused on the blood, which stopped flowing and started trickling back up into her wound. As it did, First's hand began to glow green. The wound also glowed and when the last of the blood was back inside, it began to close itself up. Eventually, the entire thing had vanished with not even a scar being left.

"Thanks," she smiled as First lowered his hand. He then staggered back, Fluttershy rushing over to her mentor and grabbing him before he could fall over.

"Healing that much so quickly is too draining," she reminded him.

"We could be attacked again at any moment," First stated. "I could not wait to heal it slowly. And I could not simple scab the wound. In this situation, it would have likely been opened again." They turned back to Luna, who was still trying to interrogate the soldier. But he still remained silent.

"Your species better be one that can't talk," she told him. "That's the only excuse I'll accept for-" She stopped as a beeping sound filled the air. The suits of all the other soldiers started beeping and they realised what was coming next. Even the tank was making that noise. "Run!" The four rushed towards the speeders and quickly climbed on, kicking the vehicles into action and racing off away from the impending blast.

The soldier also pressed a button on his armor, joining the rest of his brethren in attempting to wipe out the Jedi.

Finally, they all exploded and and the ground rocked as the Jedi attempted to escape the oncoming fireball. They just managed to make it out of range, as the flame wave lost its momentum and stopped chasing them. Doing so also caused several trees to catch fire, whilst the ones consumed by the fireball were completely obliterated.

The Jedi pulled their speeders to a stop and saw the forest fire that had been started. "This is bad," Luna stated.

"I doubt that group were the only ones on this planet," First announced. "The rest were probably on alert, but now they know where we were."

"What should we do?" Fluttershy asked, as the elder Jedi attempted to think.

"We'll investigate the direction that tank came from," Luna ordered. "It's possible it was just patrolling that area, but it might have come from a base." They nodded and sped their bikes around the flaming area, being careful not to get caught within the flaming area as it spread.

"Oh," Fluttershy cried. "This poor forest. Think of all the animals that'll have to flee, or face being burned alive."

"I am sorry," First nodded. "I know how much you care about creatures in nature." They began to out run the spreading forest fire. "But there is nothing we can do at the moment. If there were clouds in the sky, maybe we could have pulled them down. But alas, it is a clear day."

"All we can do is make sure no more fires can be started," Luna replied.

"How?" Trixie asked. "Even if they don't hit the switch, it seems the suits just blow up on their own."

"Likely some kind of fail safe," Luna sighed. "If I were to hazard a guess, it probably happens if the suit stops reading their life signs. That could make things difficult." The others nodded, as they continued to race through the woods. No matter what, they would figure out who these soldiers were. They had many questions to answer.

Back in the cave, Shining, Flash and Springer continued their repairs on the ship.

They had finished the outside and now, we fixing the damage done to the interior circuits. Currently, Flash was in a hole in the ship's floor. Having removed that panel to fix up the ship's wiring, he was lasering a couple of pieces together. "Alright," he then called out, "try it now."

Springer tried to activate the engines, but the machine simply sputtered out and did nothing. "No."

Flash lasered another part, "how about now?" Springer tried again and the engine made the same noise, though it did so like it was almost about to start up. As such, Flash gave part of it a good slam with his foot and the engines roared to life. "YES!"

"We done?" Shining asked, as Flash pulled himself out of the hole.

"Systems check," Springer announced and the ship's computer began scanning all the core systems. "Everything looks okay. I think we can head out and join the others."

"No," Shining replied. "We're staying here." Flash and Springer looked at him in shock. "The others might need our help. Better we be on standby and ready to help them, than running into the fray with them and possibly getting in trouble ourselves."

"So we're just supposed to sit here?" Flash frowned, not liking the idea of waiting around. When he had heard his friends had been attacked, he wanted to rush out and help them. But Shining had told him an important part of being a Jedi, was trusting your fellow Jedi. Flash had to hope his friends would be okay. But that didn't sit well with him.

Shining shut down the ship to conserve power, as they waited in the cockpit for any news.

And after a few minutes, they got an answer with the radio going off. "Shining Armor?" Luna's voice announced.

"We're here," Shining replied. "Ship's been fixed, so we'll be ready if we need to use it. How's your search going?"

"Good."

Luna, Trixie, Fluttershy and First were currently looking over the edge of a cliff, which was overlooking an area of the forest that was a giant bowl.

Inside that bowl was another collection of trees, several large rocks and a waterfall that was feeling a river running through the valley. But there was something else. Something that would normally be missed, but Luna had years of experience and training. Training that allowed her to notices a faint distortion in the area. A distortion that was usually made by a wide range hologram.

"Something's down there," Luna stated. "Something our new friends don't want us to find out about. I'm willing to bet one of those ground defence cannons are behind this holographic wall."

"That would explain why we could not find them when we looked," First nodded. "Holographic drones are likely being used to project an image of what this valley used to look like. Who knows how different it is now."

"Only one way to find out." Trixie got up and moved to climb down the mountain, First about to tell her to wait, But Luna seemed to share her curiosity and spread her wings. She quickly flew down towards the ground, whilst Trixie was forced to climb.

"You two stay there," the Jedi Master announced. As she did, she took something out of her cloak. A pair of glasses.

First held up his gauntlet and as Luna put the pair on, the gauntlet projected an image of what the omni was seeing as she flew down towards the ground. The same image was also being projected to the Shooting Star.

Shining's eyes went wide, since there was a chance Flash might see the soldiers that had killed Grand.

Clearly, Luna and the others had forgotten this detail and now Shining, had to think of a way to stop Flash from seeing people he most likely hated with a burning passion. "Flash, go check on the other speeders." Flash looked at him in shock. "We may need to use them and I don't want to find out they have a problem when he really need them."

"Seriously?"

"Now." Flash sighed, but got up and headed towards the cargo hold. "Sorry Flash," he sighed once he was out of earshot. He turned back to the holographic screen, as Luna and Trixie reached the bottom of the cliff.

The pair were sneaking through the forest and as they did, they felt an electric aura in the air.

"We're about to pass through the hologram." Everyone watched, as the pair felt themselves push through a wall of static. And when they the environment completely changed.

The forest was completely gone, either cut or blasted down. In its place was some kind of camp, with many of the insectoid soldiers running around working on whatever they needed to do. The camp was located around a large cannon in the centre of the clearing, which was pointing towards the sky ready to blast anything that came near.

The only part of the valley that looked like the hologram was the river, though the waterfall was changed. At the top, some kind of pipe system was stopping the water from falling down the side of the cliff and was funnelled back down to be once again poured into the river.

Without the water rolling down it, the side of the cliff was shown to have a large hole that seemed to go deep into the cliff. And this hole seemed to be a point of great interest, as that appeared to be where the mass of soldiers were located.

"What is that?" Trixie asked, Luna unsure how to answer. The pair rushed over to a ship and took cover behind it, as some soldier ran past marching in perfect unison. Whoever had trained these soldiers, they had done a good job of it.

Luna tapped the side of her glasses and the image zoomed in on the cave, allowing her to see just inside of the hole. "There appear to be markings on the wall. Can the rest of you get a better image?"

First took a screenshot so Luna's movements didn't make it impossible to see. He started examining the symbols, but it wasn't anything he was familiar with.

"I can not determine what these etchings are. It is possible someone back at the Temple will be able to decipher them. Shining Armor, I am sending you a copy to place in the ship's database. When you get the chance, try sending it to Canterlot."

Once the image was sent, they continued to watch as Luna and Trixie made their way through the camp without being watched. "Maybe you should come back," Fluttershy suggested. "All you need is for one of them to spot you and the entire camp will be on you."

"She might have a point," Luna nodded. But just as she was about to pull Trixie away, they spotted someone stepping out of the cave that wasn't a soldier. "Hello."

"What is it?" Trixie asked, as Luna focused her attention on what appeared to be an Equestrian based on their legs and a lump in their head. They were dressed entirely in black leather, with some kind of helmet covering their head. But the most shocking thing Luna noticed, was what was hanging from her belt.

"A Lightsaber?" She frowned, wondering why the heck someone she didn't know held the weapon of a Jedi.

"Maybe it belongs to one of the Jedi that were on this planet before?" Trixie guess made Luna frown. That was possible, though this stranger having it did not sit well with her.

"Who are you?"

Solara stepped away from the cave, sighing as she felt herself getting exhausted.

"Lady Solara." Another soldier rushed over to her. "Another ship appeared in the sky whilst you were inside the temple." Solara's eye twitched. "We managed to hit it with the defence cannons, but it was able to get away and we lost its trail. We've sent teams out to-" He stopped, as some kind of pressure suddenly began to wrap itself around his neck. He gasped, falling to the floor as he held his neck.

Solara turned towards him, the soldier unable to see her expression but knew she was frowning beneath the mask. "And you only chose now to inform me of this?"

"I...I didn't want to...disturb you..." He tried to say more, but couldn't speak due to a lack of oxygen. "I thought..."

"You weren't bred to think," Solara stated. "You were bred to do as you're told. And I told you to inform me if anything happens. What if that ship had fired on the temple whilst I was inside. I would have been buried alive." The soldier gasped as he was moments from passing out. "Let this be a lesson to you. I don't like repeating myself." Suddenly, the force around his neck stopped and he fell to the ground panting. She looked around, the other soldiers staring at her. "What are you all looking at!?"

Luna, Trixie and all the others watching were in absolute shock.

"Did she just...Force Choke him?" Trixie turned to her master, who was equally horrified. Using the Force in such a manner was a highly punishable offence. No Jedi would ever do such a thing. But the fact this person did and could only meant one thing."

"A Sith," she growled. There hadn't been any reports of Sith in the galaxy in over a hundred years. But she could be nothing else. "This is worse than we feared. We need to get out of here, now." Trixie nodded and they started making their way back, but luck was not on their side.

"Freeze!" A voice behind them caused the pair to freeze, Trixie's hands going up on instinct. Luna frowned, chancing a look back and seeing several soldiers behind them with their guns pointed at them. Most were pointed at her, but some were also pointed at Trixie. If they fired, there was no way Trixie could avoid getting hit. "Hands in the air."

Luna sighed, but lifted her hands up as one of the soldiers stepped towards them. He started checking them over, removing their Lightsabers. "Don't try anything stupid."

Fluttershy and First watched in horror, as Luna and Trixie were disarmed before their arms were bound behind their backs.

"This is bad," Fluttershy gasped. And a snapping sound made First's head spin around.

"And it is about to get worse!" He drew his blast-sabers and started firing into the trees, hitting several soldiers that had been approaching. This made Fluttershy scream, as she rolled along the ground until she was behind a tree. The soldiers fired at her, but the tree acted as cover and she was able to get up and draw her Lightsaber.

Igniting it, she leapt out of the trees and started deflecting the blasts whilst First kept shooting. He then changed one of his weapons to sword mode, charging forward and slashing at several soldiers whilst blasting any that got too close. Fluttershy also began to go on the offensive, aiming for her enemies weapons and destroying them whilst using The Force to push them away.

But before they could think of escaping once the enemies were all defeated, another tank suddenly rolled towards them and charged up its weapons. "Fluttershy, MOVE!" First used The Force to push Fluttershy away, seconds before the spot she had been standing in was pulverised by the tank.

Fluttershy hit the ground and her Lightsaber fell from her hand, whilst First was suddenly struck by one of the blasts. He cried out and fell to the ground, his body going numb as his Lightsabers deactivated.

Fluttershy saw this and gasped, reaching towards her Lightsaber in hopes of pulling it towards her. But before it could, an armored leg came down and pinned it to the ground. She looked up and saw the soldier pointing its blaster at her, Fluttershy raising her hands to show her surrender.

"Hello?" Shining asked, "hello?" But they didn't answer, which made him worry.

"What happened?" Flash and Springer rushed into the room, looking concerned whilst Shining frowned. "Are they okay?" Shining didn't answer, "well?" The Jedi Knight let out a sigh.

"I think they've all been captured."

"What?" Flash and Springer cried, as Shining got up and headed towards the cargo bay. The two remaining speeders were ready to be used and Shining began pushing one towards the exit. But then he saw Flash heading towards the other bike.

"No, you're staying here."

"What?" Flash asked, "you can't do this alone."

"That's an order. Stay with the ship. I'm gonna need someone to fly it if we need to make a quick getaway."

"I can do that," Springer stated.

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "we're a team now. You know I've got your back-"

"I said, no!" Shining cried, shocking them both. Shining then headed towards the exit and Flash stayed where he was, frowning before he headed towards the cockpit and watched Shining race off on the speeder.

"What's his problem?" Flash asked, then remembered Shining had sent him to check on the speeders when he didn't really need to. "He's hiding something from me. But what?"

"Maybe there's something in the ship's database," Springer connected to the ship and looked through the recent activities. And it only took him a few seconds to find what he was looking for. "No way."

"What is it?" Flash asked, Springer remaining silent as if he was contemplating whether or not to tell Flash. "Springer, come on. Don't go leaving me in the dark. What's wrong?" Springer sighed, then uploaded the images he had found to Flash's gauntlet.

Flash heard the beep and raised his arm, as the device on it sent out a hologram showing the image First had taken of the temple. Then he saw something besides it. The image of soldiers wearing very familiar armor.

Flash stared at the attackers who had destroyed his first home, done who knows what to the people he grew up with and killed his former master. Staring at them sent a wave of hatred washing through him. He wanted nothing more than to take this ship towards that camp and blow it up.

He realised now, why Shining hadn't wanted to show him these images. And why he wanted Flash to stay there. He was protecting Flash from succumbing to anger and revenge. But now Flash knew they were on this planet and those emotions raced through him.

Shining flew through the woods towards the area the other speeders were located.

His bike's radar was showing him the speeders were moving, likely being taken to the camp with the others. He shot over the land and reached the river the others had come across before, the bridge they had used nowhere in sight.

As he searched for another way across, he thought about Flash and felt bad for yelling at him like that. He hadn't wanted to, but there was no way Flash could know those soldiers were on this planet.

He wasn't sure if they could keep that info away from him forever, but prayed they would at least be able to free everyone else and get them off the planet before coming clean. But a feeling he was getting was yelling at Shining, telling him Flash was going to find out sooner than that.

He finally spotted a large rock coming out the side of the bank, which had a flat ramp-like surface and hung over the river. He quickly moved to a good enough distance and raced towards it, flying off the end and soaring over the river before landing on the other side.

He drove at full speed towards the coordinates, keeping an eye out for any of those soldiers.

Then, at the last moment, he suddenly sensed something approaching and swerved to the side. Seconds later, a laser flew past and destroyed a tree. Shining turned towards the source of the laser and saw a tank flying towards him. Several soldiers were also there and firing at him, Shining doing his best to avoid them as he raced through the forest.

The tank was in hot pursuit and Shining could do nothing except focus on staying alive. But just as he seemed to be gaining distance on them, an extra powerful laser shot past him and struck the tree in front.

The explosion knocked him off balance and he was thrown from his speeder, Shining crying out as he hit the ground and rolled along it until he slammed into a tree. His speeder zoomed out of control until it fell to the ground, a miracle being the only thing to explain it not getting trashed.

Shining groaned as he picked himself up, whilst the tank raced towards him. And as it got closer, the soldiers fired at him.

He barely managed to avoid these shots, leaping to the side and pulling out his Lightsaber. Igniting it, he started deflecting the blasts as best he could. He aimed to send it back the way it came, managing to get a few hits in on the soldiers. But the blasts that hit the tank did nothing and the vehicle soon had its weapon charged back up.

Shining gasped as it fired, the Jedi trying to avoid it but the impact caused a shockwave that sent him flying. "GYAH!" He spun through the air and crashed into the ground, his Lightsaber falling from his grasp as he hit the forest floor. A ringing was also in his ears, as the tank made its way towards him.

But as the soldiers prepared to take him into custody, another sound filled the air and they looked around. They then turned to see another speeder racing towards them, the rider armed with his own blue energy weapon.

Shining picked himself up and turned towards the sound of the speeder, his eyes going wide when he saw Flash rushing to his rescue.

The soldiers fired at him, but Flash dodged or blocked with his blade until he reached the tank. There, he leapt off his speeder and flew up to the charging gun. And with a mighty swing of his sword, the barrel was cut in half and began to spark.

He landed in front of the tank and stabbed the blade into the hull, then ran and cut through the metal whilst sparks escaped from the gap and the damaged barrel. This made the soldiers leap off the tank, whilst the ones piloting it did their best to escape.

Flash also ran away, seconds before the tank exploded and sent pieces of metal flying everywhere. And whilst the soldiers were still recovering from their shock, Flash and Shining both began to attack. Before any of them could respond, their weapons were cut in half whilst a few found themselves getting slashed down the chest.

They all cried out as they staggered back, Flash and Shining standing side by side. Flash glanced over at Shining and saw he did not look happy, but they had more important things to worry about at the moment. "Why are you here?" Shining asked, "where are the Jedi you captured?" But none of the soldiers appeared up to talking, the lot of them hitting buttons on their armor. "NO!" But the beeping filled the air, Shining growled. "We have to get out of here!"

Flash nodded and ran over to where his speeder had come to a stop, Shining doing the same to his bike with the pair revving up and racing off. But no sooner did they do this, the soldiers' suits all exploded. Each explosion was rather powerful, so several going off was extra strong.

The blasts filled the air, sending out shockwaves that Shining and Flash were barely able to keep balance against. Fires filled the forest, threatening to burn the whole place down. This planet had known nothing but peace for who knows how long. Now, vast portions of it were beginning to burn down.

Once they were a safe distance away, Shining pulled the speeder to a stop.

Flash did the same and turned to Shining, who leapt off the bike and strode towards him. "I told you to stay at the ship. You deliberately disobeyed me."

"I had to come!" Flash cried, as he held up his gauntlet and showed Shining the image First had sent him. "I know why you didn't want me to come. You don't want me near them, because of what they did to me and Grand."

Shining frowned. "So now that you know they're here, you want to get revenge on them?"

"No!" Flash frowned before letting out a sigh. "I admit it, seeing them made me angry at first. I wanted nothing more than to make them hurt, the same way they hurt me." Shining frowned. "But...then I remembered what Grand had taught me. And some words you said as well. That revenge isn't the way of the Jedi."

"It's not," Shining nodded.

"And that's why I had to come. To show you I'm not interested in making them pay. I'm not saying I won't fight back if I have to, but I promise I'm not going to go out of my way to hurt them."

Shining frowned. "How can I be sure you won't."

Flash looked away, unsure about how he should answer. "These guys took my family from me once. I'm not gonna let them do it again." He turned to Shining. "I might not have known Luna, or Trixie or any of those other Jedi long. But we're all connected through The Force. So no matter what, I'm going to save them. Even if that means fighting these bug soldiers. So please, just trust me. I promise, I won't go off on my own and waste time attacking them."

Shining stared at him, as if trying to confirm whether Flash was lying or not. But in the end, he nodded. "Alright," he turned away from him, "you can come. But you will do exactly what I say. If I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to ignore a soldier, you do just that. Got it?"

"Got it!" Flash nodded as they stepped over to their speeders. "Springer's at the ship. If we can take down that laser cannon near the base, he can fly us out of there."

"Maybe. But we'll need to also deal with their ships as well." They climbed onto their bikes and revved their engines. "This isn't gonna be easy. Are you sure you're up for it?"

Flash smirked, "let's do this." Shining nodded and they shot off, once again following the other bike's signals. And all the while, they prayed their friends would be okay.

First let out a groan as he felt himself begin to come around.

When he opened his eyes, he found he was in some kind of metal room, which had Luna, Trixie, Fluttershy and several others there. Each of them were strapped to a metal Y, sticking out of the ground. Their legs and waist were stuck to the lower parts by metal cuffs, whilst their arms were bound to the upper section in the same way.

He turned to Luna and saw she was struggling in vain to pull herself free, whilst Trixie and Fluttershy looked worried. He then turned to the others in the room and found they were the Jedi they had come to find, each one trapped just like them. "What is going on?" He asked, "what happened?"

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy sighed. "You were struck by a stun blaster, because you were trying to protect me." First frowned, not liking when his student blamed herself for things like that.

"What about you?" He turned to the most senior of the Jedi they had come to find, who frowned as he turned to glare at the doorway.

"Those ships came out of nowhere. They sent out a signal that prevented us from contacting you at the temple. Then they came down. We were able to hold them off for a little while, but they eventually wore us down and we eventually had no choice but to surrender."

"Any idea who they are?"

"No," Luna sighed. "But if they're being led by a Sith, then we're in serious trouble." As she said that, the doors off to the side opened and the suited up equestrian stepped into the room. She was followed by two armed guards, as she looked around the room.

"So many Jedi," she chuckled. "So many ways I could put you out of your misery."

"Stop playing games," Luna cried. "Who are you? What are you doing here? You will release us at once and leave this planet."

The woman stepped towards Luna and stared her down. "I don't take orders from you. I'm not one of your weak minded Jedi pawns."

Luna glared back at her. "The least you can do, is take that pathetic mask off your face. Look me in the eyes when you threaten me." She said nothing back, making Luna smile. "What's the matter? Don't trust yourself not to look scared in front of me?"

"What?" She pulled back.

"I might not be able to sense the emotions of these drones you've got. But I can feel it radiating off of you no problem. Fear." The woman stepped away, turning to her soldiers as if telling them to leave. They did so, clearly not wanting to be anywhere near the Sith when she was in a bad move.

Once they were out of the room, the mask wearer turned back Luna before removing the Lightsaber from her belt. A red blade extended from the weapon and she pointed it at Luna's chin, threatening to kill her then and there. "Don't assume you know me, Jedi. I am Solara. Sith Lord and future ruler of the galaxy. I will not be intimidated by you."

"No," Luna smiled, "you're not scared of us. You're scared of something else. You came here for something and by the feeling I'm getting off of you, you're having trouble finding it." The Sith glared at her, "am I wrong?"

After a few moments, Solara extinguished her blade and turned to leave. "You will remain here until we have completed our task. Once that's done, I'll take you to meet my master. I'm sure he'll be quite interested in meeting you." She walked out of the room, leaving the Jedi trapped.

"Well that was a waste of time," Trixie frowned.

"Not necessarily," First stated. "We learned that this Sith has a master. That's an important factor."

"Always two," Luna stated. "A Master and an Apprentice. And now we know which one we're facing. The council must be made aware of this."

"How?" Trixie asked, "we're trapped. How are we gonna tell the council when we're stuck here?" The others were wondering the same thing, but Luna knew they still had a chance. Flash and Shining were still out there. And even with it being two to two hundred, there was a chance they could free them. Luna just had to trust them.

Meanwhile, Solara stepped back into the temple and headed down the long corridor filled with ancient Sith markings.

She eventually arrived at the back of the tunnel and stared at a large stone wall, which had a large circle engraved into it. Inside the circle was a square, with many parts that looked like they slid around. It was an ancient puzzle, Solara sitting in front of it and taking off her helmet.

Her face was revealed and she took several deep breaths, allowing the fresh air to fill her lungs as she worked to prepare herself. Then, she focused her attention on the puzzle and clicking sound filled the air, whilst parts of the stone began to move. This was a long and trying process, but her master had entrusted her with this assignment. And she would not fail. She could not fail.

Chapter 10

View Online

Flash and Shining were on a mission. A mission to save their friends and stop the invaders that were up to no good.

The two Jedi made their way through the trees, riding upon their speeder bikes in hopes of finding a way to free the captured Jedi. But as they drew closer to the area the other speeder's signals were coming from, Shining made a motion to halt.

"What's up?" Flash asked, as they slowed the vehicles to a stop.

"Our bikes are gonna draw too much attention," Shining replied. "We'll need to travel the rest of the way by foot." Flash frowned, but knew Shining was right. They quickly found a large rock in the middle of the forest and hid their bikes behind it, using some leaves and other foliage to cover them before making their way towards the valley that Luna and the others had gone to investigate.

As they got closer, they both went into stealth mode. They knew the soldiers were likely patrolling the area and if they were spotted, their element of surprise would be lost.

And sure enough, a trio of insect troopers walked past. Flash and Shining hid behind some trees, both doing their best to keep their breath steady so they didn't make any noise. They had to wait a good while, but the soldiers soon walked out of sight and the pair got down onto the ground to shuffle along it.

They made their way towards the edge of the cliff, Flash not seeing anything whilst Shining nodded.

"There's a holographic field, keeping the camp hidden." He pointed to parts of the valley, explaining what he had seen. "And in the middle of it all is the anti-aircraft cannon. I don't know how many more they have in the area, but that one looked pretty powerful."

"So our friends are trapped down there and the only way to save them, is to fight through a few hundred bug fighters."

Shining sighed. "It's times like this, I wish Cadance and Thorax were here." Flash turned to him in surprise. "Thorax is surprisingly good at disguising himself. If he were here, he'd find a way to get a replica of their costume and stroll right into the camp without issue."

"Well he's not here," Flash sighed as he looked down at the valley. Then, he noticed the river running through it. "That waterfall. The image showed it was split in half."

"Yeah, but the river still flowers through the camp. They redirected it back into the river, so that the area not in the hologram was unaffected."

Flash smirked, "then I think I know how we get into the camp." Shining gave him a quizzical look.

Down below, trapped inside a metal box of a cage, the other Jedi were hard at work trying to escape.

Whilst still strapped to the metal Y-shapes, the Jedi were all focusing on Luna's restraint. They had their eyes closed and groaned as they tried to use The Force to rip the metal apart, but even with all of them together the metal was just too strong. "It's no good," Trixie gasped.

"She is right," First sighed. "The only way we are getting out of these is if someone lets us out." As soon as he said that, the doors of the containment cell opened and a soldier stepped inside. He walked around, checking their restraints. And when he got to Luna's, he seemed to notice something had happened to it.

Luna glared at him, then focused. "You will release us from these restraints and return our Lightsabers to us." They all smirked, knowing Luna's will could dominate almost anyone. But to their shock, the insect soldier didn't respond. They just kept checking on them. "You will release us from these restraints and return our Lightsabers to us." Again, the insect did nothing but keep working.

"Their will is stronger than master Luna's?" Fluttershy whispered, as First frowned.

"We did not sense any emotions from them either," he pointed out. "I do not know if it is their armor, or a natural state of their species. But they appear immune to any Force based ability." They all frowned at this, only for Trixie to notice something hanging from the soldier's belt.

She glanced over at the restraint next to her, which had a control panel on the side along with a section that looked like a card slid between it. A card like the one on the soldier's belt.

Trixie waited until the soldier wasn't looking and focused on the card, which began to shake and wobble. The others besides noticed this and realised what Trixie was doing, so looked over at the ones opposite them and mouthed three words. "Keep him distracted."

They nodded and Luna called out to him. "Why do you work for that Solara woman?" She asked, the soldier looking up at her. "If you're immune to The Force, why let yourselves be slaves to her? Do you owe her some kind of debt? Did she threaten your family? Answer me!" But the soldier just stayed quiet and turned away from her, making them gasp as Trixie was forced to drop her attempts to get the card.

He stared at them and Trixie tried to look as innocent as possible, the soldier eventually leaving the containment cell and making them all sigh. "So much for that?" Trixie groaned, only to hear Fluttershy giggle. She looked up and saw the card floating in front of the pink haired girl. "How..."

"Thanks for loosening it out of the slot," Fluttershy smiled. "When he turned around, I was able to pull it out without issue." Trixie smirked, as Fluttershy turned to Luna and slowly moved the card towards her control panel. But getting it to slot into place wasn't going to be easy. And even after they freed themselves, what next?

There was an entire army between them and their escape. And even if they tried to steal some of those ships, that cannon would blast them out of the sky before they could get very far. This wasn't going to be easy.

Back outside, the soldiers continued to do their duties.

Some continued to patrol the camp, whilst others were doing maintenance on their ships and weapons. Others were simply standing around, waiting to act at a moments notice should the need arrive. But none of them thought about looking towards the river, which continued to flow through the camp. Several bridges had been set up so they could move over the water, but there had been no defences set up to prevent assault from the water.

As such, Flash and Shining were using this chink in their armor to sneak into the camp.

The pair were swimming up the river, using The Force to weaken the current around them so they were swept down stream. The pair had a rebreather in their mouths, allowing them to filter out the hydrogen in the water they were breathing in and leaving them with nothing but pure oxygen.

They continued to swim as fast as they could, staying as close to the bottom as possible to the bottom so they didn't splash above the water. And eventually, they reached the area of the river closest to the air cannon and found a bridge to hide under before surfacing. They glanced out from under the wooden panels, focusing on the cannon and spotting a door leading into the interior.

"That's where we need to go. If we can get in there, we can disable the cannon and it'll be safe to fly in and save everyone."

"Alright," Flash nodded, "but are you sure both going in's a good idea? Two people are a lot more likely to be spotted than one."

Shining frowned, "you're right. I'll head in there and disable it. You see if you can find the others." He turned towards the waterfall, which was still split to allow the entrance to the mysterious cave to be revealed. "Try in there. I don't know if there's anyone in there, so it might be a bit dangerous. But-"

"Don't worry," Flash assured him. "I'll be fine. You just make sure we can get the heck off this planet." Shining nodded as they looked around, making sure nobody was looking. There were a lot of soldiers, so someone always seemed to be looking in their direction.

"New plan," Shining replied as he pointed to a large stack of crates. "Distraction." Flash nodded and turned his focus on the crates, holding his hands out to mimic a hand grasping one of the lower crates. He then pulled it forward.

Shining spotted a bunch of crates in the opposite direction and did the same. He wasn't sure if two crate stacks falling would look suspicious, but it was the best option he had right now. They both pulled at the same time, the lower crates moving out with the ones on top toppling after them.

The soldiers all turn to this, Flash and Shining rushing into action as they did.

Shining jumped out of the water and ran for the door, using The Force to open it so he could get inside as fast as he could. He slammed the door behind him, the soldiers not noticing him whilst Flash headed towards the tunnel.

"Did you hear that?" A Jedi asked, as Fluttershy floated the card over to Luna's controls. "Sounds like something's happening outside."

"Most likely our friends," First stated. "Flash and Shining must be trying to help us escape. But against that many soldiers, it is going to be impossible for them." The Jedi frowned, only to hear a clicking noise and look back to see Luna's shackles coming undone.

The Jedi Master stepped forward, rubbing her wrists as she smiled. "Then let's try and even the odds." She grabbed the card and quickly started freeing them, the Jedi smiling as they were able to step away from the restraints. And no sooner was the last member free, the doors opened up with a soldier coming in to check on them.

But no sooner did he see them free, Luna pulled his blaster from his hands and fired at him.

He cried, falling to the ground with the soldiers nearby turning to see this. But the Jedi rushed outside and Luna started firing at anything that moved, the rest of them pulling their blasters towards them as the insects fell.

The soldiers around them saw this and once the shock had worn off, they pointed their weapons at the Jedi. But the Jedi quickly replied with their own attacks, blasting at them as they fanned out to not get boxed in. And as they did, First spotted a nearby tent that looked important.

"Fluttershy!" He cried, his apprentice following him as he ran towards the tent.

They shot their way to it and got inside, First smiling when he saw a bunch of Lightsabers on a table within it. That included theirs, First dropping his blaster and grabbing his duel weapons. Fluttershy doing the same. And as they picked the others up, First saw something on the table under them. A diagram of some kind.

"What is it?" Fluttershy asked, as First picked the diagram up and saw it was some kind of circle with a square within it. The square appeared to have an image on it, a symbol First couldn't quite decipher.

"I do not know," he replied. "But I am sure the council will want to see it." He folded it up and stuffed it into his robes, then switched his weapons to their blaster mode. "For now, let us focus on escaping this place." Fluttershy nodded as she held the Lightsabers in hand, the pair rushing back out.

First had to protect his student, as they made their way back towards the others to deliver the weapons. She threw Luna's towards her and as soon as she caught it, the Jedi Master dropped the blaster and rushed forward. She swung her duel ended blade around to deflect multiple blasts, then split the saber and began an elaborate dance in order to destroy the many blasters around her.

This distracted the soldiers, allowing Fluttershy to return the rest of their Lightsabers. Soon, the Jedi were once again armed with the thing that made them the most deadly.

The blasts and explosions had caught the ear of Flash, but he had already made it into the cave before the other Jedi left.

He turned back to the entrance, fearing that Shining had been found and was now fighting to stay alive and un-captured. But then he heard multiple Lightsabers, which made him smile as he realised the other Jedi must have escaped. Or more Jedi had shown up to help.

He was about to go help, but then he happened to look back at the end of the tunnel and see something.

It was a large round hole, sat perfectly in the centre of the square wall. The circle was so perfect, a very small alien could use it to drive a very small ground vehicle around without feeling a single bump.

Curiosity got the better of him and Flash stepped towards it, placing a hand on hole and looking through it. He found there was another chamber behind the hole, which had previously been sealed up by a round seal that was currently floating off to the side of it.

He climbed through the hole and realised he was at the top of a stone staircase, descending down into the darkness of the chamber. It was so dark, Flash couldn't see two feet in front of his face. He quickly took out his Lightsaber and ignited it, the chamber filling with blue light as he began to make his way down the stairs.

With nothing else to do, he counted the steps and found himself reaching the bottom after the one hundredth. He lifted his blade higher, allowing him to fill more of the room with light. And as he did, he saw something straight ahead. Some kind of altar in the middle of the room, sitting atop a raised platform.

Stepping up to the platform, he noticed a bunch of stone goblets in each corner. He climbed up onto the platform and looked within a goblet, the light of his sword illuminating some kind of liquid within it. "Huh?" He looked at his Lightsaber and carefully placed it closer to the liquid, keeping his head back as the sword touched it.

Flames exploded out of the goblet, filling the room with light and making him smirk.

Quickly igniting the other three goblets, he let the chamber grow bright and turned towards the stone table. There was nothing on it. Nothing but dust and a few cobwebs. Flash wondered what the point of it was, but then he noticed something in the middle of the table. More specifically, an absence of something.

A spot that was perfectly clean, lacking any dust or passage of time. And that could only mean one thing. "Something was on here. Something that was removed recently."

It was then he felt a presence behind him. A strong surge of emotion, coming from a still dark corner of the chamber.

He slowly turned towards that area and when he did, a red light slowly extended out of the darkness and illuminated the area. Doing so also illuminated the figure holding the Lightsaber, Flash staring into the masked eyes of the one commanding the insect soldiers.

Flash slowly stepped down off the platform, his Lightsaber at the ready as the figure stared at it. "Nice sword," Solara laughed. "Interesting design."

"Thanks," Flash smirked, "shame I can't say the same for you. Red. So cliche. Just screams, 'I'm trying too hard to look badass.' Maybe you should try a more refreshing colour. I hear yellow is all the rage these days."

"Funny," she replied. "Enjoy your last words. I can't let you or any of the Jedi leave this place. Not after everything you've seen."

"Honestly, I have no idea what I've seen. This just looks like an old Jedi temple."

"It is. But I'm sure, once you told those fools on the Jedi Council, they would figure it all out. I can't let that happen." Before Flash could respond, Solara rushed forward and swung her blade towards him.

Flash barely had time to block, the red and blue sabers clashing as the pair were inches from one another. The surprise caused Flash to lose his footing and he ended up staggering back, but managed to stay on his feet as Solara chased after him and slashed at him again. This time, he was ready and swung his blade to meet her's.

The dark room was illuminated with many different flashes of light, as the red and blue Lightsabers were constantly smashed into each other. Flash quickly realised that whoever this was, she was clearly a skilled duellist. She moved with incredible grace and precision, Flash barely able to keep up with her movements.

'This isn't good.'

Back above, as the Jedi continued to fight against the insects, Shining was inside the laser cannon working to disable it.

He was busy rewiring different sections of it, but it was a slow and difficult process. "Come on." He removed one wire and connected it to another, then pulled one circuit out and swapped it with another. As he did, he heard the sounds of fighting outside.

"I really hope that's not because of Flash." He quickly activated his gauntlet, trying to get a signal to Springer. It was weak, but he was able to open a channel to him. "Springer, you hear me?"

"I hear you," the droid replied. "Were you able to find the Jedi?"

"Yeah. Flash and I are in the enemy camp right now. I'm working on disabling the cannon. Once it's down-" He stopped when he heard footsteps and spun around, as an insect soldier appeared.

"Halt!" He started firing and Shining barely managed to dodge the attack, grabbing his Lightsaber as he did and using it to block the next laser. The area they were in was rather cramped, a metal corridor full of wires and other pieces of machinery. This meant Shining had very little room to maneuver, as he used his Lightsaber to block all the incoming blasts. It also meant he accidentally cut through wires and machines, causing several alarms to go off.

He finally reached the soldier and cut his blaster in half, whilst also gouging a large section of the wall next to him. He then pushed the soldier backwards, slamming him into the back wall and making him groan as multiple explosions filled the air as well.

"That's not good," Shining gulped as he began to run for the exit. "Springer, this thing's about to blow. You'll be free to fly in when I give the word."

"Roger."

Shining leapt out of the door and into a warzone, the Jedi spotting Luna cutting her way through several soldiers as the rest of the Jedi did their best to defeat the few attacking them. "Shining!" He turned to see Trixie, as she cut another soldier down. "Where's Flash?"

"That's what I was hoping you'd tell me," Shining replied. "Isn't he the one who freed you?" Trixie shook her head as she ducked, a blast flying overhead that Shining deflected. "Then where is he?" He turned towards the waterfall tunnel, "have you been in there?"

"No," Trixie deflected another blast, "why?" Shining didn't answer and ran towards it, fighting his way through the horde of soldiers as he wondered what could have held Flash up whilst he was in there.

He cut another soldier down and leapt to the side, the insect's armor beginning to beep. And his wasn't the only one. Whenever a soldier was killed or disarmed, their suits exploded. Shining didn't know why, but he assumed it was so they couldn't be captured, interrogated or studied. Information was key in anything and even a body could give away important intel.

This made travelling through the camp rather dangerous, since Shining had to be careful not to step into the path of an explosion. "Hold on, Flash!"

Flash was still having trouble fighting against Solara, the Sith's skills clearly overshadowing his.

He blocked one of her strikes, but then she spun around and tried to cut him at the waist. Flash leapt back, the tip of the sword missing his stomach as he did so, but Solara was instantly on the attack and leapt forward to perform a downward slash.

Flash blocked her strike, groaning as he was forced onto one knee. Solara pushed down and he groaned. "You should have trained more. If you're the best the Jedi can do, defeating you fools isn't going to be a very difficult task."

Flash smirked. "Actually, I've only been a Jedi for a couple of weeks." Solara tilted her head, "it's a whole thing that I won't get into." He quickly used her confusion to push her backwards, then started attacking as hard as he could. He used every trick and manoeuvre he had been taught, by both Grand and Shining. But nothing he did took Solara by surprise.

She deflected a slash and didn't fall for his feint, her red blade knocking the blue one away before she tried to cut off one of his legs.

"Wow!" He jumped back, checking his leg to make sure he still had it. "Geez, who taught you to fight like this?"

"A powerful Force user," Solara replied. "One who will one day rule this galaxy, once we have destroyed all vestiges of Jedi filth from it." Flash frowned. He wasn't sure why, but something didn't feel right about the way she said that. He was reminded of himself, when Celestia had asked him to recite portions of the Jedi code perfectly. That was the sound of someone who had those words drilled into their head, with no emotion behind it whatsoever.

He ran forward and slashed at her, Solara quickly slashing back in an attempt to cut him down. Once again, Flash found himself outmatched. He had the speed advantage, but Solara had the skill, training and a bunch more experience than him.

At the final moment, she knocked Flash's Lightsaber away from her and thrust her hand forward. Flash suddenly felt a wall of force slam into him, knocking him flying backwards as his Lightsaber was thrown from his grasp.

"Gyah!" He crashed into the back wall and fell to the ground, his head spinning as he tried to pick himself up.

The world was swirling around, with multiple copies of Solara walking towards him with her Lightsaber pointed at him. When she finally fused into one, Flash realised he was in serious trouble. "Goodbye, Jedi." She raised her weapon, ready to cut him down. But before she could, a blue light appeared behind her.

She had obviously sensed this too, spinning around and blocking the incoming Lightsaber with her own. She soon found herself staring at Shining Armor, the two pushing against one another until Shining leapt back and glanced around her.

"You okay?" He asked, as Flash started picking himself up.

"Peachy." He looked around, trying to locate his Lightsaber. But the chamber was so dark, he had no idea where it might have fallen. "She's got something. We can't let her get away with it!" Solara attacked before Shining could ask any more questions, the Sith attacking with everything she had.

Shining fought back, the Jedi Knight having a much better time against her than Flash did. Flash frowned, feeling a little insulted by this. But he knew he had to focus on finding his weapon and helping his master out.

Once again, red and blue flashes filled the air as the pair danced around one another. Shining's more defensive style of swordplay, allowed him to block and deflect each and everyone of Solara's attack without losing any ground to her. And when she gave a rare opening, he capitalised on it and struck.

"Gaaah!" Solara had to leap back, to avoid getting slashed by Shining. "Now we're having fun. Good to know not all Jedi are completely useless in a fight. There'd be no fun in beating you if it was easy."

"Don't underestimate Flash," Shining replied quietly enough not to be heard. "He might still be learning, but he's a quick study. Give him time and he might be the strongest Jedi the order has ever seen." Solara tilted her head. "And that's not somebody you want as your enemy. Especially after what your little soldiers did to him."

"Oh. And what did my soldiers do to him?" As she said that, another Lightsaber ignited and she turned to see Flash had found his weapon. The Padawan moved towards her, a hard look on his face.

"They attacked the forest moon that I was born on. They attacked me and my friends, without reason or mercy. I don't know what happened to the rest of the people I grew up with, but my master died protecting me. It's only thanks to him that I'm alive right now. Because of the attack you performed on us."

"Is that so?" Solara chucked, "then I guess that makes him the first casualty of this war. A war that will end with the rest of the Jedi, as dead as he is." Flash's glare hardened, his grip on his Lightsaber tightening.

"Flash," Shining called out to him, "calm down. She's just trying to rile you up. Rage will only blind you, let you become sloppy. Tune out whatever she says." With that, Shining rushed forward and slashed at her. Solara started fighting back and as she did, Flash also charged.

Flash and Shining had trained for just such an occasion, the pair having memorised each other's movements through countless duels. Because of this, they were able to fight side by side without getting in one another's way. As such, Solara was forced to protect herself from twice the attack. And even with her skill, she quickly realised she was now outmatched.

She blocked Flash's slash and dodged Shining's stab, her Lightsaber swinging wildly with Flash leaping back before Shining blocked with his sword. Solara quickly used this opening to Force Push Flash, but the Padawan was ready this time and only got pushed back a few feet. She then pushed Shining back with her saber before leaping into the air.

The blue bladed Force users watched her flip through the air, eventually landing halfway up the stairs leading back outside. "Well. this has been fun. But I really need to get going. Things to do and all. Maybe we'll meet again some day." She gave a two fingered salute. "Ciao." With that, she rushed up the stairs as the Jedi followed behind her.

When they reached the top of the stairs, they saw Solara standing at the hole. She was pointing her hand towards the floating circle, which had several square sections sliding around. As it did, the circles started moving towards the hole and she leapt through it. Flash and Shining ran to escape, but the hole was sealed before they could get through.

Flash pulled on the rock, trying to pry it open. Shining tried to cut through it with his Lightsaber, only to be shocked when he found the stone wasn't even burned by it. "What's this thing made of?"

"We've gotta get out of here!" Flash cried, continuing to pull on the stone with little success. "What the heck did she do?"

"It looked like she moved something on the other side. Probably some kind of locking mechanism." He placed a hand on the rock and closed his eyes. When he did, he was amazed to find the stone was hollow. Inside were a bunch of moving parts, creating an elaborate lock that Shining couldn't hope to crack. "If we don't find a way out of here, who knows how long we'll last."

"I just hope the others are okay," Flash gulped.

Back outside, the camp was a complete disaster.

Multiple craters and burns littered the ground, resulting from the many explosions that had occurred when the soldiers blew up. Several ships had been destroyed, but there were still many more that had survived. And the tanks that had been patrolling around the surrounding area had returned and were now firing upon the Jedi from above.

Luna and the rest of the Jedi were starting to feel tired, the constant fighting having worn them all out. But they didn't have time to rest, the lot of them taking shelter from the tanks by hiding behind the cannon. "What do we do?" Fluttershy asked, Luna unable to think since another blast came down and shook the ground.

Luna frowned as she glanced around the cannon, spotting the tanks up on the cliff above. She then noticed movement and looked around, where she saw Solara running out of the tunnel. "Where's she going?" The Sith looked around, then gave an order to the remaining soldiers before they ran over to where the remaining fighters were standing. "They're making a run for it!"

"Isn't that a good thing?" Trixie asked.

"They came here for a reason," First pointed out. "If they are leaving, it means they must have found what they came for. And I have a feeling it is not something we want a Sith to have."

"He's right," Luna used her gauntlet to connect to the Shooting Star. "Springer, are you there?"

"Yup. Ready for pick up?"

"Not yet. We need you to get over here. There are some ships about to take off. You can't let them get off the planet."

"Got it. I'll do what I can, but the Shooting Star isn't exactly built for combat." Luna frowned, knowing her was right. She quickly ducked back into the behind the cannon, as a blast from the tank exploded and debris was sent everywhere. She then heard the sounds of ships beginning to power up, Solara preparing to fly up into the air to attempt to escape with whatever she had taken from that hidden temple.

Speaking of the temple, she looked back at the place and realised both Flash and Shining were still in there. If they hadn't come out yet, then something bad must have happened.

"First," she looked back at the knight, "I need you to go check on the temple. If Flash and Shining are okay, I want to know right now." First looked over at the temple, realising that getting to it wasn't going to be easy.

"If the tank sees me head inside, it will likely blast the entrance and trap us all inside."

"Leave the tanks to us," Luna told him. "Jedi, we're going to head in the opposite direction. Attack the fighters and make it look like we're trying to stop them from taking off." They nodded and rushed out from around the cannon, charging at full speed towards the ships.

The tanks quickly started firing at them, but the Jedi were too quick and managed to get towards the fighters. This meant the tanks could no longer fire, since they clearly didn't want to destroy their own ships.

The fighters were still in the process of taking off, some of them already hovering in the air. But as they saw the Jedi approaching, they began to turn their guns on them.

The Jedi all stood in a line and as the fighters shot at them, they swung their blades in unison and deflected the blasts. The impacts were strong, meaning they were also staggered, but the lasers were still repelled and some struck the fighters.

Those that didn't deflect a blast kept running forward and slashed at the grounded fighters, damaging them so that they couldn't take off. But one of the fighters managed to get into the air before it was too late. Solara's.

The Sith took to the air, glaring back at the destruction those Jedi had caused. But she had escaped and that was the most important thing. Or that's what she thought, until she suddenly felt her ship shake. "What?" Her console blared, showing a ship that had appeared behind her.

She glanced back and saw the Shooting Star flying behind her, its guns firing at her but whoever was firing had a terrible aim. The guns fired in random directions, whilst the ship looked like it was having trouble flying in a straight line.

"Clearly not a woman at the controls," she laughed. "If it was, they wouldn't have such a hard time multi-tasking." She wanted to swing around and destroy the ship, but she couldn't risk a lucky shot disabling her.

She quickly did several barrel rolls to get out of the ship's line of sight, then floored the engines to pick up speed.

"Circuits!" Springer cursed, taking his systems out of the guns and placing them in the scanners systems.

The ship wasn't designed to be piloted by one person and even a droid couldn't do everything, Springer only being able to interface with two of the ship's systems. As such, he lost sight of Solara's ship and tried to pick her up with the radar. But by the time he got the system loaded, Solara was out of range.

"Oh, man. I'm so getting dismantled for this." He flew into the atmosphere, hoping to maybe find her there. But when he did, he sent out a wide range scan and found nothing. She was gone.

Back in the tomb, Flash and Shining continued to push and pull against the seal. Having no clue how the locking mechanism worked, this was all they could think to do.

"There has to be some way to undo it from this side," Shining groaned.

"Unless it was specifically designed not to be," Flash pointed out. They both sighed, thinking this might be the end for them. However, they soon heard a clicking and turning sound, coming from the seal. Both shared a look and stepped back, igniting their Lightsabers ready to defend themselves if something happened.

Then, the seal began to move out of the hole and float away from it, revealing someone behind it. "First," Shining sighed, "am I glad to see you."

"Just be thankful I found these instructions earlier," First showed them a diagram of the seal they had just been trapped behind. "If I had not, I might have never known how to unlock this door. It appears that there is something inside the seal, that can only be moved using The Force. If I had not found this diagram, I would not have known which part to lift in order to shift the pattern into place."

Another explosion filled the air, making them all look towards one another before running out the tunnel.

When they got outside, they saw the tanks up on the cliff continuing to fire at the Jedi. Said Jedi were attempting to get back towards the cliff, the other fighters having been destroyed in the battle. But the tanks were preventing them from getting close enough.

"They need our help!" Flash cried, only for a tank to notice them and turn its guns on them.

"We need to help ourselves first!" Shining cried as they ran for it, seconds before the tank fired at them. The blast caused the cliff to explode, the tunnel collapsing whilst the waterfall was unleashed and crashed down into the valley. The Jedi barely made it out of the blast range and as they kept running, the tank prepared to fire once again.

But before it could, it was suddenly bombarded by lasers from above.

They looked up and saw the Shooting Star flying towards them, its lasers raining down on the cliffs and damaging to thanks. This allowed the Jedi to escape, as the cannon started moving around to aim at the space ship. "I thought you took that thing down!" Flash cried.

"I disabled its firing system," Shining cried. "But I guess its targeting system was undamaged."

"So what will happen if it tries to fire?" First asked, the three getting their answer when the machine powered up. But when it did, many small explosions started ripping through the cannon's barrel and sparks flew out of the hole.

"It's gonna blow!" Flash cried, as the Shooting Star flew down towards the valley and opened its doors. The Jedi all rushed towards it, as the cannon started building up more and more power.

Luna's group reached it first, the Jedi Master the last to climb on board once she was certain the rest of the Jedi were on board. "Go, Springer!" She cried, the droid lifting the ship into the air and flying towards the other three. They all ran as fast as they could, as the cannon's systems went into overdrive.

As the ship got close, they all leapt into the air and landed on the loading door. "Go! Go! Go! GO!" Flash yelled, the three pulling themselves inside as Springer gunned the engine.

The loading door shut as they flew higher and higher, the cannon finally reaching its breaking point.

The explosion was huge and consumed the entire valley, along with everything within a two mile circumference of it. A massive dome of energy, which rocked the entire continent and would likely cause planetary devastation that would not be undone for millennia or more.

The Shooting Star raced to outrun it, Springer pushing the engines to their limit as the shockwave chased after them. But eventually, the blast hit them and the entire ship was sent spinning whilst those on board held on for dear life. They screamed, Springer having a hard time getting away.

They groaned as the ship finally levelled out, though it took a few minutes for the rest of them to recover. "Is everyone okay?" Luna asked, only for one of the Jedi to rush to the bathroom in order to not stain the ship with puke. "Nevermind." She let out a sigh, then headed towards the cockpit with Shining and First following.

When they got there, they looked out the window as Springer turned the ship around.

Even from space, the massive crater could be seen on one of the northern continents. The Jedi frowned, Shining especially upset since he was partly responsible for the damage done to the planet. But the brunt of the blame had to go to Solara and her minions, Luna turning to Springer.

"What happened to her?"

"I'm sorry," Springer replied. "I tried to follow her, but she's a really good pilot. I lost her and she escaped." Luna sighed, but didn't blame Springer. This Solara girl was a mystery and a half. The Jedi knew this likely wouldn't be the last time she or her mysterious master would make an appearance.

She turned to Shining, "what did she get?"

"No idea. Flash!" A few moments later, Flash stepped into the cockpit. "Any idea what she got from that temple?" Flash frowned as he tried to think.

"I didn't actually see it, but I know it wasn't that big." He held his hands up and showed a space between them. "Maybe about this big. And I think it was triangular. Like I said, I didn't see it. All I saw was a dust pattern left on the table. Sorry." The Jedi frowned, wishing they knew what Solara was after.

They had come to this planet to investigate a missing team of Jedi. But they may have uncovered something else entirely. Something that could spell danger for the entire galaxy.

Many light-years from the planet, Solara's space fighter came out of hyperspace.

Not being very large, the ship could only travel a certain distance. But as she came out of hyperspace, she was greeted by a larger ship that asked for a clearance code. And after giving it, she shut down the engine as the tractor beam grabbed hold and pulled her into the ship.

Once aboard, the Sith made her way through the stellar cruiser with the insect soldiers saluting whenever she passed. She eventually reached a room inside the ship and headed in, where someone else was waiting for her.

That someone was a tall female alien with black skin, long blue hair and large green bug eyes. On her forehead was a long black horn, that was zigzagged and covered in holes. She was wearing a black leather dress that was covered in silver web patterns that was open at the side, allowing her black legs freedom of movement. Her legs were inside leather boots that went all the way up to her mid-thigh and had metal webbing around the bottom and knees. A pair of blue insect wings could be seen on her back, with holes in them that should have made flying impossible.

She turned to Solara, revealing a Lightsaber attached to a silver belt around her waist.

Solara removed her helmet, as the insect woman appeared. "Where are my soldiers?"

"They're not your soldiers," Solara stated.

"I'd like to see you lay a few hundred eggs and not say the same thing. But that's besides the fact. Where are they?" Solara glared at her, only for the room to suddenly go dark as a holographic image appeared in the room. Said image was of Sombra, the dark Sith sitting on his throne.

"My lord!" The two knelt down, their heads lower as Solara spoke. "I was able to acquire the item we were searching for. But there were...complications."

"What kind of complications?" Sombra asked, raising an eyebrow as Solara reached into her cloak.

She then took something out. A strange metal object, which was a flat triangular shape that was about two or three inches thick. A round red gem could be seen in the centre, whilst the three points were made out of a differently coloured gem. One point was red, one point was blue and one point was yellow.

Solara placed the object onto the table, allowing Sombra to examine it. "Jedi appeared on the planet. They were already there when we arrived, so we were forced to capture them before we could begin our search for the temple."

"I see. And what did you do to these Jedi when you found the artefact?"

"I had originally planned to bring them to you. I thought, maybe, you could educate them and show them the true power of the dark side. But..."

"But?"

"More Jedi arrived," Solara stated. "They attacked whilst I was in the temple. They defeated our soldiers and freed the captured Jedi before attacking me. I barely managed to escape."

"You fled?" The other woman growled, "leaving my soldiers to be captured!"

"Calm," Sombra stated. "Relax, Chrysalis. Their suits should have disposed of anything that the Jedi could use against us." Chrysalis frowned.

"Don't go blaming me," Solara told her. "You should have trained them better. They were defeated by a bunch of Jedi."

"If losing to the Jedi is something to be ashamed of, why are you looking so proud?"

"My priority wasn't defeating the Jedi," the girl replied. "It was making sure the relic was safely delivered into our master's hands. I couldn't risk a Jedi getting a lucky shot in and disarming me, taking the relic once I was captured." Chrysalis frowned, whilst Sombra stared at the relic.

"So the Jedi survived and now know of us?"

Solara looked a little worried, "yes."

"What did you tell them?" Chrysalis growled, "do they know about us? About the relic?"

"They know of me," Solara stated. "Whether or not they know I am simply the apprentice, I cannot say. They may end up deducing that fact, but they might not. They never saw the relic, but they obviously know I took something from the temple. Also, they already know about Chrysalis' troopers."

"What?" Chrysalis asked.

"I didn't get all the details, but it appears your soldiers attacked somewhere important to one of these Jedi. His name was Flash Sentry and apparently, his master Grand Hoof was killed during an attack by your soldiers. The Jedi already knew about the troopers, but now they know who's controlling them."

"I see," Sombra nodded. "We'll need to be careful how we approach our objectives in the future. I'll inform Doom, Tirek and Armalum. We cannot allow the Jedi to know of our intentions. Not until it's too late for them to do anything. Chrysalis, continue your work increasing our number and bring the relic to me. Solara, you have done well. But you still have two more relics to find. Once the keys have all been gathered, the doors to the Jedi's destruction will open." They nodded, as the hologram ended.

The two shared a look before Solara turned to leave, clearly exhausted and wanting to rest before she had to begin the next part of her mission.

Once she was gone, Chrysalis sat at her desk and stared at the relic in front of her. If it was truly as powerful as Sombra believed, then she looked forward to seeing the kind of devastation it would bring to the Jedi.

Back on Canterlot, the Jedi had returned to the Temple and made their report.

Shining, Luna and First were standing in front of Celestia, the omni Jedi Grand Master not looking happy about the news they had to give. "An actual Sith?" She asked. "You're sure of this?"

"Yes," Luna nodded. "I could sense the power of the Dark Side within her. She's an apprentice, but she's clearly been trained in the Dark Side of the Force."

"Which means she's not the biggest threat," Shining frowned. "There's another Sith out there and they're up to no good." The others nodded, as Celestia sighed.

"I had prayed this day would never come. I'd hoped the Sith were well and truly extinct. But it seems I was foolish to believe such a thing."

"Darkness is an important part of keeping balance," First stated. "Where there is light, a shadow will always be cast. No matter how many times the Sith are wiped out, a new one will eventually arise to take its place."

"Which is why we need to continue to train the next generation," Celestia agreed. "So that they are ready to take on any threat that might reveal themselves in the future." She looked up at the others. "It appears our time of peace is under threat. We must do whatever it takes to protect it."

"Which means we have to increase our student's training regiment," Luna announced. "To make sure they're prepared to handle this threat if it shows itself after our time."

"But we also have to figure out what that Solara woman took from the temple," First pointed out. "Has the Education core managed to decipher the symbols we gathered from the temple?"

"I'm afraid not," Celestia shook her head. "I've had Twilight looking through every piece of text she can find that might give us a clue, but nothing has shown up yet. Whatever this text is, it's old. Ancient. I don't know what they took, but it is definitely something the ancient Jedi feared. And considering the threats our ancestors faced in the dark ages, I'm sure it's not something we want to face ourselves."

"Then we have to stop them," Shining stated. "Even though we have no idea what they're planning."

Celestia nodded, then had a thought. "How is your apprentice doing? Based on your report, he must be having some troubled feelings given who you faced."

"He's...I'm not sure. He didn't let his anger get the better of him when we faced the soldiers. But Solara managed to get under his skin. If she hadn't left and kept speaking, I'm certain Flash would have lost control. He's yet to learn Jedi detachment."

Celestia nodded. "I may have to speak with him myself. Don't take this the wrong way, Shining. But teaching something like that isn't easy, especially for someone who's never tried before. He may need more help learning to detach himself from the world." They all nodded, Shining sighing at the thought of his student having trouble that he can't help with.

In his room, Flash lay upon his bed whilst Springer recharged himself in the wall outlet.

The young Jedi stared at the ceiling, thinking about the soldiers that had attacked him all those years ago. He had managed to keep his anger in check, but it hadn't been easy. The only thing that had kept him from attacking them in the camp, was the thought of his friends getting hurt because he rushed in. If they hadn't been in danger, he didn't want to think what might have happened.

Then there had been the Sith girl, who had beaten him. If those soldiers were working for her, had the forest moon he had grown up on had something hidden there? Was that why they attacked? Or did they just do it because they were Sith and hurting people was what Sith did?

Flash clutched his sheet and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He knew that one day, he would face those villains again. And when he did, he was gonna need to be stronger in order to make them pay.

Chapter 11

View Online

Within the Jedi Temple, news of the recent mission was spreading like wildfire.

The Jedi Council had called an order wide meeting, with everyone from younglings to the most experienced Jedi Knight being summoned to be given the news. Luna, being the most experienced Jedi that had been present, had given the announcement with Celestia going over the follow up measures.

To say everyone was shocked to learn about the Sith was an understatement, the Knights realising this could be a serious issue whilst the younger members were letting their imaginations run wild.

In one of the courtyards, Spike, Scootaloo, Sweetie and Applebloom were sitting together and discussing the Sith. Scootaloo spoke up. "I heard, that Sith have the power to raise the dead. But the bodies they restore have no souls. They're just filled with evil and walk around like zombies." She mimicked a zombie, Sweetie shivering.

"Stop that," she cried. "I don't wanna imagine fighting something like that."

"I doubt we'll ever fight anything like that," Spike pointed out. "We don't even have our Lightsabers. By the time we're ready to go onto the front lines, the other Jedi will have probably beaten this Sith." The girls hoped he was right, but also knew there was a chance they could be joining the front lines sooner than they thought.

"We're not that far from our gatherin'" Applebloom stated. "Once we have our Lightsabers, we'll have ta compete in da'h tournament and maybe get our Jedi masters. What if the Sith ain't beaten by then?" They all frowned, the young Jedi looking rather worried as they clearly feared for their future.

At that moment, Twilight and Rarity walked into the courtyard. Twilight was tapping away at a tablet, a frustrated look on her face as she seemed to be struggling with something. "Twilight!" Spike called out, the girl stopping and turning to them. "Are you okay?"

Twilight sighed as they moved over to sit beside them. "Just annoyed that I can't figure out what these ancient symbols mean. I've run them through every decoding and language processing system we have, but they keep coming up empty. Whatever this script is, it's in a language that was never used by the Jedi Order."

Rarity nodded. "Or it could be so old that it was used before the Jedi had the means of cataloguing stuff like this."

"Do you really think it's that old?" Sweetie asked her sister, the two cat girls sharing a look whilst Twilight sensed the worried emotions radiating off the younglings.

"Are you guys okay?" She asked, "you see scared or something."

Spike rubbed the back of his head. "We were talking about the chances of us one day having to fight a Sith."

"Oh," Rarity made a noise, "don't be silly darling. You four are a long way off from being ready to fight something like that. Twilight and I aren't even there yet."

"But Flash fought that Sith?" Scootaloo pointed out.

"That was a case of wrong place, wrong time," Twilight replied. "Trust me. None of us are gonna end up fighting a Sith any time soon. The Knights will be the ones to deal with it. By the time we're knighted, the Sith will be a thing of the past." The younglings hoped they were right, but there was still a feeling that things wouldn't be so easy.

"Speaking of Flash," Rarity turned to Twilight. "I think I saw him heading to Celestia's private meditation chamber. Any idea what that's about?" Twilight shook her head, since this clearly wasn't an unusual thing.

As the Jedi Grand Master, Celestia's role was to help any Jedi, be they Padawan, Knight or even Master. Though Twilight was her direct student, Celestia trained anyone she felt needed special guidance. And given what she had heard happened during the mission, she could guess what Celestia wanted to talk to Flash about.

Inside her private room, Celestia sat across from Flash.

The two were kneeling on the cushioned chairs, Flash waiting for Celestia to speak. "Do you know why you are here?" She finally asked, with Flash shaking her head. "You are here because you have suffered many a great loss in your life." Flash frowned. "First, your parents. Then, your friends and home. And finally, your master."

Flash sighed. "You want me to get over their deaths?" He asked. "To not care that they're gone."

"No," Celestia shook her head, "of course not. Many people in the galaxy believe that Jedi are emotionless robots. But we allow ourselves to feel emotions as much as anyone. You cared about the people you lost, so of course their deaths would hurt. All Jedi have gone through that pain before." She sighed. "I have lived for over three hundred years. I've seen many friends and loved ones move onto the next life. If I hadn't allowed myself to feel the pain I felt at their loss, I wouldn't have the emotional strength to lead this order like I have."

Flash nodded, understanding. "So...what am I supposed to do?"

"When Grand Hoof died, you were in a life or death situation. You didn't have time to mourn him when it happened. And I doubt you were able to properly mourn him during your time on Shikoya, or since you've come to the temple. You must mourn him. Let yourself feel the pain of his loss and overcome it. Only then, will you be ready to start the process."

"The healing process?" Flash guessed.

"Partly. But that is something more you must learn. Something all Jedi must learn before they are ready to become Knights and Masters. You must learn to detach yourself from your emotions."

"But you said Jedi are supposed to feel emotions."

"Indeed. But you must not allow your emotions to control you. During your battle with Solara, Shining stated she attempted to goad you into losing your temper. You were able to hold yourself back, but would you have been able to keep it up if she kept attempting to anger you?"

Flash thought about it and how angry he had been, when Solara mocked Grand. If she hadn't left when she did, there was a very high chance he would have lost control.

Celestia seemed to notice this and nodded. "Our emotions can be used against us, if we allow them to control us. That is why, during missions, we work to detach ourselves from our emotions. We don't completely cut ourselves off, but we tune most of it out until it is but a whisper. Then, when the mission is over and we are no longer in danger, we allow ourselves to feel those emotions again and deal with them in a healthy way."

Flash nodded, understanding what she was saying. It made sense. Not to ignore one's emotions, but to quell them until the time was right.

"But your emotions are not the only thing you must learn to detach yourself from. As wielders of The Force, our connection to the galaxy is stronger than any other's. Through The Force, we Jedi can wield powers some would think impossible."

"Really?" Flash asked, "I wouldn't think moving things around would be seen as that strange."

"I'm not talking about simple Jedi abilities," Celestia smiled. "There are many powers that the common Jedi cannot hope to achieve. You've seen such abilities, like when First or another Medical Jedi healed wounds." Flash nodded. He knew something like that was far beyond his ability. "That is a more common but still special form of Force Ability. And there are other, more unique abilities, that Jedi can learn. Some Jedi have had the power to see the memories of objects they touch, whilst others have been known to actually teleport themselves to different spots in the Galaxy through The Force. But all of these abilities require you to reach a higher state of connection to The Force. To not be bound to the physical world"

"What do you mean?"

Celestia smiled. "Can you tell me the difference between a bond and a bind?" Flash shook his head. "A bond is something that links two individuals, but allows them to remain free and untethered. But a binding restricts. It keeps you tied down and unable to let your soul be free."

"I...I still don't understand."

Celestia thought for a moment, then nodded. "My sister and I are close. We share a bond, as siblings and as former master and student. That bond is strong and allows us to remain connected, even when we're light years apart. We share a bond, but are not bound to each other. Should a time come where I must shed my mortal form and become one with The Force, I can do that without a second thought. If I could not allow myself to do such a thing, for fear of not wanting to leave Luna or anyone else I care about, then our connection would be a binding that restricts me."

"So...you could just up and leave at the drop of a hat?" Flash asked.

"It's not like I'm desperate to do it," Celestia countered. "But I know there may come a time when my physical form will only hold me back. And when that time comes, I must be ready to become one with The Force when and if I need to."

"And leave everyone behind?"

"It's like I told you. Even if I'm not physically there, the bond I share with those around me will mean I'll never truly leave them. Even after I die, we'll remain connected through the Force. And this is what you must strive to achieve. To forge a bond with those around you, instead of a bind that may leave you trapped in every way."

"I don't know if I can," Flash stated.

"Every Jedi thinks that," Celestia told him. "And it isn't easy. That's why so many Jedi are unable to awaken the rare abilities I mentioned before. Shining Armor has been able to do this with many beings that he cares about, but I can sense he is binding himself with his emotions to a select few individuals."

"Twilight and his parents," Flash guessed as Celestia smiled.

"And others. It can be most difficult, to let yourself not be bound to those closest to your heart. Love is a difficult thing for Jedi to process. That's why it was forbidden for so long. But whilst it can become a shackle that controls us, it can become one's greatest source of power if used to forge a true bond."

All of this bonds and binds talk was giving Flash a headache. But he knew Celestia wouldn't be telling him any of it, if she didn't think it was important to him.

"Where do I start?"

"As I said before, you must first go through the proper process of grieving for Grand Hoof and all the others that you lost on that day. Only after you have come to terms with their deaths, can you move forward and begin to detach yourself from the physical world."

Flash took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He knew this wouldn't be easy. It might actually hurt. But he had to do it or he would never be able to improve as a Jedi. When he faced that Solara Sith again, he would need to be ready.

In another part of the city planet, Cadance and Thorax were making their way through the streets.

The pair soon arrived at the location they had been sent to investigate, a large bank that handled all the credits in the planet's sector. Cadance looked up at the building, having never been inside a bank before. Jedi didn't really have a need for money, so it was rare for a Jedi to ever be seen in one.

She noticed a familiar cruiser located beside the building, the Jedi Knight letting out a sigh as she stepped inside with Thorax behind her. And sure enough, there he was. Standing there talking to the man in charge of the bank.

"I'm telling you, it's them!" Lightning frowned, "they've finally shown themselves to be the criminals they really are." He then noticed the pair and glared at them. "Ah ha!" He walked forward, "returned to the scene of the crime. I didn't think you Jedi had a conscience, but I won't complain." He took out a pair of cuffs, but Cadance stepped backwards.

"Wow!" She cried, "what do you think you're doing?"

"Arresting the thieves that stole from this bank," Lightning replied. "I know it's you. All the evidence points to you Jedi."

"Really?" Cadance raised an eyebrow, "I'd love to hear why you think it was us. Other than the fact that we're Jedi. Where's your evidence?"

"You are the evidence," Lightning pointed at her. "Why else would you be here? Criminals always return to the scene of the crime."

"We're here because the bank contacted us," Cadance replied. "They asked us to come and help investigate the heist." Lightning turned to the bank manager, as if asking if this was true.

"Yes," he nodded, "I thought they could help."

"You idiot!" Lightning growled, "all you've done is give them an excuse for being here. Now, when I find more evidence of their guilt, they can say it happened whilst they were here."

"More evidence?" Cadance asked, "where's the evidence you had before we got here? Either explain your reasoning or leave so we can do a proper investigation."

Lightning glared at them. "Oh, I'll show you the evidence." He began to march towards the back of the bank, Cadance, Thorax and the manager following after him.

As they did, Thorax turned to Cadance. "Does he really think, that someone would want to return to the scene of a crime they committed?" Cadance shrugged. "I mean, what kind of idiot would go somewhere they'd be likely to get caught in?"

Outside the bank, a large group of people was gathered around.

They wanted to see what had happened and were unable to go any further, thanks to the security barricades that put a forcefield around the building. As such, all they could do was stand there staring at the building. This included three suspicious looking individuals. One was a green skinned human, with brown hair and a beard wearing expensive looking clothes and even a platinum watch.

The other was a silver skinned young man, whose body was a cross between a bat and a human. He had bat ears sticking out of his yellow hair and a bat nose on his face. He was wearing strange looking clothing, a black sleeveless hoodie that had tears running down from the armpit and stopped right before the bottom. He also wore brown shorts, with openings on the insides all the way up to his crotch, and black running shoes.

The final one, was a tall alien that looked like a humanoid rhino. He was gray in colour with a streak of black hair on his head, wearing a brown T-shirt and white running shorts.

The green skinned man stared at the bank and chuckled. "This is my favourite part of this job. Making those security idiots look like fools. We're standing right here and those chumps have no idea."

The bat guy turned to him. "Maybe we should get out of here before they start trying to find us."

"What's the rush?" The green skinned man laughed. "We didn't leave any evidence behind. They've got nothing linking us to this crime. Just sit back and relax." The other two shared a look, both wondering if their boss had gotten a little overconfident.

Back inside, Lightning had led them to the back of the bank.

There, a large metal door was wide open. On the other side of the metal door were a bunch of computer servers, which were all beeping and blinking.

The manager turned to the Jedi, "this is where we keep all our republic credits. Thousands of accounts, each one only accessible by the owner of the account. At least...they're supposed to be only accessible by the owner. Unless..."

"Unless someone gets into this room and gets direct access to the server," Cadance nodded. "So how much was lost? They couldn't have gotten all of it."

"No," the manager nodded. "But over seven hundred accounts have been completely emptied. And whoever did it seemed to have no real target. They took credits from accounts with millions in it, or accounts with barely over a hundred. They didn't care who they bankrupted, they took everything in them."

"Geez," Thorax whistled, "that's kind of hardcore."

"Stop patting yourself on the back," Lightning stated.

"Still think we're the guilty ones?" Cadance asked, "what exactly led you to this conclusion?"

Lightning stepped over to the door and pointed to it. "This vault is one of the hardest things in the galaxy to break into. It requires three different access keys and a physical key unlock. Bypassing the access keys isn't impossible, but getting an exact copy of the physical one would be impossible. And the only way this door could be opened without it, is if someone was able to move the tumblers and locking mechanisms that are inside it."

"I see," Cadance nodded. "So you think a Jedi used The Force to move those mechanisms."

"What other way is there?" Lightning asked, glaring at her as Cadance stepped towards it. She and Thorax began to examine the door, as if expecting to find something Lightning had missed. Or hadn't bothered looking for.

"And how long after arriving did you decide to blame us?" Cadance asked. "Because if you had bothered to do your job the right way, the bank manager might not have felt the need to contact us." Lightning glared at her, as she turned to the manager. "Can you come here for a moment?" He nodded and stepped forward.

When he was close enough, Cadance grabbed his arm and held it up to the metal door. Doing so caused a watch on his wrist to be revealed, Cadance staring at it as she held his hand against the metal. And after a few moments, she nodded and let his hand go.

"What did you do?" Lightning asked, as the manager stared at his watch. Then he looked puzzled.

"My watch has stopped." Lightning looked at the time piece and sure enough, the hands remained where they were as the second hand kept vibrating in place.

"It'll start again in a minute," Cadance replied. "The magnetic field is just causing it to stall for a little bit."

"Magnetic field?" The manager asked, as Thorax took something out of his cloak. A small metal screw. Why he had it, nobody knew. But as soon as he let it go, the metal whizzed over to the door and stuck to it.

"The door's been magnetised," Cadance explained. "Likely by the high powered magnet the criminals used to move the tumblers inside. Bit of a design flaw, to be honest. Maybe next time, don't use a metal that's magnetic." She turned to Lightning, "that's how they opened the door. Either they were trying to frame a Jedi, or doing it just so happened to cause them to mimic our abilities. But either way, you're wrong about us being the culprit."

Lightning frowned. "A likely story. You probably magnetised the door to cover your tracks."

"Why do you hate us!?" Thorax frowned, only to flinch when Lightning turned to glare at him. "I mean...you always try to blame us for something. Why are you obsessed with making us look like the bad guys?"

"Because you are the bad guys. Going around, swinging your stupid laser swords around. Tricking people into thinking you're here to help, when all you do is cause problems. You even had me fooled once, but I saw through your deception. And I'm gonna find a way to prove who you really are. Power hunger tyrants." With that, he marched out of the bank.

Thorax sighed, "what is with that guy?"

"It was before your time," Cadance explained. "I was still a youngling when it happened. The temple was attacked and a lot of Jedi died in an explosion. The blame fell on a Knight who was always known as a bit of a loose cannon. Doom Raizer. Lightning's father."

Thorax looked shocked, "his dad was a Jedi?"

Cadance nodded. "Lightning didn't inherit his father's connection to the Force, but he was still close to his father. But then his Father was accused of being the culprit and taken into custody. But before it could go to trial, he escaped and disappeared. No one's seen him since. And later, it was discovered that another Jedi was responsible. But by then, it was too late. Doom was gone and Lightning lost his father. A few years later, his mother died. Many people think it was grief."

"So he blames the Jedi for taking both his parents away, even though his own father was a Jedi?"

"Pain can twist a person in many different ways," Cadance replied. "But right now, we need to focus on finding whoever stole the credits from this vault. If we don't, a lot of people will be in serious financial ruin."

Thorax nodded and tried to think. "If someone was using a powerful magnet to get through this door, they must have been affected like the door was. Or at least, whatever they were wearing might have been affected. Maybe we can search for another magnetic field in the area."

"Not a bad idea," Cadance nodded. "Well need something that can scan the area for the field. I wonder if Shining would mind lending us a hand with the Shooting Star?" Thorax smiled as he watched his teacher take out her gauntlet and start messaging him.

What neither of them realised, was Lightning had also had the same thought as them about the magnetic field.

The security officer had returned to his cruiser and began setting it to scan the area. "Like I'm gonna let those Jedi look for the ones who did this," he gritted his teeth. "They'll probably blame the wrong guy and ruin someone's life." He finished the adjustments and took to the air.

But no sooner did he start scanning, the device picked up a magnetic signal. Two, in fact. One coming from the bank and the other, coming from just outside the building.

He used the scanner to pinpoint the location and turned his cruiser towards the location, then switched on a spotlight that illuminated a part of the crowd below. "Attention citizens! All those within this light will remain where you are. Any attempt to escape will be seen as a declaration of guilt!"

Cadance, Thorax and the manager ran out of the building, only to see three individuals suddenly run away from the light. This made Cadance smile. "What's that you were saying, about nobody being dumb enough to return to the scene of the crime?" Thorax looked shocked, as Lightning chased after the largest of the three escapees. "We'd better go after the other two." She dropped her cloak, allowing her wings the freedom of movement to fly.

Thorax did the same, as a pair of insect wings folded out of holes in his robes.

The pair ran forward and leapt into the air, both flying after the other two criminals before they could get too far away.

Lightning chased down the rhino alien, his speeder much faster than the bulky slow creature.

But before he could try and shoot a net or a laser, the rhino suddenly turned and rushed into an alleyway. "Nice try," he laughed. "But that alley's a dead end!" He turned into the alley, his cruiser just big enough to fit, and watched as the rhino charged towards a large stone wall between the two buildings. "I got you now!"

He expected the rhino to simply stop, but he didn't. Instead, he sped up and got into a tackling position.

Lightning's eyes went wide. "Wait!" But he didn't and smashed into the stone wall, which broke apart like it was made of toilet paper. Lightning could hardly believe it and was so shocked, he almost forgot his speeder wouldn't fit through the new hole and barely managed to keep himself from crashing

Cursing, he pushed his cruiser into reverse and the ship moved backwards out of the alleyway.

"You're not getting away," he growled as he flew up and over the buildings to search for the giant alien. But the rhino had disappeared.

Cadance and Thorax continued to fly after the other two suspects, who continued to push through the crowds. But running was never going to outrun something that could fly and the Jedi soon caught up to them.

But just as they were about to swoop down and tackle them, the pair suddenly split up and went in two different directions.

Cadance frowned, unsure if she should let her apprentice chase the criminal down himself. But when she glanced at Thorax, she could see the determined look in his eye. "You get that one!" She pointed to the bat alien, "I'll get the other one!" Thorax nodded and they split up, chasing after the two criminals as they ran down different areas.

The green skinned individual had run down an alleyway, which was very narrow and barely fit him.

Cadance tried to fly in after him, but her wingspan was far too wide for her to fly through the alley. And when she looked up, the buildings were much too tall to fly over without losing him. As such, she was forced to drop to the ground and chase him down on hoof.

And it seemed, the man was much more agile than her. He was able to jump through and around the many obstacles littering the narrow alleyway, allowing to get more and more of a lead over her. Cadance carefully jumped over a metal box connected to the two buildings, then ducked under a tube and carefully made her way between a bunch of wires between them.

By the time she was halfway through the alley, he was running out the other side and was out on the street. "Later, loser!" He disappeared into the crowd, as Cadance groaned whilst continuing to make her way through the alleyway.

The humanoid bat continued to run through the streets, Thorax remaining hot on his trail.

They ran into a park area and Thorax landed, his wings feeling tired and forcing him to continue the chase on foot. They rushed through the park and eventually made their way to the very edge of it, which happened to be suspended over a fifty foot fall over an opening to the lower sections of the planet.

The bat reached the barrier that kept civilians from falling over the edge and leapt onto it. "Stop!" Thorax cried, as the criminal turned to him. "You don't wanna do this."

The crook smirked. "Yeah. Actually, I do." He leaned back and fell over the edge, Thorax gasping as he jumped up and looked over the barrier to see him fall.

The bat man smiled as he stared at Thorax, then put his arms down by his sides and brought his legs together. And when he pulled them apart, his arms suddenly doubled in length and had somehow transformed into a pair of wings. And when he pulled his legs apart, a membrane was now between them.

These new additions caught the wind and he was suddenly gliding through the air, spinning around and watching where he was flying.

"Seriously?" Thorax asked, looking down at the area below the park. The drop was a good few miles and Thorax's wings were already tired, but he knew he couldn't let his master down. So with a deep breath, he jumped off the barrier and began to fly after the criminal.

The rhino alien smashed his way through another wall, looking around to make sure nobody was around to see him.

He let out a sigh and began walking, wanting to just disappear into the crowds. But when you're as big as him, that was easier said than done. So long as he didn't do anything to draw attention to himself, he should have been fine.

However, before he could find a crowd to hide inside, something shot down from above.

It was some kind of missile, which transformed before it hit the ground and morphed into a small satellite dish, on a round pole and X-shaped stand. Three more flew down and landed around him, forming a square as the satellites sparked. The next thing he knew, they unleashed twin ropes of energy that hit each other and formed a square around him. And this energy then flew upwards to form a bunch of walls, which then curved and met a satellite dish sticking out the bottom of a sector security ship.

"Gotcha!" Lightning voice cried, "surrender and come peacefully!"

The rhino roared and started charging at the force field, smashing into it and getting zapped as he was pushed back. But that didn't stop him and he started punching the field, Lightning smirking as he expected him to wear himself out.

But then he got warning lights. "Seriously?" He asked, seeing the shield's integrity was beginning to weaken. "That's not good." He frowned, seeing he had no other choice. He undid his seat-belt and opened the speeder's cockpit before leaping out.

The rhino looked up, as Lightning used a chord coming out the side of his speeder to propel down. He moved through the barrier like it was nothing, swinging towards the crook as the villain tried to punch him. But Lightning did several impressive gymnastic skills, to avoid the punch and land on the rhino's shoulder before leaping off.

As he did, he pulled out a pair of blasters and pointed them at the alien. He started firing a barrage of rapid fire energy pulses, which slammed into the alien and made him roar. But it was more annoyance than pain, as his tough skin protected him from the laser shots.

He charged forward, attempting to tackle Lightning and crush him against the energy wall. But Lightning dodged to the side, firing his blasters at the alien's legs hoping to slow him down. But again, his strong hide made damage from the pistols almost nothing.

"Alright." He pressed a button on his blasters and with every press, a line of lights came on. Most of the lights were green, but the very last one to come on was yellow. When he did that, he fired and a more power blast exploded out. It struck the rhino and made him flinch, Lightning firing more and more shots as he did.

The rhino roared in actual pain, the blasts actually hurting him. But instead of collapsing, his rose both fists and smashed them into the ground. The impact was so great, Lightning was thrown backwards and slammed into the wall of the cage.

He flinched at the energy that zapped him, whilst one of his blasts was thrown from his grasp.

The rhino stomped his feet into the ground several times, preparing to charge with all his might. As he did, Lightning began to recover from the shock and looked over at his dropped blaster.

There was no way he could reach it before the rhino slammed into him, a momentary wish to have Jedi powers entering his mind. But then he shook his head. He didn't need The Force to defeat this guy. And as the rhino charged, Lightning raised his remaining blaster and pressed the button.

All the lights came on, with the very last one being bright red. And when he fired, the energy blast was so strong it caused the blaster to break apart. And when it struck the rhino, the explosion it caused knocked the rhino flying back. The force of the attack was so great, the beast's horn broke off as he fell to the ground.

Lightning panted as he pushed himself up, moving over to check on the crook. To his relief, he was still alive but out cold. He sighed before pressing a few buttons on his gauntlet, causing the energy field to disappear. "One down. Two to go." But in the time it took to capture this one, the other two probably got halfway through the city. Finding them was gonna be next to impossible.

In one of the skankier parts of the city, the green skinned alien sighed as he arrived at a rundown warehouse building.

Heading inside, he smiled seeing a large server in the middle of the place. A server that was holding all the credits he and his team had stolen. "Nice try, Jedi. But it takes a real genius to capture me."

"Guess that makes me an extra real genius, then." He spun around as was shocked to see Cadance, standing at the entrance to the warehouse. "Since not only am I gonna catch you, but I've also found all the credits you stole. At least, that's what I'm assuming is on that server." She frowned at the sight of it. "Kind of old fashioned. You're really using that to store all those credits?"

"So what if I am?" He asked, as he rushed over to a table and grabbed a laser pistol.

Cadance smiled as she took out a silver Lightsaber, with black around the bottom and in a ring in the centre. "Because, that model was known for being glitchy. Try to store too much data on it and the whole thing will crash, erasing all the credits stored on it." She quickly ignited her sword and a pale blue blade extended. "Do yourself a favour and give it up. Let me return the money to the people that actually own it."

"I don't think so." He started firing at her, but Cadance deflected the blasts with her sword and didn't even seem to be trying. She just walked forward, the man glaring at her. "Stay back!" He cried, firing at her but she still had no trouble protecting herself.

He growled, realising he wasn't gonna be able to stop her. But then, he smiled and pointed his weapon at the server. "Go ahead. Cut me down, or try and capture me. I know you won't be able to stop me from destroying this thing." Cadance gasped. "If I can't have all those credits. Then nobody can." She frowned at him. "If you don't want to bankrupt all those poor people, put your weapon down."

Her frown turned to a glare. "You're despicable." She extinguished her Lightsaber and dropped it to the ground. "Happy?"

"It's a start," he smiled before looking her over. "You know, I've always wondered what a Jedi woman looked like when she wasn't trying to look all dignified. Why don't you open your robes and give me a look." Her eyes went wide, as he laughed. But that was a mistake.

The second he moved his blaster away from the server, Cadance reached out and grabbed the table with The Force. The next thing he knew, he was getting slammed to the ground and his weapon was thrown from his hands.

"What the hell?" He cried, trying to get up. But the table refused to budge.

Cadance picked her blade up and ignited it, pointing the weapon at him. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't cut something very important to you off." He gasped, looking absolutely terrified. Cadance smiled. "That's what I thought." She had captured her target. And hopefully, Thorax was okay.

Back in the Canterlot skies, the bat was flying through the air without a care in the world.

The Jedi has fallen behind and he had been able to get as far away from the bank as possible. There was no way he was going to get arrested. "Hope the boss managed to get away." Considering he and the rhino had no idea how to access the credits in their server, the boss was key to them living on easy street from then on. "Maybe I'll need to bring in a tech geek to get the credits out."

"Maybe you'll meet some in prison!" The bat looked up and saw Thorax, diving down towards him from above.

The Padawan yelled out, as he tackled the humanoid bat towards the ground. The pair cried out, as they struggled with one another and eventually slammed into the side of a building. Both groaned as they bounced off it and kept falling, Thorax managing to spin them around and point him towards the ground.

The bat screamed as he saw he was about to smash into some hard ground, but managed to wrestle the two around before kicking Thorax away. The pair spun through the air and hit the ground, both rolling to a stop.

"Ow," the crook moaned. He picked himself up and tried to spread his wings, but one of them exploded with pain and he was forced to return them both to arm mode. "You little brat!" He reached for his belt and took out a metal knife, "I'll make you pay!"

Thorax tilted his head. "You do know I'm a Jedi, right?" He reached for his belt and took out a silver Lightsaber, with a dark gray band around the centre of it. With a flick of the switch, a green blade extended out of it. "Do you really wanna do this?"

"So what if you've got a fancier weapon?" The bat charged and slashed at Thorax, but the insect humanoid dodged the attack and swung his blade. Years of training allowed him to move it in just the right way, so that it cut through the metal knife and only the knife. "What!?"

"I warned you!" Thorax then leapt back and thrust his hand out, causing the criminal to be sent flying backwards. He screamed as he smashed into the side of a building, the impact causing him to hit his head.

He grunted and fell to the ground, going limp as he groaned.

Thorax kept his Lightsaber at the ready and moved towards the criminal, carefully kneeling down and checking his pulse. He sighed in relief, glad he hadn't accidentally killed him. And just as he was wondering what to do with him, his gauntlet beeped. "Thorax," Cadance answered, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Thorax replied. "And I caught the guy we were after. Not sure what to do with him, though."

"Don't worry. I'll contact sector security and have them pick him up. Wish I could be there, but I'm holding my own criminal down at the moment." Thorax smiled at this, happy to hear Cadance had managed to get the guy they were after.

Later, back at the bank, a large group of Sector Security Officers had arrived to take the criminals away.

They had also moved the server over to the bank, the manager looking at it in shock. "I can't believe they used this piece of junk to hold our customer's precious credits. Do they have any brains?"

A high ranking security officer stepped over to Cadance, Thorax and Lightning. "Big Score, Rickashay and Boulder. They have several warrants out for their arrest in multiple sectors of Canterlot. You've done the planet a great service this day"

Cadance nodded. "We're just happy we were able to get the credits back."

The officer nodded before turning to Lightning. "Officer Blitz. Glad to see you put your issues with the Jedi aside to get the bad guy."

"I didn't ask for their help," Lightning stated. "And I didn't need them. I could have caught those crooks by myself." He headed back towards his cruiser, glaring back at the Jedi as he did.

"What a jerk," Thorax frowned.

Cadance sighed. "He's only hurting himself. Hopefully, one day he'll be able to put what happened behind him." She then smiled at Thorax. "Great work back there. I might not have been able to see it, but I'm sure I would have been proud if I had."

"Thanks. But I really need to work on my flight endurance." Cadance nodded, as they began to head back towards the Jedi Temple. "I don't get it. Why would my race even have wings if we can't use them for very long?"

"Who knows," Cadance sighed. She saw Thorax look down, upset, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. I get it. Not knowing where you're from can be hard. But you were found by the temple for a reason." Thorax nodded, as he thought about his life up until this point.

When he was just a baby, he had been discovered by a bunch of Jedi Seekers. He had been alone, malnourished and barely alive. They had saved him and before they could think about giving him to some orphanage, the Jedi had discovered his connection to The Force. As such, he had been taken into the Jedi Temple and raised by them. But that still didn't help him know who he was.

His species had never been seen before. There was no record of them in the Jedi Database and the planet he had been found on, was completely abandoned. Growing up, Thorax had always wondered who he truly was and where he had come from. But, he had never felt alone. For there were many different kinds of aliens in the Jedi Order, some being the only members of their species apart of it. So he never felt like the odd one out.

"I just wish I knew what my species was called," Thorax stated. "Just a name, or something to work backwards from." Cadance nodded, as they continued to the Temple.

Flash continued to sit there, his eye closed as he remembered that day.

Suddenly, the entire event replayed in his mind. Grand's Lightsaber being destroyed, running for his life, finding the ship and the attacks by the soldiers. Then, he saw Grand fall after being hit. Flash holding him in his arms, as he took his last breath and became one with The Force.

Tears flowed from his eyes, the pain from the memory feeling like a thousand needles shooting through his heart.

Celestia sat across from him, giving Flash a sympathetic look. "I know it hurts. But you must face the pain you have pushed aside for so long. Only then, will you be able to heal yourself and learn to detach yourself from the world when needed." Flash kept panting, the memories of the event still replaying. And eventually, it was too much.

"NO!" He jumped away from the cushion seat, his eyes opening before he rubbed them against his sleeve. "I...I can't. It's too much."

"Maybe," Celestia stated. "But you can't stop now. Even if you leave this room and try to stop yourself from thinking about it, the floodgates have been opened. You must now face this pain. Fighting against it will only cause it to last longer and be more damaging."

"I know that," Flash nodded. "But, it's still so hard."

"Nobody knows that more than me," Celestia assured him. "My sister and I have been through this process more times than we can count. I lost my first master when I was just a Padawan. He disappeared whilst on a mission and I never heard from him, or the Jedi he was with again. But that's nothing compared to what you felt, I'm sure. You were actually there and saw it." Flash nodded. "Everything you had was lost that day. Not just your master, but the people you grew up with."

Flash nodded again. "And now I know the ones responsible are working with a Sith. Who knows what happened to them. They could be dead. They could be captured. They...they could be..."

"I know," Celestia nodded. "But none of what happened is your fault. And Shining told me what you said on the mission. How you didn't want to lose anyone to these people again." Flash nodded. "I'm sorry to tell you, but that's impossible to do."

"What?" Flash asked. "What do you mean? We were able to save everyone from them."

"Yes. But we both know that wasn't the last time you, or any other Jedi will run into this group. They will show up again, I'm sure of it. And when they do, sooner or later, someone close to us will end up falling to them. Maybe not during the next conflict, or the one after that. But eventually, it will happen. No matter how strong of a Jedi you become."

Flash's hand scrunched at his pants. "Why have these powers, if we can't use them to protect everyone?"

"We are not gods," Celestia told him. "We're just individuals who, for whatever reason, have been given extraordinary abilities. But that doesn't make us unstoppable. Having The Force, doesn't magically mean everything we do will turn out how we want it. It can help us achieve our goals, but in the end the universe does not play favourites. You can try and make things work out how you want it, but you need to be willing to accept failure when it happens. Can you do that?"

Flash thought about it, unsure how to answer. He thought about all the people that had welcomed him into the Order, even though he wasn't raised there like them. He wanted nothing more than to keep them safe. But could he accept failing to do that?

"I don't know," Flash sighed.

"Then you have a lot to meditate on," Celestia told him. "And until you can accept that, I think it would be best if you stayed out of missions. At least for now."

Flash nodded, understanding her view on this. "Okay. Thank you, Master." Celestia nodded and excused Flash, the teen heading out of the room and making his way through the temple.

As he did, he happened to pass a window that looked down into a courtyard. There, he spotted Twilight and Rarity, alongside Spike, Sweetie, Applebloom and Scootaloo. They were talking with one another, as two other individuals stepped into the courtyard. One was Cadance and the other was her student, Thorax.

Flash saw the group meeting up and began to laugh, as Thorax seemed to be telling them what he and Cadance had been doing. The insectoid Jedi leapt onto a bench and mimicked what they had been doing, Flash wishing he could be down there joining in on the fun. But he didn't think it was such a good idea.

He was still feeling the pain Celestia had helped him begin to process of getting over, which he assumed didn't make him great company. As such, he decided it would be best if he kept his distance from them. He knew they would simply worry about him and he didn't want to ruin their fun.

He headed back to his room and when he got there, Springer was nowhere in sight. That made sense, since Shining had wanted the droid's help doing some maintenance on the ship. Instead, he simply laid on his bed and tried to sleep. The images of Grand's death once again played in his head, Flash attempting to block them out. But Celestia had been right about the floodgates.

Again and again, the events would replay and Flash would feel the pain. But each and every time, the pain felt less and less. Flash didn't know if that was a good thing. But if he was going to get over it, he would need to let all the pain of that event burn itself out within him. Then, he could start remembering the good memories of Grand instead of just the bad ones.

Even so, he also couldn't help but think about the bug troopers that had attacked them. Who were they, really? And where did they come from?

In a dark corner of the galaxy, on a hidden planet somewhere, there exists a large black castle.

Said castle was made to resemble a spiked termite mound, with many towers that were bent and curved at different portions. Holes could be seen covering the place and around it, there was nothing put wasteland.

Bug troopers marched through the wastelands, on patrol to make sure nothing entered their castle.

The inside was built to be a giant maze, with many winding tunnels that should have been impossible to navigate. The area actually inside the castle had many halls and barracks, along with an armoury, food stores and even a throne room of sorts. But below the castle, were many catacombs full of the exact same thing. Cocoons.

Inside these cocoons were life forms of differing stages of development. Some were the size of babies, whilst others appeared to be fully grown. Some weren't even fully formed, looking more like something one would see on a sonogram.

Chrysalis marched through a tunnel full of still developing embryos, her wings out and stretching as if preparing to fly.

She stared at the cocoons and frowned, seeing the backs of her creations. "Still no wings. Looks like another set of ground troops." She stared at the many cocoons, frowning. "I don't get it. Why aren't the clones developing wings?"

"Mother." Chrysalis turned to see another being moving towards her. It was a smaller version of her, though this one appeared male, with purple eyes and a red sail running down the back of his head. "The newest batch of soldiers are ready to leave gestation."

Chrysalis nodded. "Thank you, Pharynx." The soldier nodded before noticing her worried look.

"Is something wrong, mother?"

"We still can't seem to produce winged clones. All the clones we've created are, unfortunately, grounded." She placed a hand on the cocoon. "If our race is to flourish, it must reacquire all the abilities we once had."

Pharynx frowned. "I'm sorry, mother. I wish I knew how to help you. But I'm a soldier. Not a scientist. Perhaps the science your master gave you was...insufficient."

"Maybe," Chrysalis frowned. "Or maybe my DNA is still being affected by the plague." She looked back at her wings, then at the purple wings on Pharynx's body. Both looked strong, but could barely keep them aloft longer than a few minutes. "If only your brother was alive. The three of us together might hold the genetic that would allow us to figure out where we're going wrong."

"I'm sorry I'm not enough," Pharynx bowed. "Is there anything I can do?" Chrysalis shook her head, "very well. I'll...I will go make sure the soldiers are ready for hatching." With that, he left and Chrysalis turned back to the cocoons. "I'll find some way to restore our people. Even if it costs me everything."

Chapter 12

View Online

In a part of the galaxy, a ship came out of Hyperdrive.

This ship was a VT-49 Space freighter, which was currently smoking as it flew through space. And in the cockpit, several people were holding on for dear life as the pilot tried to keep the thing under control.

"I'm not gonna be able to keep her going much longer!" The pilot cried, "we need to set her down somewhere!"

"I got something!" Someone else cried. "Heading three, one, eight, by two, two, seven. A planet with a breathable atmosphere." The pilot re-positioned the ship in that direction and began to head towards it, all the while everyone continued to do what they could to keep everything running.

But as they approached the planet, a warning light came on. "Not good!" Someone cried. "This planet might have a breathable atmosphere, but it's coated in Faidon radiation." Everyone panicked, all but the pilot rushing over to where they kept their radiation suits.

Once they were all suited up, one of them took over so the pilot could suit up as well. And he barely managed to get his helmet on before the atmosphere began to flow around the ship, the radiation shielding only working to weaken the powerful radiation.

Before they got too far in, the pilot hit a button and something shot out of the back. A missile of some kind, which exploded as soon as it was out of the atmosphere and morphed into some kind of satellite. As the ship disappeared into the mist of the planet, the satellite began transmitting.

The next day.

At the Jedi Temple, Twilight was still working to try and decipher the text that had been found during Flash and Shining's mission to the forest planet. But still, she could find nothing that might be able to help her decode it.

Rarity walked past and noticed Twilight's annoyed expression. "Still can't figure it out?"

"This is driving me crazy," Twilight groaned. "If I just had something to work backwards from, then that would be something. One symbol. That's all I need. But we have nothing in the database."

"Well then, maybe you should tell Master Celestia you can't solve it. If there's really no answer-" But then Twilight turned to give her a look of horror.

"Are you crazy!" She cried, "I can't tell Celestia that. She entrusted me with this task. I'm not gonna let her down." Rarity frowned at her. "What?"

"You really need to learn to relax around these things, darling. You can't expect to complete every task Master Celestia gives you. That would be impossible." Twilight gave her a look that screamed, 'I have to make it possible.' "You've never failed a task before, so-"

"So Celestia is expecting me to complete this task as well," Twilight stated as she turned back to her tablet. "You don't get it. I'm the student of the Grand Master. That puts a lot of pressure on me. She chose me as her student. So any failures by me are considered failures by her."

Rarity raised an eyebrow, "I don't think that's how it works." Before Twilight could reply, the two's gauntlets beeped and they looked down to see messages from their masters. "Oh. It seems I'm going on a mission."

"Same here," Twilight nodded before turning to her. "Are you being asked to be at launch pad eighteen?" Rarity nodded, "I guess we're going on the same mission."

"Oh, goodie." She smiled before turning to leave, "we'd better go pack." Twilight nodded and the two headed off to their rooms, where they would need to pack for a several day trip. As she packed, Twilight was reminded of the first time Rarity had been given a mission. The Padawan had been so excited, but then disheartened when she was told the suitcase she had somehow gotten was too large to take on said mission.

An hour later, the girls were wearing backpacks and making their way towards the launch pad. There, they spotted Celestia and Ruby Scarlet, along with two other Jedi.

Pinkie saw them and gasped, an excited look on her face as they approached. "You're coming! I mean, I figured you were coming when I saw your teachers. But actually knowing you're coming is so great!"

The final Jedi was a brown skinned man with white hair, wearing a white Jedi shirt, light blue pants and a dark blue scarf around his next. He turned to Pinkie and laughed before patting her on the head. "Pinkie, relax. We don't need you getting overexcited before the mission gets started."

"Sorry Master," Pinkie nodded. "But what is the mission?"

"We were wondering the same thing," Rarity nodded.

Celestia stepped forward. "A ship in the Zet Sector has crashed on a planet saturated with Faidon radiation." They all gasped at this. "A rescue team has already been sent out to retrieve them. But by the time they get there, the crew will have already been overexposed."

Twilight frowned. "There's only one cure for Faidon radiation. The milk of a gorgloff."

"Exactly," Celestia nodded. "A very rare creature. Which is why the five of you will be going to the only known planet to house the beast. Find it, milk it, and meet up with the retrieval team as they return to Canterlot. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how important this mission is." They nodded, as Celestia stepped over to Twilight. "I'm sorry I can't be there to help you in this mission."

"It's okay," Twilight nodded. "The Grand Master Jedi has many duties to attend to. I promise, I'll find that gorgloff and get the milk."

Celestia smiled as she nodded, whilst Tidal took out a remote and hit a button. The launch pad opened up and a ship was raised from below. A YT-1000, which was mostly blue with a few streaks of white here and there. It wasn't as impressive as the Shooting Star, but it would get them there.

Everyone got on board and soon enough, the ship was taking off and flying out of the atmosphere. And once they were far enough from the planet, Tidal pushed the ship into hyperspace and they were zooming through the galaxy.

As they travelled there, Twilight was reading up on everything there was to know about gorgloffs. Her eyes were moving at a mile a minute, as she stared at the info documented about the creature. There was also an image of the creature, which had a long tube-like body covered in dark blue, almost black, fur. It had six thin spider-legs, whilst its head was ape-like. Its mouth had a pair of long fangs, sticking out of each end of its lower jaw. On its back was a set of dragonic wings, which looked large enough to wrap around its entire body.

Rarity and Pinkie were also staring at the image of the creature and Rarity looked disgusted. "Not the most handsome creature in the world."

"It looks freaky," Pinkie laughed. "That's so cool." She laughed, whilst Twilight kept reading.

Rarity then asked an obvious question. "If this creature is the only way to cure Faidon Radiation Poisoning, why aren't any kept in captivity? I would have thought having access to the milk would be a business venture someone would attempt to follow."

"It was tried," Ruby stated from her spot in the cockpit. "But for some unknown reason, gorgloff milk doesn't have the curative properties in captivity." The Padawans raised an eyebrow at this, wondering why that would be the case. Scientists studied them for years, both wild and captive ones. But they couldn't see a reason why only wild gorgloff can produce curative milk."

"Maybe it's something they eat in the wild?" Pinkie asked, with Ruby shrugging.

"I'm pretty sure the scientists looked into that. Look, we're not here to discover the secret of the gorgloff. We're here to find and milk one before it's too late. Nothing else comes before that."

"Understood," the three nodded as the ship began to come out of hyperspace.

"We're here," Tidal announced as the girls headed for the cockpit. Looking out of it, they saw a planet appear in front of them. One which had many different biomes, such as forest, desert and ocean. Tidal began to move the ship towards a continent that appeared to be made almost entirely out of rock.

There were many canyons and mountains covering the land. Almost every mountain had at least two or three rivers running down from the top, which flowed across the rocky landscape and eventually found its way into one of the canyons. And as the ship flew across the landscape, they looked down into the canyons and saw the walls were covered in moss and other types of plant life.

"There it is," Tidal stated. "Those canyons are teaming with all sorts of life. And one of them is the gorgloff."

They reached one end of the canyon and landed, Ruby turning to her student. "Rarity and I will get out here. We'll start from one end of the canyon and work down it, whilst you three do the same from the opposite direction." They nodded and the pair got out, the ship taking off as soon as they disembarked.

Tidal quickly flew to the other end of the canyon, which was a good distance away. When they arrived and touched down, Pinkie quickly got up and ran towards the exit. Along the way, she grabbed a bunch of rope and a helmet. Said helmet was placed on her head, her smokey hair stopping for a moment before seeping out of the holes in the top.

"Let's get spelunking!" She cried, Twilight rolling her eyes.

"Pinkie spelunking is when you go into caves. You're not gonna be spelunking in a canyon." But Pinkie just turned to her and smiled.

"Oh really? Where do you think the gorgloff lives? They're pretty big, so I doubt they live in nests or ledges. So the best place for them to live in a canyon is in some kind of cave." Twilight was about to argue, but stopped when she realised Pinkie had a point.

"Okay, you got me there." Pinkie laughed at this and took out another box, which had a large drone-like device inside of it. Pinkie tied one end of the rope to the drone, then another end around her waist. "Pinkie. Is that even gonna work?"

"Of course it is," Pinkie smiled. "Are you trying to say I'm fat?" She put a hand on her rubbery hip.

"No," Twilight replied. "But it doesn't matter how much you weigh. There's no way that one drone will be able to lift a person." Pinkie smiled and took off her boots, handing them to Twilight. She took them and almost fell over from how heavy they were. "Wow!"

Pinkie laughed before heading outside, activated the drone as soon as she was. Twilight watched it fly into the air and pull on the rope, only to then be shocked when she saw Pinkie get lifted up without any issue. "Weee!"

"How..." Was all Twilight could say.

Tidal laughed, as he threw his student an ear piece. She easily caught it, putting it on before flying over to the canyon. "Just be careful," Tidal told her over the radio. "If you see something, don't try and engage it."

"Right," Pinkie replied as she lowered herself. As she disappeared out of view, Twilight continued to look shocked.

"How...why..."

"What, you didn't know? Pinkie's species are practically living balloons. If she didn't have those extra heavy boots, she'd get blown away." He stepped over to the canyon, then took out some shades before rolling his eyes. "Oh, shoot. Pinkie, come back up." A few seconds later, Pinkie returned and Tidal threw the shades towards her. "Those should help us keep an eye on things as well."

"Okay." Pinkie put them on and the drone lowered her back down. Tidal activated his gauntlet, the holographic screen appearing with everything Pinkie was seeing being projected to them. "Don't go moving your head too much," he told her. "If we want to find this thing, we'll need to go about it slowly."

"Got it," Pinkie replied as she started moving the drone along the canyon.

Said canyon had many different amazing things within it. It was roughly seventy meters deep and twenty meters across, with so many different kinds of rock. Water flowed down into it from the many rivers, whilst vines, moss and several trees were growing out the side. cracks and small holes could also be seen, which had several creepy crawlies and other small creatures moving in and out of them. And at the very bottom, a powerful raging river could be seen with several rocks sticking out of it.

Twilight also watched using her gauntlet, fascinated by the many different sights. "Amazing."

Tidal nodded. "Just don't let the amazing sight lull you into a false sense of security. The gorgloff isn't the only thing down there that could be dangerous." Twilight nodded, but continued to watch whilst also wondering how Rarity and Ruby were doing.

At the other end of the canyon, Ruby had her own drone.

The small device had detached from her gauntlet and was currently flying through the canyon, Ruby watching the footage whilst Rarity was in charge of her. "Rock," Ruby heard before looking down. Sure enough, there was a rock in front of her that she could trip over.

She quickly stepped over it, then turned her attention back to the canyon. "Thank you." Rarity nodded, as she glanced down at the canyon herself.

Somewhere down there, the gorgloff was waiting for them to capture. And as she looked away, a thought occurred to her. "Um...this thing isn't a carnivore. Is it?"

"What?" Ruby looked up, then realised what she had asked. "Oh, no." Rarity sighed in relief, "omnivore. It'll eat almost anything its teeth can bite through." Rarity instantly got concerned. "But don't worry. We're not gonna let you get eaten by it."

Rarity nodded. "But what exactly is the plan? I doubt it's going to just let us milk it, so we have to catch it. But how do we do that, without hurting it?"

"Actually, that's exactly what's gonna happen." Rarity looked shocked. "It letting us milk it, I mean. Why do you think we were asked to get the milk?" The crystalien stated. "We're going to have it give us its milk."

"Really?" Rarity asked. "How?"

"Gorgloffs are actually rather intelligent. Not enough for it to be considered a sentient being. But enough for it to be manipulated by our abilities. All we have to do is find it, get it to stay still and then give it the old wave of a hand. It'll stay still, we milk it, then we send it on its way without any fuss."

"Huh," Rarity looked amazed by this. "It's really gonna be that easy?"

"The hard part is actually finding one," Ruby replied. "Which is why we need to hurry. There are a lot of canyons for this thing to hide in and if we don't find one soon enough, those people won't get the cure in time." Rarity nodded and they quickly got back to searching the gorge, Ruby watching the footage whilst Rarity kept her teacher from tripping over things.

Twilight was doing the same, keeping Tidal from falling as he watched the footage Pinkie was seeing.

"Still nothing," Tidal stated as Pinkie looked around. But then, he spotted something on one of the walls. "Pinkie, stop!" Pinkie did so, the rubber girl looking around. "To your left. One the wall." Pinkie turned in that direction and saw a bunch of long vines, which were hanging from above and looked long enough to tie together and climb up the side of the canyon.

"What is it?" Twilight asked, looking over Tidal's shoulder. When she stared at the vines, she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. But that, a gentle gust pushed the vines around and allowed her to see what was behind them. "A hole."

"A cave," Tidal replied. "Large enough to fit a gorgloff inside." He seemed to be weighing his options. "Pinkie, I want you to come back up."

"But don't you want me to check it out?"

"I'll be checking it out," he stated. "I want you back up here, where it's safe." Pinkie moaned, but did as she was told and returned up top. As she did, Tidal took off his backpack and started removing equipment from it. As he did, Twilight noticed the weapon on his back.

She had never seen Tidal's weapon before, this being the first time she had been on a mission with him. And as she stared at it, she noticed it seemed similar to Iron Core's weapon. It was a metal and bronze Lightsaber Spear, but it was different from Iron's. The big difference was the two extra vents on the side, reminding Twilight of a weapon known as a crossguard Lightsaber.

Tidal removed the weapon from his back and activated it. And sure enough, a blue laser extended from the weapon. And two shorter blades came out the sides. It was one of these blades that he held against the ground, burning into the rock until the blade was completely submerged.

He then took it out and let the rock slowly cool, blowing on it as Pinkie arrived. Once it was cool, Tidal took some rope out of the bag and tied it around a long metal spike. He then slotted it into the hole before taking a can of something out, Tidal spraying it around the spike and into the whole like whipped cream.

"Yum," Pinkie liked her lips. "I want some of that."

Tidal chuckled. "Trust me, you don't want to have a taste of this. Not unless you wish to glue your mouth together." The cream instantly set and was practically a rock, Tidal giving it a few tugs before nodding. "Alright." He began to run forward, "saltar!" He leapt over the edge, holding onto the rope as he began to abseil down.

Twilight and Pinkie watched, as he bounced along the rock before arriving at the spot the hole was on.

Once there, he leapt off the wall and swung over and into the hole. The pair could only watch, as he tied the rope around one of the vines and headed inside.

Tidal held his weapon in one hand and a flashlight in the other, the Jedi pointing the light into the darkness and seeing it went quite a ways in. After a minute of walking, the light reached the back of the cave. And as he looked around, he saw nothing but a few stalagmites and stalactites.

However, a Jedi's senses went far beyond that of a normal being. As such, he closed his eyes and reached out with The Force. And sure enough, he felt a presence. "Ah," he looked up, "there you are." One of the stalactites wasn't a stalactite at all. And as Tidal stared at it, he saw it making several movements. "Time to wake up. We need your milk."

The creature actually seemed to hear and understand him, as the wings began to unfurl and reveal the strange creature. Its legs were wrapped around a real stalactite, as its eyes opened and glared at Tidal before letting out a shrill hiss.

Tidal smiled and held out his hand, focusing on the creature in an attempt to manipulate its weak mind. "You will-" He didn't get to finish, as the beast suddenly leapt off the rock and flew towards him. Tidal narrowly leapt to the side, his reflexes telling him to attack but he managed to hold them back.

The gorgloff landed and gnashed his teeth at a spot which, two seconds ago, Tidal's head had been occupying. It then leapt forward, not bothering to fight, and flew out of the cave.

"Hey!" Tidal ran after him, activating his gauntlet as he did. "Girls, he's leaving the cave. See if you can spot where he's going."

Pinkie and Twilight rushed to the edge and looked down, over the cliff, and saw something black flying around.

"It's just going in a circle," Twilight replied. "You might still be able to catch it!" They watched, as Tidal leapt out of the hole and grabbed his rope. He swung around on it, as the gorgloff continued to circle around its area of the canyon. But when it saw Tidal, it hissed again before charging downwards. "Look out!"

Tidal saw the beast coming and quickly kicked off the wall, the creature missing him as he swung upwards.

He then let go of the rope and fell towards the gorgloff, the girls gasping as they watched. If the gorgloff moved, Tidal might fall to his head.

But it didn't and he landed on its back, using the staff of his Lightsaber to hook around its neck.

The girls watched, as Tidal rode the gorgloff around. He pulled on his Lightsaber, forcing the beast to fly higher and higher until it was out of the gorge. There, Tidal tried to push it downwards. But this time, the beast wasn't listening and chose to do a barrel roll.

Tidal hadn't been expecting this and found himself getting thrown off the beast, the Jedi falling towards the ground and crashing into it. His Lightsaber fell from his hand and by some miracle, it stopped right before it fell over the edge of the canyon.

The gorgloff dived down, ready to bite off the head of the one that attacked it. But Twilight and Pinkie got between it, both holding up their weapons. Soon, the gorgloff found itself staring down a green energy blade and a long blue energy tendril.

Pinkie gave her whip a few good cracks, the sound of thunder filling the air as it did. "Try to take control of it," Tidal told them. Twilight nodded and raised her hand, attempting to exert her will over the beast.

"Calm down," she told it. But the gorgloff let out another hiss, clearly not listening to her commands. "Calm down!" She stated, a bit more forcefully. But the creature roared and charged right at her, Twilight screaming as her instincts took over. The next thing she knew, the beast was letting out a scream of pain as something fell off its body.

Twilight gasped as she realised what she had done.

Her Lightsaber had cut through its front leg and carved the end of it off, making the creature cry out in agony as it fell back. "What have I done?" The creature stopped flying and landed, attempting to stand. But the loss of part of its leg made it unable to properly balance and it almost fell over, the beast staggering around. "I'm sorry."

The gorgloff hissed before rushing away, losing its balance a few times as it fell over the edge of the cliff.

They gasped and ran over to it, but saw the beast flying away from the canyon. "No!" Twilight cried, as she turned to the leg end. She looked horrified, as if she was going to be sick.

"Twilight," Pinkie placed a hand on her shoulder, "it's okay."

"No it's not!" Twilight cried. "I hurt an innocent creature." She fell to her knees and looked down at her Lightsaber. She had always known how dangerous they were, but this was the first time she had ever used it to cause actual bodily harm. "Who knows what'll happen to it now."

"Relax," Tidal told her. "Gorgloffs have incredible regenerative abilities. A small wound like that will likely heal in a week or two." Twilight frowned. That should have made her happy, but it didn't. "But we have a bigger issue. We couldn't control it."

"Which means we can't make it stop so we can milk it," Twilight sighed.

The others frowned. They might have time to find another gorgloff. They had to get this one, before it got away. But how could they, given the pain it was in and their inability to control it?

Rarity and Ruby had still been checking their side of the canyon, when Tidal called them.

"What's up?" Ruby asked, only for Tidal to explain everything that had happened. "That's not good," she frowned. "If it's in a state of pain and anger, it's no wonder you couldn't control it."

"Why?" Rarity asked.

"Gorgloffs barely make the cut for creatures we can manipulate with The Force. I'm willing to bet it's only manipulable when it's in a state of total calm. Getting angry, upset or scared is probably causing its most beastly sides to come out. And when it's in that state, its mind can't be controlled."

"So we are going to have to fight it?" Rarity asked, with Ruby nodding.

"Most likely. We'll need to subdue it. Tidal. The ship should have a tranquiliser gun in its storage. We'll have to dart it."

"But won't that affect the quality of its milk?" Tidal asked. "We don't want to go to all that effort and end up with milk that can't cure the ill."

"At this point, we might not have a choice." Ruby cut the call and told Rarity to hurry, the pair running down the canyon with the drone still searching for the gorgloff.

Back with the others, they had returned to the ship and Tidal was searching for the guns.

At the same time, Twilight was simply sitting on the floor with her knees up to her chest. Pinkie saw this when she entered the section she was in and frowned, seeing Twilight wasn't doing so well. "Hey," she bounced over and sat beside her. "It's not your fault."

"If I hadn't cut that thing, it might not have flown off. We might have been able to catch it and still be able to control it. If we don't make it in time, it'll be my fault those people die." She looked close to tears. "Celestia trusted me and I've let her down."

"It's not like it's the first time," Pinkie smiled before seeing a look on Twilight's face. "Wait. Is this the first time you've messed up on a mission?" Twilight frowned, but nodded. "Wow. Okay, wasn't expecting that. You must have been on tons of missions. Have you really never made a mistake on one?"

"Of course not. I'm Celestia's student. If I fail, that means she failed. She's the Grand Master. She can only train the best of the best and...and that isn't me." She looked ready to start crying, only to hear Pinkie start to laugh. "What?" She looked up at her, outrage on her face. "What are you laughing at?"

"Twilight. We're not supposed to do everything perfectly. Even Celestia isn't perfect."

"Of course she is. She's the Grand Master."

"Really? So, you wouldn't believe me if I told you I once passed Celestia when she had her robes inside out?" Twilight looked shocked by this, "or a story that Luna once told Trixie and me when we were on a mission. I won't go into all the details, but it includes Celestia, a parixian sand worm and two tons of cake frosting." Tidal chose this moment to walk in, carrying the dart guns. "Celestia isn't perfect. Nobody is. Not even the Grand Master."

"She's right," Tidal nodded. "Everybody makes mistakes. It's the only way we truly learn." Twilight looked down, clearly not comfortable with the idea that she had to fail in order to learn. "When I was a Padawan, I went on a mission with Celestia. I made a serious error that caused the entire mission to almost fail. It was so mala, I feared I would be kicked out of the order. But you know what she told me?" Twilight shook her head, "wisdom is the name we give our mistakes." He smiled, "and who's the wisest Jedi you know?"

"Celestia."

"So what do you think that means?"

Twilight thought about it. "I means...she's made a bunch of mistakes that she learned from?"

"Exactly," Tidal nodded. "She didn't let her mistakes get the better of her and she was able to become the Grand Master because of what she learned. The question is, can you do the same. Or will you let this one mistake defeat you?"

As Tidal and Pinkie ran out of the ship, Twilight let the words sink in.

Was Celestia really not as perfect as Twilight thought she was? And did Twilight not have to be as perfect either? Ever since she was chosen as Celestia's Padawan, she had done whatever she could to prove she was worthy of the title. But maybe that had been her problem.

Instead of trying to prove herself, Twilight needed to focus on what actually mattered. Getting the milk, even if she didn't look great whilst she did it.

And as she opened her eyes and looked around, she spotted a bunch of rope that Pinkie had left behind. And as she stared at it, an idea formed in her head. It was a crazy idea, but it might just work.

Tidal and Pinkie ran out the ship and Pinkie activated the drone, which she had once again tied around her waist.

It pulled her into the air and she flew back towards the canyon, flying through it in search of any sign of the gorgloff. She moved the drone as fast as it could go, her eyes shifting from side to side scanning the surrounding environment. And when she heard a hissing noise, she looked ahead and saw the creature hanging off the side of the canyon.

"There you are!" She cried, sending the drone towards it.

The gorgloff turned to see her and let out an angry growl, then shot towards her. It seemed to be aiming for the drone, Pinkie quickly undoing the knot around her waist as she swung to the side. She flew away from the drone, seconds before it was bitten into by the creature. She then landed against the side of the canyon and let her rubbery body go squish against it before bouncing back, sending her flying towards the creature.

"Wheeee!" She slammed into the beast and pushed it upwards, above the canyon where Tidal was waiting.

He raised the dart gun and fired, the tranquilliser flying up towards the beast. However, the creature spun around at the last minute. Doing so caused its wing to hit the needle without being stabbed, knocking it away as it finally kicked Pinkie off of it.

She fell towards the ground, Tidal rushing over to her. As she bounced off the ground, not getting hurt in the slightest, Tidal managed to get her by the leg before she could bounce up and be blown away by the wind. "This thing's good," he stated as he tried to load another dart.

The gorgloff dived down, its mouth open as it tried to bite the pair's head off.

Tidal and Pinkie both leapt to the side, Pinkie taking out her Light-Whip. But as she ignited it, the creature looked down at it and appeared to grow worried. As such, it flew up and up and up. "Turn it off," Tidal stated. "It's clearly not gonna get near us whilst we have the power to cut it to pieces."

Pinkie frowned, but extinguished the whip before putting it away. The gorgloff stared at them, then dived down again.

Tidal finally got the dart loaded and fired, but the creature's reflexes were amazing. It saw the dart coming and shifted its body, so that the projectile harmlessly flew past it. "Mierda!" He growled, attempting to load another dart.

But the creature reached him and tried to stab him with its five remaining leg tips, causing him to leap back. But he landed on a small rock, which shifted and caused him to trip over and lose his gun.

As he hit the ground, the gorgloff raised a leg to stab him in the chest.

But before it could hit, a dome of light appeared around the creature and blocked the attack. The gorgloff pulled back at this, as Pinkie turned to see Ruby and Rarity running towards them. "You found it!" Ruby cried, her hand up as the gem on it glowed.

The gorgloff hissed in anger, as it tried again and again to break out of the dome.

Ruby flinched, as she worked to keep the shield raised. "Master!" Rarity cried, "you can't keep a shield that strong up for so long. It's too much."

"I have to try," Ruby began to pant. The others watched, as the gorgloff started flying around and smashing its body into the barrier. "It'll tire itself out."

"Eventually," Rarity cried. "But there's no way you can last longer than it can." Ruby groaned, but kept fighting against the creature's constant barrage. But eventually, her barrier began to flicker and weaken.

"No." The gorgloff slammed into the barrier at just the right moment, shattering it as it flickered and causing Ruby to stagger back.

Rarity caught her, as blood trickled out the woman's nose. As she almost fell back, the gorgloff attempted to bite them again. Rarity pulled Ruby away, the feline Padawan taking out her Lightsaber. But when the beast saw it, it flew up and away from them.

"No," Tidal cried. He was about to run over and grab the dart gun. But before he could, he spotted something flying towards the gorgloff. "What?"

The beast stared at the Jedi, as it flew as high as it could to get away from their bizarre weapons. But it was so focused on them, it didn't notice what was flying towards it. A bunch of ropes, which had been tied together in a way that they formed a bunch of lassos.

Suddenly, two of the ropes looped themselves around its wings and forced them to stop flying. A third then tied them together, as the beast began to fall towards the ground. At the same time, three more ropes tied the legs together at the knees. The legs were crossed with the ones across from it, as one final rope tied itself around its neck.

As the gorgloff drew closer to the ground, the ropes carefully pulled it upwards so it slowed without any whiplash hurting the creature. And eventually, it stopped right above the ground.

The Jedi stared at it, wondering where the ropes had come from.

They got their answer, when Twilight slowly walked towards them as she held her hands up. "Twilight!" Pinkie cheered, happy the girl had chosen to come and help them. "Was this you?"

Twilight nodded. "I thought, if we just contained the creature, it would eventually tire itself out and be unable to fight back. The gorgloff kept struggling, roaring with rage. But the ropes were too strong and nothing it did allowed it to escape, the beast slowly beginning to tire itself out.

And as it did, Twilight took a deep breath and reached out with her hand. "Calm down." The creature kept struggling, but it did seem to lose some steam. "Calm down," she repeated. More and more, the creature's fight lessened. And Twilight eventually placed a hand on its head. "Relax." Slowly, the gorgloff calmed down and eventually stopped thrashing around. "Good."

The others smiled, as Tidal rushed back towards the ship. As he did, Twilight kept the gorgloff calm.

As she did, she stared at the creature's severed leg. "I'm sorry," she told it. "I panicked and you got hurt because of it. There's nothing I can do to make it up to you. But I promise, I'll be more careful from now on." If the gorgloff understood her, it made no indication that it did.

After a few minutes, Tidal returned carrying a strange looking pumping device.

He and Pinkie quickly got to work, securing the device to the creature. Twilight kept her focus on the creature's face, continuing to calm it whilst they worked to get the milk out of it.

Rarity let out a disgusted cry, whatever Pinkie and Tidal were doing clearly making her uncomfortable. And eventually, they got what they had come for. "Eureka!" Tidal announced, holding up a single jar of the yellowish white liquid.

Ruby stared at it. "Are you sure that'll be enough?"

"More than enough," Pinkie assured her. "There might even be some left over." Ruby looked impressed by this, whilst Twilight stared at the gorgloff.

"Alright," she told it, "we have what we came for. Thank you. You have no idea how many people you're going to help." She turned to the others and once she was sure she could keep it under control, she nodded and they started undoing the rope holding the poor creature in place.

When the last rope was undone, the Jedi all carefully moved away from the creature.

The gorgloff rolled back around, pushing itself onto its five healthy legs. It stood tall and opened its wings, Twilight doing her best to keep it calm. "That's it," she told it. "Stay calm. You can go home now. We won't bother you again." The creature continued to calmly beat its wings, a few hisses escaping its lips.

Twilight worried the beast would attack. But then, the gorgloff gave its wings a single mighty flap as it leapt into the air. It took off and flew high into the sky, the Jedi watching it circle around them. They all kept a hand on their weapons, just in case the creature dived down to attack them again.

But to their relief, the gorgloff turned away from them and flew off. They smiled as they watched it dive down into the canyon again, likely returning to its cave home.

Everyone sighed in relief, Ruby stepping over to Twilight. "You did well."

"Thanks," Twilight smiled, "but I still messed up." The others nodded, but hopefully Twilight wouldn't beat herself up over it too much.

"Come on," Tidal told them. "We have to get this milk to the retrieval squad. Every second counts." They nodded and headed back towards the ship, Twilight stopping and glancing back at the canyon once again.

She may never see the gorgloff again. But that creature would never be forgotten by her. She would always remember the pain she caused it and the lesson it taught her.

As soon as they left the planet, Tidal contacted the retrieval ship and was glad to hear the marooned group had been saved.

They were in a bad state and needed the milk right away, the two ships determining a meet up point and heading there as fast as their hyperdrives would allow. As they flew there, Pinkie had taken out some equipment they had brought with them and was currently working on the milk.

Twilight watched, as the rubber girl took a few drops of the milk and placed them in a device. She then pressed a few buttons and watched, as the machine did a test on said milk. "What are you doing?" Rarity asked, she and Ruby stepping into the area Pinkie had set up her mini lab.

"Making sure the milk is actually curative," Pinkie replied as she checked the analysis of the substance.

Twilight smiled, as she watched Pinkie do her work. Despite her cheerful nature and bouncy personality, Pinkie was a well trained member of the Medical Core. Twilight might have known a lot, but Pinkie and all the other Medical Jedi had her beat in this area.

"Yup," Pinkie smiled. "We're good. The milk isn't just a cure for the radiation sickness, it's a great cure for it. I don't know what that gorgloff eats, but it's eating the perfect amount to make this stuff great."

"That's good," Rarity nodded. "I would have hated to have gone through all that for nothing."

Twilight nodded. "Though, I guess it wasn't for nothing. I did learn something from it. Something that I think is gonna help me a lot in the future."

"Which is?" Ruby asked.

"That doing something perfectly, isn't always the way to do something. And it's okay to make mistakes." They nodded at this, as Pinkie held up the milk jar.

"Well there is something that needs doing perfectly. Getting this milk evenly distributed. Wanna help me measure out the exact quantity needed for each patient." Twilight smiled and stepped forward, happy to see her perfectionist tenancies still had some uses.

When they finally met up with the retrieval ship, the patients were given the milk and soon were back on their feet.

It took a while, but the radiation was completely neutralised by the substance. And by the time the two ships finally arrived at Canterlot, it was impossible to tell who had been standard on the dangerous planet and who hadn't.

"Thank you," the captain of the crashed ship announced. "If it hadn't been for you, we would have all died."

"Happy to help," Tidal told him. As they talked, Twilight had asked to speak with Celestia off to the side. The two equestrians stepped off, Celestia looking curious.

"What is it?" She asked, as Twilight sighed.

"Master. I made a mistake on the mission. I ended up hurting the gorgloff and cutting off one of its legs. Tidal said the creature should recover, but I still messed up."

"I see," Celestia looked a little concerned by this. "And do you think this mistake will help you grow as a Jedi?" Twilight nodded. "In what what?"

"I've been in fights before, but never a real one with a living thing. Before, I've only fought in the training room or against droids. So I never had to worry about accidentally doing more damage than I intended. But that made me careless."

"True," Celestia nodded. "If you allow yourself to relax when handling a dangerous weapon, then it won't be a matter of if you make a mistake with it. But when." Twilight nodded. "I think the two of us will need to look into helping you gain more control over your Lightsaber form. Perhaps it would be better if we didn't use the training room."

"You mean...train with our real Lightsabers?" Twilight looked a little worried. "What if I accidentally hit you?"

Celestia smiled. "Twilight. I'm three hundred and thirty three. Do you see any scars or missing limbs?" Twilight shook her head. "Exactly. I've been around a long time. You're more likely to spontaneously combust, than you are likely to hit me in a duel."

Twilight smiled at this, nodding before another thought entered her head. "There's something else." Celestia raised an eyebrow. "I...I can't decipher the images you gave me. I'm sorry, but I'm completely stumped. There doesn't seem to be anything in the database that will help me decode the images that were on that temple."

"I see," Celestia nodded. "That's disappointing." Twilight frowned, looking down in shame. "I meant disappointing that our system doesn't have the info we need. I know that if it did, you would have found it." Twilight smiled at this. "I know being my student can feel overwhelming at times. But just know, you will never have to worry about disappointing me. So long as you do what you can, that's all I'll ask of you." Twilight nodded, as Tidal stepped over to them.

"Master Celestia. I think you'll want to hear this." The equestrians looked at him, curiously, then stepped over to the crew that had been saved. "Sorry about this. But can you tell us what happened to you again? How you ended up crashing like you did."

"Okay," the captain nodded. "We were making our way through the Galtus Sector, when our ship came under attack."

"Under attack from what?" Celestia asked, only for the pilot to hold out a circular device.

"I managed to get an image of it before he escaped into hyperspace." The device projected a holographic image, which showed a large ship surrounded by smaller fighter ships. Whilst the smaller ships were once they all recognised, Twilight and Celestia recognised the bigger one as well.

The smaller ones, were the same ships that had been on the planet the Sith had taken over. The same ship that Solara had used to escape in. But the larger ship, was the same one they had seen in Springer's memories.

"The Bug Troopers," Celestia realised. "What happened?"

"I don't know," the pilot replied. "We were flying through an area I used as a shortcut, when they came out of nowhere and attacked. They tried to disable our engines, but got our weapons and life support systems instead. It's a miracle I was able to get into Hyperspeed, but the damage meant we couldn't be in it for very long."

"Explaining why you had to make an emergency landing on that planet." Celestia frowned. This force had been a complete unknown until lately, but now they had shown up at two relatively close incidents. "Either they no longer care about being sneaky, or their operations have grown too big to hide. Either way, we need to figure out where they are and discover what they're after."

"How?" Twilight asked, as Celestia tried to think.

"We're going to send some teams out there," Celestia announced. "If they attacked one small ship for entering that area, it must be important to them. So we're going to find out what's out there that's so important." The others nodded, also wanting to discover the secrets behind the insectoid assailants. And hopefully, they would also find the Sith that was responsible for their actions.

The Galtus Sector

In deep space, the Bug Trooper's ship was flying through the system from planet to planet.

Aboard the ship were the many armored insectoids, that were under the command of the one currently sitting in the central chair. And what was the most surprising part of the being in command, was that they weren't a being at all.

Instead, they were some kind of droid. A mechanical humanoid, made entirely out of black metal. Lights flickered on his chest, whilst his head was a black metal helmet-like structure that was similar to Solara's helmet. Except whilst hers had two eye holes, this one had a single red visor running in a V-shape along the front of his head. And sticking out of his forehead, was a red metal horn.

The droid stood up, stepping forward with an audible thud caused by each step. As he did, the black cape hanging from his shoulders shifted and allowed his belt to be seen. And hanging from it was a silver Lightsaber, with three trios of leather strips wrapped around it.

As he reached the front of the ship, he saw the Bug Troopers flying it and spoke up. His voice was robotic in nature, but still deep and commanding. "How much of the system have we scanned so far?"

One of the Bug Troopers checked. "Twenty-five percent of the system has been scanned. So far, no results."

The droid growled. "Double your efforts. I want the remaining seventy-five percent of the system scanned in the time it's taken you to scan that first twenty-five. We've already been compromised with this location. We can't afford to let anyone else find us."

"Yes, Master Armalum." The droid turned away and sat back down, staring at the view screens showing the outside of the ship. He stared out into the vast emptiness of space, waiting for the moment his troops would give him the answer he was waiting for.

"There's a vein of it here. I can feel it." He placed a hand on his chest, as the light there blinked more rapidly. "Once we find it, we'll be one step closer to Sombra's goal."

Chapter 13

View Online

The Jedi Temple seemed surprisingly quiet on this day, almost completely deserted.

Out in the yards, a few Jedi were working with the younglings on their sabre skills. And some were in the Jedi Archives, ready to find any information that was asked for. But other than that, most of the Jedi were away from the Temple.

In his room, Flash Sentry was kneeling on the floor trying to mediate.

The young Padawan was one of the few left at the temple, on Celestia's orders to remain out of missions until he was ready. The Padawan took a deep breath, trying to calm himself as he focused on Celestia's words.

"Having The Force, doesn't magically mean everything we do will turn out how we want it. It can help us achieve our goals, but in the end the universe does not play favourites. You can try and make things work out how you want it, but you need to be willing to accept failure when it happens."

Ever since his meeting with Celestia, Flash had been trying to let those words become something he could accept. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't. He couldn't let himself accept that despite being a powerful Jedi, he wouldn't be able to keep people safe.

His doors suddenly opened and somebody stepped inside. Shining Armor.

Like his student, Shining had also been left behind in the temple. But unlike Flash, he had asked to stay there. "You busy?" Flash didn't respond, wanting to stay focused. Shining waited, as Flash took a deep breath and completed his meditation session.

He then opened his eyes and turned to him. "What do you need?"

"You and I have a job to do," Shining stated. "Get ready."

"But Celestia said I'm not supposed to go out on a mission."

"Maybe," Shining shrugged. "But with most of the Jedi out searching for those Bug Troopers, I'm low on options. Besides, this might be good for you. You've been cooped up in this room for way too long." Flash sighed and got up, grabbing his Lightsaber and a few other bits he would need for whatever Shining had planned.

"Alright," Flash followed him out of the room, "where are we going?"

"A contact of mine is on another part of the planet. I'm hoping he has some intel that might be useful in combating these Bug Troopers and their Sith masters."

"And you need me because..."

"He likes to hang out at...less than hospitable environments. Going there alone isn't a good idea."

"So you're taking a defenceless Padawan?" Shining gave him a look. "Okay, I'm not defenceless. But I am still a Padawan. I shouldn't be going to places like that."

"You spent two years on Shikoya. If you can survive there, you can survive anywhere. And stop being such a baby. When I was a youngling, I hung out at places way scarier than where we're going."

"Really?" Flash gave him a quizzical look. "You?" He saw Shining smirk, as if he was remembering something from a long time ago.

Years ago.

The planet of Canterlot was just like it was in the present day, with the Jedi training the next generation and working to defend peace in the galaxy. And one of those part of the next generation, was a ten year old Shining Armor.

The youngling was sneaking through the temple, making sure nobody found him as he tried to get out of the building.

Making his way through the temple's main entry way, he kept to the shadows and looked around to see if anyone was there. But seeing the place was empty, he rushed out of the entry way and managed to make it outside. But he continued to stay hidden until he was far away from the temple, only to then laugh and race towards his destination.

The streets of Canterlot were no place a youngster, but Shining trekked through it like he had done it a hundred times. And he had.

He finally arrived at his destination. A small bar of some kind, that looked like it could use a new coat of paint and some repairs done to the outside. Despite looking run down, Shining smiled and headed inside.

The interior wasn't much better than the exterior, being well lit but still shoddy. It was full of round tables that used barrels as seats, the only chairs being the ones up at the bar. And those on the inside weren't much better looking than the bar. Many different aliens were sitting at the table, all looking like they had been in a fight or two due to the scars and missing limbs they sported.

Behind the bar, a green twi'lek woman could be seen cleaning it down.

As Shining ran into the bar, she looked up and frowned. "Shining. How many times have you been told not to be here?"

"I know," Shining leapt up onto a bar stool. "But he just got back, so this'll be the first place he'll go to. I just know it." The woman rolled her eyes and grabbed a glass, filling it with a non-alcoholic drink that she gave to Shining.

The youngling smiled as he drank it down, waiting for him to arrive.

And after a few minutes, he appeared. "Stax!" One of the other aliens called out, making Shining gasp. "How you been, you old rascal!?" Shining turned in his chair and sure enough, there he was.

He appeared human, having tanned skin and wearing a white shirt with brown pants. A Jedi cloak was draped over his shoulders and at his belt, a Lightsaber was hanging. But whilst he looked human, his head didn't have hair. Instead, a bunch of red porcupine quills were sticking out the top of his head, which were spiked back to make him look like he styled it up to be cool.

The man made his way across the room and smiled at the barmaid.

"Hey Thalia. My usual drink order, please." The twi'lek nodded before getting said drink, whilst Stax sat down and didn't seem to even notice the youngling sitting besides him. Shining smiled up at him, but the older Jedi just sat there without acknowledging him.

Finally, his patience reached its end. "Hey! Aren't you gonna say anything?" Stax looked over and appeared surprised.

"Oh, hey shrimp. Didn't see you there." He reached over and ruffled Shining's hair. "You're so small, it's hard to tell when you're around." The other customers all laughed at this, whilst Shining went red. "Cheer up, lad. You'll never be a Jedi if you can't handle a joke."

Shining huffed and looked around. "And I was looking forward to hearing how your mission went. I bet you didn't do anything cool."

"Are you kidding?" Stax smirked, as Thalia handed him his drink. "Well I guess you don't wanna hear how I went toe to toe with a sea monster, trapped on a row boat with barely any way to defend myself." This seemed to peak Shining's interest. "Such a shame." He started drinking, leaving Shining waiting for him to continue. But he said nothing.

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" He cried, the others laughing at his childish whine.

Stax smirked as he looked over at him. "You really wanna know?" Shining nodded. "Alright then. So there I was..."

It was a rather long journey to the area Shining had wanted to go.

Even with the speeder they used, the trip was still three hours long. And in that time, Flash sat beside Shining wondering where the heck they were going. Shining had said it wasn't the most respectable place, which made Flash worry he was being taken to some kind of terrible bar, where a single wrong word could start a fist fight.

Eventually, they arrived at an area that looked just as clean and well kept as the rest of the planet.

Shining parked the speeder and led Flash to their target location, leading the pair down into a lower area of the planet. And it was here that Flash started seeing how badly cared for this part of the planet was. "Why are the lower areas of Canterlot always so filthy?"

"That's the filth of hard work," Shining explained. "Most of the areas under Canterlot's surface city are factories and processing plants. Used to turn raw material into something that can be used." Flash nodded as they passed an area where a bunch of machines were online and making something.

Aliens and droids were also working in tandem, the droids doing most of the heavy lifting whilst the organics were pressing buttons and doing scans.

Flash expected to see a bunch of rocks and ores being placed into the machine, but quickly spotted an old looking microwave and a tablet with a crack running down it. "Recycling," Shining replied. "This particular area is for turning something old into something new."

"How does that work?"

"Not sure. All I know is if it can be reused, it is. There are only so many resources in the universe. Don't wanna use them all up if we can prevent it." They turned a corner and Flash found himself looking at a building hidden deep in the shadows of the upper levels, with barely any lights illuminating it. "Here we are."

"We're going in there?" Flash asked.

"Yup," Shining nodded. "Remember, keep your hands by your side and always maintain eye contact. Trust me, you don't want to fall under their spell."

"Spell?" Flash was getting more and more worried by the second, as they headed inside.

The place was just as badly lit as the interior, which might have been by design. The air was stale and warm, whilst blaring music could be heard. And as Flash stepped further into the building, he realised what Shining had been talking about.

The place wasn't just a dive bar, though it was clearly that, as it also had a long catwalk with a female alien dancing around. Flash had to avert his gaze, due to how the woman was dressed.

"Hey sweetheart," the dancer smiled at Flash. "Why don't you come up and we can dance together." She blew him a kiss, Flash gulping as he tried to follow Shining's advice and keep his attention on her eyes. But it wasn't easy with how she was moving around. "Or maybe you'd like to pay for us to have some alone time."

"Shining," Flash cried, "what are we doing here?"

"I told you. We're here to meet with an informant of mine." Shining smirked as he spotted something, "there he is." Flash looked around Shining and saw what he was looking at.

Over in one of the booths was a yellow skinned alien, with green bug eyes and tentacles in place of hair. He had a human dancer on his lap, the two laughing at something whilst another poured his drink. The alien then spotted Shining and smiled. "Shiny! It's been too long."

"Hey there Vlick," Shining sat in the booth with flash sitting beside him. "Enjoying life like you always do, I see."

"Hey, we only live once." The girls got up and left. "You Jedi could learn a thing or two about having a good time. I don't suppose you're here to finally have a blast and enjoy the girls."

"No," Shining stated. "We're here because I'm hoping you have some info I might be able to use."

"Oh. Hoping I might have heard something, about a particular group of red sabered individuals and their buggy friends?" Flash and Shining looked towards him, though Shining still seemed a little suspicious. "Hmm. I think I remember hearing something about them. But what was it?" He pretended to be thinking. "Ah...curse this memory of mine. Always so fickle."

Flash frowned, whilst Shining reached into his pocket and took out a memory chip his Padawan realised must have credits on it.

Vlick smiled as he took the memory card from him. "Oh, now I remember." He looked around, looking a lot more serious, then leaned in close. "This is just a rumour, mind you. Can't be sure how accurate it is. But apparently, this group that's appearing has six people at the very top. One guy above the rest, with the other five acting as his arms and legs around the galaxy."

Shining frowned, "six? There should only be two? A Master and an apprentice."

"I told you, this is just something I heard from a guy that managed to get out of working with them alive. He said there were five, but each of them answered to a head honcho. Make of that what you will." Shining frowned as he sat back.

"Do you know anything else?" Flash asked. "Like, what do they look like? Does one of them wear a mask over their face?"

Vlick hummed as he sat back. "Can't seem to remember." Flash glared at him, angry he would try and get more out of them.

"Seriously? The entire galaxy could be in danger. If you don't tell us everything you know about them-" He looked ready to get up and grab the alien, but Shining stopped him.

"Calm down," he pushed Flash back in his seat. "Threatening him isn't going to help his memory." He turned to Vlick, "sorry about him. Still learning the art of negotiation."

"I see," Vlick stood up. "I'm gonna go get myself a drink. Give you boys time to calm down. Maybe that'll help my memory a little." He walked away from the booth and Shining turned to Flash.

"What?" The Padawan asked. "We're trying to find these guys and you're letting that lowlife scam you out of your money? We're Jedi. He should be helping us without needing to be paid."

"Being Jedi doesn't give us the right to force people to do what we want. Vlick needs to make a living in the galaxy. The info he has can be dangerous. Learning it needs to be worth the risk. Which means it's gotta give him some kind of benefit."

Flash frowned. "Aren't there Jedi that can look into people's minds? I bet they could get that info out of his head without him needing to say a word."

"Again, we don't have the right to go fiddling about in his head. We have to be more morally upstanding than any other citizen, not less." Shining leaned back. "I know how you feel. I used to think the Jedi could do whatever we wanted. But I learned the hard way there's a time for fighting and a time to be cordial."

Years ago.

"Then, a dorsal fin came out of the water. Then another, and another and another." Stax was standing in the middle of the bar, recounting his adventure. "But there weren't a bunch of creatures around me. Just one, really big one." Shining and the other bar patrons listened intently. "And then, from out of the sea, a giant serpent appeared. It was so large, my boat and I could have slid down its throat without it needing to swallow."

"What did you do?" Shining asked, looking at him in amazement.

Stax smiled, as he slowly moved closer to Shining. "I stood up, looked him dead in the eyes, and told him in my sternest voice." They were inches apart now, their eyes locked. "Get...lost."

Shining was amazed. "And that worked?"

"Oh," Stax pulled back, "heck no. The beast charged at me and tried to swallow me whole."

"So what happened?" Shining asked, as Stax sat down.

The Jedi took another bottle from Thalia and was trying to open it, clearly enjoying having Shining on the edge of his seat. "Well-" He didn't get to answer, as the doors suddenly flew open.

Everyone turned to the noise and saw a bunch of blue four armed aliens step into the bar, looking around and armed with some pretty impressive looking blasters. They marched towards the bar and glared down at Thalia. "All your booze. Now."

Thalia glared at her. "I'm afraid I just sold my last bottle." The aliens raised an eyebrow, as they reached for their weapons.

"Sorry about that," Stax spoke up. "I just got back from a long trip and I guess my thirst was more than I thought it was." The four armed aliens glared at him, as he reached over and held out the bottle he was about to open. "Here, my gift to you. Unopened and since Thalia serves it, you know it's good."

The lead alien stared at him, quizzically, then reached out and took the bottle. Everyone hoped that would be the end of it, but the alien suddenly smashed the bottle on the bar and sent glass splattering everywhere.

Shining gasped, expecting to get some glass stabbed into him. But the shards stopped moving inches away from him and fell down, Shining seeing Stax holding a single finger off the bar. He hadn't been so well protected, as glass had cut into his clothes and made a few scratches on his arm. The alcohol had also spilled onto his lap.

Stax looked himself over, then up and the alien before slowly standing up.

Shining smiled, waiting for him to beat these guys to a pulp. But Stax did something else. "Looks like you had an accident," he pointed out before smiling. "Here. Let me help with that." He turned to Thalia and asked for a broom, the barmaid nodding and quickly fetching it.

Stax started sweeping up the bits of glass, whilst the four armed aliens all laughed.

"Here," the leader picked up Shining's glass and threw it to the ground. It shattered and Shining expected Stax to attack now, but he didn't and just kept sweeping. "Pathetic." As Stax swept the glass into a pile, he was suddenly pushed and thrown to the ground. That part of the ground happened to be pooling the alcohol, so he was once again drenched.

The aliens laughed as they headed out, whilst Stax simply sat there looking pathetic.

Shining was shocked, as the four armed group disappeared out the door. Their laughter could still be heard for a few more seconds before they finally disappeared, only to then be replaced with another set of laughter.

This time, that laughter came from Stax. The Jedi Knight burst out laughing, Thalia and the other patrons following suit. "Well," Stax smiled, "that was certainly interesting." The others nodded and Shining had had enough.

"Why are you all laughing!?" He screamed, everyone turning to him. "You should have fought back. You could have kicked his butt. So why did you just sit there and let him make a fool out of you?"

Stax smiled at him, "what would be the point in that? He spilled a drink on me. No reason to let it escalate more than that." She stood up, whilst Shining still looked upset.

"But you could have won. You're a Jedi. You could have used your Lightsaber. Made him leave with the Force. Or shoved him against the wall and kept him there!" Stax's smile instantly disappeared, as he sat at the bar looking upset.

"So you think a Jedi should use the force to make people feel bad?" Shining wasn't sure what he meant. "Shining. What is a Jedi's role in the universe?"

"To use The Force to protect others and yourself."

"Exactly. To protect. Not to harm. A Jedi can use The Force to help keep others safe. It can be used in defence. It can be used to heal and help others. It should not be used to actively or passively hurt others." Shining frowned, remembering the teachers at the Temple telling him something similar. "That guy was strong and had a lot of weapons. Because of that, he felt like he could push others around and threaten them to do what he wants. If I had used The Force to hurt him, how would I have been any different?"

"You'd be using it to protect everyone here?"

"Didn't I just do that?" Stax asked. "I didn't need to use The Force to stop him. He left and nobody got hurt."

"But he made you look like a fool?"

"So what?" Stax asked. "So it's okay to hurt someone if they make you look silly? Does that sound like something a Jedi would do?"

"A Jedi wouldn't just stand there and take it!" Shining cried. "A real Jedi would have made him leave without being made into a fool." He leapt off his stool, "you're no Jedi." He walked off, "you're no man." With that, he left the bar and Stax could only watch with an upset look on his face.

Flash and Shining waited for Vlick to get back, Shining glancing at Flash.

"This time, stay calm. Trust me, I'll know when Vlick's starting to rip us off. So far, everything he's said has been the truth. Or at least, he believes it's the truth. And if it is true, that could be a lot of trouble for us."

"You really think there are six Sith out there?"

"I hope not. But if there are, we might be in more trouble than we thought." He glanced over at Vlick, who was trying to chat up the girl at the bar. But as he watched him fail to impress the girl, he suddenly felt something sinister.

He looked around, but all the patrons seemed to be focused on the girls around them. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

But then, he noticed a flash of metal and glanced at a hooded individual sitting in one corner of the club. An individual who had a small but dangerous blaster in their hands, pointed right at the bar.

"Vlick, get down!" Vlick looked over at him, only to suddenly find himself getting shot by some kind of dart. "Vlick!" He and Flash leapt up and ran for him, as the hooded figure rushed towards the door.

The informant fell against the bar, Flash and Shining pulling him away from it and laying him on the ground. "Is he okay?" Flash asked, as Shining pulled the dart out of his side.

As soon as he did, the dart's metal and glass began to break apart and turned to dust. "No way of tracing. Perfect assassin weapon." They both looked down at Vlick, who started wheezing as he tried to breathe. "His throat's closing up."

"What do we do?" Flash asked, only to see his hands and tentacles starting to swell up.

"It's acting too fast," Shining cried before shifting Vlick's attention to him. "Vlick. Vlick! You need to tell us. What do you know that would be worth killing you over?" But Vlick couldn't say a word, his breathing getting more and more worse. As he struggled, he reached into his jacket but couldn't seem to grasp what he was after.

Flash reached in for him and took out an orange keycard. "What's this?"

Shining glanced at it and seemed to recognise it. "I understand." He looked down at Vlick, "thank you." Vlick gasped one last time before his body went limp and he was completely still. Shining sighed and used The Force to close his eyes, as everyone else stared in shock. "Someone call Sector Security." They nodded and someone grabbed a communicator, whilst Shining took the keycard from Flash. "Vlick knew something. Something somebody didn't want public."

"How is that thing going to help us find it?" Flash asked.

Shining's expression turned to one of deep anger, as he stood up and headed out of the bar. Flash followed, glancing over at his shoulder at Vlick's body before following. "Whoever did this made a big mistake. Vlick might have been a lowlife to some, but I still considered him a friend and when you mess with my friends, you mess with me."

Several days had passed since Shining's argument with Stax.

The youngling was once again in Thalia's bar, sitting there waiting for something. But it wasn't Stax this time, Shining having stayed as far away as he could from the spiky headed Jedi. Instead, he was waiting for trouble to arrive.

"Shining," Thalia frowned. "You should get back to the temple. If they find out you keep sneaking out to come here, you're going to be in real trouble."

"I don't care," Shining told her. "I'm doing what a Jedi is supposed to do. Stopping evil."

Thalia sighed. "Stax is worried about you. He's worried you'll do something you can't take back. Something that'll lead you to the Dark Side of The Force."

"How is stopping bullies from hurting people going to lead me to The Dark Side?"

"It's not stopping them that's the problem," Thalia stated. "It's how you want to stop them that's got him worried. You should listen to Stax. He's been a Jedi Knight for a long time. He knows what he's talking about."

"Yeah, right." At that moment, the doors flew open with a loud bag.

Shining spun around and saw the four armed aliens from before, the lot of them stepped inside and smiled when they saw Stax was nowhere to be found. "What, gave your janitor the day off?" Thalia said nothing, as the aliens stepped forward. "Well, since he's not here to use up all the drink, you can sell it to us. Free of charge, of course." He held a hand over his blaster, making Thalia gasp and nod.

Shining had had enough and jumped up, getting between Thalia and the aliens. "You're not getting anything to drink."

"Oh?" The lead alien raised an eyebrow, "and why's that?"

"Because you're not welcome here. Now leave or I'll make you." The aliens stared at him, letting what he had just said sink in. Then, they burst out laughing.

"You?" One of them asked, "what are you gonna do to make us?" They kept laughing and looked ready to shove the young equestrian away. But before they could, Shining held his hand up and one of the guns flew out of the alien's holster.

They were shocked by this, as Shining kept the gun pointed at them.

"He's a Jedi!" One cried, the aliens all looking worried. But the lead one noticed how much focus Shining was using to hold that one blaster and smiled.

"Hardly. He's just a kid." He pulled out his other three blasters and pointed them as Shining, firing at his feet and making him gasp.

He fell back, dropping the gun as he hit the ground. The lead alien rushed forward and grabbed Shining by the shirt, lifting him up. "Let me go!"

"You think you're a hero?" The alien asked. "You're nothing but a child. A child who won't live to see adulthood." Thalia rushed to try and save him, but another one grabbed her by her tendrils and pulled her away.

Shining tried to kick the alien, but it did nothing and the alien kept holding onto his shirt. "Let us go!" He cried, with the four armed crook looking ready to beat the living daylights out of him. But before he could...

"You heard him." They all turned towards the door, where they spotted Stax glaring at them. "Let them go."

The aliens all laughed, the one holding Shining lowering him to the ground. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Mr Clean Up. Hope you brought your mop. Because when I'm done with this little punk, the place is going to be a mess."

Stax's expression was cold. "I said, let...them...go." They glared at him, as he unfastened his cloak and let it drop to the ground. "You spill a drink on me and I'll let it go. But if you try to hurt any of my friends, then we'll have a problem."

"Is that so?" The lead alien asked, only to nod towards his men. Stax slowly reached for his Lightsaber, as the aliens pulled out their weapons.

But then, Stax reached out and pulled his hand backwards, causing their blasters to be pulled from everyone's grip. And before the aliens could react, the energy cartridges were ejected and the blasters were made useless.

One of the aliens ran forward, throwing a punch in his direction. But Stax was able to dodge it and threw one of the useless blasters at his head, hitting him with enough force to knock him out.

Another assailant charged and Stax managed to avoid his attack and grab his arm, spinning on the spot and throwing him towards the ground. Stax then used the alien as a spring board, leaping off his chest and flying towards the villain holding Thalia.

The criminal pulled her around so she was acting as a human shield, but Stax waved his arm and Thalia's body moved on its own. She ducked down and Stax slammed his foot into the crook's head, knocking him back and causing him to release the twi'lek.

Stax landed and looked around, trying to spot the last guy. But he and Shining were gone. "No."

Flash and Shining followed the keycard to a nearby storage facility.

Shining held up the card and saw the same logo on it that was on the entry way. "This is the one." Above the bar-code was a number thirteen, Shining heading into the maze of lots. Whoever numbered this place did so in a rather random order, since thirteen was somehow in the middle of the maze.

They eventually found it, a large orange door with a white thirteen painted on it.

Stepping up to the keypad, Shining slotted the card inside and the door started moving upwards. "This is it." Flash and Shining both reached for their sabres, waiting to see what the heck was inside. And as the door reached halfway up, a light came on and they were able to see inside the room.

To their amazement, the storage room wasn't just a storage room. It was an actual room.

The place was about twice the size of Flash's temple room, with an unmade bed sitting in one corner and a bunch of boxes sitting in the other. A small gas cooker was sitting on the ground away from anything else, whilst a pile of cardboard boxes was lined up against the wall opposite the bed.

"What the?"

"I think we just found where Vlick was living, whenever he was on planet." Shining started looking through the boxes, finding a bunch of food inside that could be cooked on the stove.

"He lived in a storage unit?" Flash asked, moving over to the bed and looking at it disgustedly.

"Honestly, is it any better than where you lived before you came here?" Flash couldn't deny that. "We just gotta hope Vlick left something that'll tell us what we're after."

"How'd you know he has something?"

"Vlick didn't exactly have the best memory. It took him six months before he could remember my name. If he had info to sell, he would keep a record of it to make sure he didn't forget any details. If even one part of his info was wrong, he could have been hunted down."

"Maybe the guy that killed him was a disgruntled employee."

"Maybe. But if they killed him because of what he was telling us, that info had to be legit. And that means Vlick must have..." He stopped when he lifted some cans to reveal a small plastic box.

Taking it out of the bigger box, he opened it up and revealed a memory stick. "Vlick. This better not have anything I need to delete my browser history for." He plugged it into his gauntlet and started downloading the contents. There were many different files on it. Some looking rather important if the names were anything to go by."

"Did we find it?" Flash asked. "The info on the Sith we were looking for?"

"I don't know," Shining replied. "I'll have to take a closer look once we're back at the-" He stopped and turned towards the exit, sensing something. "Get down!" They both ducked, seconds before a pair of darts came flying at them and hit the back wall.

The two turned to the source of the darts and saw the cloaked figure from before, most of their body hidden behind a wall with their arm out pointing the small dart gun at them.

Before they could do anything, Shining grabbed the gun in The Force and pulled. The weapon flew from the assailant's hand and into Shining's, as he and Flash ignited their sabers. Both charged at the assassin, who leapt out from behind the wall and pulled out a pair of laser pistols.

He fired, but Flash and Shining easily deflected the blaster fire as they approached.

The assailant finally stopped blasting and started running, Shining telling Flash to stay on his tail. Flash did so and Shining leapt up onto the roofs of a storage block, running along it hoping to cut the assailant off. This guy made a big mistake, letting a Jedi get the drop on them.

"If you mess with a Jedi's friends, nothing good can happen." He thought about Vlick's pained face and his expression turned serious. "No matter what, we'll do whatever it takes to protect those we care about. No matter what."

Shining cried out, as he was dragged through the city by the criminal alien.

"Let me go!" He yelled, still trying to escape. But the alien was too strong and there were no other people around to hear his yells, leaving him defenceless as he was dragged to who knows where. "Stax will make you pay for this!"

"Oh please," the alien stated. "He has no idea where we've gone." He headed down a flight of stars to a lower level of the city. "By the time he's figured out where we've gone, it'll be too late of you."

Shining continued to struggle, as they arrived at an area of the city that had a bunch of machines. After a few minutes of running, they came to a spot overlooking a machine that had a long conveyor belt that led to a large square box. And at the opening of that box were a bunch of laser shooters. And they were projecting an entire wall of light

Shining looked down and saw a bunch of rocks on the conveyor belt, his studies telling him they were chunks of meteor or asteroid. "What is that thing?"

"Mining refiner," the alien laughed. "This one is for ores collected in space. The first step is to make sure nothing organic is in the ore before it undergoes processing. So it's put through this machine first." The rocks went through the laser wall and looked unharmed. "The lasers are only set to affect living tissue. If a piece of skin or hair even touches it, it'll be destroyed down to the subatomic level."

Shining began to panic, as he realised what this guy was planning to do. "Let me go!"

"Gladly!" He laughed, "but first!" He went over to a pile of scrap metal and grabbed a pair of pipes, using the incredible strength of two of his arms to wrap them around him. Soon, Shining's arms were pinned to his side whilst his legs were tied up. "See you." He threw Shining down onto the conveyor belt. And as soon as he did, something in the belt caused the pipes to stick to it. Some kind of magnet.

Shining struggled, trying to free himself. But he just couldn't pull himself free. "HELP!" He screamed, as he was pulled closer and closer to the energy wall.

"Scream all you want. Nobody's gonna hear you." But as he said that, the familiar sound of an activating Lightsaber caught his attention and made him look around.

Stax was running towards him, blue blade in hand. He did not look happy and as he charged towards the alien, he let out a roar.

"AUGH!" The saber sliced down his front and the four armed alien clutched his chest, which now had a large burning gash running down it. He staggered back, as Stax turned to see Shining in trouble.

"Hang on!" But as he was about to jump down, the alien fell forward and right on top of him. "Augh!" He staggered and accidentally dropped his Lightsaber, which fell and hit part of the machine.

This caused the machine to go out of control, as the laser projectors came out of alignment. This made them start firing the beams at random, in different directions. The Lightsaber then fell into the deepest part of the planet, as Stax kicked the alien off him to follow the weapon.

He leapt down onto the conveyor belt, seeing Shining was dangerously close to the lasers. As he ran, Stax tried to spot an emergency shut off. But there wasn't one. The only way to save Shining was to pull him free.

"Hold on!" Stax reached him and started pulling on the metal pipes, trying to pull them apart to free Shining. But as he did, one of the lasers fired and Stax had to move to avoid it. "COME ON!" He pulled as hard as he could and the pipes around Shining's body came apart, allowing Shining to pull himself free. "Take your boots off!"

Shining quickly grabbed the laces on his boots and undid them, freeing him up to pull his legs out of the pipe.

The pair were up and Stax was about to leap them up off of the conveyor belt. But as he did, a laser fired and was flying straight towards Shining. "LOOK OUT!" He pushed Shining down and the laser missed him and hit something else, Stax quickly reaching down to grab him before another fired.

Stax pulled him close and leapt up into the air, clearing a good several feet before landing where they had originally been.

Shining panted, terror racing through his entire body. At the same time, he heard Stax panting and turned to thank him. But as he looked around, he was shocked to see something wasn't right.

Stax's left sleeve was empty.

The arm that had once filled it was gone, Stax's other arm moving up to clutch it tightly. He flinched, clearly still in pain. And as Shining looked down, he spotted something on the belt. The arm, which soon disappeared inside the machine. "Stax," he turned to the Jedi, "you're arm." Stax said nothing, making Shining begin to tear up. "It's my fault."

"No," Stax let go of his armless stump and pulled Shining in for a hug. "It's not your fault."

"But...but you lost.."

"It's just an arm," Stax assured him. "I can live without an arm. You're alive and that's what matters." He held him tighter, "that's what matters." Shining continued to cry into Stax's chest, whilst the Jedi held him tightly.

Flash chased after the assailant, as the cloaked figure ran through the maze of storage units and fired back at him whenever he turned.

Flash dodged and deflected the blasts, refusing to let him get away. This man had killed Shining's friend and Flash wouldn't let him get away with that. "You're only making it worse for yourself!" But as they turned another corner, the assailant threw something back at him.

It was a smoke bomb, which exploded and Flash found himself staggering into the cloud and blinded.

He covered his face, as he tried to navigate through it. But as he did, something suddenly flew out of the smoke and hit him in the face. "Augh!" He fell to the ground, his Lightsaber falling from his hand. As it skidded away into the smoke, Flash found himself looking down the barrel of a laser cannon.

The smoke faded and the cloaked alien appeared, stomping his foot onto Flash's chest to keep him from getting up. "You should have let me go."

"And you should remember how many people are chasing you." The assassin looked up and saw Shining falling towards him, his Lightsaber swinging downwards and slicing the end of his gun.

The assassin grunted and tried to jump back, but Flash wrapped an arm around his leg and kept it there. And when the assassin tried to pull out his other gun, another saber swing destroyed it.

Flash used this shock to pull on his leg, causing him to fall towards the ground and allow Shining to pin him with his sword to the assailant's chest. "Talk," the Jedi announced, "who are you? Who hired you to kill Vlick?" Flash used The Force to pull his hood down, revealing a humanoid alien with four eyes and a horn in place of his nose.

The assassin smiled at them before biting into one of his teeth, breaking it open and releasing something that slid down his throat.

"NO!" Shining tried to stop him, but he swallowed and the effects were immediate. His body convulsed and started foaming, as the light disappeared from his eyes. Shining sighed, as he and Flash stepped back.

"He killed himself instead of giving answers?"

"There's only one group that would do that," Shining explained. "A league of assassins that swear to never let the identity of their clients loose. If they're captured or they fail a mission, they kill themselves."

"I can't believe it," Flash frowned. "What was he doing here?"

"Probably wanted the same info we came for," Shining sighed. "Must have followed us from the bar and when they saw we'd found it, realised they had to kill us to keep the information from getting out." He held up his gauntlet. "Whatever this is, it's clearly important to whoever wants it. Which is why we need to get it back to the temple, as soon as we can."

Flash nodded before they turned to the body, "what do we do with this?"

"Sector Security can deal with it. They've been trying to get a lead on this group for a while. This might be the hint they need to figure it out." Flash nodded as Shining began to make the call.

After a while, an officer from the security bureau arrived and ceased the body.

They asked the pair a few questions, but confirmed that the assassin had died due to a suicide capsule located in a false tooth. Once everything was confirmed, they allowed the Jedi to leave and the two made their way back to the temple.

As Flash drove the speeder, loving the experience, Shining continued to look through all the data Vlick had left them. Luckily, there was nothing on it that would get Shining in trouble for submitting. So when they finally got back to the temple, Shining handed it over to one of the education core's members to decipher and catalogue.

Once that was done, Flash and Shining headed to the mess hall in order to get something to eat.

As they sat down, Shining sighed. "You okay?" Flash asked, with Shining nodding as he thought about everything that had happened to them.

"Just been a long day. Vlick's death hasn't really hit me yet."

Flash nodded. "Celestia told me that a Jedi can't let emotions affect us out in the field. I guess you blocked out how upset you were until now."

"Not really," Shining sighed. "I might be a knight, but even I can't make myself completely cold at the drop of a hat."

Flash nodded. "I wish we could have done something. Celestia told me I need to accept that we have limits. That even with The Force, I can't be expected to save everyone all the time."

"That's true," Shining nodded. "I wish we could have saved Vlick too. But it's like Celestia said. We're not gods. We have the Force, but we're as mortal and flawed as anyone else. We tried to save Vlick and failed. We tried to capture his killer for questions and failed. And we're probably gonna fail in other tasks as well." He gave Flash a stare down, "is that something you think you can live with? If not, you may want to think about a different career choice."

Flash frowned as he let the info sink in. "No. I'm not gonna quit. You're right. I have to accept that there are some things I can't stop. But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna give it everything I have to stop them. Even if I fail, I'll keep trying."

"That's what I like to hear," Shining smiled. "I think you're ready to get back out in the field. Take a little time to think about this day and what happened. Once you're ready, I'll let Celestia know you can go back out into the field."

"Thanks," Flash nodded. "But I doubt I'll be needed. The real Jedi have probably already found these six Sith. And with the info we got them, they'll know what to look for."

"Maybe," Shining nodded. "Or maybe not." He sat back in his chair. "I can feel something. Something that's centred around you." Flash raised an eyebrow. "Maybe it wasn't just a coincidence that we met when we did. That you were born on a planet that was later invaded by the Sith's forces. That you became my student at the right time to be with me when we met the Sith. I get the feeling, The Force has plans for you. And they involve the Sith."

"Really?" Flash looked worried. "You really think I'm gonna be more involved with them?"

"Like I said, it's just a feeling." Shining smiled, "but my master once said that a Jedi's instincts are the path to a great future. I know I'm right. And that means, we need to make sure you're as strong as possible for when you face them."

Flash nodded before a thought occurred. "Actually, I don't think you've ever told me about your master. Who is he?"

Shining smiled. "His name is Stax. And he's one of the best Jedi the order has. A little unconventional, but he always gets the job done. You'd like him. Now eat up." He started eating, "you'll need all the strength for the training we're gonna be doing after this."

Flash nodded and started eating, but still wondered about what Shining had said.

A small egotistic part of him wanted to believe that he did have a large part to play in what was to come, but a larger part of him doubted that. The Jedi would find and defeat these Sith before he needed to get involved. By the time Flash was ready to make any serious contribution to the order, things would probably be winding down with this situation.

The Sith were strong, but their numbers were still small. They wouldn't be enough to cause the Jedi any issues.

A planet in the Galtus Sector.

An explosion filled the air, as another ship crashed into the planet's surface. That was the fourth ship destroyed and forced to smash into the planet, as the Jedi inside barely managed to escape before it exploded.

On the rocky crash site, two Jedi were running across the terrain. One was a human male whilst the other was a young togruta female, the pair running like their lives depended on it. Because it did.

As they ran, the older of the two spotted a large rock and told his apprentice to hide behind it. The pair rushed to hide, both panting as they tried to regain their breath. "What's going on?" The Padawan asked. "How can a droid do all that?"

"I don't know," the Jedi sighed. "It shouldn't be possible. If it were a cyborg, I'd say it was possible. But I don't sense any signs of life coming from it at all. Just a powerful connection to the Dark Side." As he said that, a whistling sound suddenly filled the air.

Fear filled their hearts, as the Jedi carefully looked around the boulder into the dust cloud behind it.

Slowly walking through the dust, their cape blowing in the wind, a mechanical figure marched forward with a red Lightsaber in hand. As they stepped out of the dust, the image of Armalum could be seen. The robotic Sith marched forward, somehow letting out a whistling sound as he drew closer.

The Jedi hid behind the rock before Armalum could see him, trying to keep himself from panicking. But Armalum's words made his panic spike like never before.

"Don't bother hiding behind the rock. I can see you fine. X-ray vision, such a handy tool." The Jedi looked worried, the human turning to his apprentice.

"Run," he told her. "I'll buy you time." She shook her head, "DO IT!" With that, he ran out from behind the rock and charged at the droid, who didn't look remotely worried. As he did, he ignited his blue saber and swung it forward. But Armalum easily blocked it with his own sword, the two pushing against one another as the Padawan ran.

The two broke apart and despite his limbs being robotic, Armalum was able to move and fight as if he was made of flesh and blood. The two fought for several moments, whilst the Padawan kept running. But when she looked back, she saw Armalum dodge her master's attack before cutting the Jedi's arm off.

"MASTER!" She screamed, as the Jedi staggered back and turned towards her. He mouthed something, unable to say anything. A single word. 'Run.' That was all he could do before the red saber exploded out of her chest and ended his life. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

As the Jedi fell, Armalum extinguished his blade only to hear another one ignite. And as he looked up, he saw the Padawan running towards him with her green blade in hand.

She screamed as she leapt into the air, Lightsaber raised high ready to cut him in half. But before she could reach him, he held out his hand. The next thing she knew, the Padawan remained in the air and he sword was out of reach. "How?" She asked, "how can a droid use the Force?"

"I am no ordinary droid," Armalum replied before thrusting his hand backwards. The Padawan cried out, as she was sent flying backwards until she slammed into the rock she had been hiding behind.

A sickening crunch filled the air and her body went limp, as Armalum released her and she fell to the ground.

Armalum stared down at the Jedi, then heard a beeping and pressed a button on the side of his helmet. "Have you found it?"

"Yes my lord. But I'm afraid the quantity isn't much. Shouldn't take more than an hour to mine it all." Armalum let out a growl.

"Very well. Get to work. We need to leave before the rest of the Jedi find us." He turned to leave, the Jedi he slayed left forgotten to the elements. Armalum's power was something truly great and so long as he lived, the Jedi should fear to leave their temple.

Chapter 14

View Online

Deep in space, on an unknown planet out on the outer rim, a figure sat in a tall dark throne.

That figure was Sombra, the equestrian focusing on the Dark Side of The Force. Though it looked like he was simply sitting there asleep, to anyone Force sensitive the image would be something entirely different. The image would feel like an earthquake, as Sombra attempted to manipulate The Force.

"Show me," he whispered. "Show me the future. Let me see my destiny unfold." He smiled as he imagined seeing himself, above all others in the galaxy. But as the fabric of space and time was ripped open, revealing the future, he saw something he didn't expect.

He was in this very room, standing in the centre with a red Lightsaber in hand. And he wasn't alone.

Standing opposite him were two individuals. Both were Jedi, both had blue hair and blue laser swords. But one of them had a sword that was more like a traditional metal blade, the two standing ready to fight. And as he watched, he sensed something. Danger.

The two Jedi charged and Sombra watched his future self charge forward. And as he watched himself fight, he felt an overwhelming sense of dread. This was no simple match for him. His future self was actually trying. He was in danger of losing this fight. Of losing his life.

Before he could see the outcome, the vision ended and Sombra's eyes were forced open. "NO!" He cried, standing up. "Show me more!" But no matter how he tried, the vision refused to return.

Sombra growled at this and thought about what he had seen. Two Jedi, in his throne room, fighting against him. The fact that they were there, armed, whilst he was alone could only mean one thing.

"The Jedi will find this place and invade. Everything we're working for. It'll all be for nothing." He wouldn't let that happen. "That sword." The design wasn't something any old Jedi had. And he remembered being told about it.

He opened the arms of his throne and revealed a bunch of buttons, as a holographic screen appeared in front of him. After a few moments, the screen split into five pieces. A kite shape was in the middle with the points acting at the boards for the other four sections.

Solara, Armalum and Chrysalis were in three of them, whilst the other two changed to show two individuals. They were both red skinned individuals, with one having a pair of large horns on his whilst the other was human with scars covering his face.

"Master," they all nodded. Sombra nodded back, as he tried to remain dignified.

"I've just had a vision," he explained. "Two Jedi were in this throne room, battling against me." This statement shocked the five, Sombra seeing the reactions of them and nodding. "If the Jedi got here, then that means this place will be invaded at some point. Our plans are in jeopardy."

The red skinned humanoid spoke up. "You should abandon that castle. Find a new place to set up."

Sombra growled. "Doom Raizer, you idiot. This castle's location is the linchpin of our plan. Without it, we will not be able to open the doorway."

"He's right," Chrysalis nodded. "We can't abandon the castle. But if you've seen it, doesn't that mean it's fated to happen?"

"No," Sombra shook his head. "My vision was only of a possible future. One that is highly likely to happen, but can still be changed."

The horned individual spoke up. "Who were these two Jedi? Any that we know? Or are they just some random pair you've never seen before."

"One of them stood out." Sombra turned to Solara. "Their Lightsaber was just like the one you told me about. A broadsaber."

"Him?" Solara didn't look impressed. "He's hardly anyone worth worrying about. If his master hadn't shown up when he did, I would have destroyed him easily."

"Then maybe we should prove that," Sombra stated. "A single action can alter the future in a million different ways." A thought slowly formed in his head. "We will find out everything we can about this Jedi. And when we do, we will find him and take him down."

"You want to put our forces into killing a single Jedi Padawan?" Armalum asked.

"Either him or his master," Sombra replied. "So long as they're not both alive, there's no chance what I saw can occur. And if that event can't happen, the Jedi finding this place might not occur either. To make sure our plan succeeds, we must take this Jedi out. is that understood?"

"Yes, master." With that, the screens cut out and Sombra remained sat on his throne.

"Whoever they are. These Jedi will never get the chance to even know I exist. And once they're out of the way, nothing will stop me from conquering this galaxy.

Canterlot.

At the Jedi Temple, the Jedi had returned from the Galtus Sector.

The mood appeared sombre, as many Jedi were dressed in their traditional Jedi Robes. This included Flash and Shining, Flash wearing brown robes whilst Shining wore cream coloured ones. They were with Twilight and the rest of Flash's friends, the girls all dressed in either brown, white and cream robes with their brown cloaks over them.

The Jedi were all inside the temple's great hall, where a bunch of bodies were laid in the centre atop stone tables.

These bodies belonged to the Jedi that had been killed by an unknown assailant whilst searching the Galtus Sector, their ships having been shot down whilst any of the Jedi had been slain out on planet's surface. When they had lost contact with them, Celestia and several Masters had gone to investigate. And there, they had found the remains of their fallen comrades.

Celestia and Luna were both dressed in their normal robes, the two carrying a bunch of torches with the Force. And once they were at opposite sides of the tables, they set the torches down to burn the bodies.

Watching the Jedi go up in flames, including a few Padawans younger than them, made Flash and the others feel great remorse for their loss. Celestia and Luna performed the service, as the bodies burned to ash, but Flash felt himself tuning it out as he thought about what he and Shining had learned.

When the Jedi returned from their trip to the Galtus Sector, the Council had been made aware of the fact that there were six Sith out there instead of the usual two.

They had been a little suspicious of the rumours. But considering someone had killed the man they had learned this from, the Jedi were inclined to believe it was true. And news of the six Sith quickly spread throughout the temple, worrying many of the younger members who feared there could be more.

And since many of the Jedi being cremated, were either killed by Lightsaber or some form of contactless chocking, it was clear this group meant business.

The service finally came to an end and the Jedi all made their way out of the temple, many of them eager to get out of their official robes and into something more comfortable. This included Flash, who marched with Twilight and the others as they thought about everything that had been happening lately.

"What do you think's gonna happen now?" Rainbow asked, but nobody had any idea.

As they turned a corner, about to come up with something to do for the rest of the day, Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack and Flash's gauntlets beeped to show a message they had been sent. The four brought them up and were surprised to find they had been summoned to the Jedi Council Chambers. This meant they had to have a special mission, which made them worry since it must be important to do right after a funeral.

Saying goodbye to the others, they all headed to the chambers. When they arrived, they found Shining Armor, Heather Bloom and Spitfire were all outside.

Seeing their apprentices arrive, the three Jedi headed into the chambers with the four following behind.

There, they found the Jedi Council were all still in their robes. "Thank you for coming," Celestia nodded. "I know this might seem sudden, but we need to discuss some of the information Shining Armor recently received." They nodded, as Luna brought up a holographic screen.

"After combing through the data on the memory stick Shining and Flash acquired, we've discovered its contents held a lot of information not yet privy to us. Including that involving the Sith we recently learned of."

"I still can't believe there are six of them out there," Twilight frowned. "I thought the legends stated there were only supposed to be two at a time."

Celestia nodded. "It's possible the Jedi aren't the only group that have lightened up on certain rules over the last few centuries. But that's not important right now. One of the files about them states a planet they've been seen on multiple times. It's outside the republic and is a planet not known to house many law abiders."

"So you want us to go and check it out?" Spitfire realised.

"Actually," Celestia stood, "I will be leading this group." That surprised them. "I would like the rest of you to accompany me. And this particular planet is not big on Jedi, so we will need to be careful how we present ourselves."

"Understood," Shining nodded.

"We'll make preparations to leave right away," Heather agreed. Celestia nodded and turned to Flash.

"Shining tells me you are ready to head out on missions again. With how dangerous this place is, we very well may run into trouble. Can I trust you to stay calm and not lose focus if anything bad happens?"

Flash nodded. "I think I'm starting to come to terms with the fact I can't control everything. I'm still gonna give it everything I have, but I know I can't expect everything to turn out the way I want it. I don't like it, but I accept it."

"Good," Celestia nodded. "Then we leave in an hour." They all nodded and headed out, Luna turning to her once they were gone.

"I didn't want to question you in front of the others, but are you sure this is a good idea? There's no telling what might happen. You are the order's guiding light. We can't afford to lose you."

"The order is strong. Even if something happened to me, I know the rest of you will continue to guide it into the future as well as I ever have. The rest of the council didn't look so sure, as Celestia got up to head out of the chambers. Whatever was waiting for them on this unknown planet, they feared it would be something that could throw their order into disarray.

An hour past and Flash, Twilight, Rainbow and Applejack were heading out towards the Shooting Star.

They were all dressed in clothing one wouldn't usually see Jedi were, having been told to dress like they were wanderers that had to wear the same clothes for days without washing. Luckily, the clothing district had clothing for just such an occasion.

Flash was actually wearing the clothes he had worn when he had first met Shining and Twilight, the Padawan amazed that the Jedi had kept them. Rainbow was dressed in a black leather shirt and pants, with a brown poncho on top of it. Applejack was also wearing a poncho, with a white shirt underneath so long it almost hid her blue shorts. She also wore a brown cowboy hat underneath. Finally, Twilight was wearing a brown dress that went to her knees, with several sections that looked ripped and sown back up.

They made their way over to the Shooting Star and when they got there, they found their teachers all dressed in a similar way to them. Springer was also there, the droid planning on staying on the ship whilst the Jedi went out to investigate.

"Alright," Celestia nodded. "You all look good. Have you all made sure your Lightsabers won't be easily noticed?" They nodded, with Applejack's axe being hidden inside a large back she would carry on her back. The rest of them hid their blades under their cloaks on their back. They would be easily accessed, but not easily seen.

"Time to get going," Heather smiled. "It's a long journey to this planet and the sooner we leave, the sooner we get there." The others agreed and got on board, Shining heading over to the cockpit with Springer.

The others took their seats, as the ship took off and flew into the sky. As soon as they cleared the planet, Shining put them into hyperspace and they shot into the river of energy.

As they sat in the ship's lounge, Celestia plugged a flash drive into the holo table and a holographic image of the planet they were heading to appeared. Said planet looked rather barren, reminding Flash of Shikoya with the lack of vegetation. Instead of sand, it appeared more dusty.

"Yowtar," Celestia announced. "As I said, it's a lawless planet where only the worst of the worst go. There are no cities, but there are several towns in a few areas that have water access. The place is dangerous."

"What's the plan?" Spitfire asked. "Head to one of these towns and bust a few heads, to get the info we're after?"

"Well," Celestia looked a little disturbed, "I wouldn't say we'll be busting heads. We need to keep a low profile. Gather information subtly, without drawing attention to ourselves. Even the names of these Sith would be enough to consider this trip worth it."

Heather nodded and checked the different settlements, located around the planet. "There are sixteen locations. if we split into teams of two, we can investigate four at the same time and cut down on how long it'll take to find out anything."

"Exactly," Celestia agreed. "Padawans and masters will work in pairs. Padawans. I want you four to be careful. I know you're eager to prove yourself, but don't go jumping into a situation you can't manage on your own."

"Yes master," they nodded. The group started deciding which team went where, the plan being to drop each pair off a ways away from the settlements so they can walk into them without looking suspicious. This was going to be a long and possibly dangerous mission. But they had to find something if they wanted to stop these villains before it was too late.

Yowtar

The settlements of Yowtar were hardly anything to write home about.

Each one consisted of two lines of buildings, with several meters of dirt road between them to allow for plenty of vehicles to move between them. Two large wells could be seen on either side of the settlement, giving it enough water to keep the place from being impossible to live in.

In one of the buildings, a large tavern, many aliens were enjoying their time there. Some were drinking, others were playing cards and a few were throwing knives and dart boards, holding pictures of individuals they didn't like.

The bartender was washing down the bar, when someone stepped into the bar. A figure in dark clothing, a hood up to keep his face hidden.

They stepped forward and sat down, giving the bartender his order. "So, stranger. What's your business in our little town? Looking for work? Trying to stay out of the limelight? Or are you searching for someone that did you wrong?" He put his drink down, the figure taking it without saying a word. "I'm guessing the second option, if you don't wanna say."

"Be quiet," the figure replied. "And if you must know, I'm waiting for someone. They're supposed to be here soon."

"Oh," the bartender smiled, "is that so? Anyone I'd know."

"If you did, I'd have to kill you." The bartender could tell he wasn't joking.

"Alright then. Well...if you need anything..." He didn't finish the statement and simply walked away, as the cloaked figure took a swig of his drink. As he did, a soft beeping caught his attention and he looked at his wrist.

He was wearing a gauntlet, similar to the one Jedi usually wore. And as he downed his drink, he got up and walked out the bar. Once on the street, he ducked between two buildings and removed his hood. Doing so revealed the red skinned man named Doom Raizer, who activated his gauntlet. "I'm here."

"About time," Solara's voice spoke through the device. "I'm sending you the location of a cave just outside the settlement. Chrysalis and Tirek are already here. Once Armalum is close, bring him to the cave."

"Remind me again, why we're meeting up on a planet like Yowtar. We could have met anywhere else. On many of our controlled planets. So why do we need to come here of all places?"

"This has always been where we met up," Solara replied. "Before you were even part of our order. Whenever we need to meet in person, we always meet here. We can't waste time trying to figure out where to meet up in a different place every time."

"Fine," he sighed. "I get it. I'll wait until Armalum shows up and I'll bring him with me. Why can't he come on his own?"

"He's a droid. As powerful as he is, he's still a droid. If he knew where we were meeting up and got captured, all that info would be up for grabs. That's why we don't let him remember where to meet. Every time we meet, he deletes his memory of the location. How many times do we have to remind you."

"Alright. I'll bring him." Doom closed the communications and sighed. Despite having some of the best training out of the group, he was still treated like a newb just because he was the last to join. "Things will change," he told himself. "In time, things will change." With that, he walked back into the bar to get another drink.

The Shooting Star had arrived at Yowtar, where the Jedi were ready to finally get to some action.

Rainbow, Spitfire, Heather and Applejack had already been dropped off near their selected settlements. Now it was Twilight and Celestia's turn, the pair getting ready as the ship found a landing site.

Twilight double checked the hip bag she had stored her Lightsaber in, wanting to make sure it wouldn't drop her weapon but still allow her to easily get it if needs be. As she did, she glanced over at Celestia.

Despite being her student for many years, Twilight had only been on a few missions with her. And most of those were diplomatic missions, where Twilight only needed to watch as Celestia worked her magic. This was the first time Twilight would see Celestia in some form of info gathering role.

"You ready?" Celestia asked, Twilight nodding as she stood up and closed her Lightsaber bag.

"We're landing," Shining called back. They nodded and the ship began to move downwards, carefully landing on the dusting wasteland that was Yowtar's surface. Once the ship was stable, the loading ramp lowered and the pair stepped out into the desert.

Celestia took out a pair of binoculars and used them to scan the surrounding area, eventually spotting the settlement they were going to investigate. "Come along, Twilight. We have a lot of info to find and so little time?"

"Of course," Twilight followed as they headed towards the town. The Shooting Star took off, flying towards its final drop off point of the day. "Master. What exactly should we ask when we get there? I'm guessing we can't just say we're looking for a bunch of Sith?"

"We won't start asking questions right away," Celestia replied. "If we do, we'll look too suspicious. Our first destination should be an inn or tavern. Someplace we can get a drink and recharge after our long and difficult journey."

"Long and difficult journey?" Twilight looked confused, "it's not that far to the town."

"It is for a pair of women who've just walked here from another town, far, far away." Twilight quickly caught on, understanding what she was getting at. "We'll rest there and rehydrate. If we're lucky, we'll hear someone talking about something that could lead us to the info we seek. But if not, we'll start asking around once the locals have gotten used to us."

"Understood," Twilight nodded.

"And Twilight." Celestia looked at her in concern. "I don't want you to leave my sight. This is a rough place and a young woman like you will be just what these barbarians are waiting for. If anything happens, don't panic and let me handle it."

"Yes, master." They kept going and Twilight was feeling rather nervous, all of a sudden.

They eventually entered the town and headed towards the closest tavern, all the while the sense that they were being watched washed over them. And that was because, they were.

The further into the town they went, the more of its male populace noticed them. Men on the street, stopped what they were doing to glance over at them. Some who happened to spot them through the windows, rushed over to get a better look. And a few on speeders and other modes of transport, stopped their engines so the bikes wouldn't shake and they could see them better.

Twilight now fully understood what Celestia had been saying. The girl moved closer to her mentor, who didn't seem to give the gawkers a moment's notice.

They arrived at the tavern and stepped inside, all the music stopping as the patrons turned to see them. And just like outside, these guys were shocked by the sight of them.

Celestia smiled as she stepped further into the building, Twilight right behind her. They reached the bar and sat down, the bartender looking at them worriedly. "A glass of your best banar, my good man. And something non alcoholic for my daughter." Twilight hadn't been expecting that, but realised it was the best cover story given they were both equestrians.

"You sure you wanna be in here?" The bartender poured the drinks. "This isn't exactly the best place for a...creature, such as yourself."

Celestia smiled as she took the drink. "Don't worry about us. We've been in plenty of establishments like this one. So long as your customers keep a respectful distance, we'll be perfectly fine." She began to drink, Twilight doing the same. They stayed like this for a few minutes, sipping their drinks whilst the patrons kept staring.

Most soon went back to what they were doing, but a few continued to eye the pair as they kept drinking.

Eventually, one got up and took his drink over to get a refill. And when he did, he leaned in next to Celestia. "That's a pretty daughter you've got there," he told her. Twilight blushed whilst Celestia said nothing, only for the man to suddenly put an arm around her waist. "I'm staying upstairs. What say you and I try and give her a sibling?"

Twilight almost spit her drink out, whilst Celestia remained perfectly calm. "You couldn't handle me, sweetheart. Go sit down, before you hurt yourself."

The man glared at her before moving to stand behind Twilight. "Well maybe she'll be friendlier." But as he reached out to touch her, Celestia's hand grasped his wrist and squeezed tightly. "AHHHHH!" He cried, catching everyone's attention.

"Let's make one thing clear!" Celestia stated. "Anything that so much as touches her, will not remain attached for long. Understand?"

"YES!" He cried, falling to his knees. "Just let go!" Celestia held on for another moment or two, but eventually released him before she broke his arm. "Damn it!" He glared up at Celestia, looking ready to reach for his weapon.

The other patrons looked ready to do the same, but Celestia's gaze washed over them all. "You know fighting isn't a good idea." The people froze for the smallest millisecond, blinking as they repeated the words.

"We know fighting isn't a good idea."

"You want to get back to your drinks and ignore us."

"We want to get back to our drinks and ignore you." They suddenly did just that, the man holding his wrist grabbing his drink off the counter before heading back to sit down.

Celestia turned back to the bar, as Twilight looked worried. "Are you sure that was a good idea?"

"We'll never learn anything if we start a fight," she replied. "Keep your eye open for anything that might sound like a lead." Twilight nodded and finished her drink, as a thought occurred to her.

"If we're having this much trouble, I wonder how Rainbow and Applejack are doing?"

Celestia smiled as she took another sip. "I'm sure their mentors are keeping them out of trouble."

In another town, its tavern's floor was littered with unconscious people.

Applejack panted, as the last guy fell to her punch and everyone let out a groan of pain. Meanwhile, up at the bar, Heather was enjoying her own drink whilst the bartender watched the cow girl look around. "Aren't you gonna stop her?"

"She's out of people to beat up," Heather replied. "So calm down in a minute or two?"

"Hey beautiful," another guy walked in and smiled at Applejack before noticing the people littered around the floor.

"Better make it three." Heather turned away, not wanting to see the carnage. The bartender winced at something Applejack did, whilst Heather thought about the others. "Hope Spitfire's keeping her cool."

"Anybody else want some!?" Spitfire cried, as she and Rainbow stood on a table.

Men littered the floor, all looking like they had been run over by the Shooting Star. They groaned as the women stood back to back. "Yeah!" Rainbow cheered, "that's what I'm talking about. Is this really the best you got?" The pair high fived one another, appearing to be forgetting they would need these gentlemen alive if they wanted to get some information out of them.

As Celestia asked for another drink, the bartender asked what they had been expecting. "So, what brings you ladies to our neck of the woods?"

"Various reasons," Celestia replied. "Not a lot of work in this part of the galaxy, for those of us with an extra leg on our chromosomes. At least, no work I want my daughter to be a part of."

"Understandable," he nodded. "Looking for anything in particular?"

"Not really?" Celestia shook her head before turning to Twilight. "What was that rumour you heard? About a group of individuals coming out of nowhere all of a sudden?"

Twilight quickly caught on. "I'm not really sure about it. I heard they had a lot of insectoid members in their group."

"Oh," the bartender nodded. "You're talking about that group. Trust me, you don't wanna go messing with them."

"You've heard of them?" Celestia asked, with the bartender nodding.

"Yeah. Really annoying group. Those bugs come by all the time, demanding we serve them or they'll wipe the entire town off the face of the planet. So annoying. Came by last week. Probably gone off to another two to cause problems." Twilight and Celestia shared a look, thinking they might just have a lead.

In another town, Flash and Shining were at their own tavern.

Unlike the others, they had been able to blend right in. The pair took their drinks and listened to the other patrons, hoping they might hear something. But so far, nothing they might be interested in was heard.

However, as Flash finished his drink, a humming filled the air. "What's that noise?" He looked around, as the rest of the patrons suddenly got an uncomfortable look on their faces. "Are those engines?"

"Sounds like a lot of them?" Shining agreed.

"You boys need to move," the bartender told them. "Trust me. When they get here, you don't wanna be between them and the bar." Flash and Shining glanced at each other, Shining quickly getting up and moving to an empty table by the window.

Flash joined him, the pair looking out the hole as a bunch of speeder bikes flew into the town and slowed to a stop in front of the tavern.

Flash and Shining watched as the riders of the speeders climbed off, revealing themselves to be a bunch of insectoid aliens. But not the same kind of insectoid that they had fought on the forest moon.

These bugs were a bunch of bulky humanoid beetles. Instead of man-made armor, their bodies were covered in a strong looking black carapace. Spikes stuck out of it, mostly at the shoulders, knees, elbows and wrists. An extra large spike was sticking out of their head, starting where the nose should be and going up its forehead and sticking upwards to be as long as the head itself.

They marched towards the tavern, Flash and Shining averting their gaze so they didn't attract the bug's attention.

The moment they stepped inside, the place went deadly quiet. There were only seven of them, but they were clearly more than a match for many patrons in the bar. "Howdy," the bartender sounded terrified. "What can I get for you?"

"Everything," the lead bug replied. "Every drink."

"Of course," he nodded. "Let me just get that for you." He started taking the bottles and putting them on the table, the bugs drinking out of said bottles and chugging the liquid down. As soon as they were finished with one, they started another bottle and kept drinking until every bottle was empty.

"Geez," Flash whispered, "how much can one species drink?"

"Must have a very high tolerance for it," Shining suggested. As he said that, only of the bugs turned to a group of aliens sitting around the table.

They marched over to them, grabbing one by the shoulder and throwing him off his chair. The alien cried out, as he was thrown across the tavern and barely avoided slamming into another table. The others around the table got up, as the bug reached for their drinks and started downing them.

"I think we should leave," Shining replied as the men pulled out their blasters.

They fired and the lasers simply bounced off the shell, flying every which way. Flash and Shining left the tavern, as the place broke into a frenzy of battle. "Those things are insane!" Flash cried.

"When you think nothing can hurt you, nothing seems off limits." They rushed into an alleyway and watched, as a man was thrown through the tavern's window.

"Maybe we should get out of here," Flash suggested. "I doubt anyone's gonna be in a talking mood with those guys around." Shining was starting to agree. But just then, he got a message from someone and checked his gauntlet.

"May have found a lead," he read. "It's from Twilight." He kept reading. "Bug-like creatures have been spotted on the planet several times. They may be the same ones working for the Sith." The pair frowned, since they knew the answer to that theory.

Back with Celestia and Twilight, they had rented a room in the inn and quickly made themselves at home.

Celestia sat at the window, whilst Twilight checked her gauntlet's messages. "Just ran into the bugs you mentioned." Celestia glanced at her, "not the same ones from before. Just a bunch of drunk bullies that think they're indestructible."

Celestia sighed. "So our lead's a dead end." She glanced back out the window, as Twilight messaged back to the others. "It's possible they've stopped coming here. Or, they were never here to begin with." She watched, as the men on the streets went about their business. Several aliens from the bar, were now walking through the town on their way to actually do something.

"There's still twelve other towns we haven't checked yet," Twilight pointed out. "I'm sure we'll find something eventually."

"Maybe," Celestia nodded. "Maybe." It was then she felt something. As if The Force was trying to pull her focus in one direction. She let it do so, her gaze shifting to a figure standing between two of the buildings. And as she stared at them, she suddenly got a very upset stomach. As if looking at them was making her ill. She had felt something like this before. "Twilight, stay in the room."

"What?" Twilight gave her an odd look, as Celestia stood up and headed for the door. "Where are you going?"

"I think I might have just discovered a lead. But it might be dangerous. So no matter what, stay here." Twilight frowned as Celestia stepped out of the room, "lock the door behind me." With that, she was gone and Twilight locked the door.

The Padawan thought about how dangerous this town was. She knew Celestia could take care of herself, but couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of her Master getting hurt or worse.

Celestia carefully left the tavern and pulled the hood of her cloak up, as she carefully made her way towards the spot the figure had been in.

Said figure had disappeared, but she could still sense the dark aura he had been giving off. It stained the ground like a bunch of muddy footprints, leading outside the town into an area of rocks. "Strong with the Dark Side," she whispered. As much as she wanted Twilight to be there with her, she felt this was a power her apprentice couldn't stand up to yet.

A mile outside the town, Doom Raizer marched towards a bunch of rocks.

He was using his gauntlet to follow a beacon signal, leading him towards said rocks and the one he had been sent to collect. "You'd better be here." He reached the rocks and started making his way around them, with a section of raised earth wedged between two large rocks making a path up on top of said rocks.

He marched up it and when he got there, he frowned seeing Armalum at the top with his arms crossed. "There you are." Armalum glanced at him. "Couldn't you have found a better place to wait?"

"Like where? Out in the open, for everyone to see?"

Doom rolled his eyes, "whatever. Come on. The meeting point isn't too far. The others will already be there." Armalum nodded, but then stopped and looked out in the direction of the town. "What?"

"It seems you have a tail." Doom raised an eyebrow, jumping up and landed on the rock besides Armalum. "Don't bother. You don't have a zoom function."

"Who is it?" Doom asked.

"How should I know?" Armalum asked, continuing to zoom in on the figure making their way towards them. "They're covering most of their features. But...I think they're equestrian. Hoof feet and white wings. Quite tall, by the looks of things."

"A tall, white, equestrian?" Doom's eyes went wide, "we have to leave. Now!"

"What's the rush?" Armalum asked, as Doom leapt down.

"That's Celestia. Grand Master of the Jedi Order." That seemed to peak Armalum's interest. "If she's here, there's no telling how many more Jedi are around." He growled. "She must have sensed me."

"If she can sense you, leaving isn't a good idea. She's obviously able to track you. We can't risk leading her to the others."

"And what would you suggest?" Doom watched Armalum remove his Lightsaber. "You can't be serious? You want to fight the most powerful Jedi of all time?"

"She can't be that powerful. And even if she is, there's two of us and one of her. Plus, she's been running the order for centuries. Teaching kids and filing reports. She's probably out of practise. We can take her." Doom didn't look so sure. "What, you scared?"

"Of course not." Doom reached under his cloak and removed his own Lightsaber, which was a strange design. The metal tube appeared to be split into two parts, with a red crystal in the centre of it. The two ends were held together by black spiralling metal bands, whilst the top had a bunch of metal teeth sticking out and pointing upwards. He held the weapon, then reached up and ran her hand over the scars covering his face. "Fine. Let's do this."

Celestia marched towards the rocks, continuing to keep her hood up.

She knew she had probably been noticed by now, but she couldn't sense any other life signs in the area aside from the one she was chasing. She soon entered the shadow of the rocks and looked around, continuing to feel the dark aura staining the land.

She suddenly heard the sound of a rock, being kicked around and causing her to jump into a battle stance. "Who's there?" She called out. "I know you're out there." She slowly reached under her cloak, "show yourself!" Nothing happened for several moments, Celestia's hair standing on the back of her neck.

Then, the sound of a Lightsaber's ignition filled the air.

Slowly turning towards the sound, Celestia came face to face with a darkly dressed droid. Its heavy footsteps and clearly mechanical body was only the first clue it wasn't a living thing, the most obvious being her inability to sense any life coming from it. But strangely, she could sense a powerful dark aura coming off of it. And as it got closer, the red Lightsaber in hand put Celestia on edge.

The droid stopped and looked her over. "Master Celestia. I'd always hoped we would one day meet."

"Who are you?" Celestia asked, "what are you. Where's your master?"

"Many light years away," the droid replied.

"Don't act dumb," she stated. "I know there's another Dark Side user here. Where is he?" The droid said nothing and she reached into her own cloak, pulling out a silver Lightsaber with a glass guard covering one side of the blade emitter.

Holding the weapon in two hands, she ignited it and a long yellow blade extended forwards.

"Oh," the droid looked impressed. "I never thought I'd see that colour of saber. Most of the Jedi I've killed usually go for the blue or green colours." Celestia frowned, unclear how a droid could have so much thrill in its voice. But one thing was clear.

"If you've slain members of my order, then I shall see to it that they have justice and make sure you never hurt anyone again."

The droid chuckled. "Bring it." With that, he shot forward and leapt into the air. His sword was raised high, as he slashed it down towards her. But Celestia was easily able to block it with her own sword, pushing him back without any effort. This surprised her adversary. "You're strong. Impressive."

"You don't get to be the grandmaster of the Jedi Order by being a push over." She charged and the pair began their duel, their blades dancing around and clashing against one another. At first, it seemed like the pair were on an even footing. But as the battle wore on, Armalum soon discovered Celestia was more than just good. She was incredible.

Every time he thought he saw an opening, he slashed or stabbed at her. But Celestia had purposefully left those openings, to make him think he was clear and try for the win. Every time he attacked, she blocked or deflected the attack with ease and almost cut something off of him.

One swing almost took off his head, Armalum barely managing to leap back with the edge of her blade inches from his neck.

He landed and stood defensively. "How are you doing that?" Celestia smiled as she swung her blade around. "I just turned three hundred and thirty three. You think in all that time, I've never faced a droid before? I was learning to fight when droids were still clunky pieces of tin." She smiled at him. "Well...clunkier pieces of tin."

Armalum would have given her a glare, if he actually had a movable face. "You think you're so great. That's the problem with you Jedi. Always thinking you're so high and mighty. But that arrogance will be the downfall of you."

"Please," Celestia told him, "I overcame my arrogance a long time ago. What you're facing is centuries worth of experience." As she was saying that, Armalum grabbed something with The Force. Thinking she hadn't seen him do so, he threw a large rock towards her. But Celestia held her own hand up and caught it without even looking. "Experience that told me you would try a sneak attack."

"Show off." Armalum suddenly found the rock flying at him, the droid slashing through it only to find Celestia flying at him.

He blocked her slash with his blade, but the speed and power behind it caused him to stagger backwards until he was pinned between her and a rock. "One thing my experience hasn't taught me is how a droid can wield The Force like that. What are you?"

Armalum said nothing, attempting instead to push their locked blades away from him. But Celestia was stronger than she looked and the Lightsabers were drawing dangerously close to his body.

Celestia pushed hard and the red blade was inches from Armalum's chest. One more good push and he would be cut in half. But before she could, she sensed something else and pulled back.

Leaping to a safe distance, she found another red blade slicing into the ground between her and Armalum. Had she not moved, she would have been sliced in half. And as she landed, she saw the hooded figure she had seen earlier. "There you are." The figure pulled the sword up, they and Armalum nodding to one another.

They both charged, Celestia taking a different stance as she prepared to defend herself.

When they reached her, she easily blocked Armalum's first strike, followed by the other's strike and so on. Both Sith attacked with everything they had, attacking one at a time. Clearly, they had little experience fighting side by side. This gave Celestia the edge, having fought multiple opponents plenty of times.

As she blocked Armalum's strike, she spun around and slammed one of her hoof-like feet into his chest.

The force knocked him back, as the hooded figure attacked. But Celestia leapt back and used a large rock as a springboard, propelling herself into the air. And as she flew over the figure, she grabbed his cloak and ripped it off. "Now, who am I-" She stopped, shock coursing through her veins as she saw who had been under the cloak. "Doom?"

Doom Raizer pulled the remains of his destroyed cloak off of himself, as Celestia flew over to a rock and landed atop it. "How? Why?"

"Why?" Doom asked. "Oh, I wonder about that?"

"Doom," Celestia sighed. "What happened back then...I am truly sorry. All the evidence-"

"Evidence!" Doom growled. "The great and mighty Celestia, fooled by some planted evidence and a spot of bad timing. You took everything from me. My rank. My reputation. My family."

"You could have come back," Celestia told him. "Your name was cleared. If you hadn't escaped, you would have been acquitted."

"Acquitted. Acquitted of a crime I never committed." He let out a roar of anger, as several rocks flew into the air and shot towards Celestia. "Why should I have had to sit in a cell, when I didn't do anything!?" Celestia leapt into the air and sliced the rocks away. "And being imprisoned wasn't even the worst thing that could have happened! What if you had decided to execute me?"

"I wouldn't have let that happen!" Celestia landed and caught the last rock with The Force. "I abolished that punishment years ago."

"And I was supposed to trust you with my life? After you refused to believe me when I said I didn't do it." As Doom yelled that, part of Armalum's arm opened up. From it, a tube of some kind folded out and fired a blue bolt of energy.

Celestia saw this coming and blocked with the rock, whilst Armalum charged forward.

He slashed his blade down at her, Celestia blocking with her own sword. "Because of you, my wife is dead. I couldn't even be there for her, because of you."

"It wasn't just me that thought you did it," Celestia pushed back with her own sword. The pair were locked in a dead heat. "And ever since the truth came to light, I have regretted what happened to you. I wish I could take back what happened."

"Well you can't," Doom growled. Armalum fired another blast and Celestia pulled back on her sword, spinning around Doom as he narrowly avoided getting hit.

Celestia once again took to the air and landed atop a rock. "So you chose to become what you denied being?" Doom picked himself up, glaring at her as he pointed his sword towards her.

"I had no other choice. I was a fugitive. Wanted by the republic and without a friend in the world. I had to hide in the shadows, barely managing to get enough credits together for a decent meal. And the more time I spent in that life, the more my anger rose. Anger towards the Jedi for taking everything from me. That's when he appeared."

"Who?" Celestia asked. "The master of your little group?"

"Don't say any more," Armalum told Doom. "If she wants to meet our master, we'll happily take her to him. In chains."

"I don't think so." Celestia thrust her hand out and the pair were thrown backwards, both crashing into the rocks as Celestia flew down. "You two are coming with me! We have some questions for you back at Canterlot." But before she could try and restrain them, Armalum's arm blaster fired in her direction.

She dodged it and the two were released from her grip, Armalum firing a few more times. But each time, Celestia easily blocked the attacks. Doom charged in and attacked, his rage having built up due to the memories of what had happened to him. Celestia found his attacks were incredibly strong, but also unfocused. And with Armalum waiting to fire at her, she had to wait for just the right opportunity.

But just as she spotted said opportunity, creating an opening to look like Doom was about to strike her, a voice called out. "NO!" Every eye turned to the voice and Celestia gasped, seeing Twilight standing there with her Lightsaber drawn. "Stay away from her!" She thrust her hand out and Doom was thrown backwards.

The man slammed into the earth, his Lightsaber being thrown from his grasp. But before Twilight or Celestia could capitalise on it, Armalum fired his blaster at Twilight and hit her before she was made aware of it.

"NO!" Celestia watched her student drop, with Armalum pulling her towards him. Before Celestia could stop him, he had her stunned student by the throat with his Lightsaber close.

"One wrong move and she dies," the droid announced. Celestia frowned, as Doom picked himself up and retrieved his Lightsaber. "Drop your weapon." Celestia sighed before dropping her Lightsaber, "and your gauntlet." Celestia sighed, but quickly removed the device from her arm and dropped it besides her Lightsaber. "Good. Doom, tie her up."

"We're not gonna kill her?" Doom asked, Armalum shaking his head.

"We have the grandmaster of the Jedi Order at our mercy. I'm sure our master will wish to decide her fate, personally." Doom nodded and took out some rope, using it to tie her hands behind her back. Celestia wanted to fight back, but couldn't risk Twilight's safety.

"If you hurt her..."

"Relax," Armalum smiled. "She's fine. Still conscious. She just won't be able to move for a while." He dropped Twilight, but kept his Lightsaber close to her. "But you won't be conscious. Can't have you knowing where we're going." He pointed his blaster at her and fired a more powerful blast.

Twilight could hear everything they had said, though her vision was still blurry. She heard Celestia's cry and her fall to the ground, followed by Armalum laughing.

"Thanks for the help, kid. Don't worry, I won't kill you. I think living with the knowledge, that you got the most powerful Jedi in the universe killed, will be worse than dying." He laughed before he and Doom began to leave, an unconscious Celestia draped over Doom's shoulder. As they disappeared, Twilight was overwhelmed with a sense of guilt.

She had wanted to protect her master, but instead got her killed. "Master," she cried, "I'm sorry."

Chapter 15

View Online

On the barren planet of Yowtar, sixteen Jedi were hard at work trying to find a clue to the mysterious Sith group that had appeared in the galaxy.

Currently, Flash and Shining were laying low in one of the towns. The spiky beetle crooks had taken over the tavern and were making their search rather difficult. "So you've never seen anyone like this?" Shining was showing a shop keep some images of Solara and the bug troopers.

"Sorry," the store owner shook his head. "They're new to me. This planet is constantly swarming with individuals wanting to stay hidden. If these people haven't been caught already, it's because they know never to hang around one spot for too long."

"Fair enough." Shining thanked the shop keep and headed out, Flash waiting outside keeping an eye out for the bug bikers. "Looks like this place was a wash. We'll have to try somewhere else."

"Alright," Flash nodded. "Should I call Springer to come pick us up?" As he said that, the beetles crashed their way through the doors of the tavern, heading towards their speeders to fly off somewhere.

"Better leave it until those guys are gone. Don't want them to see us leave and try to ambush us outside of town." Flash nodded and the pair prepared to wait. But it was at that moment, Shining's gauntlet began beeping. "Emergency contact?" Shining opened the voice speaker, as Twilight's voice called out to them.

"Everyone. Help." She sounded weak, which worried them.

"Twilight?" Rainbow's voice spoke through the group speak, "what's wrong."

"Sith." That statement sent shock through the three other groups. They had only hoped to find info, but actually discovering the Sith on the planet was not something they had been expecting. "Two of them. They...they..."

"Are you hurt?" Shining asked.

"Stunned. Celestia...my fault. Stupid."

Flash used his gauntlet to lock onto Twilight's location, finding it and Celestia were in the same place. "Just hang on," Shining told her. "We'll be there as soon as we can." Flash nodded and they closed the call, rushing towards the edge of town.

But as they ran, the beetles seemed to notice them and raced over on their speeders. "Where you going?" One asked, the group beginning to circle the pair. "You got some booze hidden somewhere?"

"What?" Flash asked, "no."

"Don't hold out on us," another beetle cried. "You don't wanna make us mad."

"We don't have time for this." Shining took out his Lightsaber. "Either get out of our way, or I'll make you wish you were never born." One of the beetles flew towards them, looking ready to ram them with the front of his bike. But before he could, Shining grabbed the speeder with The Force and pushed into it.

The bike acted like it hit a brick wall, tossing the bug over the handlebars and slamming him into the ground.

Flash pulled out his sword and the bug growled as he got up and charged, Shining swinging his Lightsaber as he attempted to stab his horn into them. In the blink of an eye, the pair were back to back and something had been launched into the air. The beetle's horn.

The other bikers gasped, as the horn slammed into the ground in front of its owner. And when the beetle saw it, he gasped and clutched his now hornless head. "Next time, it won't be just your own. Leave. And don't mess with these towns again. You want booze, then get a job and buy some."

The insects all looked terrified, that fear increasing when Flash ignited his blade. Clearly, they had never run into someone who could actually hurt them before.

They all kicked their bikes into gear and raced off, the hornless member jumping on his and flying off with them.

Once they were gone, the two extinguished their blades and headed to their meet up point. Flash had already sent a message to Springer, telling him to get the ship ready for launch. They needed to find Twilight and Celestial, before anything bad happened to them.

On another part of the planet, three figures were waiting patiently.

Inside a cave, Solara was sitting atop a large rock with her back to the wall. Chrysalis was pacing back and forth, her arms crossed as she clearly didn't like waiting. And then there was the last member of their group, a large centaur-like alien with red skin on his human half, black fur on his horse's body and a pair of large horns on his head.

Around his horse midsection were two black belts, which were connecting two black double-edged Lightsabers to his upper side.

Tirek was sitting on the ground, his eyes closed as he appeared to be in a meditative state. But that state was ruined, when Chrysalis let out a cry of frustration. "Where are they? I've got better things to do than stand around here, waiting for them to show up."

"Armalum's probably gone to the wrong area," Solara sighed. "He can barely tell where he is on this planet, thanks to all the times we've had to delete his memory of it."

"Still," Tirek spoke, "they should have been here by now. Something must have happened."

"Master Sombra will be growing impatient," Chrysalis looked worried. "If we don't contact him soon." A beep caught her attention and she looked down at her gauntlet, smiling when she saw it was detecting something. "Two life forms. It's about-" She stopped and looked confused. "Two life forms? We shouldn't be detecting Armalum." The three shared a look and they all reached for their their Lightsabers.

They stepped towards the exit of the cave and saw two figures marching towards them, one being humanoid whilst the others looked strange against the light of the sun.

They were about to attack, but the pair drew close enough for them to see who it was. And when they saw what one of them was carrying, they gasped. "What the heck!?" Solara cries, as Doom and Armalum came to a stop in front of the cave. "What have you done?"

"Is that who I think it is?" Tirek asked, as Doom dropped their captive down.

"If you think it's Celestia, grandmaster of the Jedi Order, you'd be right." The three stared down at the unconscious woman, shock on all of their faces.

As they took her inside the cave, Doom explained what happened. To say the three were surprised was an understatement. "Do you have any idea what this could mean?" Chrysalis asked. "She's the grandmaster. She didn't get that title because she was its oldest member."

"I know that," Doom nodded. "Honestly, if her Padawan hadn't shown up and got in the way, we'd probably be dead or captured right now. But that's beside the point. We've captured her and as long as we're careful, she won't escape or cause problems."

"Why did you bring her here?" Solara asked, putting on her helmet in case Celestia awakened. "Why not just kill her?"

"The master will want to decide her fate," Armalum explained. "They have a history together." Solara looked confused by this, "we should contact him. He'll want to know about this right away."

"You realise she probably isn't alone," Tirek pointed out. "If the Padawan is still alive, she'll likely call for help."

"Maybe," Doom smirked, "but we made sure we couldn't be tracked. We removed her gauntlet and checked her for everything that could be used to track us." The three didn't look so sure. "But you're right. We can't hang around here too long. We should set up a communication device for the master and see what he wants with her. If he says kill her, we kill her. But I'd rather waste time with that than suffer his wrath if we do something without his say so."

"Agreed," Chrysalis nodded. "Get started. In the meantime, the rest of us will do what we came here for. Exchange of information." They nodded and got to work, all the while Celestia remained out cold on the ground.

Back at the rocks, Twilight continued to lay there.

Her body was slowly starting to recover, but that stun blaster had really done a number on her. Her legs still felt numb and her fingers weren't probably responding. Hopefully, the others would arrive soon and have some way to help her. But she wasn't the one to be worried about.

She thought back on the moment she had let her master down. If Twilight had just done what Celestia had said, she would have been fine against those two. Twilight should have stayed at the inn. And because she didn't, the Jedi Grandmaster might be lost forever.

Before she could start feeling sorry for herself, something appeared above her in the sky. The Shooting Star, which flew down and opened up its runway before Flash and Shining leapt down.

As the ship flew off, Flash and Shining rushed up to her with a case in hand. "Twilight," Shining knelt beside her, "are you okay?"

"Stunned," she was able to get out. "Can't...move."

"Not good," Flash gulped as Shining opened the case. As the knight got to work on whatever he was doing, Flash spotted a gauntlet and Lightsaber on the ground. "Are those Celestia's." He moved over to pick them up, activating Celestia's Lightsaber and marvelling at the yellow blade. "But where is she?"

"They took her," Twilight started crying as Shining injected her with something. "It's all my fault. I got in her way and she was captured, because she was saving me."

"It's gonna be okay," Shining told her. "We'll find her before anything happens." He helped her sit up, "how you feeling now?" They watched as Twilight's legs started moving, her fingers twitching.

"I think it's gonna be a while before I can walk again."

"You'll get there," Shining assured her. "Just don't push yourself. We're gonna need you at your best when we save Celestia." Twilight looked worried, as she glanced over at Flash holding Celestia's gauntlet.

"How are we gonna find her? She doesn't have anything we can use to track her." Flash moved over and handed her the objects of her master, the Padawan holding them close before noticing Flash and Shining were both looking around. "What are you doing?"

"What we're good at," Shining replied. "You think just because Celestia doesn't have a gauntlet, we can't figure out where she was taken?" Twilight nodded, "well you're wrong." He laughed. "Maybe you should spend some time learning in the Exploration Core."

"Found something," Flash called out. Shining saw him crouching beside something embedded in the earth. "Tracks."

Shining took a closer look, "fresh tracks. Only an hour or so old."

"That's when they left," Twilight agreed. "But how can you be sure those tracks are the ones leading where they went? They were fighting all over the place." She looked around and sure enough, there were tracks all over the place. The wind was already blowing the dust around to cover them up.

"These tracks are different." He walked over to Twilight and jumped up, stomping on the ground before moving to reveal his footprint. He then stepped aside and surprised Twilight by picking her up, the girl unable to stop him as she was lifted bridal style.

Flash then repeated to stomp and stepped aside, letting her see the footprints.

Twilight noticed the second set was deeper than the first, making her realise what Flash was getting at. "The deeper footprints from carrying Celestia."

"Exactly." Shining followed the tracks and they led away from the battle ground, out of the rocks and into the open desert. "They headed in that direction."

"Then that's where we'll head," Flash replied.

"Shouldn't we wait for the others?" Twilight asked, but Shining shook his head.

"We can't wait. If this path leads to a ship, then we need to get there before they take off. Once they're in space, we might never be able to find them." He turned to Flash and Twilight. "You two ready for this?" Flash nodded, but Twilight looked unsure. "I know you think you messed up, but doing nothing isn't gonna fix that."

"You're right," Twilight agreed. "I have to try and save her, even if I fail." The boys nodded and headed off in the direction the tracks led. Hopefully, they led to Celestia and it wasn't too late. They had to save her.

Celestia moaned, as she felt herself beginning to come around. Her body was just as numb as her student and when she opened her eyes, she saw nothing.

She feared she had gone blind, but then realised she had been blindfolded. Her arms were still tied behind her back, her legs were tied together and her wings had ropes wrapped tight around them to prevent flight. She was trapped.

"Signal's live," she suddenly heard Doom announce. She heard several more footsteps and static sounds, followed by another voice.

"Why do you contact me?" The voice sounded familiar, but Celestia couldn't quite place it.

"Master. We have someone here that you might want to see." She heard movement and was soon grabbed by the armpits, then dragged along the ground until she was in front of something. A light of some kind, was flowing through her blindfold. A hologram.

"But that's...remove her blindfold."

"Master?" A female voice asked.

"Do it!" The next thing Celestia knew, her blindfold had been pulled off and she was able to see. Her vision was blurred for a moment, especially with the light of the hologram flowing into her eyes. But when her sight returned, she was able to look up at the hologram and gasped.

"No...it can't be." The man in front of her, was someone she had not seen in over two centuries. "Sombra?"

The horned humanoid, stared back at Celestia through the hologram. "Hello, Celestia. It's been a long time." Celestia looked around, seeing Doom, Armalum and three others that she realised were the Sith they had learned about.

"You're the leader of this group. You're the Sith Lord?"

"Indeed. And you've managed to acquire the rank of Grandmaster. Quite the achievement. But now you're here, captured and alone."

"Sombra," Celestia looked worried, "don't do this. You were once a Jedi that people respected."

"I was. But the Order was so strict, it was like I was being suffocated. And when I left to create my own order, I was labelled a terrorist and you Jedi did everything you could to try and stop me."

"You were the one who tried to take our Order out by force," Celestia glared at him. "You started the war that almost destroyed all the Jedi. And now, you've gone so far into the darkness that you can't even see the light."

"Enough of this," Sombra growled before turning to his minions. "You will bring her to me. I have been searching for somepony that can fit into our plans. She will be perfect." The minions nodded, as Celestia tried to fight against their hold on her.

"I'll never help you!"

"Maybe not willingly. But once we've completed our work, you will be just what we need for the final step." With that, Sombra disappeared and his underlings began their preparation to take Celestia with them. The Jedi Grandmaster kept trying to fight against Doom and Armalum's grasp, but her body was still feeling rather weak.

"We should summon our ships to this location," Chrysalis told the others. "It'll give this place away to our troops, but it's safer than trying to carry her where anyone can see her." The others nodded and dropped Celestia on the ground, the lot of them heading out of the cave to summon said ships.

All the while, Celestia was letting what she had just learned sink in.

Sombra was alive, leading this Sith faction and now he had plans for her. She didn't know what he planned on doing, but he knew it couldn't be anything good. "I have to get out of here."

Shining, Flash and Twilight continued to follow the tracks in the desert.

Twilight's legs were now strong enough to carry herself, allowing her to follow as the boys tracked their targets. But it was slow going, especially since the wind was causing the footprints to become faded.

"Over in that direction," Shining pointed. In the distance, a set of mountains could be seen. "If they're anywhere, it'll be there. Let's go." They nodded and headed in that direction, being careful to keep an eye out in case anyone was watching from afar.

It took them a while, but they eventually reached an area near the base of the mountain.

A bunch more rocks could be seen, sticking out of the ground around the mountain for them to use as cover. And as they crept around, they found that the tracks weren't as easy to find. The ground around the mountain was more rock-like, so there were few if any footprints in the area.

"What do we do now?" Twilight asked, fearing they wouldn't be able to search the whole area before Celestia was lost.

Shining thought, then smiled. "You said one of the Sith she was fighting was some kind of droid, right?" Twilight nodded. "A droid that strong has to have one heck of an internal power source." He opened up his gauntlet. "Let's see if I can't find that power source." He started scanning the area, the others waiting and hoping he found something.

"I still don't get that." Flash turned to Twilight, "how can a droid be a Sith? I thought you needed to use The Force to be a Sith."

"I don't know," Twilight shrugged. "Hopefully, we can find and capture him to find out. He's strong and dangerous. Getting rid of him is just as important as saving Celestia."

"I think I've found something," Shining told them. "Energy signal, coming from a few miles around the base. Let's go. And be ready. There could be an ambush at any moment." They nodded and took out their Lightsabers, the three heading in the direction of the energy signal.

Back in the cave, Celestia was still trapped.

She tried to focus on undoing the ropes around her arms and legs, but even her control over The Force wouldn't allow her to undo them. The knots were so tight, one would need a blade or laser to cut through them.

She looked around and noticed a part of the rock was jagged and might cut through the rope, so started rolling towards it. But before she could get close, Solara stepped into the cave and she had to remain still. "Struggling to escape. nice try. But it's not going to work."

"Why are you doing this?" Celestia asked. "I can hear it in your voice. You're young. Why throw your life away, to join up with Sombra?"

"I didn't join up with him," Solara told her. "I was born under his care."

"What?" Celestia asked.

"Sombra found me, as a child. Before I could even walk, I was strong with The Force. So Sombra raised me, protected me. And when the time came, he trained me to be a powerful warrior."

"You were raised to be a Sith?" Celestia asked, with Solara nodding. "Then you have a choice. You don't have to be the monster Sombra raised you to be." She forced herself to sit up. "Help me escape this place and I'll take you to the Jedi Temple. You can learn to become a true Jedi."

"Why would I want that?" Solara asked. "Sombra has always been there for me. He's taught me so much. Why would I want to throw my freedom away to join the Jedi?"

"Throw your freedom away?"

"Sombra told me all about his life in the Order. How he couldn't do anything he enjoyed doing. Was scolded whenever he tried to have fun or do anything that wasn't Jedi training. And how the Order kept him from being with the one he loved." Celestia's eyes widened, as Solara chuckled and knelt down to be eye to eye with her. "Oh yes. I know all about the two of you. How you chose to remain in the Order instead of being with him."

Celestia looked down, "I didn't have a choice."

"Yes you did," Solara stood up. "And now, you'll come to regret that decision."

"No," Celestia told her, "it isn't like that any more. The Order's changed. I was able to change it, by staying in the Order. We don't deny ourselves love any more. Look at Doom. He was allowed to have a wife and child. His father was a member of our Order. Things are different now."

"I think the term 'too little, too late' springs to mind." Solara stepped out of the cave, as Celestia sighed. When she got there, she noticed Armalum staring in a particular direction. "Problem?"

"We've got company," he replied as Solara heard a zooming sound coming from him. "Three heat signatures, coming from the same direction Doom and I arrived in."

"I see," Solara frowned. "You think they're Jedi?" Armalum nodded, as he stared at a rock.

"Definitely. They're all holding something I'm certain is a Lightsaber."

"How did they find us?" Doom asked, with the others turning to give him a look. "Don't look at me."

"Doesn't matter how they found us," Tirek growled. "There's five of us and three of them. Let's destroy them."

"We can't risk them getting too close to Celestia," Chrysalis pointed out. "And we can't all leave her unguarded." She turned to Solara, Doom and Armalum. "You three go. They should be no match for you. We'll keep Little Miss Grandmaster company until you get back." They nodded and rushed off towards the three.

Celestia heard this and knew she couldn't let her Jedi fight those Sith. Shining Armor might stand a chance against one. But three were too much, even with two Padawans beside him.

She started rubbing her binds against the sharp rock, hoping they would break soon enough.

The three continued to follow the energy trace, ready for whatever came their way.

As they did, Shining noticed the energy was moving towards them. "I think we've been spotted." He turned to Flash and Twilight. "Go hide. I'll keep them distracted and you can go save Celestia."

"You can't beat them on your own," Twilight pointed out.

"I don't need to. I've just gotta hold them off long enough for you to save Celestia." The signal was coming up fast and Shining pointed at some rocks. "Go!" Flash grabbed Twilight and pulled her behind some rocks, the pair disappearing as Shining ignited his Lightsaber.

He kept an eye on his gauntlet and watched the signal getting closer, but then stop and stay put.

"What?" He asked, waiting for the signal to move again. But it didn't. "Could they be onto us?" He was about to call out to the others, but suddenly felt something coming up fast.

He looked up, just in time to see someone leap up onto a rock and then fly down towards him.

He leapt back, seconds before the spot was impaled by a red Lightsaber. The hooded figure wearing it then quickly pulled the blade free and charged, Shining holding his sword defensively and letting it strike head on.

The pair pushed against one another, Shining trying to get a look under the hood. "Who are you?"

"The last Sith you'll ever meet." They pushed him back and Shining almost fell over, but managed to regain his footing and point his blade at his opponent. The pair then charged forward, Lightsaber meeting Lightsaber as the two closed against one another.

Shining realised his friends were in trouble, especially when the energy source started moving again.

Flash and Twilight kept running, Twilight not happy about leaving her brother.

But as they ran around another boulder, Twilight was suddenly overwhelmed with a powerful wave of dark aura. And it was getting closer. "Get down!" She grabbed Flash and pulled him down, as something shot out towards them and stabbed into the rock next to them.

That something was a red Lightsaber, which carved itself into the rock for several seconds before it was pulled out by an invisible hand and flew back the way it came.

They followed it with their eyes and saw it land in the hand of the black droid. "That's him," Twilight stated. "He's the one Celestia fought."

"Weren't there supposed to be two?" Flash asked, only to quickly realise what had happened. "He must be fighting Shining," he ignited his sword. "Go," he told Twilight. "Go save Celestia. I'll deal with him." Twilight looked worried, but could clearly see she wasn't going to be talking Flash out of this.

"Be careful," she told him before running off.

"Brave," the droid told Flash. "But also foolish." He stared at Flash, as the Jedi prepared to charge. "Perfect. My master will surely reward me, once I've defeated you."

"Why would he reward you for beating me?" Flash asked, only for Armalum to fire his arm blaster.

Flash leapt to the side and barely managed to avoid it, as the droid rushed forward and swung in for an attack. But Flash managed to block at the last moment, though the impact was like getting hit by a speeder. "My master has a special interest in you and your teacher. Once you're both out of the way, he won't have to worry about anything."

"Why would he worry about me?" Flash asked, with Armalum remaining silent and instead pushing Flash backwards. He then charged and attempted to cut Flash down, but Flash was able to leap out of the way and get back to his feet. The pair stood opposite one another and waited for the other to make a move, Flash eventually ending the stand off and charging.

The two locked blades several times, but Armalum's robotic strength overpowered Flash whenever they did.

The Padawan quickly realised he wasn't gonna win a battle of strength. He needed to find another way to win, if there was one.

Twilight kept running in the direction Shining had been leading them, keeping close to the mountain's base to search anything that might hide her master.

But as she ran, she almost found herself running into a red energy blade. The equestrian barely managed to react in time, dropping to her knees and sliding under the blade, which had suddenly extended out from behind the rock. And as she slid along the ground, she ignited her own weapon and spun around.

She came face to face with a masked individual, who resembled the description Flash and Shining had given of the Sith they had faced on the forest moon. "How many of you are there?"

"Enough to make sure the Jedi are dealt with, once and for all." She charged and started slashing at her, but Twilight managed to block her attacks. But it was clear, Solara was much better at her with a blade.

Whenever Twilight tried to land a hit on her, Solara easily stopped it and almost cut Twilight in half with her counter. The pair moved around the battlefield, Twilight barely able to keep up with the Sith's incredible blade skill.

As they fought, Twilight realised Solara was likely just a distraction. She needed to find a way to escape, or lead the fight over to where Celestia was being held. But she didn't even know where that was.

Back at the cave, Celestia continued to scratch her bound wrists against the rock.

She could feel the rope fraying, but it was still strong enough to hold her. As she worked, she kept an eye on the cave wall in case the other two Sith appeared. And one did.

Chrysalis stepped into the cave, looking worried as she stared at her gauntlet. "Where is that ship," she complained. "Armalum and the others will be done before it arrives."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Chrysalis turned to her. "Don't underestimate my Padawan, or the other two Jedi. They're stronger than you think." Chrysalis clearly didn't believe that for a second and as Celestia stared at her, something clicked. "You look a lot like someone I know. A Padawan in my Order."

"I doubt that," Chrysalis replied.

"Same skin, same body proportions, same insectoid wings." Chrysalis gave her a quizzical look, "my order found him on his own when he was just a baby. A small escape pod, lost on a barren planet. Had a blanket wrapped around him with a name sown in. Thorax." Chrysalis' breath hitched at this, "you do know him."

Chrysalis said nothing and left, but Celestia could sense a bunch of emotions coming off of her. The Jedi Grandmaster thought about Cadance's Padawan and the many mysteries that had surrounded him. It seemed one of those mysteries had been solved.

Shining and Doom remained at a stand still.

The hooded saber wielder was constantly on the attack, striking with his blade again and again. But Shining's defensive style of fighting was keeping up. The pair appeared at a dead even, with neither side leaving an opening for the other to exploit.

"Raaaah!" Doom slashed at Shining's head, but the Jedi ducked under it and leapt back. As he did, Shining noticed a large rock atop another right next to Doom.

He reached out and pulled, the rock coming loose atop the other and falling towards Doom.

The hooded figure looked around and saw it coming, then slashed at the boulder to make it fall on either side of him. And Shining used this opening to charge forward and stab at the Sith, but Doom leapt out of the way and Shining stabbed the rock instead.

Doom then raised his hands and the two rocks floated into the air around Shining.

The Jedi saw them and realised what Doom was trying to do, so quickly leapt up before the rocks could crush him between them. He landed on the rock and Doom threw the rocks towards him, Shining leaping back so they flew overhead and missed him.

As he landed, he leapt away from the rock and tried to sense where Doom was.

Picking up a life sign coming from the left, he turned in that direction and Doom came charging at him. The pair were once again locked in a stalemate, slashing at each other and cutting through the rocks around them. Neither side gave an inch, as they fought with everything they had.

"Augh!" Flash slammed into a rock, as Armalum rushed forward and tried to stab Flash in the chest.

Flash rolled out of the way, Armalum stabbing into the rock but quickly swung his blade through it and sent molten rock flying in all directions. Flash staggered back to avoid the rock landing on him, as Armalum fired his stun blaster at him.

Flash leapt straight up, doing several flips until he landed on a boulder. Armalum fired several more shots, but Flash deflected each and every one of them. "He can't keep this up," the Padawan told himself. "He's gotta run out of batteries soon."

"Hardly," Armalum laughed. Flash was surprised, since he had practically whispered that. "My power is infinite." He fired several more rapid shots towards Flash, who barely managed to block them all. But the last one was so strong, Flash lost his footing and found himself falling backwards.

He fell to the ground and groaned as his Lightsaber fell from his hands, the teen pushing himself up only for Armalum to arrive and shoot at him.

He rolled out of his way and jumped back to his feet, his Lightsaber flying into his hand just in time to block a saber strike. "How can you have infinite power?" Flash groaned. "What the heck could be fuelling you?"

"Too complicated to explain to a simpleton like you." Armalum pushed him back and pointed his sword at him. "I'm more than just your average droid. I'm the most powerful machine in the galaxy."

Flash panted as he leaned against a rock, fearing Armalum might be telling the truth. But if he was that powerful, how the heck was Flash gonna stop him?

Twilight cried out, as she was sent staggering away by another of Solara's attacks.

Red and green connected and every time, the red blade overpowered the green one. "Give it up," Solara laughed. "You don't stand a chance against me." Twilight kept her blade raised. "Your friend didn't stand a chance against me when we battled before, so what hope do you have?"

"What makes you think Flash is better than me?" Twilight asked.

"My master told me all about how the Jedi work." She pointed at Twilight's Lightsaber. "Green Lightsabers are used by ones who are better at The Force than with a sword. That means in a fight, you're an easy opponent." She charged and slashed, with Twilight blocking her attack.

"First off, that's just a speculation. Nobody's proved the colour of one's Lightsaber determines what kind of Jedi you are." She pushed back and Twilight took a defensive state. "And secondly, you're right." Solara tilted her head, as Twilight held out a hand. "My skills with my Lightsaber...is nothing compared to my control of The Force." She thrust her hand out and to Solara's shock, three large rocks were ripped out of the ground around her.

She watched Twilight effortlessly held the three two ton boulders over their heads.

And before Solara could stop her, she threw them down in her direction. The Sith was forced to leap out of the way, as the rocks slammed down around her. First one embedded itself into the ground, then the other two did the same and dug in deep.

Solara looked up and sat the tops of the rocks lean on one another, with only a small gap formed between them that she couldn't get through. All the other gaps in the rock were also rather small, making it impossible for her to squeeze through.

Solara looked through one of the rocks and saw Twilight running away, making her growl as she pushed her Lightsaber through the hole and started melting the rock around it. This would take a while.

Dodging another blast, Flash staggered around a rock as Armalum gave chase.

As he did, he heard the sounds of other swords clashing and moved towards it. And sure enough, there was Shining and Doom. The pair collided with one another and locked blades, both showing equal skill and precision.

As they pushed against one another, Flash heard Armalum approaching and rushed in to join the fight.

As Doom pushed Shining away, Flash slashed at him and the Sith dodged. Shining was surprised by Flash's sudden appearance, but quickly capitalised on it by attempting to strike Doom down. Doom blocked the attack and leapt up, as Flash and Shining stood side by side.

Armalum arrived at this moment and the Jedi watched them both. "Be careful," Flash told Shining. "This one's strong."

"So's the other," Shining agreed. "But I doubt they're in sync." Flash nodded as Armalum charged forward, Shining stepping forward and blocking with his Lightsaber. The pair were equal in strength and Shining was able to knock Armalum back, allowing Flash to attack whilst Shining turned his attention to Doom.

The hooded Sith leapt down and attempted to cut Flash down, but Shining shielded his student and was able to push Doom off balance.

At the same time, Armalum began his counter attack. But Flash and Shining swapped places, with Shining blocking this onslaught whilst Flash began to strike at the unbalanced Doom. And when Doom regained his composure, Shining pushed Armalum back and they switched again.

They kept this up, Shining using his defensive style to block the incoming attacks and knocking their opponent back, with Flash going in to strike with the sharp edge of his blade. Had Doom and Armalum been in sync, they would have realised they could stop this by simply attacking together. But they didn't.

Twilight ran as fast as she could away from Solara, eventually spotting something in the distance.

The cave came into view and she gasped, praying she would find Celestia in there. She was so focused on saving her, she didn't think there might be others there. "Celestia!" She called out, hoping to hear her master call back. But she didn't say anything.

Instead, she suddenly found herself being pushed backwards by The Force.

She crashed into a rock, as Tirek and Chrysalis came out of hiding. "Too bad," Tirek laughed. "Those fools couldn't get the job done. Oh well."

"Just kill her already," Chrysalis told him. But Tirek smiled.

"Where's the fun in that?" He moved closer to Twilight, "I haven't had a good meal in a while. And I can feel her strength with The Force. She'll be delicious." Twilight looked terrified and tried to attack with her Lightsaber, but Tirek reached out and pulled her weapon from her grasp. "Now, now. Don't struggle. It'll only make it worse."

Twilight and Tirek stared into one another's eyes, as his horns started sparking with red energy. And as the glow of his eyes intensified, Twilight could feel something inside her beginning to grow cold. "What...are you doing?"

"Your powerful connection to The Force, makes you an all-you-can-eat buffet for me to drain." He got closer to her, as his mouth began to open.

Twilight didn't know what he was going to do, but she knew she didn't want to experience it. And just as she was about to panic, she remembered something and reached behind her. Just as Tirek was about to do whatever he was about to do, Twilight took out Celestia's Lightsaber and ignited it.

The blade's tip struck Tirek's side, burning the centaur and causing him to roar in pain.

He dropped Twilight, who leapt a safe distance away and tried to get her Lightsaber. But before she could, she was slammed into by another Force push.

"Nice try," Chrysalis smiled. Twilight pushed herself up and realised she had dropped Celestia's Lightsaber, the Padawan spotting it and reaching out to retrieve it. But Chrysalis also tried to grab it, the two feeling their hold on the weapon was equal.

They kept pulling, as the weapon shook in place. And suddenly, Twilight felt a stronger pull and her grip was lost.

The weapon flew towards Chrysalis, who smiled until she realised she wasn't the one summoning it. She leapt up, as the Lightsaber flew into the cave and disappeared. Moments later, the yellow blade extended and Celestia stepped out.

"Master!" Twilight cried, as her teacher stepped forth.

"Nobody hurts my student," she announced.

Chrysalis and Tirek growled, as Twilight smiled and retrieved her own Lightsaber. Tirek then took out both his double-edged Lightsabers and charged at the Grandmaster, Celestia standing in a defensive stance as she began to defend.

Tirek slashed at her, but she was able to block all four blades. As this was happening, Chrysalis turned to Twilight and ignited her own sword. Twilight looked worried, but raised her blade defensively. "This isn't going to be much of a challenge."

"Hold it!" Another voice cried, making them look around and see Solara walking into the area. "She's mine!" She charged at Twilight, the Padawan blocking with her own blade as the Sith slashed at her.

Chrysalis smiled and kept her attention on the two fights, waiting for an opening to strike one down.

Celestia spread her wings and took to the air, flying out of Tirek's range before thrusting her hand out. Doing so sent a large rock flying at the centaur, who thrust his fist forward to destroy it. Celestia then dived down and swung her sword at him, Tirek raising his double-edged blade and blocking. But the impact sent him staggering.

Celestia prepared to take this opening, but Chrysalis suddenly appeared and slashed at her.

The Grandmaster blocked the attack and the pair glared into one another's eyes, as they appeared to be in a stalemate. "You can't win," the insectoid Sith announced. "There's three of us and two of you. What hope do you have?"

Celestia frowned and pushed back, flying away and seeing Twilight was having trouble against the Sith named Solara. And with Tirek recovering from before, she realised she couldn't defeat these three and protect her pupil.

However, she then spotted something that made her smile. "You might want to recount those odds in a moment."

Chrysalis, who flew down and landed on a rock, frowned before following the Jedi's gaze. And there she saw the Shooting Star, flying towards them at high speed. And as it got closer, the loading ramp opened and four individuals leapt down towards them.

Spitfire, Rainbow, Heather and Applejack flew down to the ground and at the last moment, they created a Force Cushion to slow their descent. And as they landed, they took out their weapons. Applejack's Light-axe sparked, which Rainbow twin shoto sabres ignited.

Spitfire had a normal blue Lightsaber, whilst Heather's was green.

The Sith were shocked by their sudden appearance, Rainbow turning to Solara and rushing forward with incredible speed. The rainbow haired girl swung her blades, around, Solara barely managing to block. The cow girl then charged and swung her axe at her, Solara leaping back to avoid it.

Spitfire and Heather charged at Tirek, the centaur swinging his double-edges swords around to keep them at a safe distance. This freed Celestia up to attack Chrysalis, the two slender woman clashing blades. "I think those odds just turned in my favour." Chrysalis glared at her, whilst Tirek and Solara found themselves in trouble.

As Solara blocked Twilight' attack, Rainbow rushed in and flourished her twin blades. As Solara blocked them, Rainbow was able to spin around and slam a foot into her chest to knock her flying back. "Augh!"

"Ha!" Rainbow smirked, "you're not so tough!"

Solara growled. "Face me on your own and say that." The three slowly stepped forward, as Solara saw Tirek also getting back into a corner by the two knights. But just as she was getting worried, she noticed something in the air.

"Our rides here!" Chrysalis and Tirek looked up and spotted a bunch of ships, which flew around the mountain.

The Shooting Star was still flying around and before the ship could react, the others fired at it and did some damage. A small explosion rocked the ship and forced it to fly away and land, allowing the ships to fly down.

"Love to stay and chat." Solara Force Pushed the three Padawans back, "but I'd rather not get captured or killed." She leapt up onto a rock and took to the air, landing on the loading ramp of a ship.

Tirek leapt up onto his back legs before slamming his front ones into the ground, causing it to shake and knock Spitfire and Heather off their feet. He then leapt up onto a rock and jumped up towards the ship, showing impressive jumping skill for someone of his size.

Chrysalis pushed against Celestia and forced her back, but knew she likely couldn't escape the omni.

She then spotted something and smirked, thrusting her hand out with Celestia expecting to be pushed back. But she wasn't and Chrysalis instead pulled, Celestia glancing behind her. It was then she spotted the Padawans, beneath a large boulder that was starting to tip over towards them.

"Look out!" She cried, grabbing the rock with The Force. This allowed Chrysalis to fly up and into the ship, whilst Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow ran out from beneath the large rock.

The ships then shot off, in the direction Flash and Shining were currently in.

The two continued their fight against Armalum and Doom, constantly switching between who they were fighting to keep that opponent on edge.

Doom and Armalum staggered back, as Flash and Shining stood back to back. The Jedi smirked as they waited for the pair to attack again, but Doom and Armalum had finally caught on to their scheme. They just couldn't figure out how to overcome it.

In that moment, the ships flew around the mountain towards them. They heard said ships and looked up, as one of them started opening fire towards Flash and Shining. "Take cover!" Shining cried, the pair rushing behind a boulder. As they did, another ship lowered a pair of ropes.

"So long," Doom smiled as he grabbed one.

"It's been fun," Armalum agreed as he grabbed the other. They were both lifted into the air, flying off into the distance as the rope retracted.

Flash and Shining came out from behind the rocks, watching as the ships shot into the sky and escaped the planet's orbit. They wanted to chase after them, but it was too late. By the time they all got onto the Shooting Star, even if it wasn't damaged, and flew up to space, they would already be in Hyperspace.

"Ahhh!" Flash kicked a rock, "they got away."

"We've got bigger issues," Shining told him. "Twilight and Celestia." He ran in the direction Twilight had gone, Flash following after him.

They soon arrived at the area of the cave, where they found the others resting with Twilight kneeling in front of Celestia. "I'm sorry," she told her master. "I disobeyed orders and it got you captured. I'm so sorry."

Celestia smiled at her and knelt down, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Twilight. I know you were worried about me. I should have known you would have followed me. And actually, you helped me."

"Helped you?" Twilight looked confused, as the others stepped closer. They all saw Celestia looking rather concerned, as she stared up at the sky.

"We now know the identities of not only the five Sith, but their Sith Master. And now that we know who they are, we can begin our counterattack." She turned to the others. "Our battle against the Sith begins. We very well may be at war." That statement worried them, but they knew Celestia wouldn't say it lightly. This situation was a heavy one to be sure.

As their ship flew through Hyperspace, the five Sith stood in line as Sombra floated above them in hologram form.

"YOU INCOMPETENT FOOLS!" He roared, the five all flinching at the outburst. "You allowed Celestia to escape!? You had one job. Bring her to me!" None of them had an excuse, knowing nothing would work. "Do you have any idea what this means?"

"The Jedi now know of you," Solara realised.

"Exactly," Sombra growled. "And that means they won't just be looking for us. They'll be actively hunting us. And we've lost our host. Celestia would have been perfect. Now we have to find someone else."

Doom lowered his "We're sorry, master."

"I don't want to hear your apologies. I want to hear what you plan on doing to fix this." None of them had an answer. "Of course. Our only hope now is to complete our plan before the Jedi can wage a counterattack. To heck with stealth. We're going all out until we've accomplished our goal. Is that understood?"

"Yes master," they all nodded before Sombra's form vanished.

When it did, Tirek smiled. "To heck with stealth? Good. I never enjoyed the stealthy approach. Now we can do whatever we want to accomplish our goal, even if it lets the Jedi know where we are."

Chrysalis turned to the others. "You realise what this means, don't you?"

Doom nodded. "We're at war." The others nodded, as Solara removed her helmet and made her way over to the ship's window.

As she watched the lights of Hyperspace race pass the window, she couldn't help but remember her talk with Celestia. Remember what Celestia had told her about a better way. But she quickly shook her head. She was a Sith and she would always be a Sith. That was who she was.

News of the recent mission spread like wildfire around Canterlot.

As soon as they got back, which took a while due to the damage done to the ship, Celestia had called a meeting of the council and told them everything. To say the Masters were shocked about what had happened, was an understatement. The whole temple was now on alert. And the senate had also been informed, causing all of Canterlot to also be placed on alert.

Now, Celestia was in the council chambers. She was alone, remembering what had happened during her capture.

The doors of the room quickly opened, with Luna stepping inside and giving her sister a worried look. "You're worried about Sombra, aren't you?"

Celestia nodded. "When he was in the Order, he was one of the strongest Knights we had. Those five were very powerful, no doubt trained by him. I fear this Sith group will not be easy to defeat. With Sombra leading them, there's no telling what they might try."

Luna nodded, as she sat down beside her sister. "It's more than that, isn't it. I can feel it. You fear your past with him might affect how you decide to deal with him."

"Yes," Celestia nodded. "Despite everything that happened between us, a spark of what I once felt for him still lingers. Centuries ago, those feelings led me to make many mistakes. I tried again and again to reason with him, because I couldn't bring myself to accept he would never stop. Not until it was almost too late."

"And you fear the same thing might happen again."

"No," Celestia stood up and looked out the window. "I won't allow what happened before to happen again. Our order barely survived because of the mistakes I made. I won't let the same thing happen. If I face Sombra, I'm going to stop him."

"And you won't be alone," Luna promised. "I'll be there to help you. And so will everyone else. Together, we'll stop this new Sith uprising before it can start."

"I hope so," Celestia nodded. "Sombra is planning something. He wanted to use me for something and was sure it would cause me to change to his side."

"What was it?" Luna asked.

"I don't know. But there are legends of Sith artefacts, capable of turning even the most righteous of Jedi to the Dark Side. If he has something like that, we could find ourselves dealing with a lot more than six Sith."

"Then we'll stop him before that happens," Luna assured her.

Celestia nodded as she stared down at the temple below the tower, where all her Jedi were. They all had a bright future, now endangered by Sombra's insane quest. She would not allow them to lose their future. No matter what, she would stop the Sith.

A war had begun. A Star War.

Chapter 16

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Canterlot was in a state of emergency, as the planet's defences had been raised by the senate and all ships coming too and from the planet were being monitored and checked.

The reason: The appearance of a Sith group and their army of insectoid soldiers. Until this group's intentions and motives were determined, the planet and all its neighbouring republic worlds were to remain on high alert.

In the Jedi Temple, we find Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie in the holodeck. There, they were training against holographic Lightsaber wielders. "Raaah!" Twilight swung her blade at her opponent, but the holographic warrior easily dodged the attack and slashed at her. "Gyah!" She clutched her shoulder, as the enemy attacked again.

Twilight wasn't the only one having issues, as Fluttershy and Rarity were both on the receiving end of an attack by their opponent. They both slashed at the holo-fighter, but the energy construct easily blocked their attacks and one managed to cut Rarity's weapon in half.

Fluttershy was knocked to the ground and dropped her Lightsaber, whilst Pinkie swung her light-whip around to try and curl it around the opponent. But the figure ducked under it and kept their Lightsaber held up, the whip curling around that and allowing them to pull it from Pinkie's grip.

"Hey!" Pinkie cried, seeing her friends with the same problem.

Rarity and Fluttershy surrendered, but Twilight charged and tried to cut the opponent down. But the figure easily dodged her attack and with a single slash, Twilight's arm was cut off.

She staggered back and clutched the stump that once held her Lightsaber, as her opponent raised its blade to finish her off. "End holo-training!" The fighters all vanished and the room returned to its normal state, whilst Twilight arm reappeared.

Twilight sighed, as Rarity helped Fluttershy stand back up. "Maybe we should lower the opponent's training level," the cat girl suggested. "I'm pretty sure even the knights don't use the maximum skill level."

"We can't," Twilight told her. "We have to be ready to fight an opponent, no matter how powerful they are." She thought back to her duel against Solara, and how much better she had been with the blade than her. Twilight had managed to escape with The Force, but she might not have that option next time. She had to improve her saber skills."

"Twilight," Fluttershy frowned, "are you sure this is the best choice? Skipping all the way to the highest difficulty might not help us improve ourselves. Can't we use a lower setting and increase the difficulty when we're ready?"

"We don't have time for that," Twilight told her. "We could run into those Sith at any moment. We need to be ready."

"But we haven't improved," Pinkie pointed out. "Our opponents take us out before we can do anything." Rarity and Fluttershy nodded, whilst Twilight frowned.

"Alright. We'll take it down two levels. But we have to work hard and improve. If we don't, who knows what'll happen." She really wished Celestia could be there, but this current situation had all the Jedi running around trying to get everything going.

In another area of Canterlot, Celestia and Luna were in the headquarters of the galactic senate.

At the very top of the building, was the supreme chancellor's office. That supreme chancellor was an alien by the name of Savick, a green skinned alien whose head had two skin sacks on the back. Whenever he breathed, they would inflate and deflate.

"We have the entire planet in a state of panic," he stated. "You say these Sith are a genuine threat and I believe you. But the people won't take all these restrictions forever. Import and export has already ground to a near halt and if we don't do something soon, the people might start rioting to have things return to normal."

"Chancellor," Celestia frowned, "I know you're worried. But these restrictions are important. Whenever Sith have appeared in the Galaxy, their goal has always been to overthrow any form of democracy and instil themselves as the supreme ruler."

"That makes Canterlot their biggest target," Luna agreed. "They might not attack right away, but they'll eventually try and take control of this planet. It's just a matter of time before that happens."

"Maybe," Chancellor Savick agreed. "But most of the public don't even believe the Sith are real. Many believe the Jedi have made this up as a stunt to make it look like the galaxy needs you."

"That's ridiculous," Luna cried. "All we want is for the galaxy to be at peace. If the Jedi weren't needed, we'd happily let our Order end. But we are needed."

"That's not what a lot of the public think," Savick sighed. "Until they see a Sith with their own eyes, they're gonna think everything's fine. As much as I hate to think of it happening, the Sith attacking somewhere might be the only way to prove they're here."

Celestia sighed. "And even if they do, a lot of the public will simply state we did it to prove the Sith are here."

Savick nodded. "Any idea what we do?"

"There are other planets that are just as important as Canterlot," Celestia explained. "I've sent some of our best knights to those planets in order to make sure the defences are as good as the ones here. If the Sith do attack, they'll start by trying to conquer one of our weaker settlements. We have to be ready."

In a nearby sector, the Shooting Star had just arrived at a planet that was lush and green.

The planet had many differently shaped continents, with most of these areas being covered in green. Smaller areas had a desert environment, whilst others were covered in snow. The planet was also covered in many cities and other settlements, allowing those aboard the ship to see lights shining from the planet.

"That's Castalore?" Flash asked, turning to the Knights beside him.

Shining Armor, Cadance and Heather Bloom nodded, Applejack and Thorax staring down at it in amazement. "That's the place," Shining stated. "Home to the castalorians. It's a pretty peaceful planet, but a strategic location if the Sith ever decide to invade. A jumping off point into three different sectors of republic space, including Canterlot's sector."

"So it could be targeted by the Sith," Thorax noted.

"Exactly," Cadance nodded. "Which is why we need to make sure it's well defended." The ship flew down towards the planet and as they got in close, the console beeped asking for a clearance code. "Good. They've added some security already." Heather transmitted the code. "Let's just hope that's not all they've done."

Clearance code accepted, they flew down to the planet and were directed to a launching pad in the largest of the cities on the planet. "Be ready," Heather told everyone. "We're being directed to the palace's private landing pad."

Flash smirked. "So we're being invited in by the ruler themselves?" Nobody answered, as they flew down and found the landing pad they were being made to land on. Said pad was on the side of a large white castle, with many towers sticking up towards the sky. Around it, a large city could be seen with many tall buildings.

As they landed, someone came out of the castle and walked towards their ship.

To Flash's amazement, it was a short alien. No taller than two feet high. They were blue in colour and their head was covered in a brown shell-like structure with many pumps covering it. "Welcome," he announced as they disembarked. "To the beautiful planet of Castalore."

Cadance bowed, "you honour us with this audience." The castalorian nodded and gestured for them to follow.

Heading into the castle, Flash found it wasn't much different from the castle he had been in on Vapire. Pictures lined the walls, traps covered the windows, guards could be seen standing protectively in the halls and a few tables could be seen with vases and other interesting ornaments atop them.

Staring at the guards, Flash had to fight back a laugh at how adorable they looked. Wearing tiny armor and carrying spears the length of Flash's leg. He couldn't help but laugh under his breath.

Shining turned back to glare at him, making him shut up as they arrived at the throne room.

When they got there, someone was standing guard that wasn't a castalorian. And when the others saw them, Flash heard them all gasp and he took in their appearance.

They were human, or human-like, standing around Flash's height. Their body was covered in a strange looking armor, which Flash had never seen before. Said armor covered their chest, shoulders, lower arms, upper legs and knees. They also had armored boots, gloves, a utility belt around their waist and some kind of metal backpack.

Their face was covered in a metal helmet, with a T-shaped visor covering their eyes and running down the front over their mouths.

"A mandalorian?" Shining frowned as he glared at the figure, who walked up to them with a hand on his thigh mounted blaster.

"These are Jedi from Canterlot," the castalorian told the armored individual. "They're the queen's guests."

"Anyone wishing to enter the throne room, must first be scanned." He took out a device and held it up to the Jedi, Flash reaching for his Lightsaber until Shining stopped him.

"Why do you wish to scan us?" He asked.

"Security precaution. To make sure you're not hiding any explosives on you." Before they could argue, he scanned them. A white light ran over them all and after a few moments, it stopped and the device beeped. "You're clear. You may enter." Shining went to step inside, only for the mandalorian to raise his arm. "Once you've handed your weapons over to me."

Now Shining was looking ready to start fighting, Cadance stepping forward.

"You have to understand, we Jedi cannot allow anyone except other Jedi to handle our weapons." The mandalorian turned to her. "Would you be willing to hand over your armor, if someone told you you couldn't take it somewhere?"

"No. But I wouldn't attempt to enter that place if they did. If you're going in there, no weapons."

"Very well." Cadance took out her Lightsaber and the mandalorian held out his hand, only for Cadance to pass it to Thorax. "Would you be a dear and wait here for me?"

"Yes master," Thorax nodded before Cadance stepped past the mandalorian. Shining and Heather followed suit, handing their weapons to their Padawans before walking forward. The mandalorian watched them enter, clearly trying to think of a way to stop them. But he couldn't.

The Knights headed inside and found the castalorian queen sitting on the throne.

Said queen was twice the size of a normal castalorian, in both height and width. Around her were several more castalorians and a trio of mandalorians. The Jedi frowned at the sight of them, whilst the mandalorians looked ready to grab their closest weapon.

"Your majesty," the first castalorian bowed. "The Jedi Knights have arrived."

The queen smiled. "Yes. the amazing Jedi. Here to see how well we're defended against this Sith invasion."

"Well," Cadance nodded, "we're not sure there'll be an invasion. But better safe than sorry." The queen nodded, whilst the Jedi and mandalorians continued to eye one another suspiciously.

Up above the planet, a bunch of ships had just come out of Hyperspace.

The ships were the same kind that Sombra's army was using and on the bridge of the flag ship, Tirek stood there watching the planet as it drew closer. "Castalore," he smiled. "Such a weak planet. Conquering it will be a piece of cake."

"Master Tirek." A bug trooper rushed up to him. "An encrypted message is coming through for you." Tirek nodded and walked out of the room, heading down the hallway until he arrived at a room that looked similar to a Jedi holo training room.

The room activated, creating a giant holographic image of Sombra. "Report."

"Master," Tirek nodded. "We've arrived at Castalore and will be beginning our attack shortly."

"Good. And you're sure this will work?"

"Of course," Tirek nodded. "If we focus our attacks on this side of the galaxy, the Jedi and republic will send the majority of their forces here. That will free the others up to continue their work as they search for the last two keys and the needed materials."

"Very well. Do some damage. Make this be worth the number of troops we're going to end up losing."

"Of course," Tirek nodded. "I swear to you, we'll make these castalorians regret joining the republic." Sombra nodded before the image disappeared, Tirek turning to leave. He returned to the bridge and saw the planet closer than ever. "Prepare the invasion's first wave. All ground troopers, prepare to launch!"

"Yes sir!" Many cried as they began sending orders to the other ships, whilst Tirek watched and smiled with excitement.

"This is gonna be fun."

Back on the planet, the Padawans stared at the doors waiting for their masters to finish their meeting.

The mandalorian was also there, leaning against the wall spinning his hand pistol around. The Jedi watched him do this and felt uncomfortable with it, Applejack glaring at him. "Would ya'h stop that?"

"Stop what?" The armored figure asked, as he spun the blaster around on his finger.

"That," Applejack cried. "You're gonna end up firing it by accident."

"Oh please." The mandalorian spun the blaster before throwing it into the air, catching it with one finger and still spinning it. "I'm not a Jedi. I know how to use a blaster."

Applejack glared at him, looking ready to clobber him. But before she could, Flash placed a hand on her shoulder. "Would you relax? What's gotten into you guys? When you saw him, you all looked like one of the Sith was standing in front of you."

"He's mandalorian," Applejack glared him at. "He's almost as bad as a Sith."

"Correction," the mandalorian replied. "Jedi are as bad as Sith." Applejack glared at him, with Flash needing to grab her arm to keep her from rushing forward. "You weirdos are nothing but trouble. Needing to use that weird magic of yours to be anything worth taking seriously. Without that thing, you'd just be a bunch of peace loving losers with silly swords."

Applejack growled, as Flash stepped in front of her. "I'm starting to see the problem."

"At least Jedi have honour," Applejack stated. "Mandalorians only care about money. How much ya'll squeeze out of these poor castalorians before ya'h agreed to do...whatever the heck ya'h doin' here?" The mandalorian said nothing, "that's what I thought. Nothing but mercenaries. Can't trust them as far as ya'h can throw em. All the other guy needs ta do, is wave more money around to make 'em turn on their employer."

"That's not true," the mandalorian stated. "We mandalorians respect our contract. No matter how much the other guys pay us, we always stick with our employer."

"Yeah, right." Applejack clearly wasn't believing that.

Flash hoped Shining's meeting with the queen wasn't gonna be much longer.

Inside the throne room, the place had been dropped into darkness and a holographic globe had appeared.

"As you can see," the queen announced. "We are in the middle of creating a series of shield generators." The globe suddenly had several beams fly off the planet before spreading out and forming a second orb around the first. "Once that shield is installed, no ship will be able to enter our atmosphere without our permission."

"Good," Shining nodded. "How long until the generators are online?"

"Another two weeks," a castalorian higher up announced. "We're working as fast as we can, but these things don't just appear overnight. That's why we've hired these mandalorians, to act as extra security until the shields are up."

Shining frowned at the armored individuals, one of the mandalorians stepping forward. "I'd suggest having each generator be equipped with a laser turret of some kind. Something that can shoot down any ship that tries to take them out."

"But shouldn't the shield shop those ships?" The queen asked, as she took a bite of some grapes being offered her.

"Shields aren't always effective," another mandalorian stated. "If someone can figure out the shield's frequency, they can equip a small ship with a negator that would allow it to pass through. Then, they can take the shield generator down."

"I see," the queen nodded before turning to the Jedi. "Do you agree with this statement?"

"As much as it pains me," Shining nodded. "Yes, you should use some form of defence for the generators. There's no such thing as a perfect defence. No matter what you do, holes will exist. That's why you've gotta be as careful as possible."

"Very well," the queen nodded. "If it's alright, I would like for you and my mandalorians security to work together. Help my best minds come up with a way to protect my planet." The two groups clearly didn't like that, as the queen continued to explain what other measures she was considering.

Back outside, Flash watched as the mandalorian was fiddling with his blaster.

He had taken a small screwdriver out and was using it to do something to the weapon, all the while pulling on his collar. "If you're hot, why not take your helmet off?" The mandalorian looked up at him, as Applejack turned her attention to them.

"For a Jedi, you don't know much about us." Flash frowned at this. "Mandalorians never show their faces, to anyone."

"Why?"

"Ancient ways of our people," he replied. "Why don't you Jedi let yourselves have attachments? Because it's always been that way."

"Actually," Flash told him, "Jedi don't restrict themselves like that anymore. So you can never take your helmet off?"

"Of course I can," he screwed something into her blaster. "I just can't show my face to any living thing." Flash frowned, wondering how mandalorians were supposed to make any kind of connection if they couldn't reveal their face to anyone.

He was about to ask, but it was in that moment a massive explosion suddenly rocked the entire castle.

"What was that?" Thorax cried, this being the first thing he had said since entering the castle. They all rushed to a nearby window and saw smoke wafting up from below, then looked up and saw what had caused the explosion.

"No way," Flash as a bunch of ships were flying around the city. He knew these ships, from the day he had escaped his birthplace. "Those are bug trooper fighters."

"Which means the Sith are attackin'," Applejack ran into the throne room. The mandalorian followed, having clearly forgotten the no weapons rule. "The Sith are here. They've got a ship attacking the city."

"Not just this city," Shining stated. The holographic globe showed several dots around the planet. "They're attacking every large city on the planet. There's a destroyer class ship above the city, unleashing a bunch of smaller ships."

"This doesn't make any sense," the lead mandalorian announced. "They've just been uncovered to the world, so how could they already have a plan of attack figured out so quickly?"

"Unless they always planned to come out of hiding at some point," Cadance guessed. "They must have had the plan ready before we discovered them and now, they're just putting it into action." Another explosion caused the castle to shake again.

"Who cares how they planned this," the queen cried. "They need to be stopped before they destroy my world."

They all nodded as Shining turned to Flash, the Padawan throwing his Lightsaber to him. "Send a distress signal Canterlot. They should send reinforcements. Until they get here, we have to do what we can to slow them down."

"You can try and slow them down," the lead mandalorian pulled out his blasters. "We're going to take them out." The four headed for the door, the Jedi frowning at them. "Destroy the larger ships and the smaller ones will fall."

"You can't really think you're gonna be able to destroy those ships, are you?" Heather's question got no answer, as the differently coloured armored figures left the room. "Idiots."

"Let themselves get killed," Shining stated. "We need to find a way to deal with these guys." The castle rocked again, "we're gonna have to slit up. We'll let the mandalorians deal with the ship here. Let's focus on stopping the others before they level the other cities." They all nodded and rushed for the door, as the queen started mobilising her own troops.

"There are five ships," Cadance pointed out. "Even if we split into teams of two and leave one for the mandalorians, that still leaves one ship unaccounted for. What do we do?"

"I don't know," Shining frowned. "We'll have to think of something. For now, let's just focus on keeping as many people as we can safe." The others agreed as they reached the ship, Springer already on board and powering it up.

"Can't we go anywhere, without it turning into a big event!?" The droid asked, as they climbed aboard before the ship took off.

As they took to the air, another ship also appeared from one of the palace's landing zones. This ship looked more like a speedy gunship than anything else, Applejack looking out the window and seeing the mandalorian she had argued with through the other ship's window.

The other ship zoomed off towards the larger destroyer, whilst a smaller fighter began to fly towards the Shooting Star. "Hang on!" Shining cried, as they swerved around to avoid the lasers that were being sent their way. "Springer, get the weapons ready."

"There's no way we can destroy all those ships," Cadance cried. "We're only one ship with very little gun power."

"Then what do we do?" Thorax asked, only for Springer to have an idea.

"Give me a minute!" He flew out of the cockpit, the others wondering what the heck he was doing. But they had to keep their focus on the ships trying to blast them down, swerving and turning whilst Applejack rushed over to where the ship's gun turret was located.

On the mandalorian ship, the four armored figures were blasting their way through the smaller fighters in order to get to the larger destroyer.

"Are we sure this is a good idea?" The youngest member asked. "How are we gonna take that thing out?"

"We just have to hit them where it hurts," the leader announced. He flicked several controls and swerved the control stick, causing the ship to spin and avoid another hail of lasers. The other two mandalorians began firing their guns, destroying more fighters. "Every ship has a weak point. Someplace that, if hit, will disable it. All we have to do, is find it."

At that moment, the ship was struck by a laser. It rocked, the young mandalorian, had to clutch the console to keep from being thrown about. "Shields down to eighty percent."

"Seriously?" The female mandalorian asked, "that's some power."

"We can handle it," the leader stated as they finally reached the destroyer. "Fire!" They started shooting at the giant ship, a line of lasers running along it, but the damage done to it was nothing.

Back on the Shooting Star, they were feeling the pressure as more and more ships kept shooting at them.

A few of the castalorian ships had finally taken off and had joined the fight, but they weren't doing much better. "We have to do something," Shining cried as he dodged another laser before Applejack fired and destroyed the fighter. "We can't keep this up."

"Got it!" Springer cried, flying over to them.

"Got what?" Flash asked, only for a small arm to extend from Springer's side. In it were a bunch of small disks. "Now is not the time to be getting into music."

"These are override disks. Remember when we escaped that planet? I had to override one of their fighters so they couldn't stop us remotely. If we plug this into one of their fighter consoles, we'll be able to take it over and fly without being blown up by the other ship."

"Nice," Flash smirked before taking one. Cadance took the Shooting Star controls, allowing Shining to take another. Heather and Thorax also took one, the group rushing towards the loading bay.

As the ramp lowered, the four stepped out and stared at the many fighters swarming around them. "How are we supposed to take one?" Thorax asked. "I doubt they're gonna stop and get out for us."

"True," Flash stepped forward, "but I think we can persuade them." Before the others could say anything, Flash jumped off the ramp and fell through the sky. He free dived towards the ground, as a fighter flew under him. He positioned himself and at the last moment, he swirled and managed to grab onto the side of the fighter.

The bug trooper looked up in shock, as Flash hit the cockpit's hatch leaver to make it slide open.

Flash then pointed his Lightsaber at him. "Get out, or get a hole through your chest." The bug trooper hit a button and his seat-belt came off, allowing Flash to pull him out and over the side.

As the trooper pulled his parachute, Flash jumped into the pilot seat and kept the ship from going out of control. He then placed the disk inside the ship's computer and it began to override the control systems, giving Flash complete control over the fighter.

"Alright," Flash started flying around, "been a while since I've flown one of these." He looked around and saw there hadn't been any changes to the ship's design. It was just like when Flash had stolen the other one. "Hopefully, I won't crash this one." He swerved around and started firing at another fighter, destroying it before it could attack the Shooting Star.

The other Jedi saw this and Shining smirked, "show off." He spotted another fighter and leapt out, falling towards the ship and landing atop it before the pilot could pull away.

Heather and Thorax quickly did the same, both leaping off the ship. Thorax summoned his wings and flew as best he could, landing atop a fighter. He quickly opened the hatch and pointed his Lightsaber at the soldier, who looked at him before tilting his head in confusion.

"Soldier. What are you doing?"

"Soldier?" Thorax asked, but quickly shook his head. "Jump out of the ship before I do something I don't wanna do." The trooper hit the button on his seat-belt and it came undone, Thorax then using The Force to pull him out.

As three more Troopers fell towards the ground and opened their parachutes, the Jedi jumped into the cockpits and took control of them like Flash had. "Can everyone hear me?" Shining's voice called out, the override having changed the radio to their frequency.

"We hear you," Cadance replied. "Just be careful. I have no idea which fighter has you in it."

"Working on that," Springer replied. "Give me a minute. Uploading a beacon to our ships' targeting systems. That'll make them see you as an alley and not target each other."

Thorax suddenly found himself getting shot at, forcing him to take evasive manoeuvres. Looking back, he saw another fighter was trying to gun him down. "I'm under fire!"

"I see it," Flash cried. "Hold on!" Thorax did his best to keep himself from being hit, with a few shots getting through. He shifted his fighter's shields to the spot he was being hit, but that barely did anything. But before he could be in trouble, another fighter flew in and blew the ship up. "You good?"

"Yeah," Thorax nodded, "thanks." As he said that, three of the red dots on his targeting radar turned blue.

"Upload's done. You shouldn't have any issues now."

"Good," Shining replied before one of the fights started barrelling through the air. It then fired several lasers, gunning down a bunch of ships.

Another ship started fighting the others, with another being chased but managing to make their pursuers crash into another group. Thorax started flying around and shooting at a group of fighters, blowing them up. But as he did, he thought about what that bug trooper had said before.

Why had he called Thorax a soldier?

"Thorax, on your left!" Cadance's call made him look around and see the ship flying at him, Thorax dodging the oncoming lasers before unloading his own blasts right into its under-hull. "That was too close. Maybe you should come back to the Shooting Star."

"No," Thorax shook his head, "I'm fine. I can do this." He focused his attention on the ships in front of him and started battling against them, using everything he had learned with The Force to direct him as he fired.

The others did the same, but this wasn't an easy fight. With so many enemies, it was only a matter of time before one of them was shot down. Maybe the mandalorians had had the right idea.

The mercenary ship continued to shoot at the giant destroyer, eventually hitting an area that exploded and did damage.

"Yes!" The leader cheered, "we finally got a direct hit. Lock onto that section again and take it out!" But as he said that, an alarm went off. "What's that?"

"We've got company," the young mandalorian cried. "Another wave of fighters are coming from the ship. They're heading our way." Sure enough, a bunch of fighters appeared in front of them. As they drew closer, they started firing at the ship and the lead mandalorian shifted the shields.

The lasers slammed into the cockpit and made it shake, showing incredible power as the mandalorians fired back. They managed to hit a few of the ships, but the others started swarming around at high speed and they were starting to get shot at from every angle.

"Shield strength dropping!" The young mandalorian cried, "we're not gonna be able to hold on for very much longer!"

"Maybe we should pull away?" The other male mandalorian suggested. "We're not gonna be able to do much damage against this thing if we're getting shot at!" The others hoped their leader would agree, but the mandalorian stared at the destroyer.

"Maybe you're right." But instead of flying away, he flew forward. "But before we go, I wanna make sure they can't send any more ships. Prepare an explosive." The others nodded and as they headed towards the opening that the fighters had appeared from, the mandalorian set one of their bombs to launch.

The fighters kept firing and the shields grew weaker and weaker, until they were almost completely dead.

And as they reached the hatch, the leader spun the ship around. "NOW!" The young mandalorian hit a button and an explosive shot off the bottom of the ship, being propelled upwards and into the hatch.

Moments later, an explosion rocked out of the opening before it was shut. That destroyer wouldn't be sending out any more ships.

"Yes!" He cheered, only for another explosion to occur. This one came from their ship, as the shields failed and the ship had taken a serious blow to one of its wings. "I'm losing control."

"Engine one's been knocked offline!" The young mandalorian cried, "we're losing power."

"Try to get it back online," the leader cried. But another explosion caused the ship to rock again, as the other two armored individuals tried to fire back. But one of the lasers caused the console of one of them to explode, sending him flying across the ship's interior.

"NO!" The female mandalorian cried, shooting down a few more ships. But then her console was struck as well and she was blasted away, as another laser hit the other wing.

"Engine two's out!" The young mandalorian cried, as the ship began to fall towards the ground. "I can't get them back online. We're gonna crash."

The leader looked around at the other two mandalorians, abandoning the controls to check on them. "They're dead," he stated before turning to his younger clan member. "We have to go." He hit a button and the back of the ship opened, the leader rushing over to grab the other and pull him towards the opening.

"We can't just leave them!" He cried, but the leader threw him out before he could argue.

He fell, lasers flying all around him. And a moment later, the leader leapt out behind him. Both ignited their jetpacks and began to fly away from the ship, only for a laser to slam into it and cause the whole thing to explode.

The shockwave caused the pair to lose control for a moment. And as they worked to regain control, a piece of metal slammed into the leader's jetpack. "NO!" He cried, as the pack exploded and he was sent flying out of control.

The younger mandalorian dived down to try and get him, but a hail of lasers forced him back. All he could do was watch, as his leader eventually slammed into one of the fighters. The force knocked the ship out of control and the jet-pack exploded once again, the entire fighter being destroyed in a large blast.

The young mandalorian could only watch in horror, but had to quickly shake it off as his own jet-pack's fuel was already beginning to run low. He cut the thrusters and let himself drop towards the ground, doing his best to keep himself from being hit by the lasers.

And as he drew closer to the ground, his pack ignited again and he pointed it to the ground in order to slow down. But the fuel ran out before it could completely stop him, resulting in him crashing into the ground harder than he had been hoping.

He flinched as he staggered along the ground, barely managing to stop before he fell upon a pile of sharp rubble. Once he was safe on the ground, his legs gave out and he fell to his knees. The image of his friends, dead, caused the young armored warrior to roar in anger. And as more fighters flew overhead, he looked up at them and growled.

Taking out his blasters, he pointed them at the nearest fighter and started shooting. But the small weapons did nothing against the shielded fighters. In return, the fighters started shooting at him and he was forced to run for cover. But before he could get away, a laser slammed right at his feet and he was sent flying into the air.

As he crashed down, another shot in part of the building he was next too. And this caused it to explode and collapse down upon him, burying the mandalorian alive.

Back in the air, the Jedi continued to fight against the fighters.

Explosions filled the sky, as ships were destroyed one after another. Some were the bug trooper fighters, but most were the ships belonging to the castalorians. But the Shooting Star and Jedi controlled fighters, managed to remain airborne and shot down several more fighters.

"We can't keep this up forever," Heather cried from her fighter. "Eventually, we're gonna get hit or run out of power."

"I know," Shining agreed. "But we don't have any other choice." As he said that, Cadance spoke up from the Shooting Star.

"Guys, I've got good news and some bad news. Bad news, the mandalorian ship has been destroyed." The Jedi all rolled their eyes at this, not surprised in the least. "Good news, they managed to damage the destroyer's launch bay. We're not gonna be getting any more fighters coming out of it."

"That's good," Flash sighed. "But that thing's still packing enough fire power to turn the entire city into a pile of rubble. And we've still got another four to deal with after this."

"I think the splitting up plan was a little adventurous," Cadance agreed. "If we're gonna stop this thing, we need to work together." The others nodded, as Applejack continued to gun down as many fighters from the ship's turret.

But as they flew close to the ground, she spotted something that made her gasp.

"We got bug troopers on the ground!" The others turned their ships to look at the ground and sure enough, troops were making their way through the destroyed streets of Castelore.

"Must have been dropped off during the first wave," Shining realised.

"So what do we do?" Flash didn't want to leave those troopers to have free reign, painfully remembering what had happened on his home world. "Do we shoot?"

"There could be civilians on the ground," Shining stated as he shot down another fighter. "We can't risk hurting them."

Applejack agreed with this and decided she had to do something. "Springer. Take over firin'"

"What?" Springer asked, as the cow girl began to climb out of the turret. The droid quickly took control of the turrets and started firing, as Applejack made her way towards the loading ramp.

"Applejack!" Heather called out, "don't do anything reckless."

"Of course not," Applejack lowered the ramp and took her axe off her back. Once she was close to the ground, she leapt out of the ship and began to fall towards it. And just as she was about to hit the ground, she spun around and thrust her legs down.

The Force created a cushion below her and she was able to land without issue.

She charged in the direction the soldiers had been seen in and when she got there, she saw the bug troopers beginning to advance on a group of castalorians. "Back off!" She ignited her axe and as the troopers fired, she spun the weapon around to deflect their attacks.

Once close enough, she swung the axe around and cut right through their armor.

One staggered back, as Applejack cut down another and another. And as the others advanced, Applejack used The Force to throw the ones she had defeated at them.

Remembering what Flash and the others had said about their fight with these insects, she didn't want them anywhere near her or the civilians. And sure enough, the ones she had killed were beginning to beep. And moments later, they all exploded and took the rest of these troopers out with them.

Applejack turned to the civilians, "ya'll okay?" They nodded, but an explosion made them cry out. "Is there anywhere ya'll can go to stay safe?"

"I don't think there is anywhere safe!" One of them yelled, looking absolutely terrified. Applejack looked around, trying to figure out the best course of action. She then noticed the castle and realised it was probably the safest place to go.

"Follow me," she told them before they headed through the destroyed city.

Flash performed a barrel roll in order to avoid getting shot down, blasting several more ships as he did so.

But he soon got a power warning, telling him he was down to his last few rounds of ammo. Once that was out, he'd be a sitting duck. "Any plans for what we do when we can't shoot anymore?"

"I'm working on it," Shining stated. "But it's not like I've been in this situation a lot." He tried to think and started up at the destroyer, remembering the four others that were still causing havoc on the planet. "There's gotta be something we can do."

At that moment, Thorax had an idea. "What if we take control of that ship?"

"What?" Heather asked, "how do we do that?"

"We took control of these fighters. How much different could it be? If we take control of that ship, we'd have the power to take on the rest."

On the Shooting Star, Springer heard this and thought about it. "That might work. If I can get a connection to the ship, I might be able to hack into its systems and cause the ships to power down."

Cadance glanced at him. "You really think you can take control of an entire space fleet?"

"Just you watch me. But like I said, I need a connection. The fighters have all been cut off from the ship, so I can't use them. I need to be plugged into it, or connected to something plugged into it."

Flash thought about this and looked over at the gauntlet on his arm, which Springer was connected to for communication. "Alright. Leave that to me." He suddenly turned his ship towards the destroyer and rushed towards it, dodging the other fighters as he flew towards it.

But as he headed in that direction, Shining also flew after him.

"Flash," he told him, "I know what you're planning. And it's suicide. There's no way you're gonna be able to get inside...at least on your own." The two shared a look and smirked through their cockpits, as they flew towards the destroyer.

Shifting around in multiple directions, the pair flew up and got above the destroyer. They skimmed along the top of it and as they did, they spotted an area they were looking for. "There!" Flash cried, aiming for it. Shining also aimed for it and once the pair were close enough, they hit the lasers and shot the same spot.

The destroyer's laser turrets quickly pointed at them and as the ships got close, they fired at them.

"Pull up!" Shining cried, the fighters flying straight up seconds before the laser could hit them. The laser instead struck the spot they had been firing at, the weakened section of the bulkhead blowing apart and leaving an opening for them to fly into. "Hurry. Before it closes."

Flash nodded and the fighters circled around and headed for the open spot, picking up as much speed as they could.

"Ready?" Shining asked, Flash nodding as the turret fired at them again. But before it could hit them, the pair opened their cockpits and leapt out of the fighters as they slammed into the destroyer and exploded.

The force from the explosions pushed the two forward, allowing them to fly through the hole moments before a force field covered it. They hit the ground of a metal hallway and slid along it, eventually coming to a stop before they went splat against a wall.

The two laid there, a little thrown for a loop, then shook their heads before pushing themselves to their feet.

"That was fun," Shining shook his head. "Now, let's find somewhere we can plug the gauntlets in before we're discovered." But as they headed down the hallway, they suddenly found a bug trooper walking around a corner.

It spotted the pair and looked surprised, but quickly recovered and reached for its gun. But before it could fire, Flash thrust his hand forward and the insect was knocked flying backwards until it crashed into the back wall. This knocked the soldier unconscious, the two quickly running down the hallway before any more showed up.

"Flash?" Springer called out, "Shining?"

"Are you there?" Cadance looked terrified, "answer me!" Fear flew through her body, the Jedi fearing she might have lost them. "Oh no." She was distracted and a laser managed to hit the ship, causing it to shake and knock her out of her worry.

Springer continued to scan the destroyer and after a minute or so, he finally got something. "I've got a signal. It's weak, but it's moving. The destroyer must be blocking our communications."

"So what do we do?" Heather asked, only to suddenly get hit by a laser. "We can't keep this up forever!"

"We don't have to," Thorax pointed out. "Just long enough for them to find a place to connect their gauntlets into. That should boost the signal and give Springer the chance to hack into the ship's systems."

"We just have to stay alive long enough to do that," Cadance stated. But as she said that, she noticed a bunch of fighters turning their attention on her Padawan's ship. "Thorax! Watch out!" But it was too late. The fighters opened fire and her apprentice's ship took some serious damage. "GET OUT OF THERE!"

Thorax opened his cockpit and leapt out, right as the ship spiralled out of control before crashing.

As it exploded, he flew towards the ground and did his best to take cover. But the rain of lasers made it difficult. "Thorax!" Cadance called out through his gauntlet, "are you okay? Answer me!"

"I'm alive," he assured her. But as he said that, he heard movement and looked around to see a bug trooper marching towards him. As soon as the trooper saw him, it froze for a moment and tilted its head at him.

This gave Thorax the chance to ignite his Lightsaber and stand defensively. The trooper finally seemed to get over his hesitation and drew his blaster, firing at him. But Thorax began to defend himself as he moved forward. The lasers bounced off his blade and as he got close enough, he cut the end of the laser blaster.

The trooper staggered back, seeing his weapon destroyed. He then threw it away and pulled out a knife, but Thorax slashed him in the chest and he fell to the ground.

Thorax stared at the soldier, hardly believing what he had done. But before it could really sink it, the soldier's armor began to beep. This made his gasp as he turned to run, getting away just before the armor exploded. But this explosion caught the attention of more troops, that charged towards him and opened fire.

In another part of the city, Applejack was fighting another group of insects.

They blasted at her, but she was able to evade them all and cut the blasters apart. She then Force Pushed them away and as she did, the people she was protecting rushed up towards her. "Everyone okay?" They nodded, as the soldier's armor exploded.

As they turned to leave, Applejack saw movement and looked around.

A pile of rubble was moving, as something underneath was trying to escape. She held up her axe and slowly moved towards it, as part of the rubble fell away. Doing so revealed a hand, not like that of the troopers.

Applejack realised it had to be a civilian and quickly focused on the rocks, using all her strength with The Force to lift them up. And slowly, the body was revealed and Applejack was shocked by who it was. "You?"

The mandalorian groaned, as he picked himself up. He looked up at Applejack and then saw the rocks, which Applejack threw away. He sighed, "saved by a Jedi. I'm never going to live this down." Then, he reached down and grabbed his blaster.

He pointed it at Applejack and fired, the girl gasping as she couldn't defend herself in time.

But the blast didn't hit her, instead flying past her and hitting something else. And when she looked around, she saw a bug trooper fall to the ground. Moments later, the armor exploded and they were safe.

"Now we're even," the mandalorian stated.

"I guess," Applejack nodded. She then pointed at the castalorians, "wanna help me get these guys to safety?"

"Sure," he nodded. "I need to get back to the castle anyway. Let's go." He climbed down off the pile and started walking towards the castle, the cow girl following him.

"Applejack."

"Huh?"

"My name's Applejack," she explained. "Might be easier to work together if we know each other's names."

"I guess." The armored individual led the castalorians towards the castle. "My name's Rogue." Applejack nodded, standing at the back of the group. It was a long road to the castle and getting there wasn't going to be easy. Hopefully, they could find a safe way there before it was too late.

Up on the ship, Flash and Shining stopped before they passed a corner.

They looked around and saw it was empty, so kept running down the hall until they reached another turn. And once again, they glanced around it and saw a group of soldiers walking towards them.

They didn't seem to notice them, so they pulled back and looked around for a place to hide. But the doors all required a security pass to get through. They had to think fast. And Flash had an idea.

Moments later, the troopers walked around the corner and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

But before they could continue down the hallway, something came down from above and crashed into them. They were tackled to the ground and knocked out, Flash and Shining laying on top after having fallen from above. And as they picked themselves up, Flash found a key card on one and smirked.

"Hope this guy has high access." They ran down the hallway, using the card on every door they came across to find some kind of terminal. Hopefully, they would soon find what they were looking for.

Thorax swung his Lightsaber around several times, blocking the blaster fire shooting towards him.

He leapt at one of the bug troopers and cut his blaster in half before stabbing him, quickly jumping away as the armor beeped. He then used The Force to propel the insect towards some of its comrades, the explosion that followed knocking them all down.

Three more troopers remained and began to fire at him, Thorax deflecting all three of their blasts so they hit them right in the chest.

All three were knocked back and as they hit the ground, two of them started beeping before blowing up. But the third remained un-exploded. And as Thorax got down to keep from being seen by the fighters, he watched as the armored assailant laid there.

After about a minute, he realised this one wasn't going to explode.

Seeing an opportunity to know thy enemy, Thorax carefully made his way over to them. He looked the soldier over and realised the laser he had deflected, must have hit the section of the suit that gives the command to explode. He reached for the creature's helmet and removed it. And when he saw the face of his enemy, his eyes widened.

It was him. Or a creature that looked just like him. Same facial structure. Same eyes. Same everything.

Thorax could hardly believe what he was seeing. He looked up at the ships flying above him, at the troopers fighting around him. At his own race. He now knew where he came from. A race of Sith lackeys.

Chapter 17

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The battle of Castalore was in full swing, with ships all over the planet turning the place into a disaster zone.

Up in the sky, The Shooting Star continued to fly around and shoot as many fighter ships as it could. Cadance swerved the ship around to avoid getting hit, as Springer fired the lasers and destroyed a fighter. Another fighter was about to shoot at them, but it was shot down by one of its own.

Heather Bloom smirked as she watched another ship go down, then barrel rolled to avoid getting shot down herself. But as she destroyed another ship, she got a warning telling her her own fighter was starting to run low on juice. "I'm close to empty on firepower. How much longer until you can connect to the ship?"

In The Shooting Star, Springer fired whilst also tracking his friend's signal. But they kept blinking in and out as they moved. "I don't know. Flash and Shining need to find an access terminal, to boost their signal and give me wireless access. They're on a ship full of bug troopers, so that could take a while."

Cadance looked worried. "We can't keep this up forever." Sure enough, a blast hit the ship and The Shooting Star rocked around. "If we take too many hits, we're not gonna stay in the air much longer."

Heather frowned, "we have to hold out." She then remembered the two Padawans on the ground, surrounded by the enemy. "Applejack. Be careful."

Down on the ground, Applejack was making her way through the destruction of the city towards the castle.

With her were a bunch of castalorian civilians, attempting to escape the destruction. And leading the group, was a young mandalorian by the name of Rogue. The armored individual ran ahead and climbed up a pile of rubble, yet still kept to its shadows in order to avoid getting shot at by the fighters.

When he was at the top, an antenna of his helmet folded down over his right eye.

The others stayed hidden, Applejack keeping an eye on the sky in case a fighter spotted them. Rogue slid down the pile and turned to them. "We're in trouble." Everyone looked worried. "There are bug troopers walking through every path between us and the castle. I don't think we're getting there without another fight."

"Okay," Applejack wanted to avoid as much fighting as possible. As such, she climbed up the pile herself. Rogue went with her and they stared at the large area between them and the castle, which was full of destroyed buildings and crashed fighters.

As she looked around, she noticed the bug troopers Rogue mentioned. They really were all over the place.

"There's gotta be a way around them."

"I can't see anything. Although," he pointed to a path that was located between two lines of destruction. Those two lines had been formed when a fighter crashed. Instead of blowing up, it smashed into a line of rubble and carved a trench into it.

The walls of the trench were just high enough for them to be hidden from sight. And at the end of the trench, the still intact fighter was resting.

"If we go through that, the ground troops won't see us. But if a fighter spots us, it'll be like shooting fish in a barrel." Applejack frowned, as she stared at the trench and the fighter. Then, she had a brain wave.

"Nice. Alright. A'h know what we need to do."

In another part of the city, Thorax was staring down at the body of a bug trooper he had defeated.

Unlike the others, this one's body hadn't exploded when it was killed. Thorax didn't know if those explosions were to keep the enemy from discovering a body they could exploit, but it had kept Thorax from knowing the truth. At least until now.

The trooper looked just like him. There were a few differences, but it was clear this was the same race that Thorax belonged to. "Who am I?"

"Freeze!" He spun around and saw another group of bug troopers staring at him. They pointed their weapons at him and when they saw his face, they looked surprised. "What?"

Thorax now knew why they were shocked and he wanted answers. "What am I?" Thorax moved forward, the bugs continuing to keep their blasters pointed at him. "Answer me?"

"What are you talking about? Why are you out of your armor, soldier?"

"I'm not a soldier." Thorax held up his Lightsaber, showing them the Jedi weapon. "I'm one of the people you were trying to blast. Now tell me, who are you?" The troopers all shared a look before the leader turned to him and pressed the button on the side of his helmet, a snapping sound coming off it.

"You will come with us," the leader stated. "You will drop your weapon and come with us. I'm sure our queen will be very interested in meeting you." Thorax gave them a suspicious look.

"If I go with you, you'll tell me who I am?" They nodded, "and you'll stop this attack on Castalore?"

"Why would we do that?" One asked, "we will conquer this world and make it part of our new empire." Thorax frowned at this. "Come with us and you can be a part of that empire. The future ruler of the galaxy."

"Sorry," Thorax ignited his blade, "but I made an oath. To protect the weak." He charged forward, the others firing at him. But he easily dodged or deflected the blasts as he closed the gap, slashing at them as fast as he could. Again and again, the soldiers were disarmed and took out metal knives to attack with.

Thorax slashed at their chests, killing them before they could hurt him or anyone else. In a matter of moments, the bug troopers were all taken down.

Thorax sighed as he stared at the fallen bodies of his race, the insectoid Jedi letting the tip of his sword fall to the ground. He didn't have time to mop about losing his chance for info, since their armors were beginning to beep.

He gasped and leapt up, using his wings to fly as high as he could. As he flew away, the soldiers exploded and the shockwave sent him flying out of control. He crashed into the ground and rolled across the rubble, groaning as he came to a stop. As the city continued to explode around him, he lay there feeling like his own world was crumbling down around him. What was he?

Up in the ship, Flash and shining ran as fast as they could.

Using the key cards they had swiped from some bug troopers, they were looking for a place that they could plug their gauntlets into. "Find anything?" Shining asked, as Flash opened another door.

"Bathroom."

Shining opened another door, only to be met with a brick wall. "Seriously?"

Flash found another door and when it opened, he found it was just a room full of many more doors. "Why would they have a room for this?" They moved towards another door, only to suddenly hear noise coming from up ahead. The sounds of footsteps. "We've got company."

"We need to hide." Shining looked around, but suddenly heard more footsteps coming from the other direction.

"This way men!" They heard, Shining and Flash getting the feeling they were coming for them.

"No choice." Shining took out his Lightsaber, "get ready to fight." Flash nodded and did the same, as the bug troopers came around the corner. And as soon as they saw the Jedi, they opened fire.

The pair quickly started deflecting the oncoming assault, the lasers beginning to bounce around the hallway and destroying the walls and doors. The troopers kept firing, not slowing down for even a second. Both Flash and Shining knew they would eventually tire, long before they had to reload their blaster's energy cores.

As such, Shining switched to a one handed defence and used the other to grab the soldiers at the front before pulling them forward. The bug troopers cried out, as they were pulled into the path of the shooters behind them. They cried out, as they were shot in the back before Shining pushed them back into the other bug troopers.

As the insects were knocked over, Shining rushed forward and started cutting through their blasters. He then turned to the ones Flash was defending against and pulled those soldiers forward, resulting in them getting gunned down as well. Shining pushed them back into the others to knock them down, freeing Flash up to run towards Shining.

The pair jumped over the bugs and ran as fast as they could down the corridor, praying they would find a computer terminal before they ran into any more troops.

Back on the ground, Applejack and Rogue watched carefully.

When they didn't see any soldiers looking their way, they called out to the castalorians. "Let's go!" Rogue jumped out and headed for the trench, running over to it with his blaster at the ready. The castalorians followed suit and they all rushed towards the fighter at the end of the trench.

Applejack then spotted some troopers beginning to look their way. "Get down!" They all jumped to the floor and prayed the fighters above didn't notice them. After a few moments, Applejack called out again. "Go!" They kept running and eventually, they made it to the fighter and hid underneath it.

Due to the ship's wings being caught on the sides of the trench, a large space was beneath it. Deep enough for them to hide under it.

Once the last castalorian was under the fighter, Applejack ran over and got beneath the ship as well. "Alright," Rogue told her, "we're here. Now what's the plan?" Applejack smirked before raising her hands up, nobody daring to say a word as she did her best to connect with The Force.

As she did, the ship started shaking and slowly, it was lifted a few feet off the sides of the trench and hovered above it. "Let's go." Applejack slowly moved the ship forward along the trench. Those that saw this were shocked, Rogue included. They moved along the side of the trench, as the ship remained above their heads.

An explosion nearby, worried them and a castalorian turned to Applejack. "Can you move this thing faster?"

"A'h can, but we can't move any faster. If da'h ship moves too quickly, it'll be noticed by those above. We gotta go slow, so they don't notice us. They're movin' so fast, this ship moving slowly won't be noticed." They nodded, as they carefully walked forward. Applejack pulled the fighter a few inches, stopped and waited, then moved it again. All the while, Rogue kept an eye on their rear.

If a trooper walked past it and spotted them, they would be in trouble.

Back in the air, Heather shot down another fighter before her ship's weapons died.

"Great," she frowned as she noticed The Shooting Star. "Cadance, get back to the castle. If the others can't stop this, we might have to evacuate the queen and her family."

"Alright. But what about you?" Heather looked down at the entrance of the castle and saw a bunch of bug troopers heading that way.

"I'm gonna make sure the castle is secure." She swerved her ship around and dived down towards the castle entrance, the ship around her firing at her. She did her best to avoid them, but a few shots managed to hit her and she found her engines beginning to die. "Here goes nothing!"

She positioned her ship towards the palace and pushed it to full speed. She fell down to the street and as soon as the ship's power was gone, she hit the cockpit latch and leapt out.

The ship slid along the ground and the troops saw it coming.

Some leapt away, but most of them were smashed into by the ship and run over. Their armor quickly exploded, sending pieces of the ship flying all over the place. The surviving troopers dodged the falling pieces of metal, as something walked along not even caring that the metal was crashing down around her.

When the smoke from the explosion was gone, the troopers saw Heather standing in front of the palace's entrance. They raised their blasters, as she ignited her Lightsaber and stood defensively. She then raised a hand and gave them a 'come and get it' gesture. This stocked several of them and they started firing.

Heather spun her Lightsaber around, deflecting the blasts as best she could. Some, she simply dodged as she grabbed pieces of metal with The Force. After deflecting some blasts, she threw the metal at the soldiers.

As several were knocked down, Heather looked up and saw the Shooting Star reach the palace. Hopefully, they would be able to evacuate the royal family before it was too late.

Cadance ran through the castle, Springer keeping the ship safe as she ran for the throne room.

When she got there, she found the queen there along with her family and advisers. "Jedi!" The queen yelled, "what's happening? Have you found a way to stop this invasion?"

"We're working on it," Cadance cried. "Were you able to send the distress signal?" The queen nodded. "Alright. My friends have a plan to deal with this invasion. But if it fails, we need to make sure you guys are safe. So I'm taking you to my ship." They nodded and all began to file out of the throne room, back towards the landing pad with the Shooting Star.

But as they made their way through the caste, part of the wall in front of them exploded.

They all staggered back, as something leapt through the hole. A group of bug troopers, who looked like they had just leapt in from their likely destroyed fighters. "Freeze!" One of them yelled, as they pointed their weapons at the group.

Cadance quickly ignited her Lightsaber and ran forward, deflecting their blasts as she leapt into the air.

The troopers found her in the middle of them before they could react and in a flash, her blade swung through their blasters and cut them to pieces. The weapons exploded in their hands, knocking them staggering and allowing Cadance to leap away before any of them could attack with their knives.

Once she was far enough away, she grabbed them with The Force and pushed them out of the hole they arrived through.

As they fell down the side of the castle, Cadance glanced back and saw the castalorian royal family. They all appeared unharmed, Cadance gesturing for them to follow. They did so and kept themselves as far from the outer wall as possible. Hopefully, that would be the only incursion they would run into.

Thorax continued to run towards the castle, still thrown for a loop due to what he had discovered.

More troopers appeared around the rubble of a building and fired at him, Thorax deflecting the shots without attempting to fight back. Instead, he simply kept running and when a group fired at him again, he spread his wings and took off. This sight shocked the troopers, several taking pictures.

He flew as fast as he could for as long as he could, eventually needing to land again as he drew closer to the palace. But as he landed, he heard a scream and looked around.

Looking around, he saw a family of castalorians. They were huddled together, inside the remains of what was likely their home. But the structure didn't look very stable and as they held each other, a group of bug troopers were approaching and looked ready to shoot them.

Seeing this, Thorax couldn't stop himself. He charged forward and his sword was drawn, the Jedi letting out a roar to catch the soldier's attention. And as they spun around, they were greeted to the sight of Thorax swinging his blade around at them.

Several slashes later, their weapons were cut apart and they found themselves defenceless as Thorax pointed his sword at them. "Leave." They didn't move and stepped forward, looking like they would rather try and kill Thorax single handedly. "Leave!" But they refused to listen and charged forward, Thorax having no other choice.

With a roar, he slashed at them and cut through their armor. The soldiers cried, out as they staggered back, with Thorax slicing each of them down or through the chest.

As he did, he turned to the castalorians. "RUN!" They did so, getting out from under the remains of their home and running for it. As they did, the armor of the soldiers were starting to beep.

Thorax leapt into the air and flew after the castalorians, as the troops began to explode.

He caught up with the aliens, as they did their best to run towards safety. The only place they could find was the castle and as they turned a corner, more troopers appeared.

Thorax landed and pointed his weapon at them, telling them to leave as well. But the soldiers didn't and Thorax knew he had no choice. He wouldn't allow these castalorians to be hurt, even if it meant fighting his own kind.

Flash and Shining had managed to lose the bugs, but the ship was now on red alert.

They ran through the corridors, doing their best to stay hidden until they found a place they could tap into the systems. And when they did run into a group, they had no choice but to fight against them.

"We've gotta be getting close," Flash cried. They turned another corner and found themselves at a dead-end corridor, with a single door at said end. They didn't know what it was and if troopers came, they would be trapped. But they had to try.

Shining quickly slotted the key card and the door opened. When they stepped inside, they found the room was full of computers. But it was also full of bug troopers, who turned to them as they stepped inside. "Oh, hey." Shining tried to stay calm. "Sorry, I think we've found the wrong room. I'm looking for human resources. Are they on this floor?" The troopers pointed their weapons at them. "No? Too bad. You should talk about a health plan."

The troopers fired and the pair started firing back, deflecting their weapons into the soldiers and avoiding the consoles as best they could. They quickly cut through the guns and ducked under blasts, letting them hit other troopers, with Flash kicking one trooper into another three.

Explosions went off as they fought, some of the consoles getting destroyed as the soldiers were taken down.

As the last trooper fell to the ground, Shining rushed over to a console and checked to see if any of the remaining ones were connected to the main system. "Yes!" He cheered, seeing that one was. But it required an access code to connect anything to. "I think I can bypass that." He leapt behind the console and ripped the panels off.

As he did, another console started beeping. "What's that?"

"They probably noticed the damage done to this sector," Shining replied. "If they don't hear anything, they're gonna send someone to check it out.

"We can't let them do that. I'll see if I can convince them everything's fine."

"Good luck with that."

Flash hit a button and the beeping stopped, as he opened a channel. "Um...everything's under control here. Situation normal."

"What happened?" The voice replied.

"Er...had a slight weapons malfunction. But, er, everything's perfectly alright now. We're fine. We're all fine, here, now, thank you...how are you?"

"We're sending a squad up."

"Err...negative, negative. We have a...reactor leak, here now. Give us a few minutes to lock it down. Large leak. Very dangerous."

"Who is this? What's your operating number?" Flash panicked and before he could think of anything, he was igniting his sword and cutting through the communication panel.

"Boring conversation anyway. Shining! We're gonna have company." His teacher pulled some wires out of the machine and started connecting them to his gauntlet, which he took off.

"Just need to boost the signal and hopefully, Springer will connect to us." Flash rushed towards the door and stepped outside, standing guard as Shining worked. "Come on. Come on." A crackling sound filled the air, as he sent the signal through the ship's satellite. "Springer, can you hear me?"

Back on the Shooting Star, Springer continued to use the ship's weapons to blast anything that got too close.

As he did, Cadance and the royal family arrived. "That's our transport?" A princess asked, looking disgusted. "It's a commoner's ship." She looked like she was about to argue, but her mother spoke up.

"These people are risking themselves to save us. Show them some respect or you can stay here and fend for yourself." A nearby explosion made the princess scream and run towards the ship, as Cadance swung her Lightsaber around to deflect a fighter blast back to the ship.

As Springer shot another ship down, he suddenly heard something over the communicator. "Springer, can you hear me?"

"Shining?" He gasped, "you find a terminal to plug into?"

"I think so. But Flash and I can't stay here very long. You've gotta deactivate the ships and fast."

"On it," Springer used the connection to the gauntlet to hack into the ship's systems. The droid suddenly found his programming racing through a myriad of different subsystems. As he became integrated with them, he discovered all the different commands and overrides for the ship.

Cadance got onboard with the royal family, rushing up to Springer and seeing him zoned out. "Springer? Can you hear me?" But Springer didn't answer, Cadance growing worried as she feared he had been damaged somehow. But before she could say anything, Shining's voice spoke up.

"Cadance, is that you?"

"Shining? You're okay!?"

"Yeah. But Flash and I can't hold out much longer. We're gonna have to get out of here somehow, once Springer finds a way to disable the ships."

"I can't," Springer suddenly spoke up. "Their security's super tight. I can't shut their systems down through a wireless network."

"Seriously?" Cadance frowned, "is there anything you can do?" Springer started thinking before turning back to the computer.

"Shining, you and Flash need to get out of there."

"What? Why?"

"Because the only way I can stop these ships, is to blow them up."

"You can do that?" Cadance asked.

"If I set their engines to overload, they won't be able to stop them before they go critical. But once I start this, you won't have long to get out before it blows. I can leave your ship untouched and only blow the others, but that'd still leave us with a dangerous war ship"

"Alright. I'm leaving my gauntlet here. Blow the other ships now and give us ten minutes, then set this one to explode." Springer nodded, as the ship was almost hit by another explosion.

"We can't stay here much longer," the queen announced. "We have to leave!" Cadance rushed to the cockpit and powered the ship up, as more and more lasers rained down on them.

Shining placed the gauntlet inside the console and replaced the panelling. With any luck, it would remain undiscovered until the ship was destroyed.

He rushed for the door and as he opened it, a laser almost hit him.

Flash was currently defending against a bunch of bug troopers, Shining joining him in deflecting the attacks. "We need to get out of here, now!" Flash nodded and they charged forward, slashing the lasers away until they reached the soldiers.

They started cutting their way through the troops until they were all dealt with.

"Come on!" Shining ran off, "we've only got a few minutes until the ship starts blowing up. Flash looked terrified, the pair running as fast as they could looking for a way out of the ship.

Back with Applejack and Rogue, they continued to slowly make their way towards the castle from under the fighter.

Rogue continued to watch from the back. And much to his horror, a soldier walked past the trench and spotted them. "Freeze!" He called out, pointing his weapon at him. But Rogue was faster and shot him in the chest, only for more troopers to appear.

"We've been found!" He cried, Applejack and the others looking terrified as the soldiers charged. "Hold on!" He knelt down and pointed his backpack at the troopers. The missile-like weapon on the top suddenly exploded off of it and shot towards them, the troopers attempting to run away but getting blown up in the process.

The explosion caused the entire trench to shake, as part of the walls began to collapse.

But that explosion had likely caught the attention of other soldiers, Rogue turning to the others. "We need to get out of here, now!" They nodded and started running, Applejack groaning as he pulled the ship along faster.

As they got closer to the end of the trench, Applejack focused on what was beyond the trench. And to her shock, she saw someone fighting the soldiers. Someone with a green Lightsaber.

"Heather!" She gasped, as they stopped running. They watched as Heather fought the bug troopers that were attempting to access the castle. "A'm gonna go help her." She turned to Rogue. "When ya'h see a chance, get them inside." Rogue nodded as Applejack ran out from under the fighter, her Light-axe activating.

Heather quickly spotted her apprentice running at her, swinging her weapon around and smashing it into the soldiers. "About time you showed up."

"Sorry," Applejack dodged a blast and cut the weapon in half. "Had to take care of some civilians. Can we push these guys away from the castle?"

"Not a bad idea." Heather threw her hand forward and the soldiers were pushed away from the palace, she and Applejack rushing forward and creating an opening.

"Now!" Rogue ran out and the castalorians followed, the mandalorian firing whenever he saw a bug trooper looking at them. As he got them into the palace, he turned to see Applejack keep fighting against the insects. Hopefully, they would take them all out and the castle would remain safe.

Thorax roared as he cut down another soldier, the castalorian family quaking behind him as there appeared to be no end to the troopers.

Thorax was exhausted, but couldn't let himself be overwhelmed. He kept pushing forward, leading the four towards the castle. And as it came into view, he looked up and spotted the Shooting Star on a landing pad. "Are they evacuating the palace?" If they were, did that mean the castle wasn't safe?

These thoughts distracted him for a moment and allowed one of the soldiers to get the drop on him, firing at the Jedi and causing Thorax's instincts to kick it. He leapt up and did several flips, eventually landing in front of the soldier and slashing at his neck.

The younger castalorians gasped, as the helmet wearing head of the trooper fell away from its body.

Thorax pushed the soldier's armor away, as it blew up a good distance away from him. He then looked down at the armor at his feet, knowing that someone just like him was staring back at him through the visor.

He kicked the helmet away and turned back to the castalorians, telling them to hurry up since they were too exposed in that area. He had to stay focused on getting them somewhere safe. He didn't know if that was the castle or not, but he had to take them somewhere.

Flash thrust his sword into a trooper's chest and quickly swung the blade around.

It cut through their body and he spun on the spot, slicing another one down whilst Shining slid along the metal ground and cut through several more. "Please tell me we're almost out of here!?"

Shining picked himself up and looked around a corner, spotting something that made him smile. "Actually, yes. Come on!" Flash followed him around the corner and when he looked up, he saw a sign that made him raise an eyebrow.

"Landing pods?"

"To drop the ground troops," Shining explained. "Let's just hope there are some left." They reached the door leading into the pod's room and stepped inside, only to find a bunch of bug troopers inside.

They turned to the pair and instantly grabbed their weapons. "Oh, come on." Flash ignited his sword, "don't you have any unarmed people on this ship? What, is the janitor packing heat?" The soldiers started shooting and the pair had to fight against them, once again deflecting laser fire as they got in close and slashed through their armor.

As the Shooting Star began to take off, Springer saw the timer he had set hit zero.

There had been no contact from Flash and Shining, but he couldn't wait any more. He logged onto the ship's power systems and started making them overload, the engines beginning to store up power. "It's done. It should only take a few minutes for the ship to blow."

Cadance frowned as he looked over at the ship, as she realised something. "Springer. That ship's pretty big. How big of an explosion is it gonna cause?"

Springer calculated this and if he could change his expression, he would have looked horrified. "Connecting to the ship's orbital jets. Firing them so the ship will fly up into the atmosphere. I just hope Flash and Shining are able to get out of there in time."

Cadance worried the same thing, as the Shooting Star was suddenly hit with another laser. "Hurry Shining. You don't have much time."

Up in space, Tirek was watching what had just happened down on the surface.

Most of his ships had somehow been destroyed, as something had overridden their control and caused the ships to overload. He stared at the screen, as the destroyers exploded and crashed to the earth. The only ship not exploding, was the one that had been sent to the capital city.

"Sir!" A bug trooper announced, "the main destroyer's systems are going into overload as well. We're trying to stop it, but we can't. It's gonna blow."

"How is this happening?" He had asked this before, but they hadn't had an answer then.

"We've discovered a signal coming from the planet. Someone hacked into the destroyer's systems and set it to blow." He kept looking at the screen and noticed something. "The ship's being propelled upwards, into the atmosphere. This overload is going to be twice as powerful as the others."

"Are we in danger of being overridden?"

"I don't think so. But we should cut the connection to the other destroyers to be sure."

"Very well. Send a general order to the fighters. Any that are still flying, return to this destroyer. We don't want to lose any more soldiers than we already have." The trooper nodded, sending out that very order.

Flash cut down the second to last trooper, as Shining deflected another blast before throwing his Lightsaber at the last one.

The bug cried out, as the laser stabbed him in the chest and he fell backwards. Doing so caused him to accidentally fire his blaster and it hit a metal box on the wall, causing it to explode and the lights to flicker before dying. And when Shining spotted a drop pod and tried to open it, it wouldn't.

"No!" He cried, rushing over to the blasted box. "That was the main power relay. The pods aren't gonna drop without it!"

Flash rushed over to see the damage. "I think I can fix it. But it might take a while."

"We don't have a while." Shining pulled some of the chard wires out, Flash fiddling with some of the fuses. "This ship's probably already going into overload. If we don't get out now, we might not be getting out at all."

Flash nodded as they worked to fix the box. And hopefully, no more soldiers would show up and distract them.

"RAAAAH!" Applejack slammed the blade of her Light-axe through another trooper and kicked them back, as Heather leapt through the air and spun to slash at several more.

As she landed, she pushed the troopers away from her before they exploded. And as they did, she looked around and couldn't see any more troopers in sight.

"I think that was all of them." She looked up and saw the fighters in the air were beginning to fly away. "They're leaving." Applejack looked up and saw she was right. "That has to be good."

"Maybe Flash and Shinin' figured something out." She hoped this meant the invasion was coming to an end. If it didn't, she wasn't sure what would come next.

She was so focused on the fighters leaving, she didn't notice a single bug trooper was still alive. And as he snuck around the debris of a building, he took aim at the cow girl and prepared to fire. As his weapon charged up, Applejack finally sensed the incoming danger and looked around. But it was too late and he fired.

The laser shot towards her, with enough power to blast a hole through her chest.

But before it could hit, another laser shot past her and intercepted the blast. The two lasers exploded and the force sent the Jedi staggering back, as another blast shot past them and hit the bug trooper.

As they fell to the ground, Applejack looked around and saw Rogue standing there with his twin blasters in hand. "Now you owe me one," he laughed as he spun them on his fingers and put them in his holsters.

"Thanks," Applejack nodded. She then sensed someone else coming and looked around to see Thorax, running towards them with a family of castalorians. "You okay?" Thorax nodded, but Applejack could tell something was wrong with him.

As the family headed into the castle, an explosion made them look up and see part of the destroyer blow up.

"What's going on?" Rogue asked, as Heather smiled.

"That's our friends," he told him. "Hopefully, they've found a way out of there."

That explosion had not gone unnoticed by those on board and many of the bug troopers were rushing around, trying to stop their ship from going boom.

Flash and Shining were still trying to get power back in the landing pod bay. But it was a slow process. "Looks like the surge modulator was fused shut. We'll need to bypass it and hope nothing causes this thing to blow."

"It only needs to work for a minute at best," Flash pointed out. "Doesn't need to be pretty." He stopped what he was doing and picked up a gun next to him, pointing it towards the entrance as a bug trooper ran in. The insect didn't get a second to look around before getting shot.

"Alright," Shining replaced the last wire, "that should do it." They stepped away from the box, "power should be coming on...now!" But nothing happened, Shining frowning whilst Flash gave the wall a quick kick. That caused the lights to come on. "Yes."

"Hurry!" Flash hit the landing pod's button and the door opened, allowing them to step inside. The pod had six seats and the pair quickly strapped themselves in before Shining hit the launch button.

The door slammed shut before the pod was dropped, falling out of the ship as the bay's power died once again. Soon enough, the pod was ejected out the bottom of the ship and fell towards the ground.

Flash and Shining prayed nothing would go wrong, as the pod picked up speed.

"Shouldn't there be a way to slow this thing down?" Flash asked, as the pod shook from the speed. "A parachute or something?" Shining shrugged and was about to consider jumping out. But before he could suggest it, the pod instantly came to an almost complete stop.

The whiplash made them cry out, as the sound of rockets below them fired. They looked out the window and saw the ground was now only slowly getting closer, the pod now only a few feet away from it.

Suddenly, a loud explosion caused them to look up through the window and see the ship blow up. Pieces of metal flew everywhere, it being a miracle their pod wasn't struck.

As it blew up, Flash's gauntlet beeped. "Flash!" It was Springer, "are you there? Please tell me you're alright."

Flash laughed, "we're fine bud. But that was way too close. Is everyone else alright?"

"We just got in touch with them. Thorax, Applejack and Heather are at the castle. Cadance and I are on the Shooting Star, with the Royal Family."

"Did the other ships blow up?" Shining asked.

"Yeah. They were completely destroyed, but a lot of the fighters that were attacking the other cities escaped. My sensors determine there's another destroyer above the planet somewhere. I couldn't connect to its systems, so I couldn't destroy it."

"Any idea what it's doing?"

"I think it was just an observation ship, where the one leading this attack was doing his scheming." Flash and Shining nodded, as the pod suddenly touched down and bounced around.

Once it stopped moving, they quickly unbuckled themselves and opened the pod. Stepping outside, they saw the absolute destruction caused by the attack. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of castalorians had been made homeless. And that was just in this city.

Flash looked up towards the remains of the ship, still falling towards the ground. "This planet didn't deserve this. I swear, I'm gonna stop the one who did this. They're gonna answer for this, even if I have to drag them before a court."

Shining nodded, thinking the exact same thing. "Come on. We've gotta get back to the others. Just be careful. There might be some more bug troopers that were left behind." They headed towards the castle and as they made their way through the city, they got a better look at the damage and destruction caused.

At some point, they came across destroyed buildings and spotted the remains of the castalorians that hadn't been able to escape. The sight made them both sick, but they kept moving.

Flash felt horrible for letting this happen, but Celestia's words echoed through his mind. He wasn't a god. He couldn't have stopped this. But he had made it so this planet's future was guaranteed. Flash didn't know what the Sith's plans for this planet were, but they had stopped them. For now, at least.

They eventually arrived at the castle and spotted their friends, along with the mandalorian.

Cadance was looking Thorax over, checking on a few cuts and scratches he had gotten from flying debris. As she cleaned a cut on his head, they noticed Applejack was talking to the mandalorian.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked him, as Rogue nodded.

"I'm fine," he assured her. But Applejack noticed he was leaning against the wall. "I might have gotten a little banged up from the building falling on me, but my armor took most of the damage." Applejack could tell there was more to it than that.

"Ya'h could have a concussion," she pointed out. "Doesn't matter how good y'ah helmet is, y'ah can't stop ya'h brain from smashin' into the side of your skull."

"I can check," Springer told him. He floated up and scanned Rogue, but a beep made him groan. "I can't get a scan through that helmet."

Applejack sighed. "Stupid mandalorian tradition." But as she said that, they saw him reach up and grab his helmet. "A'h thought ya'h couldn't let any livin' thing see ya'h face."

"I haven't actually taken the oath yet," Rogue replied. "I just do it to get used to it, for when I eventually get to take the oath." With that, he slowly lifted his helmet off his head.

Everyone stared in amazement, as Rogue was revealed to be a brown skinned individual. He had a blue streak running up his nose and between his eyes, whilst his cheeks had blue lines running up them. His hair was blue, with brown streaks at the tips.

He turned to the others, who were all staring at him as Springer scanned his head. "What?" They all looked away, as Springer assured him he would be fine with some rest.

"What happened to the other mandalorians?" Flash asked, seeing Rogue's upset face. "When we saw the ship go down, we figured you were all..."

"I was the only survivor," he stated. "When the castle's communications are back online, I'll have to contact Mandalore and tell our leader what happened." He held his helmet tightly. "My first mission and this happens."

"Hey," Applejack told him, "you helped me save all those Castalorians. I'm sure your leader will be proud." Rogue smiled at this, as Springer finished his scans and he placed his helmet back on.

As he did, the Queen of Castalore stepped out of the palace. She looked out at the devastation and could only imagine the destruction caused to the other cities. "Why? Why would anyone do this? We've never caused anyone any harm before."

Heather sighed. "It's usually the peaceful members of an opposing force that are attacked first. I'm sorry, your majesty. If only we had acted faster."

"No," the queen shook her head. "You all did splendidly. This destruction would have been far worse, had none of you been here to help me." She bowed, "you have my eternal gratitude." They bowed back, but knew they couldn't be congratulating themselves yet. This was just the first battle of a much greater war.

In another part of the galaxy, Chrysalis was on a ship flying back to her base planet.

As she sat at her desk with a drink, her computer suddenly indicated a call and she opened it up. "Tirek?" She noticed the centaur's smirk, "can I ask why you're calling me? Your invasion had better been successful, given how many of my troops you took with you."

"Unfortunately, the Jedi got in the way. They were there before I arrived and messed everything up." Chrysalis glared at her. "However, I do have something that should make you like me again."

"I doubt that." Images suddenly appeared on the screen. Images of someone Chrysalis became very interested in. "It can't be."

On the screen was an image of Thorax, using his Lightsaber and flying through the battlefield. "These were taken by some of the ground troops. I'm guessing they wanted to make sure you saw them, so they sent them directly to my ship."

"Thorax." Chrysalis stared at the images, as she remembered what Celestia had said when they had her captured. She had tried to ignore Celestia's words, believing they were nothing but tricks. But now, she was looking at proof that everything she had said was true. "My son." She couldn't keep her eyes off the images.

As she flicked through the different images, she frowned.

"The Jedi have turned you against me. I'll make them pay and bring you home, where you belong. No matter what, you will join us and one day lead our people into a brighter future."

The reinforcements from Canterlot had arrived, though a little late, with the rescue and reconstruction efforts beginning all over the planet.

Despite the widespread destruction, many castalorians had managed to survive thanks to them implementing natural disaster protocols. Since Castalore was known for having tornadoes and earthquakes, almost every building was equipped with an underground bunker to protect them.

As soon as the attacks happened, many castalorians had rushed to these bunkers and managed to ride out the storm. Many still lost their lives, but the species wasn't doomed.

As soon as the reinforcements arrived, Shining and the other Jedi had been called back to Canterlot.

Rogue used one of the ships to call his own people, who would be sending their own transport. Rogue later saw them off, as they flew back to the Temple in the Shooting Star.

As soon as they were back on Canterlot, the group had been called in to the Council Chambers in order to give a debriefing. Celestia had not been happy to hear the Sith were already making their move, but this attack had shown the senate that this state of emergency was real.

There were still those who didn't believe, but a grand portion of the senate were on board.

As soon as the knights had finished their reports, Thorax had stepped forward. When they asked what was wrong, Thorax had explained what he had learned during the battle.

"You're one of them?" Flash had asked before he could stop himself.

"I'm not one of them," Thorax frowned. "I'm...I don't know."

"It's okay," Celestia told him. "Honestly, I had a feeling you might have been the same race as these bug troopers." Thorax looked at her in shock, the others looking just as surprised. "I wanted to tell you, but I always wanted to be sure before I told you anything that might not be true. During my stint as the Sith's prisoner, I noticed one of the Sith had the same features as you."

"Really?" Thorax asked.

Celestia nodded. "Yes. I believe her name is Chrysalis. Heather, Applejack, you were both there. I understand you didn't have a lot of time to look at her, but I'm sure you must have noticed she had some resemblance to Thorax." The two thought about it, remembering their fight and the Sith Celestia had fought.

"Now that you mention it," Heather turned to Thorax. "You do share a resemblance." Applejack nodded.

"I mentioned you to her," Celestia stated. "Even your name. And she seemed to react to it. There's a chance the two of you are related." Thorax looked shocked by this, Cadance placing a hand on his shoulder. "Thorax, I know this must be hard. You've wondered about where you came from for a long time. Finding out the closest thing you have to a family, is your enemy...I'm sure it's difficult. And I understand if you do not wish to fight against them."

Thorax thought about it, but then remembered that family he had saved. He had killed members of his own race, but those members had tried to kill innocents.

"No," he stated, "I'm not gonna let them hurt anyone if I can help it. So long as they're attacking the innocent, it doesn't matter that they're my own kind. They're my enemies. And if I ever meet this Chrysalis, I'll find out why she's hurting all these people and I'm gonna stop her."

The council smiled, proud of his dedication to justice.

Luna then spoke up. "Either way, things aren't going to be easy. They've already started their attacks. Who knows what their next target could be. The senate needs to start mobilising the military."

Skybreaker nodded. "We need to think about moving our own forces to planets that are bound to be targeted. If the Sith wish to cause problems for us, they'll start by targeting planets that help Canterlot and the republic function. Planets we get materials from. Planets that we use for food and other items that we need."

Shining then had a worried expression. "Ilum." The Jedi all turned to him. "Doom Raizer was a member of the order once. He's been to Ilum. If he wants to hit us hard, he'll attack one of the most important places to the Jedi. Ilum."

"Shining's right," Celestia nodded. "Ilum could very well be in danger. We'll need to have a squad of Jedi protect the planet." The other masters agreed, as Celestia turned back to the Knights and Padawans. "You've done well this day. Go rest up. You'll need all the strength you can get for your next mission."

They nodded and headed out, the six of them groaning as soon as they left the chambers. "I'm gonna sleep for a week," Shining stated.

"I doubt we'll have that long to relax," Cadance told him. "Celestia's right. We need to be vigilant, if we don't want to be taken by surprise again. The Sith are more ready than we expected."

"Maybe," Heather spoke up. "But we have something they don't. A variety of allies we can count on. The mandalorians, castalorians and several other planets are on our side. All they have are the bug troopers. And whilst they're clearly a large number, they're only one kind of enemy. We can handle that." The others nodded, as they headed towards their quarters to rest.

Heather was right. With only one kind of opponent, they wouldn't have many issues against this army. And eventually, the Sith would run out of bug troopers.

In another part of the galaxy, Armalum was walking through a dark corridor.

He eventually arrived at a large metal door, which slid open to allow him to step inside. And when he did, he was illuminated with a bright light. Said light was coming from the machines, which were currently hard at work getting the Sith's next line of warriors ready for battle.

Droids. Droids of multiple types and designs. There were four-legged scorpion droids, with blaster cannons where the stinger should be. Robotic wasps who also had blasters where the stinger should be. And humanoid droids that had no weapons, but looked like they could carry and control a bunch of different weapons.

These droids were all being mass produced, moving along a conveyor belt as the machines attached their parts to them. Once completed, the droids were activated and headed towards a containment area.

Armalum chuckled, as he watched the army grow larger and larger. "You'd better watch out, Jedi. Things are about to get a whole lot more difficult for you."

Chapter 18

View Online

Canterlot's state of emergency was still in full swing and this time, there was actual fear behind the situation.

Footage from the attack of Castalore, mainly due to the castle's security cameras combined with footage from the Shooting Star, had everyone realise the situation they were in was serious. As such, the fear of being attacked by these enemies was in full force.

The senate had sent out a state of emergency to every planet in the republic, with each planet's forces preparing to combat this threat. Said forces were being split into two factions. Those that would protect the planets in question, whilst another would go out in the galaxy and combat the Sith wherever they appear. Hopefully, the combined forces of all those planets would be too much for the Sith to handle.

At the Jedi order, the Council had also been busy.

Currently, almost every Jedi and Padawan was at the Temple's Holo-Training room. But they weren't practising saber combat or blaster deflection. Today, they were working on something different.

Flash, Twilight, Shining, Cadance, Thorax, Trixie and Springer stepped into the training room, as six pods appeared within it.

Each of them stepped into a pod, with Springer floating over to Flash's and plugging himself in. "You guys ready for this?" Shining asked, as the pods activated. The others nodded, each of them excited to finally get a chance to see what this bad boy could do. They had been eager to try it out, ever since they first learned about them.

Several days earlier.

In the temple's great hall, every Jedi and Padawan that had been cleared to enter the combat zone, were sitting down and staring at the centre of the round room.

There, Celestia and Luna had something to show them. Once the last Jedi was seated, Luna activated a holo-projector and showed the image of a ship that none of them had ever seen before.

It was triangular in appearance, with the cockpit being close to the nose of the ship. A pair of blaster turrets were located on either side of the cockpit and on the back, above the thrusters, two metal blades were stuck up and connected at the top to form a dorsal fin shape. The same blades were on the side of the ship, looking like they could swivel.

"Jedi," Celestia smiled, "may I present the latest in Jedi Fighter technology. The Delta-X star fighter."

"Delta-X?" Flash was curious about the name, with Twilight leaning over to whisper into his ear.

"An ancient form of writing has X stand for the number ten." Flash nodded, as Celestia allowed Luna to explain the features of the ship.

"The Jedi have never been one to start a conflict, but we've always known that a time will come when we need every tactical advantage we can get. As such, the smartest minds in the order have continued to work on designs of new ships and fighters. And now that the Sith have shown their hand, it's time those designs are brought into the physical plain. As such, work has already begun on these ships."

"That thing looks awesome," Rainbow smirked. "I wonder what colours it comes in?"

"A'h don't think the design team planned on them to be painted," Applejack told her. "It'll probably be silver or somethin'" Rainbow, Pinkie and even Shining seemed to think that sounded boring.

Luna continued to explain the features of the ship. "Twin rotating laser cannons that can turn a total of ninety degrees." The hologram then shifted to show the underside of the ship, "with a single blaster weapon on the base to allow one to shut any enemy below them." The hologram spun back around, as the dorsal fin on the back split apart and formed a V-shape. "The ship has two modes. Space mode and Flight mode. This is Flight mode, which should allow for greater manoeuvrability in almost any planet's atmosphere. Space mode will be for any space battles we might find ourselves in."

One Knight raised an arm. "Can those ships go into Hyperspace? Or will they need to ride in transport ships?"

"Good question," Celestia smiled. The hologram then changed to show a smaller version of the ship, alongside a strange looking ring. "This is a hyperdrive ring. Specifically designed for the Delta-X. Any Delta-X that connects to it, will be able to enter Hyperspace and jump to any system they're needed in. Just be careful where you leave them once they're disengaged. We don't want the Sith spotting them and blowing them up, stranding you wherever you are."

Shining smirked, "I'm liking this ship more and more. The Shooting Star's awesome, but it's about time we got some fighting ships to properly combat the Sith's ship."

Luna continued to speak. "The Delta-Xs are currently under construction, but it'll be a while before we have enough for every member of the Order. Until then, we'll need to assign them to the Jedi who have the best piloting skills."

Celestia nodded. "As such, we've designed a holographic training program. When you can, I want everyone to try and see how well you can pilot these ships. The Sith's soldiers have the skills needed to pilot theirs, but lack the instincts and connection to the Force that we have. That's our advantage against them."

The pods activated and in doing so, those inside the pods suddenly found themselves in the cockpits of the new Delta-X Fighters.

"Awesome," Flash looked over all the controls and nodded. "Okay." He flicked a few of the switches, but suddenly got a beeping alarm blasting in his face. "WOW!" He turned off those switches and looked around, unsure which ones to touch.

"Flash," Twilight spoke over the radio, "you did read the manual we were given...didn't you?"

"Of course I did," Flash told her. "Though I might have...skimmed a few sections." The others rolled their eyes, as a section behind the cockpit opened and Springer's head slotted out of it. "How you doing up there, bud?"

"I'm good," he nodded. "Amazing how these ships can adapt to allow any droid to fit inside them. I was expecting it to only allow Astro Droids in here."

"I think the original plans only allowed Astro Droids in," Twilight pointed out. "But you've more than proved almost any droid can help with these situations." Each of their ships had an Astro Droid within them, as they began to power up the ships.

Flash followed Springer's instructions and soon enough, all their ships were powered up and took to the air.

As they flew into the sky, they got the handle of the ships in Flight mode. "Not bad," Thorax smiled. "Pretty responsive." The environment around them then changed to a mountainous area, with a bunch of rings appearing in front of them.

"Alright," Shining pushed his fighter ahead, "let's see how well we can handle these things at high speed." The others nodded and increased their speed, Shining heading towards the first ring and flying through it. "Boom!"

Cadance smiled. "Easy there, fly-boy." She flew through the ring as well, the others following suit as they got faster and faster. The next ring required them to curve around a mountain and as they spun around it, Twilight over-steered and her ship's wing clipped the mountain.

"Wow!" She suddenly found herself losing control. "I'm going down!" The ground came up fast and the next thing she knew, a fire explosion appeared around her and the word 'dead' appeared on her cockpit window. "Oops."

"Try again," Shining told her. "It might take a while to get used to the controls." Despite saying that, he, Flash and thorax weren't having any issues controlling their ships.

Cadance and Trixie soon got into their own accidents, with Twilight having another not long after. All the while, the boys were showing off incredible flying instincts and even managed to do a few tricks as they flew through the final hoop.

"Okay, girls. You three keep practising. Flash and Thorax. It's time to see how well these things do in space." They nodded and flew straight up, switching the ship to Space mode as they left the atmosphere and found themselves in the depths of space.

The ships did even better in the vacuum of space, with no air resistance pushing against them. However, Flash soon found that it made the ship's response better than before. And this caused him to spin out of control, eventually crashing into a meteorite. "Ow."

"Serious ow," Springer replied. "Don't forget, I'm actually out here. At least you're shielded in the cockpit. Why don't I have any shielding?"

"Can't you retract your head back into the ship?"

"Yes, but then I won't be able to tell what's going on as well. Whatever, just try not to crash again."

"Sorry," Flash replied as the ship reappeared in space and he flew off again. "I wonder how the others are doing with their training."

"YAHOO!" Rainbow cheered, as she flew her ship through the asteroid field. She swerved around the rocks, getting inches from hitting the rock without looking the least bit worried.

She then did a barrel roll and spun out of the field. Spitfire, Applejack and Heather were also there, both rolling their eyes at how reckless Rainbow was being. "Would you be careful," Heather told her. "The council's never going to let you fly the real thing, if this is how you act in the simulator."

"Oh please," Rainbow laughed. "Did you not see that move I just pulled off. They'd be nuts to leave me out of a fight when I'm so good." They all sighed, as Applejack switched her channel to the ones on the ground.

"How you guys doin'?"

Down on the planet, Rarity, Ruby, Pinkie, Tidal, Fluttershy and First were flying around. Fluttershy was flying the slowest of them, barely going fast enough to keep gravity from pulling the ship down to the ground. "it is okay," First told her. "Go as fast as you're comfortable going."

"Okay," Fluttershy nodded. She had never been a big fan of flying and now, she was actually in control of the ship. "Maybe I'll go a little faster." She carefully flew forward, picking up a tiny bit of speed and going about five miles an hour faster.

"Wheee!" Pinkie suddenly shot past, spinning her ship around as she did so. "This is so much fun!" She caught up with Tidal, her master smiling.

"I think we're getting the hang of this," he told her before looking over at another ship.

Ruby was flying this ship, with Rarity flying right behind her. The crystal covered humanoid, noticed how steady Rarity's movements were. "Guess making all those outfits would certainly require a steady hand." She flew through the last ring and Rarity was right behind her, "looks like we've got the hang of the controls. Want to try again and a higher speed?"

"If you think I can," Rarity nodded. "I'm willing to give it a go." The pair flew back towards the start of the course, picking up speed as they did so. They flew into the first ring and shot towards the second, but Rarity suddenly found herself unable to handle the sensory input of everything going past her so fast.

After shooting through the second ring, she tried to turn. But she found herself clipping the side of a mountain and screamed, as her wing was ripped off and she spun out of control. The next thing she knew, the cockpit window was displaying the word 'dead' into her face.

"You alright?" Ruby asked.

"I'm fine," Rarity sighed. "But I don't think I'm ready to fly at top speed."

"It's all about adjustment," Ruby told her. "Keep trying and eventually, your reflexes will catch up to everything moving so fast. It's just like saber training. You weren't able to deflect even the slowest of shots when you first started, but now you can do so easily." Rarity nodded, as she once again flew through the first ring. But just like before, she found herself crashing once she built up speed. This was gonna take a lot of practise.

Back with Flash and the boys, Cadance had joined them up in space.

As the four flew together, Shining clicked a few buttons. "Alright. Let's see how well these bad boys do in a combat situation." Ahead of them, an entire fleet of bug trooper fighters appeared. As soon as they did, they started attacking by swarming around the Delta-Xs and firing at them.

Flash broke away from the other four and did several spins, eventually getting outside the swarm. There, he started firing at the bug ships and blasted several with his lower blaster. As these exploded, Thorax started shooting with his top blasters. The guns swerved up and down, following the ships as they flew around him.

Cadance dived down and spun, as her blasters turned the full ninety degrees. She opened fire and turned into a tornado of lasers, hitting several ships and destroying them. The surviving scrap flew through space and even hit a few of the other ships, the Jedi doing their best to avoid them.

Shining dodged several attacks and retaliated by shooting the bug fighter's wings, causing them to fly out of control until they crashed into another ship. He then turned his ship towards the asteroid field and flew right into it.

Several fighters followed him into the field, firing at him as they swerved around the rocks. But Shining was able to dodged them or use the rocks to shield himself, allowing him to fly around and get behind them. And before they realised this, he opened fire and destroyed two of them.

The fighters then split up and started flying around the rocks to hide.

Shining kept an eye out, as he slowed his ship down to avoid crashing into an asteroid. "Where are you?" He waited and sure enough, one of the ships appeared. "There!" He chased after the ship and started firing, the fighter dodging his blasts as it flew around a meteor. "You can't hide forever."

The ship then flew into a hole in one of the meteors, Shining deciding to follow him in.

The hole lead to a tunnel running through the rather large rock, the Delta-X moving through it and managing to fit and swerve around the many turns and curves. The ship's scanners managed to map the tunnel in front of him, allowing Shining to tell what was coming. And soon enough, he caught up to the fighter.

He tried to blast it, but the curving tunnel meant he kept missing. And eventually, they reached the end of the tunnel that led out of the meteor.

The tunnel straightened out as they approached and Shining locked on. "Got you." The fighter flew out of the asteroid and just as he was about to fire, another laser slammed into it and destroyed the ship.

"WHOO!" Flash cheered, as his fighter flew past.

"Hey!" Shining followed him out, "that one was mine." Flash glanced back at him and smirked.

"Sorry. You can have the ones that are left in the field." He mock looked around, "oh, that's right. I already destroyed them." Shining glanced around and saw he was right, as they flew out of the field and joined Thorax and Cadance as they finished off the rest of the fighters.

Shining checked the computer that kept his score and found he had done extremely well. It was a high possibility, he would end up getting his own Delta-X. Flash would likely get one too, with Thorax and Cadance always a possibility. As for Twilight and Trixie...

"WOW!" Twilight spun out of control again and crashed into the ground, forcing her to restart again. "Seriously?" She groaned, as Trixie found herself missing one of the rings and crashing when she tried to turn around. "How are the others so good at this?" She let out a sigh and tried again, refusing to give up until she could fly this course with her eyes closed.

In another part of the city, another group was preparing for the inevitable attack that was likely coming.

The sector security office has summoned all its best peacekeepers into an assembly. Amongst them was Lightning Blitz, the officer sitting at the front as the commander of the justice association stepped on stage.

"Alright, officers." He activated the holo-imager and showed holograms of the ships used by the bug troopers and Sith. "These are what we're up against. If these ships should somehow appear above our planet, it'll be our job to protect it and the citizens of Canterlot. According to the information given to us by the Jedi, the destroyers are tough to take down. If they can be infiltrated, they can be overridden and set to self destruct."

Lightning frowned, as he listened to the commander explain everything the Jedi had told him. The thought of using info given by them, did not sit well with him.

"Lastly," the commander eventually spoke up. "We've been given an image of the individuals leading this group. The chances of them showing up here are slim, but you never know. As such, be on the look out for these individuals."

The holo-imager changed to show six figures, which had clearly been designed using some kind of imagining software. The six Sith, floated above the crowd and spun to show off every detail.

Most of the officers were focused on Solara and Armalum, since her face was unknown and a droid didn't seem like one who could be a leader. But Lightning was more focused on the figure he hadn't seen in years.

The sight of his father, now considered an enemy of the republic, caused Lightning's rage to boil. And as soon as the assembly came to an end, he rushed off somewhere out of the way. Once away from prying eyes, Lightning roared as he slammed a fist into the wall.

The pair of his hand was nothing compared to the pain of his heart, as he thought about his father.

"Again," he growled. "It's bad enough that they did this to him once. Now they're trying to pin the blame on him again." He remembered a while back, when Celestia had returned from the mission that caused Canterlot to go into this state of emergency.

When she returned and spoke to the senate, she then made her way to the sector security building and spoke to the commander about what had happened. The commander had summoned Lightning into his office and Celestia had told him what had happened, along with how she had met his father and Doom's fall to the Dark Side.

Lightning had refused to believe this, accusing Celestia of once again trying to blame his father for someone else's crime. But Celestia had been both adamant and apologetic. She had agreed that it was her fault, that Doom wouldn't have done this if they hadn't accused him. But this time, there was no mistaking it. Doom had joined the side of evil and was now an enemy of the republic.

Lightning wouldn't...couldn't believe that his father had turned to the Dark Side. He had always told Lightning that justice was the most important thing in the galaxy. There was no way, he would join a bunch of criminals.

"There has to be more to this," he stated. "He wouldn't join those monsters. Not unless he had to." He tried to think of reasons his father would choose to join the Sith and suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "He's trying to bring them down from the inside. He's going to find out what they're after and stop them. That's the only thing that makes sense. He's going to do what the Jedi have no hope of doing. Stop the Sith, once and for all."

He imagined his father, throwing away the red Lightsaber he apparently had and taking out a blue one. Using it to strike down the other five Sith and being called a hero by a bunch of adoring people. The Jedi falling to their knees, praising him and begging him to rejoin as their new grandmaster. And Doom simply walking away, as the rest of the galaxy sees how pathetic the Jedi truly are.

"That has to be it," Lightning smiled. "Father. I promise I'll find a way to help you. We'll take those Sith down before the Jedi can mess everything up. I promise."

He had to find a way to get in contact with Doom. He might be in hiding, but there had to be a way Lightning could find him and tell him he knows what he's planning. Doom had escaped from Canterlot once. There was no way he could do that on his own. He had to have friends to help him.

"Maybe I can find them." With that, Lightning headed off to begin his question. To join his father in his mission to defeat the Sith.

Back at the temple, Twilight was once again attempting to fly through the course at her fighter's top speed.

She swerved left, swerved right, flew down towards the ring. And when the ship flew through it, she pulled her joystick back in order to avoid slamming into the ground. She had to fly straight up, as a mountain was right in front of her. But doing so caused a lot of G force to be placed on her body.

Most ships are designed with G force dampeners in order to counteract hyperspace acceleration. However, the Delta-X didn't have that. The hyperdrive ring did that job, but that meant the standard Delta-X had nothing to protect the pilot from being crushed into the back of their seat.

As such, as Twilight flew higher and higher, faster and faster, it felt like the entire ship was being pressed down on her.

"Ahhhh!" She cried, unable to believe the hologram room was able to simulate this level of realism. Eventually, it was too much and Twilight felt herself losing consciousness for a moment.

That one moment, was all it took for her ship to fly out of control and crash into a mountain. The annoying fail alarm went off, signalling her had crashed. But this time, Twilight didn't hit the restart button. She just sat there, the feeling of the Gs on her body still making her dizzy.

Suddenly, the pod began to open up and Shining looked down into it.

"You okay?" He asked, as Twilight moaned.

"How can you handle that much weight on your body? It felt like I had a Veltruvian Viscus sitting on me."

Shining smirked as he helped her up. "We're just physically stronger than you. Maybe if you spent a little more time training your body as well as your mind, you'd be able to handle it." Twilight frowned, as she saw the others getting out of their pods.

"I can keep going," she replied. "I'm almost there."

"Sorry, sis. You clearly need some time to recover. Besides, our allotted time in the simulators is over. The other Jedi need to practise with it too." Twilight sighed, wishing she had more time to perfect her flight skills.

As they headed out of the training room, Twilight's body began to recover and she was able to walk on her own. They met up with Spitfire and the others who had been training, then all headed to the mess hall to get something to eat. As they did, the younger Jedi spoke about how well they did in the simulator.

"Just watch," Rainbow smirked as they sat down with their food. "I bet I'll be the first one Master Celestia asks to fly a Delta-X. I probably had the best score out of everybody."

"Actually," Spitfire had a tablet out. "I'm looking at the scores on this. You're actually in third place." Rainbow's eyes widened, as she took the tablet and saw who was ahead of her.

"No way!" She turned to Shining and Flash, the others glancing over at them whilst they gave everyone a quizzical look. "Alright, how is that possible? Shining, I can understand. But how is Flash at the top?" That shocked them, since they assumed Shining was at the top. "You've only piloted...what, three times?"

"Might be less," Flash admitted.

"Seriously? How are you so good? You've never even had an actual flying lesson?"

Shining shrugged. "Flash spent years in the wilderness. He learned to trust his instincts and react to threats, sometimes before they even appear. That's not something you can learn in a normal Jedi environment. It just so happens that those instincts can help can be transferred to fighter piloting."

Rainbow frowned as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"That might be the case," Twilight agreed. "But Flash also had something else, that might have given him the edge." Everyone gave her a quizzical expression. "Springer."

"What about me?" Springer asked.

"You were actually plugged into the ship and helped Flash when he needed it. The rest of us had holographic droids, with no personality and tactical skills."

"So that's it," Rainbow frowned. "You had an unfair advantage."

"No I didn't," Flash frowned before Thorax spoke up.

"Springer had to tell you how to switch your ship on." The others laughed as Flash gave him a glare.

"I didn't help that much," Springer replied. "Flash was doing all the flying and shooting. All I did was focus on the shields and managing the power distribution. That's all."

Rainbow didn't seem to believe that for a moment, whilst Twilight turned to Flash. "I've been meaning to ask. K-9 droids were a limited addition droid set. So how did you end up with one, when you spent most of your life of a forest moon?"

Flash smirked as he thought back to that day. The day he made one of the best friends he would ever have.

Years ago.

A six year old Flash Sentry, was watching as Trail Blazer and the rest of the stranded individuals were working on something. It was a machine, which they would use to sanitise water they would get from a nearby stream. As they worked on it, they found they were missing a crucial part.

"I'll go see if I can find one." He headed to the crashed ship, which had been stripped of many components to be remade into something else. Flash followed his father into the ship, the pair carefully making their way into the bowls of the ship in order to search for the part in question.

As they kept searching, Flash noticed several boxes still hiding away inside the ship's cargo container.

As Trail moved to an area he believed would have the part he was looking for, Flash began looking through the boxes. And eventually, he found one with a dog-like robot on it. "What's this?" He started reading the box and despite not being the best at reading, he realised the droid in the box must have a ton of different uses.

As he kept reading, Trial returned with the part he was looking for. "What 'cha got there?" Flash held up the box and Trial saw what it was. "Hey, a K-9 droid. Those were all the rage before we crashed here."

"So what's it doing here?" Flash asked.

"It was either being delivered somewhere, or someone on-board had brought it with them." Trial suggested asking around the camp and that's exactly what Flash did, carrying the box around and asking if it belonged to anyone. But nobody claimed it as their own, making Flash wonder what to do with it.

When he spoke to Grand and his parents, Grand suggested building it. "A droid like that could be useful to have around. And it would be good practise."

"Practise?" Flash asked.

"Of course. I don't intend for us to stay on this moon forever. One day, you'll need to build your own Lightsaber. It's an important right of passage for any Jedi. Building that droid might be good practise." Flash liked that idea and when his parents agreed, Flash got right to work.

And thus, Flash spent the next few weeks working on constructing the droid.

It came with instructions, but Flash barely looked them over. Instead, he built the droid the way he liked it. He found some of the components weren't great and would have likely broken down after a few years, so he threw them away and instead replaced them with parts he got from the ship. This would give the droid several upgrades.

Better battery life and power efficiency. A stronger hover skirt, since the standard one would only be able to float it a few inches off the ground. And best of all, a better AI circuit and an actual vocal processor. The standard K-9 Droid was only meant to bark and follow simple commands. But Flash, with a little help from some of the more tech savvy members of the camp, had rewritten the AI to actually be an artificial intelligence.

"Alright," Flash placed the last circuit into the machine. "I think that's it." Grand and his parents were there and as Flash closed up the droid's body, he hit the switch and the droid began to power up.

As the visor that was his eyes began to light up, he looked around and saw Flash. The robot tilted its head, as he beeped and booped.

"Hello," Flash smiled, "I'm Flash."

"F...Flash." The droid was getting used to its vocal processor.

"That's right," he nodded. "And you're..." He reached for the instructions and saw the serial number for the droid. "K-9 Unit, S-P-R-1-G." He frowned, not liking that name at all. "S...P...R...Spr...Sprig...Spiger...Springer." He smiled. "K-9 Unit Springer. You're name is Springer."

"Springer?" The droid asked.

"You like that name?" The droid didn't seem to understand.

"When he first came online, Springer didn't really understand anything. He was like a baby, needing to be taught everything. But once he learned something, he remembered it forever."

"Makes sense," Twilight nodded. "So how long until he was...well, the Springer we all know?"

"Couple of weeks," Flash replied. "He could hold up a conversation, but he didn't seem to have any emotion in his responses. Then one day, someone made a joke at his expense and Springer yelled out 'hey', like a normal person would. After that, he started sounding more and more...human, by the day."

"You insult me," Springer joked. "I'm so much more than human. All the class, none of the disgusting squishy parts." They all laughed at this, as a group of younglings arrived for their own lunch.

This included Spike, Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. And when they had their food, they rushed over to their table. "Hey," Spike sat down next to Twilight and Shining. "We heard about the new ships. What are they like?"

"They're awesome," Flash smirked at Twilight. "For those who can actually fly them."

"Ha, ha," Twilight replied drily. "I just need more practise. Once I've gotten the hang of them, I'll be flying circles around you."

"I'm not so sure about that," Cadance told her. "Like Celestia said, it's gonna take a long time to make enough ships for everyone. She's gonna hand the ships over to those with actual aerial combat skills. And don't take this the wrong way, but your talents aren't in that kind of combat. You might be okay in saber combat, but your skills lay elsewhere."

Twilight frowned at this, though she knew Cadance was right. But what could Twilight do if she wasn't supposed to be right there in the action?

"Well I wanna have a go in those simulators," Spike suddenly spoke up. "I bet I'd be a great flyer." The other younglings nodded, but Shining simply frowned at him.

"They're not toys you can mess around with. You're not gonna be going into battle for a very long time. And by the time you're ready to join in on the action, the Delta-X will have probably been replaced by another kind of fighter. You'd be learning it for no reason." Spike huffed at this, but still clearly wanted to have a go.

Cadance patted him on the head. "I'm sure when everyone's gotten their own ships, the simulators will be free for you to practise with. You just have to be patient."

"Yeah," Spike nodded. "That's all I ever seem to hear. Be patient. Gotta wait until the right time to build a Lightsaber. Gotta wait until the right time to become a Padawan. Gotta wait until the right time to learn how to fly. Why am I always waiting for all the cool stuff to happen?"

"That's just the way things are," Flash told him. "I had to wait my whole life before I could finally come to the temple and become a Jedi. Try waiting that long and think about your situation." Spike huffed at this.

Scootaloo then spoke up. "It's not gonna be that long until we get to go to Ilum. Once we have our real sabers, then we'll be ready to show everyone how awesome we are."

"I don't know about that," Heather frowned. "With the Sith a constant threat, the Masters might think it's too dangerous to let younglings go to Ilum." The four youngsters gasped, clearly fearing they'll miss their chance to make their Lightsabers.

"I'm sure they won't cancel the gathering," Shining told her. "There'll probably be more security for the trip there and back, but I'm sure Celestia won't deny these kids the chance they're working hard for." They smiled at this, as the older members of the group finished their meals. "Alright. Since the training rooms are all being used, we probably won't be able to do much more training."

"You're right," Spitfire nodded.

"Does that mean we get the rest of the day off?" Rainbow asked.

"Hardly," Spitfire laughed. "There might be a war going on, but we've still got work to do. Our Core work is just as important as stopping the Sith. And honestly, we'll need as much food and medical supplies as we can get."

"She is right," First agreed. "Fluttershy, Pinkie. We should head off and get to work." The girls nodded as the three headed off towards the medical centre, Cadance going with them.

The others were thinking the same thing, Applejack and Heather preparing to head to the moon whilst Ruby, Twilight and Rarity headed off to the archives. That left Flash, Shining, Tidal, Rainbow, Spitfire and Trixie to wonder what to do, with Shining eventually deciding to head to the archives as well.

"I want to see the most up to date map of the galaxy. Maybe we can figure something out by looking at where the Sith have shown up before." They nodded at this as they headed off, all the while hoping they could find where the Sith would strike next before they tried to.

In another sector of the galaxy, a ship had just come out of hyperspace.

Inside the ship, a multitude of different soldiers could be seen working there. Not just the bug troopers, but also the newly built humanoid battle droids. Many of these droids were flying the ship, whilst the bug troopers prepared for battle.

In the very centre of the ship, was Solara. She was inside a study-like room, going over many different files and scrolls. She was reading through one of them, when a bug trooper entered the room. "Lady Solara. We've arrived. Gemmax has yet to raise its defences."

"Good," Solara nodded. "Then prepare to attack." She looked through her notes and nodded, then stepped over to a computer and activated the holo-imager. "I want you to focus your attention on this area of the planet," she pointed to the section in question. "Draw as much of the planet's military force to that section. I need this area to be defenceless." She pointed to an area and the trooper nodded.

"Understood. We'll make it so they have no choice but to send every troop they have." Solara nodded as he left the room, the Sith turning to look down at another scroll. "It'd better be here. If not, the master will not be pleased." She stared at the scroll, showing the image of a triangular object she was after. If everything went as planned, it would soon be in her possession.

Back on Canterlot, Twilight, Rarity and Ruby had chosen to join the Seekers as they brought up the most up to date map of the galaxy.

Twilight already knew this map like the back of her hand, along with every star system and planet in those star systems. "Yowtar," Shining points out as the planet in question appeared. "Alongside Castalore and the two forest moons."

"One of which we don't even know the location of," Spitfire pointed out. "Hate to say it, but there's no way we're gonna be able to find these guys just with these planets. They could have come from anywhere to get there."

"She's right," Ruby nodded. "They could have come from the Outer Rim, or the Wild Space. Or even the Unknown Regions. There's just too many places to search for them. We need more clues on where to look."

They all frowned, as Flash spoke up. "Too bad we still don't know what Solara was doing on the forest moon." They turned to him. "Remember what I told you guys. She took something from that temple. But I'm not sure what."

Twilight frowned. "If only I was able to decipher the marks on those walls. Then we might know what the temple was made to house." She turned to Flash, "is there anything else you can remember from that temple?"

"I only had a few seconds to look around before she attacked. All I know is that the altar was missing some kind of triangle shaped object from it. Aside from that, I have no idea what it could be."

"Triangle shape?" Ruby hummed, as she connected to the archive's computer. "There has to be something in our files about that." She started typing and several triangular objects appeared. Some were simple triangular plates, whilst others were boxes in that shape with rounded points. And some were more like pyramids.

Flash frowned. "I have no idea if it was any of them. Like I said, I didn't actually see it. All I saw was the dust mark on the altar. And it was only for a few moments."

"It's still a start," Shining replied as he focused on one object in particular. "I just hope it wasn't one of these." He pointed at it, the others seeing it was a pyramid object made of metal and glass.

"What is that thing?" Rainbow asked.

"A Sith Holocron," Spitfire replied. "Those are really dangerous, holding Dark Side secrets that can corrupt even the purest of Jedi. If Solara got her hands on that, there's no telling what kind of dangerous Dark Side technique she could have learned."

They continued to work on figuring out what the heck the Sith were planning, but they just didn't have enough information to even guess what was happening.

Twilight, needing a break from the research, headed out to a nearby water fountain in order to get a drink. As she sipped on the refreshing drink, she thought about what Cadance had said earlier. Twilight clearly wasn't going to be getting her own fighter, so she wouldn't be taking part in space battles. And based on how she had barely managed to keep up with Solara during their fight, her place wasn't in close quarters combat. So what was?

"Twilight?" The Padawan looked around and saw Celestia, the grandmaster stepping towards her.

"Master," she bowed.

"Raise your head," Celestia told her. "What seems to be the problem, my most faithful servant?" Twilight frowned, Celestia clearly able to tell something was wrong. "Come now. I'm your master. It's my job to help you with any issues you might have. So, what's wrong?"

"I guess you've seen the simulation results."

"Yes," Celestia nodded. "I was surprised by how well Flash of all people did. If he doesn't make it as a Jedi, at least he'll have a future racing around the galaxy." She noticed an upset look on Twilight's face. "Ah, I see. Yes, your results weren't exactly...pleasing, to say the least."

"I'm sorry," Twilight sighed.

"It's okay," Celestia told her. "So what if you can't fly the Delta-X? There are many other talents in the universe."

"None that are going to help us stop the Sith," Twilight stated. "If I can't fly a fighter or stand up against them in a fight, what am I supposed to do?" Celestia frowned at this statement. "Solara was way better than me. If Applejack and Rainbow hadn't been there, I wouldn't have stood a chance against her."

"Maybe, but you don't need to be able to fight in order to win a war."

"If I can't fly and I can't fight. How am I supposed to help?"

"By focusing on your strengths," Celestia told her. "You have the strongest connection to The Force, that I've seen in over two centuries. You've shown incredible growth in all areas of The Force. You might not be able to heal, but I'm sure you'll one day awaken an even greater power."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. But I know it's going to be amazing. And The Force is just one talent that makes you such an important asset to the Order's fight against the Sith." She pocked Twilight's forehead, "like that big brain of yours. I'm confidant, you'll come up with an amazing plan to help tip the scales against them."

"You think so?" Twilight was suddenly feeling a lot of pressure, with Celestia nodding at her.

"I know you want to find a way to contribute to this war. Everyone does. That's why we're working so hard. But Twilight, don't feel like you have to do some grandiose feat in order to make a difference." Celestia suddenly frowned, clearly remembering something she didn't wish to remember. "Wars may appear grand and destructive, but I know first hand that victory isn't decided by the ones that pull the trigger or throw the bombs."

"They're not?" Twilight asked.

"Yes," Celestia nodded. "During our first conflict with Sombra, I fought in many battles. I defeated many foes and it led me to be seen as the greatest Jedi of our order, leading to my eventual rise to grandmaster." Twilight nodded. "But I never could have done any of that on my own. Before every battle, I was given food grown and prepared by another. My clothes had been washed and fixed from my last fight. I was given tactical knowledge by those that had worked tirelessly into the night in order to plan. I ended those battles, but they were won by others."

Twilight could understand what Celestia was saying. "So, I don't have to fight to help."

"Of course not," Celestia nodded. "You're a skilled fighter, but it's not what makes you important. You decide what part you want to play in this war. That's true for everyone else as well." Twilight smiled at this, as they returned to the archives and Celestia stepped up to the map they were staring at. "Attempting to figure out where the Sith are based?"

"Or where they'll attack next," Shining nodded. "But so far, we haven't got a clue."

"You're not the only ones looking," Celestia stated. "I've got every Jedi out in the galaxy, keeping an eye out for any information that might lead us to finding them. But they've managed to cover their tracks rather well."

Ruby sighed. "What we need is for them to attack a planet located at the end of a Hyperspace corridor."

Rainbow frowned, "why?" Ruby zoomed in on a part of the map, which showed the planet Castalore. She then typed on the console and a white line appeared on the holographic image, right next to Castalore.

"This is the hyperspace corridor next to Castalore." She then zoomed out and they saw the corridor split into several branches at both ends of the line. "Once a ship enters hyperspace, it can't turn around. It has to leave the corridor and set a new course in the other direction."

"Still don't get it," Rainbow frowned.

Ruby rolled her eyes and typed at the console, causing a red and a blue dot to appear. "That's the enemy ship." The red one flew into the corridor, the blue one right after it. "Let's say the ship enters the corridor and it flung into Hyperspace. But we have no idea which way down the corridor it's going." The blue dot flew into the corridor, but went in the opposite direction.

They all watched, as the blue dot then flew out of the corridor and reentered to go after the red dot. But by that time, the red dot had entered one of the many branches and flew off. By the time the blue one reached the fork, there was no way to tell where it went.

Celestia nodded. "If we try to chase them into Hyperspace, there'd be a fifty fifty chance of going in the right direction. Choose the wrong direction and the enemy will have escaped before we can turn around."

Ruby nodded. "But if we were at the start of a Hyperspace tunnel." The image changed to show another planet, except the light sting near this one ended before reaching the planet.

They watched as the red and blue dots flew towards the corridor and this time, the blue one was able to follow the red one no matter which way it went. Eventually, the red dot left Hyperspace and the blue one flew out with it.

"I get it now," Rainbow nodded. "So if they appear somewhere that only has a corridor heading in one direction..."

"Exactly," Ruby nodded. "The question of the hour, though, is will they attack locations like that? They must know that we would try and chase them down if they did that, so it's likely they'll avoid being seen in places like that."

"Which we might be able to use," Twilight stated before expanding back to the full map. The vast galaxy stared back at them and a good portion of it hadn't even been explored. "Alright. If we remove any planets and sectors that only have the ends of Hyperspace corridors." Several planets disappeared. "And also systems with single hyperspace lanes." Several more areas disappeared. "That'll cut down the number of areas they'll target."

"Maybe," Celestia nodded. "But that's still a vast region of multiple star systems to check out. But as we gain more intel on them, we'll be able to eliminate more sectors and figure out their next move." But as she said that, her gauntlet beeped and she checked the message. As she read it, her eyes went wide. "Oh no."

"What's wrong?" Shining asked, as Celestia turned to Ruby.

"Gemmax has been attack." Ruby gasped, Rarity also looking shocked whilst the others frowned.

Only Flash and Springer seemed confused. "What's Gemmax?" The Padawan asked, with Twilight bringing the planet up on the map.

"It's Ruby's home world," she told him. "It's a planet made almost entirely out of gems."

Ruby stepped forward. "Master Celestia. I ask that you allow me to go and defend the planet." Celestia didn't look so sure. "I promise, I won't let my connection to my planet hinder my judgement. I'll act as if this was any other planet under attack."

Celestia nodded. "Very well. You may go. Take Rarity with you. Twilight, I want you to go as well." Twilight and Rarity nodded, "I'll also have someone from the Medical Core go as well. If the last few encounters is any indication, we're gonna need some strong healers."

"We'll go too," Rainbow smiled.

"Yes, you will. But not with them." Rainbow looked confused. "The first few Delta-X Fighters are almost complete. I would have preferred you get some actual experience with them before taking them into battle, but the Sith haven't given us that option. As soon as they're finished, you will take them to Gemmax and work to take their fighters down."

"Yes master," they all nodded as Celestia looked at the image of the planet.

"The Sith have to have attacked this planet for a reason. There are easier places to try and conquer, so they must be after something. This is our chance to find out what they're after and stop them before it's too late." They all nodded before heading off, each of them ready to protect the republic and anything else that the Sith might threaten. No matter what, the Sith wouldn't be getting their hands on what they were after this time.

Chapter 19

View Online

The planet of Gemmax was much like any other planet in the galaxy, a round world covered in greenery and blue oceans.

But unlike other planets, this one had a few differences. The most interesting difference, was in the large mountains that cover the planet. Unlike most planets, which have simple rock mountains, the mountains on Gemmax were massive crystal spikes that stuck out of the ground.

Gemmax was formed when a massive crystal entered a sun's gravitational pull. Nobody knows how a gem the size of a planet was formed, but it eventually fell into orbit and started rotating around a sun. And eventually, its own gravitation pull sucked in a bunch of rocks, water and gases. Eventually, the round planet was formed. But the many spikes of the gem weren't completely covered, turning them into the mountains that made up the planet.

And from this planet, many species managed to evolve and make a life for themselves. This included the planet's primary species, known as the Gemman.

The Gemman had spent millennia, transforming their world into a paradise to call home. Using their planet's natural resources to build, what they hoped, would be a utopia. And whilst they were a part of the galactic republic, they preferred to do things their own way.

That was why, when news of a Sith army began to circulate, the Gemman instantly leapt into action and started making preparations to counter a possible attack. And no sooner were these preparations complete, that they were put to use.

From out of warp, a fleet of ships appeared and began to descend upon the planet.

The planetary defences quickly activated and began shooting at the ships, but the energy shields these ships had were rather powerful. One destroyer wasn't able to survive the brunt of the attack, exploding and falling into the planet's atmosphere. But the others managed to descend into the atmosphere.

Once there, the destroyers began to expel the fighters that flew around and attacked the cities that made up the planet's population.

On the ground, the soldiers of Gemmax were running out of the crystal buildings that made up the city. They were all dressed in purple body armor, with helmets lined with gemstones. In their hands were a bunch of blasters that looked like they were made entirely out of crystals.

They fired these blasters, hitting several ships and managing to do damage to a few of them. But it took at least ten of these blasts to match the power of the fighter's weapons and a shot flew down from the ship, hitting the ground and exploding to send the planetary guard flying.

And as the fighters cleared away the soldiers, pods were dropped from the destroyers.

The Gemman had been told about the soldiers belonging to the Sith and knew they weren't anything special, those that saw the pods expecting to see a bunch of bug-like soldiers leaving it. But when the first pod landed, it opened to reveal a bunch of droids.

These droids were humanoid in appearance, each of them looking like they were curled up in the fetal position. They were extended by robotic arms, the robots all appearing to hang from racks. And when the racks fully extended, the droids unclipped from them and began to unfold themselves.

Once they stood to full attention, they all reached back and pulled a blaster off their backs.

The droids began to march forward and started firing their blasters at any organic life they seemed to detect. The guards also fought back, but the droids and fighters together were just too much for them to handle.

They quickly regrouped, heading towards the castle in the middle of the city.

Castles like this were in every city on the planet, made of the same crystals that made up the rest of the houses. It was a giant pointed structure, which was large enough to house all the people who had managed to evacuate to it. And once the last person was inside, the tip of the castle glowed.

A dome of energy suddenly appeared from out of the tip and formed a shield around it, the force field working to protect the castle and all its inhabitants. And as the guards fell back, they rushed towards the castle in order to protect it.

The droids advanced on the castle, firing at the shield but doing no damage whatsoever. Even the fighter's blasts couldn't cause it to break.

Inside the castle, the people were huddling together in order to stay safe. They were at the base of the tower, which had the thickest and strongest crystal and thus, was the safest place for them to be. And up in the higher sections of the castle, the Gemman in charge of the city were working on a battle plan.

"Sir!" A Gemman rushed towards a table, surrounded by other Gemman. "The third and four defence divisions were forced to pull back as well. The droids and fighters are just too much for us to defend against."

"Damn it!" The leader of the city punched the table. "There has to be something we can do!"

Another Gemman spoke up. "The capital has already sent a distress signal, to Canterlot and all the surrounding republic planets. We just have to hold off until they arrive."

"If they choose to send help," another Gemman growled. "They could see this as a reason to stay on their own planet, thinking it's a trap to weaken their own defences as they try and help us."

"Maybe," the leader stated. "But the Jedi won't just sit back and let our world be conquered. They'll come. We just have to hold out until that happens." The other Gemman clearly didn't believe that, but what other choice did they have? "I don't know how many Jedi they'll send us, but we have to hope they'll get here before it's too late."

"Isn't there a Gemman in the order?"

"Yes. Ruby Scarlet. She's the daughter of another city controller. She'll most likely go there, but hopefully she'll send the rest of her Jedi to the other cities." A loud explosion shook the tower, as the city was bombarded once again. If reinforcements didn't come soon, Gemmax would be raised to the ground.

Up in space, The Shooting Star was flying through hyperspace.

Aboard the ship, Ruby Scarlet was in her quarters. She was trying to meditate and centre herself, whilst the others on the ship prepared for battle.

Aside from her, Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy, First, Luna and Trixie were also there. Luna was currently flying, whilst the others made sure they had everything they needed. None of them wanted to disturb Ruby, knowing that the crystal infused Jedi needed to make sure she wouldn't lose control of her emotions due to her home world's attack.

"Do you have the medical triage kit?" First asked, Fluttershy nodding as she finished zipping up the bag with everything she would need to treat the wounded. "Good. I know you may feel in over your head when we get there. There will likely be many injured that we need to treat. Just remember the main rule of battlefield medicine."

"Make sure they're will, then move on to the next patient."

First nodded. "I know that may go against your caring nature, but making sure nobody dies is more important than a bedside manner in this situation."

"I understand," Fluttershy nodded as Trixie came in.

"Won't be long until we come out of Hyperspace," she told them. "You guys ready to head into the heat of battle?" They nodded, as Trixie turned to Twilight. The girl was staring at a tablet, her eyes going back and forth like she was watching a tennis match. "Yow, brain-box. What are you doing?"

"Leave her alone," First told her. "She has been going over all the information, we have been receiving from the planet. She is trying to formulate a battle plan and figure out why the Sith, would choose to attack this planet."

"Isn't it obvious?" Trixie asked. "This place is supposed to be resource central. If the Sith wanna take over the galaxy, they'd want to start with places we would need to get our resources from."

"It might not be that simple," Twilight told her. "Yes, Gemmax has a lot of resources. But there are other resource rich planets that don't have as many defences. It would have been smarter to attack those planets instead of this one. Which must mean they have another reason to attack it."

"Which is?" Trixie asked.

"I don't know yet." Twilight didn't take her eyes off of the tablet, "that's what I'm trying to figure out."

"You stay focused on it," First told her. "We will focus on keeping the planet safe until you can find the answer." Fluttershy nodded, Twilight smiling as she read another line.

"What are you up to?" She asked the Sith. Celestia had said she believed in Twilight, to come up with a strategy that could help stop the Sith. And to do that, she would need to have every piece of info she had on the Sith. Anything that might help her stop them from doing whatever they were doing. They were on Gemmax for a reason and she needed to find it.

Back on the planet, the battles continued to rage and many cities were starting to crumble under the weight.

"Sir!" One of the leaders turned to a messenger, that had just arrived in the control room. "The cities of Jadex, Opaline and Garnite are in serious trouble. They're overrun and outnumbered."

"What news from our scouts? Have there been any sign of the invaders near our borders?"

"None," the messenger announced. "As far as we can tell, the invaders are focusing all their attention on one sector of the planet."

The leader heard this and stared at a map of the planet, circling the areas that were being attacked. "Yes. Yes, I see." The others listening looked down curiously. "They're trying to get a foothold."

"Sir?"

"According to the reports, their attack on Castalore failed before their forces were stretched too thin. They attempted to attack every major city at once and claim the whole planet for themselves. But that's not what they're trying to do this time. They intend to take over one area of the planet and once that's under their command, they'll begin to spread their forces outwards."

"So what do we do?"

"We make sure they can't get that foothold," the leader announced. "Send sixty-five percent of our troops to support the counter attack efforts. Once they've got most of their troops on the ground, we'll attack and take them out before they can conquer these areas. And hopefully, the reinforcements from Canterlot and the nearby planets will arrive before they can call for backup."

"Yes sir," the messenger nodded before heading out to give that order.

The leader stared down at the map, a smile on his face. "Not a bad plan, focusing your attention on one area. But you made it too obvious. You should have attacked a few more areas, further away from that sector. Then we wouldn't have known what you were after."

Up on the lead Destroyer, Solara was watching as the fights began.

Footage from the droid deployment pods were coming in, showing how easily the machines were taking over the city. "Armalum's outdone himself." She smiled, as a bug trooper ran over to her.

"Lady Solara. We've just received word that the defence forces from other cities around the planet, have begun sending troops from their own defences to help the area being attacked."

"Just as I thought they would," Solara smiled. "They think we're trying to form a foothold. Worried we'll conquer part of the planet and begin to spread our influence to the rest of the planet. That's caused them to weaken their own defences to stop us."

"What do we do now?" The bug trooper asked, "send troops to the areas that have weakened their defences?"

"No," Solara told her. "We're not here to conquer the planet. This place has something we need and now that the area it's in is defenceless, nothing will stop me from taking it." She turned to walk away, "continue to attack that area of the planet. If you can actually capture it, great. If not, do what you can to keep the fight going until I've completed my mission."

The bug troopers all nodded, as Solara made her way through the Destroyer.

Eventually, she arrived at the area where the fighters were being held. "Is it ready?" She asked a bug trooper, who was working with several droids on something. A black version of their standard fighters, with yellow streaks running along it on either side of the cockpit.

"It's ready," the bug trooper nodded. "We've made all the modifications you asked for, but the cloaking device has proven tricky."

"I would have thought a ship this small would be easy to cloak."

"From sensors, yes. But visual cloaking takes a lot of power." She climbed up into the ship. "The power we've set aside for the cloaking device will only last about fifteen minutes. Then it'll take an hour to recharge for another fifteen minutes. You'll need to pick when to use it at just the right time."

"Very well," Solara nodded as the cockpit began to close.

The ship powered up and was lifted by a mechanical arm, over the force field that kept the Destroy's fighter bay from being depressurised. And once the ship was over it and those that needed to breathe were out of the room, the force field was deactivated and the ship was dropped through the hole.

As soon as the fighter was out of the destroyer, she activated the thrusters and propelled herself forward. The ship shot down towards the planet and flew past the planetary defences, the cannons unable to detect her due to her cloaking.

She looked over at another part of the planet, as explosions and destruction could be seen from space. She then turned the fighter away from that area and flew off, being careful to stay out of view until she needed to go closer to the ground.

She typed the coordinates into the navigation computer and flew off, a smile hidden beneath her mask as she was close to gaining the second piece of her master's plan. "Once we have all three, the Jedi won't be able to stop us."

"Gemmax is only a few minutes away," Luna told the others as they prepared for what was clearly going to be a heck of a fight.

"Find anything yet?" Trixie asked, as she and Twilight headed for the cockpit.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Twilight explained. "According to the data, the Sith are focusing all their attention on a single area of the planet. It looks like they're attempting to get a foothold on the planet."

"That doesn't sound good." Ruby took the tablet and stared at the info she had been given, then raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't make any sense."

"What do you mean?" Rarity asked, as Ruby handed the tablet back to Twilight.

"If they wanted to get a foothold, they should have picked someplace with low defences and would be easy to keep their hold on. But they chose an area that has strong defences and would be difficult to keep under their control. That area might be rich in materials, but the surrounding landscape would make attacks from enemies easy."

"You're right." Twilight couldn't believe she hadn't noticed that. "I guess it pays to have someone from this planet, look at the data." She hummed, as she tried to figure out why they had chosen that area to attack.

The ship finally came out of Hyperspace and when they arrived, they found themselves coming face to face with a destroyer class vessel. "Everybody hold on!" Luna quickly flew the ship away from the destroyer, as it began to open fire on them.

They took several hits, as everyone rushed to buckle themselves up.

They flew down into the planet's atmosphere, Luna telling Ruby to enter the clearance code to keep the planetary defences from targeting them. Ruby barely typed it in before the laser cannons fired, allowing them to fly down and enter the battle.

As soon as the fighters spotted them, they started firing at the Shooting Star.

The ship barely managed to avoid getting blasted, as Trixie and First rushed towards the turrets and climbed into them. As Luna kept them from in the air, the two started firing at any Fighter that came into their line of fire. They managed to blast several out of the sky, but others were able to avoid the shots and almost hit the ship back.

"We need to get away from here!" Twilight cried, as a laser hit the side of the ship. "There's no way we can land here. We need to get to one of the areas not being attacked. Then we can join up with the defence forces."

Ruby quickly stepped up to the navi-com and started typing away at it. "Head to these coordinates." Luna didn't argue and quickly began to follow the instructions, as they pulled away from the battle and began to fly away from the area under attack.

Most of the fighters chose to give up on following them, but a few decided to chase them down and try to blow them up. Trixie and First fired back at them, First managing to blow one of them up, but that still left two and they flew below the ship in order to stay out of First's range of fire.

Trixie did her best, but the pilots were too good and managed to avoid getting hit.

One of their shots then hit near her, the explosion that followed rocking the turret and causing Trixie to hit her head. She fell forward and caused the gun to spin wildly and fire, one actually managing to hit the fighter.

"Excellent work, Trixie!" Luna cheered, only for her student not to answer. "Trixie?" The others looked worried and Fluttershy rushed over to the turret, climbing down whilst the ship shook from the final fighter's gunfire.

She then reached the turret and gasped, "she's hurt!" That didn't make their situation much better, especially since the fighter was still firing at them and Trixie's gun was now out of action. "We have to land, so I can treat her."

"Easier said than done," Ruby stated as the ship shook again. "We can't take many more hits like that!" But as she said that, the scanner locked onto an energy source coming up. Blaster fire, heading straight for them. "Hold on!" They braced themselves, but the blast didn't hit them.

Instead, the fighter was struck and exploded. They gasped at this, as the coms system rang. "Canterlot Craft," a voice spoke through it. "Follow these coordinates to land near one of our troops heading into battle." They nodded and followed the coordinates.

Arriving there, they found a large group of crystal tanks and transport vehicles.

The ship flew down and landed in front of the group, allowing those inside the chance to rest and check on their injured. "How is she?" Luna asked, watching Fluttershy and First treat Trixie as she lay on the main floor of the ship.

Fluttershy had her hands over Trixie's head, the gentle light of her Force Healing washing over her as First checked the rest of her. "She is going to be okay," First finally stated. "Looks like she just hit her head. Fluttershy should be able to help her recover without issue."

"Good," Luna sighed in relief. As she said that, Ruby stepped into the room. "The troops are here. We should probably go see them." They nodded and headed out of the ship, Fluttershy and First continuing to care for Trixie.

As soon as they were down the ship's loading ramp, they spotted the vehicles moving towards them and come to a stop. Someone then stepped out of a transport vehicle, removing their helmet and revealing himself to have the same skin and hair colour as Ruby.

The Jedi gasped, as the man walked forward with a smile on his face. "Ruby," he opened his arms for a hug.

"Father," Ruby looked shocked. "What are you doing here?"

He sighed, "is that any way for a daughter to speak to her father after being away for so long? Why shouldn't I be here? Gemmax is under attack."

"Exactly," Ruby told him. "So why aren't you making preparations to protect our city, instead of being here where you could get hurt." Her father sighed, shaking his head as he turned to the others. He and Luna locked eyes and as soon as he saw her, he frowned.

Rarity and Twilight shared a look, wondering what that look was all about.

"It's good to see you again, Jasper." She turned to the Padawans. "This is Ruby's father and the leader of Kyanite City. Jasper Scarlet."

"It's nice to meet you," Twilight bowed with Rarity doing the same.

"Yeah, sure." He turned to Ruby, "I knew you'd come to protect your home world. They came out of nowhere and our intel has stated, they're trying to make a foothold here on the planet. Every city has sent forces to combat the incursion. We'll stop them before they can cause too much damage to our world." He looked around, "are these all the Jedi that have come with you."

"More are on the way," Ruby assured him. "They had to make preparations for the battle. We've come to try and keep the battle from escalating until they arrive."

Jasper smirked. "By the time they get here, we'll have already wiped them out." He turned to the rest of his army and gave a hand signal, the tanks and vehicles beginning to move around them and head towards the battle. Only the transport he had been on remained. "Ruby, I want you to come with me. We'll protect our world together."

We'll all come," Luna told him. "The more Jedi you have, the better. Besides, there may be more to this situation than we realise."

"Really?" Jasper asked, "how so?"

"We don't know. But according to your daughter, the location they've chosen to attack wouldn't be the best place to make their base of operation on the planet." Jasper was about to retort, but stopped as he let this info sink in.

"You have a point. It would be easy for us to retake the areas they've taken. If anything, my part of the planet should have been their target. plenty of resources and it's much easier to defend." He thought for a moment. "However, that would also mean it'd be difficult for them to take control of. The factors that make it easy to defend, also make it difficult to invade."

"That's true," Twilight nodded. "But maybe there's more to it than that."

Fluttershy left the ship and headed over to them. "Trixie's awake, but I don't think she should go into battle for a while. We need to take her somewhere she can rest."

"My city isn't too far from here," Jasper stated. "I'll send them a message to let your ship in. Your friend can rest there, whilst the rest of us go to liberate our planet." They nodded and Luna turned to Twilight.

"I want you to fly the ship to the city. The rest of us will go ahead with Jasper." She placed a hand on Twilight's shoulder, "there's more to this than we know. Figure it out and we might be able to end this war before it's too late."

Twilight nodded and they all rushed back into the ship, Trixie being moved to a bed whilst they grabbed their equipment.

"Ruby," Rarity asked her teacher, "your father seems a little...how should I put it?"

"Resentful towards Luna," Ruby finished. The others shrugged, as Luna stepped in.

"He hates me for taking Ruby as my apprentice." That surprised them. They knew Ruby had trained under Luna, but never expected Ruby's father to hate her for that. "Jasper never wanted his daughter to become a Jedi. Her mother allowed her to join the Order, when it was clear she was strong with The Force."

"Growing up, my father always called me and tried to convince me to return. He almost got his wish, since no master appeared to want to train me. Every year, during the Apprentice Tournament, the masters would pick their Padawans. But I was never one of them. Eventually, I reached my final year as a Padawan. If I wasn't chosen that year, I wouldn't have been able to become a Jedi."

They nodded at this. They knew that younglings who didn't become Padawans by a certain age, were either made permanent members of their respective cores, or allowed to leave if they wished to. "Would you have left?" Twilight asked.

"Possibly," Ruby nodded. "But I didn't need to. Master Luna chose to make me her apprentice."

"I would have chosen her the first time," Luna explained. "But during all the other tournaments, I was away on a mission in the outer rim. It's a miracle I was able to complete it in time for that tournament. The Force works in mysterious ways."

"So Jasper realised that if you hadn't chosen his daughter, she would have likely come back home."

"With all the training needed to control The Force and help Gemmax," Ruby agreed. "You can probably tell, he wasn't too happy about me becoming a Padawan." They all frowned, feeling sorry for Ruby. Being a Jedi was a great honour, but her father couldn't see that. "But it doesn't matter right now. I am a Jedi and now, I'm going to use everything I learned from the Jedi to protect my planet." She headed out of the ship, "let's go."

The others nodded and all but Twilight headed out, the Padawan activating the ship as soon as they disembarked.

She raised the ship up and loaded the city's location into the navi-com. Once she was high enough, she hit the thrusters and the ship flew off. It shot towards Ruby's home city and flew around a mountain. The ship's systems were telling her she needed to repair something, but she had to get to the city before she could fix anything.

And just as she got out of eyesight from the other, something suddenly exploded.

"WHAT!?" She tried to figure out what was happening, but another explosion followed at the rear of the ship. The console was going haywire and told her that the ship had lost power. The whole thing was starting to fall out of the sky. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" She tried to get the ship's power back, but it refused.

She looked ahead and saw the open stretch of rocky terrain. If the ship crashed into that, the whole thing would be ripped apart.

Just as she was about to consider abandoning ship, something appeared in her view and she gasped. A lake.

Whilst the ship's vertical thrusters were offline, its horizontal thrusters still worked. As such, she pushed them into overdrive and the ship shot forward at high speed. The Shooting Star fell as fast as it flew and Twilight wasn't sure she would make it in time.

But just as she was about to tell Trixie to hang on, they reached the lake and the ship crashed into the water.

It skimmed along the surface and sent a massive wave washing over the banks. As the ship slowed down and eventually came to a stop. But Twilight didn't have time to relax.

The moment it lost enough momentum, the ship began to sink beneath the water. The ramp was already under the water and if she tried to use the upper hatch, the water might flood the entire ship.

Panicking, Twilight tried to think of a way to save the ship from a watery grave. And she did have an idea.

"It's too big," she told herself. But then she remembered one of her earliest lessons. "If you don't believe you can do something, you can't do it." She could lift it. She might not have lifted something this heavy before, but she had lifted multiple objects whose weight should be about the same.

She took a deep breath and placed a hand on the ship's floor, as she focused all her attention on surrounding the ship in a bubble of The Force. She groaned and grunted, using all her strength to stop the ship from sinking.

"Come on." As she was doing this, the ship suddenly stopped falling below the water. It stayed there for a moment or two, then started floating upwards out of the lake. "Yes!" Twilight felt like she was being crushed under a massive weight, but she didn't stop and kept forcing the ship upwards.

The ship kept floating out of the water and despite a few moments where it stopped, it eventually managed to completely escape the lake's grasp. The Shooting Star was soon floating above the lake, as the water that had seeped into it began to pour out.

The loss of this water barely made a change to the ship's weight. It still felt incredibly heavy.

But Twilight refused to let herself drop it now and the ship began to move across the water, towards the bank of the lake. "Almost...there." She screamed, using all of her effort to practically throw the ship over the water.

The cockpit finally flew over the ground and the rest of the ship soon followed, as Twilight felt her control slipping. Any minute, she wouldn't be able to hold the ship up much longer. The problem was, she couldn't move to turn on the landing gear. If she tried, the ship would drop.

Suddenly, the door opened and Trixie staggered out. "What's going on?"

"Landing gear!" Twilight cried, "hurry!" Trixie didn't need telling twice and staggered over to the cockpit, eventually finding the landing gear after turning the lights off and causing the waste water to be expelled.

The ship's legs extended downwards and eventually, Twilight felt the pressure being lifted off of her. As soon as she didn't need to hold it up, she released the ship and fell forward. Trixie rushed to her side and called her name, but she blacked out from sheer exhaustion.

On another part of the planet, Solara continued to fly her fighter around in search of something.

She kept scanning the area and eventually, she found what she was searching for. "Perfect." She activated her cloak and the ship went completely invisible. At least from the outside, it looked invisible. She flew down towards the ground and sent out a scanning wave, searching for her target.

After a few minutes, she locked onto something and pulled her ship around to that area.

Straight ahead of her was a large mound of earth, covered in grass and having several gem rocks sticking out of it. She scanned it directly and smiled when she got a response. "Perfect." She began to land her ship and once it touched down, she leapt out and headed for the hill.

As she got closer to it, her helmet was also scanning it and the beam went deep into the soil. And when it did, it discovered something that wasn't soil or crystal beneath it. As such, she stepped up to one of the gems sticking out of the soil and placed her hand on it.

After a few moments, the crystal started shaking from side to side. As it did, Solara stepped backwards and the gem followed her. The shaking caused it to come loose from the soil and as she backed up, the crystal pulled itself free.

Solara held up her other hand, keeping the soil that was around the crystal from falling as the gem was pulled free. And once the gem was completely freed from the soil, she threw it away and focused her attention on the hole it had left.

Hidden behind the gem, currently inside a small tunnel of soil, a stone doorway was sitting there.

She thrust her hand up and the soil was thrown away from the doorway, most of the hill also being thrown into the air as the door was revealed. Said door was a large stone square, with a seam running around it a few inches away from the edge. Symbols were carved into the rock of the outer part of the doorway. Symbols that Solara had seen before.

"I knew I'd find it here." She placed her hand on the stone and focused. "Now. Reveal your secrets to me."

Ruby, Luna, First, Fluttershy and Rarity were all riding in the transport, heading towards the battleground.

The transport was heavily armored and despite a few fighters attempting to blast them as they got closer, it protected them and the tanks were able to shoot the fighters down. "We're almost at the city," one of the drivers announced as everyone got their weapons ready.

"This is it," Jasper announced. "Our first priority, is to get to the castle and make sure it's secure. We then spread out through the city in order to wipe out these bug troopers we were told about. According to the intel you gave us, these things aren't that difficult to beat. We just have to hit them hard enough and they explode."

"Don't underestimate them," Luna told him. "They're dangerous. Take them lightly and you'll regret it." Jasper stared at her, as the transport rocked due to an explosion.

Another explosion soon followed and something suddenly slammed into the side of the transport, causing it to be knocked around and almost toppled over. "What was that?" Rarity asked, as Ruby unbuckled herself and ran for the door.

Her father called out for her to stop, but she leapt out and found one of the tanks had been blasted into them.

She looked around and saw the cause of the damage. A strange looking droid that looked like a four-legged scorpion the size of a tank. The droid turned its attention towards them and turned its laser cannon tail in the direction of the transport.

Ruby gasped at this and as the cannon charged up, she reached out with The Force and pushed the cannon upwards.

The laser fired and the blast soared above her, barely missing the transport. It struck something behind her and as it exploded, she leapt off the transport and drew her Lightsaber. The scorpion droid slowly re-aimed its cannon at the vehicle, but Ruby was faster.

She leapt up and spun around, slashing her Lightsaber through the droid's weapon and destroying it.

She landed on the scorpion's head and stabbed the blade into it, as the others began to leave the transport. They saw the droid seconds before it collapsed, Ruby leaping off as part of it blew up.

"What the heck is that?" Jasper cried, as more explosions made them look around.

More scorpion droids were walking around, blasting their tanks and transports. In the air, along with the fighters, wasp-like droids were raining destruction down. And outnumbering all the other droids were a bunch of robotic droids, carrying laser blasters and fighting against the soldiers.

"What are those things?" Rarity asked.

"Looks like the Sith have levelled up," First stated. "Guess the bug troopers were not cutting it for them anymore." The others watched as the battle raged, with Jasper growling.

"So what? They're a bunch of machines. That just makes them easier to defeat." He pulled out his blaster and charged, firing at the closest droid her could find. He blasted the wasps out of the sky and as the humanoid droids turned their attention to him, Ruby raised a piece of debris up in front of him to act as a shield.

The others took out their own weapons and charged too, Luna taking to the air to slash at the wasps whilst First blasted several scorpion droids with one of his blast-sabers. Even Fluttershy was getting into the fight, having no issue destroying a mindless killing machine.

Rarity rushed up to Ruby's side, the two fighting back to back as they protected each other from the droid's attacks.

They spotted several scorpion droids, walking towards them with their blaster tails pointed at them. And as they began to charge them up, Rarity rushed forward with Ruby extinguishing her Lightsaber.

She swung her arms around and raised several large rocks, which she threw towards the droids. And seeing them coming, the scorpions automatically aimed at the rocks and fired. The boulders disintegrated, the dust falling to the ground. But this distraction, allowed Rarity to get in close and leap into the air.

She spun around and her Lightsaber formed a ring around her as she did, which struck the tip of the cannon tail and sliced through it like a buzzsaw. By the time she reached the end of the weapon, she stopped spinning and landed on the back of the scorpion.

The cannon sparked, as it fell apart and the scorpions pointed their weapons at Rarity.

She leapt straight up, the droids blasting the damaged scorpion and causing it to blow up. As it did, Ruby reached one of the scorpions and ignited her blade once again. She then dropped to the ground and slid along it, thrusting her sword up into the scorpion and cutting through its body. At the same time, Rarity ignited her blade and threw it.

The Lightsaber stabbed through the other scorpion's tail and pierced through its head, whilst Ruby slid out from under the other one. Rarity landed next to Ruby and summoned her blade, making it slice through more of the droid as it returned to her.

Once she had it back in her hand, the two looked back to the battlefield. The others were also fighting against the droids with everything they had, whilst the Gemman Soldiers joined the fight and the tanks focused their attention on knocking out the fighters. It was only a matter of time before they had the Sith running for the hills. But how much damage could they do before that happened?

Twilight let out a moan, as she felt herself beginning to come around.

When she opened her eyes, sat up and looked around to see the Shooting Star wasn't underwater. She then remembered what had happened and called out, "Trixie?" A few moments later, Trixie staggered into the ship's central room.

"Good, you're awake." Twilight pushed herself up, as Trixie watched her look just as dizzy as the Padawan probably was. "I wouldn't push yourself, if I were you. Your body probably needs time to recover after all the stress you put yourself under."

"I'm fine," Twilight assured her. But as soon as she wasn't holding onto something, her legs gave out and she fell to the ground.

"Told you. Now, how the heck did we get into this mess? I thought you were flying to Ruby's home?"

"I was," Twilight pushed herself up. "But the damage we took in the battle took its toll. We lost our horizontal thrusters and couldn't stay in the air. If I hadn't found the lake, the ship would probably be in a million pieces right now."

"Lucky us," Trixie sighed. "So what do we do now?"

Twilight raised her gauntlet and tried to call the others, but it wasn't getting through. "Too much interference." She turned to Trixie. "What have you done since I've been asleep? How long have I been out of it?"

"About forty minutes," Trixie replied. "And I spent that time trying to figure out where we are and if the ship can be fixed."

"Can it?"

"Not with my limited mechanical skills. Don't suppose those skills I've seen Shining use on occasion, run in the family?"

"I'm probably better than most people when it comes to fixing mechanical faults. But if the damage is as bad as I think it is, I won't be able to fix it before something comes along to attack us."

"So what do we do? We can't stay here. We've barely got any food and that lake doesn't look clean enough to drink from. Should we try and make it to Ruby's home?"

"I guess that's our only option." Once Twilight had her balance back, she headed for the cockpit and connected her gauntlet to the navi-com. She downloaded the coordinates of the city into her gauntlet and once she had them, they both left the ship. "Shining's gonna kill me if we lose this thing permanently."

"I didn't realise it was his ship?"

"It does belong to the order, but Shining's the one who procured it. Apparently, he won it in a game of cards whilst on a mission. They needed a ship to escape a planet and Shining managed to outplay a famous gambler that's known for cheating."

They began to make their way across the land, following the coordinates. But the city was a long way away and there was no chance they would make it there before nightfall.

"Raaah!" Luna spun her double-ended Lightsaber around, cutting through several wasp drones before they could counter her attack.

She flew down and landed, whilst splitting her weapon in half and swinging it around to cunt down several more droids. She then crossed her blade, as a scorpion droid fired a concentrated beam right at her. The beam struck her crossed blades and pushed her backwards, but she was able to regain her footing and stop herself from being knocked down.

Using all her strength, she flew forward and deflected the beam as she did. It struck several spots around her, destroying a few more droids until she reached the scorpion.

Once there, she swung her blades apart and cut straight through the droid. Once she was done, the machine fell into four pieces and Luna combined her weapon once again. And no sooner did she do this, that a fighter flew down and blasted the ground near here.

"GYAH!" She was thrown through the air and crashed against a crystal, the fact she didn't break anything being a miracle.

As she was picking herself up, a humanoid droid appeared and pointed its blaster at Luna. The Jedi's eyes went wide, as her Lightsaber had fallen from her grasp when she collided with the crystal. But before the droid could fire, it was shot by a laser and knocked down.

"You okay?" Fluttershy jumped over to her, whilst First rushed over to check on the droid and cover them whilst she checked on Luna.

"I don't think anything's broken," she assured them. At that moment, a bunch of fighters flew down and unleashed several blasts around them. They all ducked for cover, as crystals and dirt flew everywhere. "Those fighters are a serious pain!"

"We can't fight against them," Fluttershy cried as a fighter blew up a nearby tank. They were running out of heavy artillery and once the last tank was destroyed, nothing would be able to stop those fighters.

One fighter flew down and spotted the three, the pilot seeing their Lightsabers and realising who they were. The three quickly slotted the fighter and realised it was locking onto them, Luna preparing to throw the other two away with The Force. But before she or the fighter could act, the ship suddenly exploded.

This surprised them, along with what flew out through the smoke. A Delta-X.

Luna's gauntlet suddenly beeped and she answered the call, hearing Shining's voice as she did. "Wooow! Sorry to drop in on you like that, but I bet you'd rather it be me than that guy." More Delta-X fighters suddenly appeared from above, blasting the Sith fighters and a few areas of the ground with only droids on it.

"Oh, yeah!" Flash cheered, as he did a barrel roll and destroyed a bunch of fighters. Spitfire and Rainbow also flew around, shooting more fighters down. This freed up the ground troops to fight the droids attacking the city, whilst allowing the Jedi the chance to catch their breath.

"Good to see the Delta-Xs are working like they should," Luna smiled. "Come along. We need to meet with the others at the castle. There's probably a lot of wounded there, waiting for you to treat them." They nodded and all ran towards the castle, Lightsabers at the ready in case more droids got in their way.

The Delta-Xs continued to cover them, as they made their way through the city. The number of fighters on the Jedi's side might not have been as large as the Sith's, but the pilots were clearly more skilled. And with their talent with The Force helping them navigate, they had the clear advantage.

The Sith didn't stand a chance.

Twilight and Trixie, continued to march through the open fields of Gemmax. The grassy meadow they were on, stretched for many miles and had many crystal spikes sticking out of the ground.

They hadn't run into anyone else since leaving the ship, neither Gemman or Sith Troop. The two of them were probably the only two living things for a hundred miles. And one of them was driving the other nuts.

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"NO!" Twilight turned to her, "do you see a crystal city anywhere in sight?" Trixie looked around, as Twilight groaned. "Why did I have to get stuck with you of all people?"

"Hey, you should be thankful that the Great and Powerful Trixie, is by your side. Might I remind you, I'm the one who's currently got an injury?" She pointed at the bandage on her head.

"A healed injury. You're probably fine now." Trixie frowned, as Twilight kept walking. "Now come on, I don't have time to waste. I have to get to the city and figure out how to beat the Sith."

Trixie rolled her eyes. "Little miss golden girl. Thinks she can solve every problem. You know, being Celestia's student doesn't make you special. Luna's just as important as Celestia and she chose me as her student."

"I'm not getting into this argument with you," Twilight called back.

"At least I know how to fly a ship without crashing."

"I didn't crash. The ship was damaged and I couldn't keep it in the air any longer. Maybe if you had destroyed that fighter before it damaged the ship, we wouldn't be in this mess." Trixie frowned and looked ready to argue back, but stopped when she saw something and gasped.

"Get down!" She grabbed Twilight and pulled her behind a crystal, Twilight shocked by this as Trixie took out her Lightsaber.

"What are you doing?"

"Look over there," Trixie pointed in a direction behind the crystal. Twilight carefully glanced around the crystal and saw what had made Trixie so worried, and it worried her as well.

"A Sith Fighter." It was the same make and model that the Bug Troopers use, but painted a different colour. Something told Twilight, that particular fighter didn't just happen to be painted differently. "We might be dealing with a high ranking member of the army."

"But why are they here?" Trixie asked, as Twilight looked around and saw no sign of the pilot. "The battle's miles away from here, so why'd they come here?"

"Good question." She thought for a moment, then carefully stepped out into the open. "Come on. But stay on guard." Trixie followed and they headed for the fighter, being sure to keep an eye out in case the pilot leapt out and attacked them. But nobody did and they soon arrived at the ship.

Trixie climbed up to check out the cockpit, only to find the hatch wouldn't open. "Come on."

"It's possible they locked it with a special access key." Twilight looked around, "but why did they leave it here?" Trixie turned to get off the ship and when she did, she noticed something behind Twilight.

"What's that?" Twilight looked around and saw a large hill-like mound, with many crystals sticking out of it. But the most noticeable part of the hill, was the large opening in the side of it. One that looked like it had been blown open by something.

And inside that opening, was a square hole that seemed to lead downwards.

Twilight stepped over to it and as she got closer, she noticed a few more things. First, was the stone slab that was laying on the ground in front of the hole. The slab appeared to be the perfect size to fit in the hole, making Twilight wonder if it had been inside the hole.

But the more noticeable thing about the hole, were the symbols carved into the stone around it. Symbols that Twilight had seen before. "It can't be."

"What is it?" Trixie started at the symbols, then noticed something. "Wait a minute. Haven't we seen those symbols before?"

"Yes," Twilight nodded. "They're the same symbols that were carved into the temple, on the forest planet where you first met the Sith and Bug Troopers."

"No way," Trixie was shocked. "What are they doing here?"

Twilight stared at the symbols, then over at the fighter and slowly started putting the pieces together. And finally, everything snapped into place. "YES!" She spun around, "that's it! That's why they're attacking that area."

"What?"

"Don't you see? They never intended to take over the planet. There's something hidden here, just like what was hidden on the forest planet. But unlike the forest planet, this place has inhabitants that would have noticed them approaching. That's why they caused this attack."

"Right," Trixie nodded. "So they pulled our attention away with a large battle, so we wouldn't notice them sneaking in here to find...this."

"Exactly." Twilight looked into the hole and stared at the tunnel leading underground. "Someone's down there. Someone trying to get something very dangerous. We have to stop them."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Trixie began to head down the tunnel, Twilight following behind. They didn't know who was waiting for them down this tunnel, but they knew whoever it was had to be stopped. No matter what it took.

Down below, Solara made her way down the tunnel.

Her Lightsaber was ignited, illuminating the way. And as she walked, she noticed the unusual gems lining the wall. And eventually, she came to the end of the tunnel and found a strange seal waiting for her at the end of it. "There we are." She reached up to move the seal with The Force, but nothing happened? "What."

She tried again, but it still didn't work. "What's going on?" She closed her eyes and focused, trying to do anything with The Force. But it didn't work. It was almost like...her connection to it had been severed.

Chapter 20

View Online

On the planet of Gemmax, war had broken out.

All over the place, droids and fighters were launching lasers in every direction. The mechanical war machines were showing no mercy, as they blasted everything that wasn't another droid. Meanwhile, the Gemman troops were fighting to protect their home.

Jasper Scarlet roared, as he shot several droids attempting to get more footing in one of the cities being attacked. But no matter how many he gunned down, more appeared to take their place. "How many of these things are there?" As he asked, his daughter leapt over him and slashed her blade through a wasp droid.

Rarity also appeared and cut three more droids down, making Jasper look around.

He spotted some scorpion droids, heading towards the castle that houses the city's populace. "We can't let them get close to the castle."

"He's right!" Ruby told Rarity. "There's still little we know about these droids. They might be able to disrupt the shield surrounding the castle."

Rarity nodded and they headed towards the castle.

Luna, Fluttershy and First Aid were already there, having arrived a short time ago. Fluttershy and First were busy using their Force Healing, to help the injured soldiers recover. "You're gonna be okay," the pink haired girl told a soldier with a bleeding leg.

At the same time, Luna was guarding the outer edges of the castle's barrier.

An explosion made her look up and see a Delta-X, blasting a fighter and keeping it from getting too close to the castle. She nodded, glad that nobody was going to be getting close to this castle. And as a scorpion droid approached, she stood protective of the barrier with her Splitsaber divided.

The machine fired and she easily deflected the blasts, as she flew forward and cut the end off the droid's blaster tail before stabbing down into its head. Once it was dead, she pulled back and returned to the barrier.

"Luna," First rushed up to her. "You should come in and take a rest. You have been fighting nonstop. Do not forget, you took a pretty bad hit earlier."

"I'm fine," Luna assured him. "You just keep working on healing the injured." Several humanoid droids marched onto the scene, climbing over the destroyed husks of their fellow droids. Luna quickly flew forward and cut through them, the machines not even having time to aim their weapons before she sliced them to bits.

First returned to healing more wounded, but knew Luna couldn't keep up this pace forever. "We have to find a way to stop them."

Fluttershy heard this and nodded. "I think some of the fighters are attempting to take down the destroyer over the city. Once that's dealt with, they won't have a way to send more troops."

"I hope you are right," First nodded. "We still do not know why they chose this place. There has to be something here that they wish to get their hands on. If we ca not figure out what that is, the Sith will continue to have a lead over us." Fluttershy nodded, as she wondered what the Sith had come here for.

In another area of the planet, Twilight Sparkle and Trixie Lulamoon had discovered a secret tunnel that led underground.

Having first a fighter ship, one which the Sith's forces use, the girls had been on edge. And after finding this tunnel, the girls had become even more worried since they realised what this meant. "Be ready," Twilight stepped forward into the tunnel. "There's no telling how many enemies are down here."

"That fighter only holds one," Trixie pointed out.

"Maybe, but they might have dropped forces with whoever's down here. I think those deployment pods can launch back to the ship, so there could be a whole bunch of bug troopers down here. If whoever this is is alone, we'll have been extra cautious for nothing. But if they aren't alone, we won't be snuck up on."

"Alright," Trixie nodded. "But who do you think is down here?"

Twilight frowned, as she remembered that stone slab located outside the entrance. "The doorway wasn't blasted open and nothing seemed damaged. That means whoever opened this thing, did it using The Force. Which means one of those Sith Generals is down here. But which one?"

Trixie looked around the tunnel, which was large enough to fit them inside by not by much. "That Tirek guy was supposed to be quite large, so I doubt he could fit in here."

"True, which leaves Doom Raizer, Armalum, Chrysalis and Solara." Twilight frowned. "They're all powerful. Facing any of them could end in us losing our lives." Trixie didn't look so happy about that. "If you wanna go back-"

"And leave you to have all the glory? Forget it. Who cares how powerful those Sith are. We can take them and stop whatever they're planning. Just watch. This event will go down in Jedi history. The Great and Powerful Trixie, vanquishes the first Sith in over a century. With the help of her plucky sidekick, Twilight."

"Seriously?" Twilight frowned, as they continued down the tunnel.

Said tunnel was rather long. So long, that the light coming from the surface eventually stopped reaching it. The girls were soon in total darkness and since they didn't have any other light source, ignited their Lightsabers to see what was in front of them.

They kept going until, after a long while, they finally reached the end of the tunnel. And when they did, what they found surprised them.

Another wall, which looked above the same size as the entrance from outside. But the wall wasn't solid, as it had a large hole in the middle of it. And when they got closer, they saw the hole was not as old as the rest of the tunnel.

The stone was still hot, as the girls carefully checked it and could feel the heat coming off it. The hole wasn't a perfect circle, clearly being something someone carved without trying to be neat. And when they looked through the hole, they saw the broken pieces of the wall on the other side.

"A Lightsaber did this," Twilight stated. "There's no doubt anymore. It's one of the Sith. But why did they have to cut their way through the wall?" She touched it, "was there no other way to open it?"

"Maybe there's something on the broken pieces that'll tell us." Trixie held out her hand to lift the pieces, but the rock refused to move. "What?" She tried again, but the stone didn't even budge. "What's going on?"

"What?"

"I can't use The Force."

Twilight raised an eyebrow and also tried, but found the rock refused to budge. "Impossible." She extinguished her Lightsaber and tried to make it float, but nothing happened. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on connecting to The Force, but she couldn't. "What's happening? It's like I've been cut off from The Force."

"How? I thought The Force was in everything. It's supposed to be the very binding force that links every molecule in the galaxy."

"I don't know how, but this place must prevent Jedi from using The Force. I guess it makes sense. If this place was made to protect something from Jedi, stopping us from using The Force is a smart move." She frowned before taking several steps back. "I can't stop. I might not have The Force with me, but I can't let that hinder me." She ran forward and leapt through the hole, being sure not to touch the still hot sides.

She rolled along the ground and stood back up, looking around as Trixie did the same.

They were inside a large square room with many stone doors inside of it. Lining the walls between the doors were a bunch of purple gems, which gave off a strange light that Trixie looked intrigued by. "Ooh," she smiled as she looked it over. "These look interesting."

"Just be careful," Twilight stated. "There's no telling what could set off a trap."

"Alright," Trixie looked towards the doors and noticed they all had a different symbol, etched into the stone. "Wonder what these marks are for." But as she reached out and touched the door, the symbol glowed red and she gasped.

The next thing they knew, the room started shaking and the centre of the room began to crack apart. It then broke apart and disappeared into the darkness beneath it, the girls rushing to look down and being shocked when they couldn't see the bottom. And eventually, they heard the rock of the floor land a long way away.

Twilight gulped. "Okay, that's terrifying." She looked at all the doors and the one Trixie had touched, was still glowing bright red. "Clearly, only one of these doors leads where we want to go. And every time we pick the wrong door, we'll have less floor to stand on."

"Great," Trixie frowned, "just what we need. A death trap." They had to find the real door, but which one to pick?

Twilight looked around and as she did, she focused on the symbols etched into each of the doors. These symbols were, of course, the same as the ones from the first temple. But then she remembered them also being on the doorway outside, which made Twilight's brain click.

She carefully examined each one and eventually, she pointed at one. "There!" She rushed for the door and Trixie went after her, not wanting to be near the centre in case she was wrong.

"What makes you think this is the right door?" But as soon as Twilight touched it, the door's symbol glowed green and the stone began to retract into the ceiling. "How?"

"Remember those symbols that were outside the entrance? They're the same symbols that are on these doors. I realised they were put on the doorway to make a message. They were for solving whatever insane maze this is."

Trixie caught on. "I get it. So the symbol on the door was the first symbol that was outside." Twilight nodded, as the door finished rising. "Come on. Before it closes again." Trixie followed her, as they headed into a long winding tunnel. It had several turns and eventually, it led to the next room. And just like Twilight guessed, they found themselves in an identical room to the last one.

The door slammed shut behind them and they were met with the same choice as last time, only now they knew what to look for. "You do remember the order all the symbols were in, right?" Twilight was clearly trying to remember the exact order, but the symbols were so complicated that she was having trouble remembering which was which. "Oh this is gonna be fun."

Up on the planet, Flash was still in his Delta-X.

He flew towards the destroyer ship, another Delta-X flying beside him. He glanced over and saw Shining, the pair staring at one another and nodding before turning their attention back to the destroyer. And as they got closer, the ship unleashed a bunch of fighters that flew towards them.

They spun around to avoid the oncoming fire, Springer quickly aiming the weapons and firing as Flash got closer to the destroyer. "I hope these things work," Flash aimed at part of the destroyer and fired something.

From out the bottom of the Delta-X, a disk of some kind shot forward and flew towards the ship. As Flash pulled away, the disk connected to the destroyed and was magnetised onto it.

Shining was above the ship, locking onto the place he needed to be and firing his own disk straight towards the hip.

It flew down and connected, the two disk beeping as they went unnoticed by those around it. "Got one," he cheered. "R-12, prepare the second disk." Behind him, a brown astromech droid beeped. The machine quickly got to work, programming another disk inside the ship's catapult system. "Flash. How's it looking on your end?"

"Almost done," Flash announced. "Springer's finished programming. Once the last disks are put into place, we'll be ready to take this thing down."

"Let me know when you've placed the device." Several fighters started shooting at him, but Shining quickly avoided the lasers and fired back. He also shot a few turrets, keeping them from firing at him before he could launch his final offensive.

"Device set. You have the location?" Shining checked his computer and nodded.

"Roger. Launching the disk now." His targeting computer locked on and he fired, the disk shooting out of his Delta-X and locking on perfectly. "Got it. Let's get out of here!"

The destroyer continued to launch ships and droids, as the two Delta-X fighters flew away from them. Once they were far enough away, Springer activated the devices that had been placed on the destroyers.

The next thing those on the ship knew, the destroyer's systems began to overload and explode. They cried out, as the whole place began to blow. "Yes!" Springer cheered. "I knew making a copy of that destroyer's code was a good idea. Now we don't have to sneak aboard to deal with them."

"Maybe," Flash nodded. "But there are still a few more destroyers on the planet. Gemmax won't be safe until they're all taken down."

"He's right," Shining agreed. "But our fighters don't have the energy reserves, to fight off all the ships that'll try and stop us."

"Good thing Rainbow and Spitfire are with us," Flash pointed out. "Maybe we should head back to the castle, to make sure everyone's alright." Shining agreed and they flew off, as the destroyer began to fall to the ground.

At the castle, Luna continued to slash her way through any droid that got too close.

She panted, as she cut through another wasp droid and brought her blades together. As she did, several humanoid droids marched forward and pointed their weapons at her. She took a deep breath and started spinning the weapon, deflection their blows as she got closer and closer.

But one shot managed to hit her leg, making her scream as she staggered back.

First and Fluttershy heard this cry and gasped, as they watched the Jedi Master fall. But before they could rush out and save her, Ruby and Rarity appeared.

The two cut their way through the droids, as Jasper ran up and shot a few more. This allowed the healers to run out and grab Luna, bringing her into the safety of the castle's defences. "Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked, as they set Luna down so First could check up on her.

"It's just a flesh wound," Luna replied.

"Hardly," First countered as he saw the burn. "If this was not getting instant treatment, you might have ended up with a mechanical leg after this." He started healing her, as Ruby, Rarity and Jasper battled against the droids.

She hated just sitting around, wishing there was something she could do to occupy her time. Then, she realised there was something she could do and activated her gauntlet. "Twilight, come in." Her sister's student didn't answer. "Trixie, are you there?" Her student was just as unresponsive. "Shooting Star! Come in, Shooting Star!" but there was no answer.

The others looked worried, wondering why the girls wouldn't respond. "This can't be good," Fluttershy gulped.

"Let us not jump to conclusions," First told her. "It is possible they are in Ruby's home city and behind some kind of communications barrier." They hoped he was right. "Let us try and get in contact with Ruby's home before we start worrying." They nodded and Fluttershy took out her Lightsaber, running out into the battlefield so she could talk with Ruby and Jasper.

Luna hoped they were just behind some kind of barrier. But if they weren't, what could have happened to them. She dreaded knowing the answer.

Back underground, Twilight and Trixie had managed to make it through four rooms.

Twilight had managed to find each of the correct doors, with only one mistake causing part of the floor to collapse. And with each room, Twilight's options became easier. "I'm certain none of the symbols repeated themselves on the doorway outside." They stepped into the fifth room. "I just have to remember which symbols we've already passed and we can focus on the rest."

Trixie nodded but as she looked towards all the doors, she noticed something. "And what if all the doors have the same symbol?" Twilight looked to the doors and realised she was right.

The stone doors all had the exact same symbol.

"Oh," Twilight frowned before she realised something. "They're not the same. Each one has a slight difference." Trixie looked them over and realised Twilight was right. Said symbol was a spiralling pattern, with a vertical line to its right that had a horizontal line sticking out its right side. But there were slight differences each time. The horizontal line was either at the top, bottom, part ways down or pointing diagonally.

The spirals were also different, either having their ending point at a different spot or being flipped. Whilst they looked the same, they were not.

"So which one's the one from outside?" Trixie stared at each one, but had no idea which they would need to select in order to move forward.

"I have no idea," Twilight frowned. "It's not like I memorised all the symbols." She opened her gauntlet to try and bring up the info she had downloaded about them, but the gauntlet had no signal. She couldn't connect to anything. "Come on."

"There has to be some way to tell which one is the real one."

"Not unless you want to go all the way back to the start and take a picture of it. But by then, whoever's already here might get what they're after." Hearing that made Trixie remember that someone had come in ahead of them. Someone who, based on the floors, had gotten past the doors without issue. And that included this one.

"There has to be a way to tell which of these doors was opened before?" Trixie began examining the doors, but each one looked just like the others. That was until she came to the second to last one, where she saw something sticking out from under the door. "What's this?"

Twilight looked around and saw what Trixie was pointing to. A piece of grass, half sticking out from under the door. "How'd that get down here?"

Trixie could only guess and in an insane act of bravo, she reached out and placed her hand on the door.

Twilight expected the floor to collapse, but the door quickly began to rise. "How'd you know this was the door?" Trixie smirked as she picked up the piece of grass, which was also covered in mud.

"Whoever came through he before, obviously forgot to wipe the bottom of their boot. They just happened to leave a piece of grass behind." Twilight smiled as they headed into the door, which led to a staircase going downwards. This caused the girls to frown, since it was likely they had made their way to the final part of the maze.

Both taking out their Lightsabers, the girls headed down the stairs and kept on guard.

When they reached the bottom, they found themselves at a doorway leading into another room. One which appeared to be barely lit, as the room had only been filled with light from four torches. But the light was enough for them to see into the very centre of the room, where some kind of round stone pedestal was waiting for them.

They stepped in closer and looked the pedestal over, the pair seeing that it was some kind of puzzle. The puzzle was divided into sections and by the looks of things, those sections spun around. "Whatever's in this thing must be really important," Twilight studied the device. "Why else would anyone go to so much trouble to fight it."

"I never got the whole 'hiding something in a secret temple' thing. If you really want to make sure something's never found, just dig a deep hole and stick it in there."

Twilight shrugged as she took a closer look at the puzzle and noticed carvings engraved into it. When she rolled the top part of it around, she found it lined up with the next part and formed one of the symbols that had been on the doors. She quickly started turning the rest of the wheels around, the podium slowly forming all the symbols that had led them to this area.

But she soon found a new issue. "This next part's really heavy!" Twilight grunted, as she tried to turn the wheel that was halfway down the podium. But it was stuck in place and she couldn't get it to move. "If only I could use The Force. Moving this thing would be a piece of cake."

"That's probably why they made it so you couldn't use the Force in here." Trixie moved over to one of the torches and noticed the same stones from the rooms before, were embedded into the rock. She reached out to touch the stone and found it fell off the torch, Trixie gasping as she caught it.

"Give me a hand," Twilight stated. Trixie stuffed the stone in her pocket and rushed to Twilight's side, the two grabbing the stone wheel and turning it until the piece was lined up with the rocks above it. They then moved to the next rock and this one was just as stuck as the first, the girls grunting as they moved it into place.

They kept this up for several minutes until they got all but the last ring into place. But when they tried to move it, they discovered the ring was connected to the ground. "Seriously!?" Trixie groaned, as the pair had to redo all the other rings from the ground up. "Next time we investigate an ancient Jedi temple, let's bring a lifting droid."

"Agreed." Twilight moaned as they moved the last stiff ring into place. After that, the others were easy to move and they soon had them all perfectly lined up.

When they did, the whole thing suddenly lit up. "Wow!" Trixie stepped back, as Twilight watched carefully. "What's going on?" She got her answer when the top of the podium slowly opened up. As it did, something was lifted up onto it. That something was a small triangular metal plate, which had a yellow gem in the centre of it whilst the tips were differently coloured crystals as well. One red, one yellow and one blue.

Once it was completely lifted up, the symbols stopped glowing and Twilight took a closer look. "Is this it?" She picked it up and looked it over. "All this, for a little plate?" Twilight was reminded of what Flash had said, about the triangular object he hadn't gotten to see. "Whatever you are, you must be important."

Trixie was about to say something, but suddenly noticed movement in one of the corners and gasped. "Look out!" She pushed Twilight out of the way before leaping back, as a red Lightsaber flew past them.

Twilight hit the ground and accidentally dropped the triangle she had been holding, as Trixie pointed her Lightsaber in the direction the red one had come from. And from out of the shadows, Solara stepped forward. "You!" Trixie cried, as the Sith seemed to be paying more attention to Twilight. "Hey, don't ignore me!" She ran forward and swung her blade towards Solara, but the Sith easily dodged.

Solara then ran across the room, attempting to call her Lightsaber back to her. But the weapon didn't move and Solara was forced to physically pick it up.

Once she did, she pointed it towards Twilight. "Hand over the relic!"

Twilight frowned as she picked herself up. "I don't think so." She didn't have the relic right now, but she wasn't gonna tell the Sith that. "If you want it, you're gonna have to take it from me." She ignited her own Lightsaber and Solara pointed it at her, whilst Trixie ran forward.

"I told you not to ignore me!" She swung her blade at her, but Solara blocked it with her open and pushed Trixie back. Twilight ran forward as well and also attacked, Solara easily blocking her attack.

As Twilight and Trixie began to fight, Solara showed her Lightsaber skills by easily holding the two off. The Sith only chuckled, as she jumped back to avoid Twilight's blade. "You're in trouble now," she told her. "Without The Force, you have no edge over me."

Twilight frowned, as she realised Solara was right. In a battle where the only deciding factor was Lightsaber skills, she was in trouble.

Back at the city, Ruby and Jasper were inside the castle after Fluttershy had asked about their friends.

Fluttershy and Rarity were fighting against the approaching droids, whilst first finished treating Luna's leg injury. "There," he told her, "I have done the best I can. You will need a bactar soak in order to fix that leg the rest of the way." Luna nodded, as Ruby and Jasper left the castle.

"We have a problem," Ruby told them. "I just got through to my mother, but she said your ship hasn't shown up."

"What?" Luna was shocked, "but they should have gotten there by now. Your city wasn't too far from where we left them. By ship, it should have only taken a few minutes."

"Which leads us to believe they never got to the city," Jasper announced. "I hate to say this, but it's possible your ship was shot down or something." Luna and First frowned.

"The ship did take a lot of damage," Ruby pointed out. "Maybe more than we originally thought. It's possible, the Shooting Star crashed somewhere. But I don't know where it could have gone."

"We have to find them." Luna moved to get up, but First stopped her before she could put any weight on her leg.

"Hold it. You can not do anything in your current state. You will have to allow someone else to search for them." Luna nodded, as she activated her gauntlet.

"Shining Armor. Spitfire, Flash Sentry, Rainbow Dash. Is anyone receiving me?"

"I hear you," all four answered.

"We have a problem. Twilight, Trixie and the Shooting Star are missing."

"WHAT?" Shining's voice cried out, either upset about his sister being missing or his favourite ship being gone. "What happened?"

"We don't know. We haven't been able to contact them and they never showed up, at the city they were supposed to fly to. We fear something bad might have happened to them." Luna looked up and watched a Delta-X fly around, blasting another fighter out of the sky. "One of you needs to find them."

"Alright," Shining agreed. "Flash, see if you can track them down. If the Shooting Star's not been destroyed, Springer should be able to track its signature."

"On it," Flash and Springer replied. They watched as the Delta-X flew off, leaving the other three to take care of the ships in the sky.

With the destroyer ship taken out of action, the number of ships and droids were finally starting to go down. Hopefully, by the time Flash found the girls, they would have all been taken down.

Twilight, Trixie and Solara continued to circle around one another, the two Jedi glaring the Sith down.

"I'm a reasonable person," Solara stated. "Simply give me the relic and I'll let you go. But if you refuse to see the truth, I'll have no choice but to slay you where you stand." She shot forward and swung his blade towards them, the Jedi leaping back and moving so Solara was between them.

Trixie and Twilight then attacked with their Lightsabers, hoping she couldn't stop both at the same time.

But Solara easily dodged Trixie's attack whilst blocking Twilight's, running forward and forcing her to stagger back until she managed to pull away. The green blade then swung towards Solara's head, but the Sith ducked under it and thrust her red blade forward. Twilight had to leap out of the way, so she didn't get stabbed in the stomach.

She then slipped and fell to the floor, as Solara stood up and prepared to attack. But Trixie chose this moment to leap in and aimed a strike to her neck, but Solara spun around and deflected the strike. She knocked Trixie's blade away before spinning around and slamming her boot into Trixie's chest.

The girl screamed, as she was knocked back and fell to the ground. But this allowed Twilight to get up.

The armored Magi turned back to Twilight and tilted her head, as she slowly made her way over to her. "You know you can't win. I spent years, training to destroy Jedi. Every waking moment, I worked tirelessly to become the thing Jedi feared most."

"Doesn't sound like a very fun life," Twilight pointed out.

"What would a Jedi know about fun? When you're not forcing your beliefs and judgement on the galaxy, all you do is sit around trying to make yourself look more important than you are. How would you know anything about the things that make life worth living?"

"Seriously?" Trixie stood up. "You really need to get up to speed. The Jedi haven't been like that in years. So long as it's not illegal, we can do pretty much anything we want in our spare time."

"Then defeating you will be even easier than I had originally expected." She rushed forward and thrust her blade at Twilight, the girl knocking it away from her with her own sword. Trixie then ran forward and slashed at her head, but Solara ducked and jumped back as Trixie swung her blade around.

As she did so, a glint caught her eye and Solara looked around.

There, laying on the ground, was the triangular relic that Twilight had dropped. Twilight and Trixie noticed her attention on the ground and turned to see it as well, the girl gasping as Solara ran for it. "NO!" Trixie ran forward and managed to get between Solara and the relic, the Sith swinging her blade down only for Trixie to block it.

Trixie was pushed down to her knees and groaned, as Solara's greater strength was beginning to overwhelm her.

The Lightsabers were slowly pushed towards her face and Trixie could feel the heat. Any closer and her skin would begin to burn. But it didn't come to that, as Twilight leapt into action.

"Raaaaah!" Twilight thrust her blade towards Solara's head, almost stabbing her in the brain. But at the last moment, Solara pulled back and Trixie was able to move her sword away from her.

Solara jumped to a safe distance and Trixie used this opening to turn around and grab the relic, stuffing it in her pocket as Solara growled. "Give it to me!" She ran forward and Twilight stood protectively of her friend.

"Run!" She blocked Solara's strike and Trixie nodded before turning to the stairs.

"Get back here!" Solara cried, seeing Trixie run to the exit. But Twilight stayed between her and Trixie, forcing the Sith to attack her. The girls clashed blades and as Trixie ran up the stairs, Solara managed to knock Twilight off balance and kick her in the stomach.

Twilight gasped as she fell to the ground, fearing Solara was about to stab her. But the Sith clearly felt the relic was more important than killing her, so ran off after Trixie. Twilight took a deep breath and forced herself back to her feet, chasing after Solara as she ran up the stairs.

Up on the planet, Flash's fighter was still searching for The Shooting Star and the girls on board.

Springer was constantly scanning the area around them, searching for the ship's signature. But so far, nothing was coming up. That was until they picked something up a ways off in the distance.

"I think we've found something," Springer told him. "Straight ahead." Flash pushed the ship to full throttle and the fighter zoomed forward, as the signal got closer and closer. "There!"

Flash spun the ship upside down and they looked ahead, The Shooting Star being right in front of them. "Gotcha!" Flash used the ship's scanners to do a once over on the ship. "Geez. Looks like it took a serious beating. The vertical thrusters have been completely destroyed."

"That would explain why they crashed," Springer agreed. "But I'm not detecting any life forms on board."

Flash frowned, "is there any organic matter at all?" He prayed Springer would say no. If there was, Flash would have to land and go in to see what it was. And the last thing he wanted, was to see his friends' bodies.

"None," Springer replied, "looks like they're not in there." Flash sighed in relief and tried to think.

"They couldn't fly the ship anymore, so they must have gotten out to walk. And knowing Twilight, she'd have headed straight for the city they were originally heading for. Which means we know which direction they went. Springer. Plot a course that takes us the easiest route for someone to get to the city on foot."

"On it." Flash hoped he would find the girls, walking towards the city looking exhausted but uninjured. He wasn't sure what he would tell anyone if he couldn't find them, or found them in a bad state.

Trixie ran as fast as she could up the stairs, eventually arriving at the door that had led them to it.

She slammed her hand on said door and to her relief, it began to open upon the first touch. But the process was slow and Trixie turned to see Solara chasing her, the girl raising her blade as the Sith attacked.

Being higher up, Trixie had the advantage. But Solara started aiming for her legs and Trixie was forced to jump around, as Twilight slowly made her way up to them. But before Solara could hit Trixie's legs, the stone door fully opened and she was able to leap backwards.

Solara followed and the two started fighting within the room, Solara's saber skills proving to be better than Trixie's as they clashed.

Twilight finally arrived and when she did, she saw Trixie was in trouble. But before she could rush in, she noticed Solara's location and had an idea. As such, she ran around until she was behind Solara. The Sith knew she was there and was clearly ready to counter, but Trixie actually saw her as she reached out for one of the wrong doors.

Her eyes went wide and she smiled before letting Solara knock her backwards, Twilight hitting the door as soon as she was away.

The doors all glowed red and Solara looked around, as Trixie ran for another door and also touched it. The ground beneath Solara's feet began to break apart and as the Sith could do nothing but run for the edge, only for the floor to give way. She tried to leap away, but without The Force she had no way of reaching the edge.

She missed by a few inches and grabbed onto the edge, barely managing to hold on as her arms clung to the sides. "Augh!"

Twilight ran around the hole, as Trixie opened the door leading to the other passageways. "Let's get out of here!" Twilight nodded and they both ran as fast as they could through the passageway, Solara roaring as she tried her best to pull herself up. But due to her added weight, the broken piece of floor she was on was beginning to slowly crack apart.

Back at the city, Ruby had rejoined the fight to protect the castle.

Jasper was directing his own troops in their fight, attempting to move them to the areas that were being targeted the most by the droids. All the while, Ruby, Fluttershy and Rarity were fighting off the machines. But they couldn't keep this up forever.

"We need our own set of battle droids," Rarity cried after cutting the head off of one. "At the very least, enough to give us time to catch our breath." She dodged a wasp droid's laser blast and grabbed it in The Force, pulling it down so it smashed against the ground.

As that was happening, one of the few surviving crystal tanks was moving towards them. At the same time, a scorpion droid was approaching and the tank took aim. It fired and the droid was blown to bits, only for the tank to then be destroyed by a passing fighter.

As the ship pulled up, a Delta-X flew by and blasted it. The fighter blew up and Rainbow cheered from inside. "That's how you do it!" She then heard a beeping behind her and rolled her eyes. "Would you relax, M-4. I know what I'm doing." The brown and yellow astrodroid, clearly had other ideas.

Back on the ground, Jasper was running through the battlefield with his blaster at the ready.

He looked around a piece of crystal rubble and spotted several droids, matching past on their way to the castle. As they did, Jasper took a small round device off his belt and spun the top half a few inches before throwing it. It landed between the droids and made them look down, seconds before it exploded and blasted them all to bits.

Jasper laughed as he ran out, checking to make sure the droids were down and out. But as he did so, he had no idea a wasp droid was flying over him until it was too late.

The droid fired and struck the ground at Jasper's feet.

"GYAH!" He was thrown through the air, crashing into the ground as something within him snapped. He cried out in pain, as the wasp charged up another blast. Despite the pain, he refused to give in and reached out for his blaster. But it was too far away from him.

The wasp fired and he braced himself for the end. But it never came.

Opening his eyes, he saw Rarity standing in front of him. The cat girl had her hand out, the laser blaster floating in front of her as she struggled to keep it from hitting them. But as she did this, she was unable to move or protect herself. And the wasp droid was quickly recharging its weapons again.

But before it could strike, Ruby appeared and swung her blade through the machine.

As the droid was destroyed, Fluttershy ran up and placed her Lightsaber between Rarity and the laser blast. Rarity dropped her hold on it and the blast struck Fluttershy's Lightsaber, bouncing off of it without hurting anyone.

Ruby ran over to her downed father and picked him up, Jasper crying out in pain. "We have to get him back to the city."

"There are droids everywhere," Rarity pointed out. "We can't carry him and avoid getting hit by their blasts at the same time." As she said that, her gauntlet beeped and she opened it.

"This is Shining Armor. I can see you're in trouble. Take him back to the castle. I'll cover you from my ship."

"Thanks," Ruby nodded as she and Rarity worked to lift Jasper up. He cried out in pain, Fluttershy using her Force Healing as best she could to dull the pain. "Still upset I became a Jedi?" She asked, as they carried him through the battlefield. "If I didn't become a Jedi, Rarity wouldn't be here to save your sorry behind."

Jasper grumbled at this, as Shining shot something not too far away from them. They flinched at the explosion and continued to head towards the castle, hoping they had a clear shot to it.

Twilight and Trixie had finally reached the last room, having gotten through all the others without Solara following.

A small part of them hoped she had fallen into the hole, one less Sith they would need to deal with. "There's the exit!" Twilight cried, seeing the hole in the wall. But as they ran to it, happy to see the stone had finally cooled enough to touch, someone suddenly leapt into the room under the descending stone door.

They looked around and saw Solara, picking herself up with her Lightsaber igniting. "Give...me...the relic!" By the sound of her voice, she was not happy.

"Never!" Twilight cried, as Trixie leapt through the hole. Twilight did the same, as Solara ran towards them.

As soon as they were through the hole, they ran up the stairs towards the exit. Solara screamed as she leapt through and eventually, they were out of the tomb and back into the open air.

As soon as they were free, Twilight and Trixie turned to Solara and raised their blades.

Solara ran out of the tomb and as soon as she was clear, Twilight raised her hand. "Now we're out of there, I can use The Force to defeat you once and for all." She tried to push Solara back, but nothing happened. "Huh?"

Trixie tried to lift a nearby crystal, but it also didn't work. "What's happening?"

Solara appeared to be having the same trouble, but shrugged. "I'll figure out how to restore my power later. Once I've destroyed the two of you!" She ran forward and swung her blade at Trixie's head, the girl barely managing to lean out of the way in time.

Twilight attacked and Solara blocked her strike before pushing her back, Trixie slashing at her. Solara continued to prove that she was the better warrior, moving faster than the two and being able to easily overpower them in a Lightsaber fight.

Twilight and Trixie attacked together, but Solara deflected them so fast it was like she had two Lightsabers.

As the two were knocked away, Solara pressed something on her gauntlets. She then focused all her attention on them, as Twilight and Trixie picked themselves up. "I was expecting something more, from the students of the Jedi's top two masters. What shame, they must feel. Or maybe they just suck at teaching."

"Be quiet," Trixie growled. "Nobody badmouths my master!"

"Calm down," Twilight told her. "She's just trying to knock you off balance. Let her say what she wants. We both know it's not true." They both charged and swung their blades around, but Solara easily avoided or blocked each of their attacks. She then leapt up and spun around, the two needing to leap back to avoid getting hit in the head.

They both jumped away and as they did, Solara suddenly felt something. Something that made her hum before smiling.

Twilight and Trixie were about to charge, but suddenly found themselves getting a large piece of crystal thrown their way. "WOW!" Trixie jumped to the ground and Twilight rolled away, as more crystals started floating off the ground. "What's going on?"

Twilight looked around and saw Solara was somehow using The Force. "Did whatever happened finally wear off?" She tried to lift something herself, but it didn't work. "What's happening? We were out of there before her and we weren't in as long as she was. Why can't we use The Force?" Solara sent the crystals flying at them and the two leapt in the opposite direction to escape.

As Trixie landed near a tree, Solara used The Force to rip that tree out of the ground.

Trixie turned to see this tree and gasped, running to try and escape. But in doing so, she tripped and fell to the ground. Her Lightsaber fell from her hand and soon enough, the branches and leaves fell on top of her. "Trixie!"

Solara laughed as she turned to Twilight, who glared back at her.

The Sith picked up several small crystal chunks and had them float above her hand. "Give me the relic." Twilight did nothing and prepared to fight, as Solara threw the gems towards her.

Twilight deflected most of them with her Lightsaber, but one managed to hit her in the arm. "Gyah!" She dropped her blade and staggered back, as Solara raised her weapon.

"Last chance!" But Twilight did nothing and Solara ran forward, leaping into the air with her sword raised high. She screamed, as she fell down towards Twilight. And at the last moment, Twilight's instincts kicked in and she thrust her hands up.

The next thing Solara knew, she smashed into an invisible wall and was being thrown back by it. She screamed, as she crashed into the ground and let out a moan.

Twilight gasped, as she looked at her hands. She then realised she could once again feel The Force all around her, connecting her to everything around her. That included her Lightsaber, which she summoned to her hand as Solara picked herself up.

"So you've got your powers back," the Sith growled. "No matter. It won't be enough to save you." Twilight frowned, as she prepared to take whatever punishment Solara dished out.

But before either could attack, Twilight's gauntlet beeped. "Twilight?" She gasped at Flash's voice, "are you there? I'm picking up your signal. Hold on." Moments later, a Delta-X flew into view and circled around them. "Get away from her."

Twilight didn't need telling twice and leapt away, as Flash's ship unleashed a laser that flew down and caused the ground around Solara to explode.

The Sith screamed, as she was thrown through the air and crashed into the ground. Twilight smiled, as Flash curved around to take another pass. Twilight then noticed Solara's ship and connected to him. "Take out her fighter, so she can't escape!" The Delta-X shifted around to attack, but he was soon distracted by another issue.

More fighters appeared, except they weren't Delta-Xs.

As the Sith fighters flew down, they targeted Flash's ship and fired. Flash was able to avoid them, but this gave Solara the chance she needed. She got up and ran towards her fighter, using her gauntlet to open the cockpit and allow her to leap in.

Twilight ran towards it, hoping to cut part of the ship so it couldn't take off. But Solara seemed to anticipate this and fired a laser. Not at Twilight, but at the tree Trixie was currently trapped under.

Twilight gasped as she saw the tree beginning to catch flames, the girl forced to focus her attention on the tree. As Solara lifted off, Twilight ran over. "Hold on!" She held her hands out, using all her might to lift it. But to her horror, the tree wouldn't move. "What?" She tried again, but nothing was happening. "What's going on?"

Solara took off and as she saw Twilight attempting to save Trixie, she brought her targeting sensor online. She would destroy Twilight with a single shot.

But before she could fire, she was suddenly shot at.

She looked up and saw Flash, flying towards her and attempting to blast her out of the sky. This made her growl as she hit her thrusters and flew into the air, away from Twilight and Flash.

Flash saw her leaving and prepared to go after her, but Twilight called out through the coms. "Flash! Help!" He looked around and saw the tree catching flames. "Trixie's under there and I can't lift it."

Flash nodded and turned his attention away from Solara, allowing her to fly away. "Get back!" Twilight moved away from the tree and as Flash flew over it, he pushed his ship to full speed.

The ship accelerated and shot past them so close, he created a powerful wind that blew the tree into the air and revealed Trixie underneath.

Twilight rushed to her side and looked her over. Trixie's clothes were torn and she had a few scratches, but nothing life threatening. Twilight looked her over and sighed in relief, then turned to the sky where Solara's ship had vanished.

Up in space, Solara flew towards a destroyer that had remained hidden behind the moon.

As she flew to it, she sent out a general retreat order. The remaining ships and destroyers were all to leave the planet, as she flew up to the large ship and sent her clearance code to enter. As she did, fear began to flow through her entire being. She had failed to achieve her mission.

She thought back to when she found the podium and tried to unlock it, but the stones at the bottom had been impossible to move on her own. And when Twilight and Trixie arrived, she was forced to hide as they unlocked the puzzle. Now the relic was in their hands.

She thought about what Sombra would say, when he discovered she had failed to achieve her goal. And worse, she had allowed the Jedi to claim the prize. There was no telling how much info they could obtain from that relic. If she didn't find a way to get it back, he life would likely be forfeit.

Back on the planet, Twilight and Trixie had gotten a ride from Flash.

It appeared that as soon as Solara left, the ships attacking the planet all began to make their escape. The Delta-Xs had tried to give chase, but the ships all managed to get into hyperspace before they managed to reach their hyperdrive rings.

Down on the planet, Flash had taken Twilight and Trixie to Ruby's home. There, they met Ruby's mother Garnet. This Gemman was a brownish pink colour with purple hair, the woman allowing them to rest there whilst Trixie was looked after.

As they did, they got in contact with Luna and the others at the attacked city. "They were just trying to distract us?" Luna repeated, her face on a holographic screen as Twilight nodded.

"I'm afraid so. There was a temple here, like the one on the forest moon you first met Solara on."

"I see," Luna frowned. "That's troubling news. To think, we fell for such an obvious ploy. But you said she didn't get whatever she was after?" Twilight nodded, but realised Trixie still had the relic.

"There's more," Twilight stated. "For some reason, we were unable to use The Force in the tomb. And even after we left, my abilities have been fluctuating on and off." She spotted a small rock on the ground and reached out. The rock flew towards her and she sighed. "Hopefully, my powers are completely back.

As she said that, Trixie walked in. She was bandaged up, but looked perfectly fine.

But as she approached, Twilight's hold on the rock suddenly disappeared. "No!" She tried to lift it, but had no such luck.

"At least your powers are coming back," Trixie sighed. "I can't seem to use The Force at all." Twilight heard this and realised something.

"Wait. Every time The Force didn't work out of the tomb, I was near you." Trixie looked shocked by that, whilst Flash reached out. "I'm not saying you're the cause, but it might be something you picked up from the tomb."

"She might be right," Flash nodded. "I didn't go near that tomb and now..." He groaned, but the rock on the ground didn't budge. "I can't do anything."

Trixie frowned until she realised what Twilight was saying. "You mean that relic?" She reached into her pocket and took it out. But as she did, something else fell out as well. The gem she had gotten.

Twilight spotted the gem and picked it up, as Trixie asked Garnet to take the relic away from them for a moment. The woman left the room and as she did, Trixie tried to use The Force. But again, the rock wouldn't budge.

"Why isn't it working!?" Trixie cried, as Garnet returned.

"Because it's not the relic," Twilight stated before holding up the gem. "It's this." Trixie saw it and remembered pocketing it. "These gems were all over that tomb." She gave it to Garnet and asked her to leave and come back again. Garnet left and as she did, Trixie focused on the relic in her hand.

To their amazement, the triangle suddenly floated out of her hand. "It worked!" But then Garnet returned and the relic fell, Trixie catching it.

"I see," Luna frowned. "A gem that can cut a Jedi's connection to The Force. That's truly terrifying to hear. And will need to be looked into further. But we have more important things to discuss. The relic." Trixie held it up for her to see. Luna frowned as she stared at it. "I've never seen anything like it."

"I've never seen it in our records," Twilight agreed. "What do we do?"

"For now, we must guard it. If the Sith want it, it must be important. We'll take it back to Canterlot and keep it safe." They nodded, as Luna told them to make preparations to leave. They had won a huge battle against the Sith on this day and they had to make sure they kept the lead it had given them.

Despite now having a clue, they were still in the dark about the Sith's plans. They would need to uncover the purpose of this relic and what the Dark Side wished to do with it, for the sake of the entire Galaxy.

Chapter 21

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The battle of Gemmax had ended and despite the many casualties, mass destruction and major clean-up that needed to be done, the battle was considered a victory for the Jedi.

As soon as the fight was over, the Jedi had made preparations to return to Canterlot. They had to do so before the Sith attempted another attack, since they had something the evil army wanted. As such, Flash, Shining and Springer had gotten to work on repairing the Shooting Star.

Ruby and Rarity had asked to remain behind, Ruby wanting to be there whilst her father recovered from the injuries he had sustained. Lucky, Fluttershy's immediate healing had made that process far easier. If he had waited to be treated, he might never have been able to walk or fight again.

As soon as the Shooting Star was fixed, the Jedi returned to Canterlot with it and their fighters.

As soon as they got back, Luna had taken Twilight and Trixie to the council in order to give a report on what had happened. Celestia was very proud of them, for managing to uncover the Sith's true plans and stopping them from obtaining their goals.

Now, they had two points of interest that needed to be looked into.

The first, and most important thing, was the mysterious relic that had been discovered. After Flash had taken a look, he was pretty positive this was the same object that Solara had taken from the other temple they had found. That meant there were more than one. And everyone on the council agreed, there were likely more pieces out there.

"We have to find these pieces," one of the masters stated.

"We don't even know what it is," Skybreaker pointed out. "How are we supposed to find something we don't know the purpose and number of? The next piece could be anywhere."

"The Sith have a huge head start," Luna agreed. "They must know what it is and where they need to look."

"Maybe not," Celestia told her. "Solara found the first piece a while ago and only now did she attempt to retrieve this piece. That leads me to believe they don't have the exact locations, which gives us a chance to find it as well." She held the relic in hand and thought about what to do with it. "Until we can figure out what it is, we must keep it safe. We'll place it inside the temple vault."

"We have a vault?" Trixie asked, turning to Twilight who simply shrugged. "Why don't we just destroy it?" The masters turned to her. "If the Sith plan on doing something with it, it's clearly dangerous. Why take the risk? Use your Lightsaber and cut it in half."

"Trixie," Twilight looked horrified. "We can't destroy it. It's a valuable piece of Jedi history. You can't destroy something like that."

"I actually agree with Trixie," Luna stated. "Yes, it's an important piece of Jedi history. But if it puts the entire galaxy at risk, stopping it from ever being used is more important."

"I concur," Celestia nodded. "However, destroying it isn't an easy task. Yes, we might just be able to slice it in half with a Lightsaber. But what if it has a way of making us regret that action?" Trixie looked confused. "A long time ago, a Jedi was tasked with keeping a special energy source from falling into the wrong hands. They tried everything, but were eventually cornered with no way of stopping those that sought its power. So the Jedi did the only thing they could think of."

"They destroyed the energy source," Twilight caught on.

"Exactly," Celestia nodded. "But that energy was so powerful, destroying it caused a massive explosion that took out half the planet and left the other half in a state of utter chaos."

"And you think this thing might do the same?" Trixie asked.

"Maybe," Luna agreed. "The point is, we can't jump to a conclusion even if we all agree it's the best course of action. We need to learn more about this relic and what power it contains. And if it does do something like that, we'll take it to an already dead planet and destroy it there."

"And maybe this relic can do some good," Celestia stated. "We don't know who it was that kid these objects. They're most likely Jedi. If they were, they must have thought these relics had the possibility of being used for good. That's why they hid them instead of destroying them."

Skybreaker frowned. "Maybe they wanted to destroy it, but just didn't know how without making their part of the galaxy go boom."

"Maybe," Celestia nodded. "Until we know for sure, we'll keep the relic in the vault and not talk about it. The more people know about this thing, the more danger we are in." They nodded, as Celestia chose to change the subject. "What of your other discovery? The mysterious gem that can stop a Jedi from using The Force?"

Trixie reached into her pocket and held out the small gem, Celestia attempting to summon it over to her with little success. "There's a whole bunch of them in that temple. I don't know where they came from originally, but just one is able to stop us from using The Force."

The Masters all stared at this gem, each having a different expression on their faces. "What should we do?" A master asked. "We can't allow such a weapon to fall into the wrong hands. If the Sith learn about it, they could attempt to arm their forces with them. Imagine, every droid and bug trooper, completely immune to our abilities."

"I doubt the Sith would do something like that," Celestia pointed out. "The Sith are just as dependent on The Force as we are. Having an entire army that could render them powerless is not something I think Sombra would be interested in."

"So what should we do?" Another master asked, as Twilight raised a hand.

"I have a suggestion." They looked towards her. "The biggest issue we have with the Sith, is that our only option is to kill them. We can't imprison a person who can wield The Force, since they can unlock the doors or whatever's holding them and make guards let them go. But with these gems, that's no longer the case."

"She's right," Skybreaker nodded. "We could design jails that use these gems to prevent them from escaping. And not just The Sith. I hate to say this, but we might be able to use them if a Jedi ever betrays our order. I know Doom Raizer was innocent, but if he had remained in jail. He would have been acquitted and we might have had one less Sith to deal with."

"I agree," Luna smiled. "Excellent idea, Twilight. As much as I hate to admit it, we need some way to keep Force users contained should the need arise." The masters all agreed, with Trixie and Twilight nodding in agreement.

"Excellent work, the pair of you. Now go get some rest. You've both earned it." They nodded again before heading out, leaving the masters to discuss more topics.

As they made their way out of the temple, Trixie smirked. "A Jedi prison. Not something I'd want to spend some time in. But I can't wait to see that Solara girl, stuck in one of those cells."

"I'm not so sure we'll be seeing her again," Twilight stated. "I'm no expert when it comes to the Sith, but I get the feeling they don't take failure well. If Solara was after that relic, letting it fall into our hands probably hasn't made her very popular." She looked out of a nearby window and up into the sky, wondering where Solara was. And what was happening to her.

On a distant planet, in Sombra's castle lair, a scream could be heard.

That scream was coming from Solara, who was currently riving around on the floor in absolute agony. The source was a bunch of red lightning, which was coming out of Sombra's hands as he sat on his throne. Off to the side, the holograms of Chrysalis, Doom, Tirek and Armalum were watching.

Chrysalis and Doom were flinching at the sight, whilst Tirek simply smiled with his arms crossed. Armalum stood there, no emotion on his robotic face.

Eventually, Sombra stopped the lightning and Solara continued to quiver on the ground. She panted and cried, as smoke came off her body. She was soon forced to pull the helmet off her head, allowing her to properly breathe. All the while, Sombra just glared at her.

"Now you know what happens, when you fail me."

"I...I won't fail you again." Solara dragged herself along the ground. "I'll find the final piece and get the other one back."

"And how do you intend to do this?" Sombra asked. "The Jedi have likely stored it away somewhere. How can you acquire it, if you don't even know where it is?"

"I'll find a way," Solara swore. "Please, just give me another chance. I'll prove myself to you, or die trying." Sombra stared at her for a moment, then nodded as Solara sighed in relief. "Thank you, master. I won't let you down again."

"Be sure that you don't," Sombra told her.

Solara began to drag herself away, eventually managing to stand up and head out of the throne room. It was clear by the way she was limping, that she wasn't in the best of conditions. But she didn't accept any help from the troopers offering to give her a hand.

Once she was gone, the holograms of the other four were moved to float in front of Sombra. "Master," Tirek spoke up, "are you sure it is wise to let her remain? Because of her, our mission is now in jeopardy."

"Maybe. But I do not have time to find someone to replace her. She may still be of use to me. If she can retrieve the relic, I will accept her back into our order. But if she fails again, I will remove her. Besides, she can be used as leverage against Celestia."

"Why would Celestia care about her?" Chrysalis asked, but Sombra simply smiled and chose to keep that information to himself.

"Continue your work. Tirek. Continue your attacks on the planets in the republic. Keep them guessing about our true goals. Armalum and Chrysalis. Keep building our forces as best you can. And Doom, I want you to take over the mining operations. I don't care where you find the material of labour. Get what we need."

"Yes master," they all replied before the holograms cut out.

As they did, Sombra sat back on his throne. He was still worried about the vision he had had. And now that he knew who the Jedi in question were, he knew he had to find a way to deal with them.

Back on Canterlot, Flash and Springer were walking through the city.

Despite this new beginning war, Flash had still been permitted some time to relax. Shining Armor and the others were also relaxing, but they all knew they could be called to action at any moment. As such, Flash was continuing to explore the surrounding city of Canterlot. He still knew very little about the city and wanted to know as much about it as possible.

"Flash?" Springer asked, "what exactly are we doing?"

"Whatever we find interesting," Flash replied. "And remember to stick close to me. Don't want anybody trying to nab you."

"Then why don't I just get on your back." Flash frowned, but decided to agree and knelt down. The droid quickly hovered up and extended the straps, turning him into a large backpack for Flash to carry around.

Remembering what Twilight had told him, he chose to keep to the top layer of the planet and made his way through multiple parks and other areas. All the while, he thought about the battles he would have to fight in.

So far, the fights he had been in were all ones he hadn't lost anyone in. But he knew it was just a matter of time before someone he knew, received an injury that might end their lives. Luna had taken a shot to the leg, but what if that droid had aimed a little higher and she was hit in the chest. Twilight and Trixie could have been killed by Solara, and Trixie would have if Flash hadn't been there.

"You okay, Flash?" He looked back at Springer, "you look worried about something."

Flash smiled and reached up to pat his head. "I'm fine, bud. Just thinking about stuff I probably shouldn't." But he couldn't help himself. This was war and in war, people died. Jedi had already lost their lives in this war and those were just the ones Flash didn't really know. How was he supposed to handle losing someone close to him?

Before he could say anything else, his gauntlet suddenly beeped. "Any Jedi in the area?" It was a male voice Flash didn't recognise. "I could use a little help."

Flash quickly answered, "right here. What's your location?"

"Lock onto my signal and get here as quickly as you can." Flash did so and uploaded the coordinates to Springer, who told him which way to go. Flash burst into a sprint and ran through the busy city, being careful not to run into anybody.

"Take a left here!" Flash quickly turned and ran over a bridge, a crack in the top layer right below him.

As he reached the other side, a speeder suddenly stopped in front of it and someone started unloading parcels from it. But Flash was easily able to leap over the speeder and landed on the other side, Springer telling him to go straight and head down some stairs to the next level down.

"We're almost there," Springer replied. "Are you sure this was a good idea? We have no idea what we're about to get ourselves into."

"We'll be fine," Flash told him. "The call came on the secure Jedi channel. That means it's a Jedi that sent the message." They turned another corner and when they got there, they found themselves in a large square open area. A couple of boxes were stacked around the place, but nothing out of the ordinary. "Are we in the right place?"

"This is the place we were sent the coordinates of."

Flash stepped into the area and wondered what the heck was going on. He was about to think this was a trick, only for the wall to suddenly explode right beside him. "WOW!" He leapt back to avoid the rocks, which went flying everywhere and smashed several crates.

From out of the dust, someone leapt out and did several back flips. As they did, Flash noticed a blue Lightsaber in their hand. They were humanoid, wearing a Jedi cloak over a white shirt and brown pants. Their hood was up, so Flash couldn't see their face. But as they held their Lightsaber in a single hand, Flash noticed the skin on their arm was brown.

Flash was about to call out to them, but suddenly heard a large roar and looked to see something stomp out of the hole.

It was some kind of rock alien, being three times Flash's size whilst having no head. Its face was on its stone body, with stumpy rock legs and large bulky rock arms. The ends of its arms were covered in blue gems, which turned their arms into crystal maces. Gems also stuck out the top of its body head, its back and even out of its knees.

"What the heck am I looking at?" Flash asked, as the giant creature roared and attacked the cloaked figure.

Said figure noticed Flash and as the monster slammed its mace arm into the ground, he leapt up and flipped through the air. "Get out of here, kid!" Flash recognised the voice and realised who this was.

"Hey," Springer jumped down and he drew his Lightsaber, "you called for my help!" He ignited the blade and ran forward, catching the rock monster's attention.

It raised one of its arms and tried to crush the Padawan, but Flash easily dodged the attack and stabbed his Lightsaber into its arm. The monster roared, as he cut up the length of its arms. It pulled its arm away, then tried to kick Flash away.

But Flash was able to leap away, as Springer came flying in using his hoverskirt to propel himself into the air.

His nose blaster extended and he started firing at the creature's head, causing bits of its ready face to break away. It roared at this and swung its arms around, Springer barely managing to avoid getting smashed as he fired.

The other Jedi watched this for a moment, then looked towards the hole in the wall. "Keep that thing occupied. I need to deal with something."

"What?" Flash asked, as the Jedi ran into the building. "HEY! What are you doing?" But the Jedi disappeared and Flash was forced to focus on the rock monster, which brought both its mace arms together before swinging them down towards him. "Not good." He leapt back, as the fists crashed into the ground.

The impact sent out a shockwave, which slammed into Flash and knocked him flying backwards.

He crashed into a crate and broke through it, groaning as he collapsed on the ground.

As he lay there, the beast stomped forward and prepared to crush him again. But Flash was able to lift a hand out and make the monster freeze, though the focus Flash needed to do this was seriously draining.

Luckily, Springer flew in just in time and fired several lasers at the creature's face.

The blasts knocked the unbalanced creature backwards and made it fall on its butt, which allowed Flash to roll out from under it and get back to his feet. "Thanks bud." He gave Springer a thumbs up, as the creature lifted itself back to its feet.

It glared at him, then looked around before heading towards the opening he had originally come through. "I think he's trying to get out of here."

"We can't let him out onto the street. There's no telling what he'd do!" He looked around, hoping to find some rope or something that might be able to help him stop the creature. But all there were were crates. "Come on!" He lifted as many of them up as he could, then threw them towards the rock giant.

The crates slammed into it, knocking the poor creature forward.

It slowly turned back to him and let out a roar, Flash slowly stepping backwards. "I think you got his attention!" Springer cried, as the rock giant raised its mace fists.

"Lucky me!" Flash leapt out of the way, as the creature brought it smashing down onto the ground. Springer tried to fire at it again, but the creature moved so the crystals on its body were hit instead of him. And as crystals were likely to do, they refracted the laser and sent it flying in different directions.

"WOW!" Springer barely managed to avoid getting hit by his own laser, the K-9 Droid pulling to the side before flying up to avoid getting hit by a mace arm.

Flash ran forward and used his Lightsaber to cut through the creature's leg, carving a deep groove into it and making the beast roar in pain. The rock monster staggered forwards, as its leg began to crack and break apart.

Flash felt sorry for the beast, but he couldn't afford to let it move around and do even more damage.

But as the creature fell to the ground, it raised its arm and smashed it into the ground. The shaking almost knocked Flash off his feet, whilst the ground they were on broke apart. Flash looked down and realised the area they were on was solid rock, as opposed to the metal or concrete that made up other areas of Canterlot's levels.

As the rock broke apart, the creature lifted the boulders up.

Flash half expected it to throw them at him, but instead the beast shoved them into its mouth. "Weird time for a snack." But then, he noticed that the parts of the beast's body that he had cut into, were beginning to heal themselves. The creature was using the rocks to repair itself. "Oh, great."

Body healed, the rock monster turned to him and charged.

He leapt away to avoid another mace strike, rolling along the ground as the monster turned to him. It raised both maces to crush him, Flash gasping as he prepared to escape. But he didn't need to.

Suddenly, the creature started glowing pink. And the next thing Flash knew, it started shrinking. It grew smaller and smaller, Flash shocked to see this. And as the creature grew small enough, he was able to look behind it.

The Jedi from before, was holding some kind of weird ray gun in his hands. The rifle was shooting out the energy and causing the creature to shrink, eventually turning it no bigger than three inches tall. "There we go." The Jedi stopped firing and the little creature tried to run away, but the cloaked individual held out his hand and it floated into the air.

It flew over to him, as he held out some kind of glass mug.

The creature fell into the mug and let out several screams, as it tried to break itself free. But the glass was too thick for it to shatter. "You should be safe in there until we can get you back where you belong."

"What did you do?" Flash asked, as Springer flew over to the rifle he had placed on the ground.

Scanning it, the droid looked surprised. "Some kind of molecular re-sequencer, built to target the size of an object's matter and shift it. Basically, it's a shrinking ray. But it could also be used to make things larger."

"Which is how this little guy got here," the Jedi replied. He held the creature up and as he did, Flash realised his left arm was actually robotic. "He's supposed to be the same size as us, but he was shrunk down to transport here. Then they made him even bigger, so he could crush me."

"They?" Flash asked, as the figure turned to the hole in the wall.

Flash looked inside and found a bunch of unconscious guys, most humans though many were different races. They all looked like they had been put through the ringer. And as Flash looked around the room, he spotted cages, glass cases and even a few force field containers. Each of them had a different animal, clearly smaller than they were actually meant to be.

"What is all this?"

"Trafficking operation," the Jedi replied. "I've been tracking them for months. Bunch of poachers, who shrink animals down for easy transport and sell to the highest bidder. Most of these animals are endangered, so doing something like this is a criminal offence."

"That's horrible," Springer cried. "Good things we stopped them. So what happens now?" As he said that, groans filled the air and some of the criminals were starting to come around.

The Jedi suddenly pointed the shrink ray at them and fired, Flash shocked to see the crooks all beginning to shrink down. And once they were small enough, he used The Force to lift them all into the air and place them inside an empty glass case. "Are you sure that's legal?"

"They'll be fine," the Jedi replied. "Sector Security can make them their proper height later." Once the last person was inside the case, he took out a pen and a scrap of paper. Moments later, a note explaining who they were was stuck to the side of the case.

"Wait," Flash turned to him, "you're just gonna leave?"

"I've never been big on dealing with Sector Security, especially if it's that Lightning guy." Flash shrugged at this. "Besides, I've got other stuff I need to deal with. Can't waste my time making a police report." He reached into his cloak. "But whilst you're here." He took something out and tossed it towards Flash.

The teen caught it and saw it was some kind of information chip. "What's this?"

"Give that to Celestia. She should find the info on it very helpful." Before Flash could say anything else, the figure ran away and leapt into the air. Flash and Springer were stunned by this and by the time their brains caught up, the figure was standing on the roof. "Oh. What's your name, by the way?"

Flash blinked. "Flash. Flash Sentry."

"Well, Flash Sentry, hope to see you again." With that, he leapt down off the roof and disappeared behind the building. Flash and Springer stared at the spot he had been, unsure what the heck had just happened. And as Flash stared down at the data chip, sirens filled the air.

"We should get out of here," Springer told him. Flash nodded and the two headed off, as a Security Cruiser flew onto the scene. They would find the destroyed building and check it out, finding an illegal molecular re-sequencer and a bunch of shrunken animals that didn't belong on Canterlot. They then found some shrunken people, with a note stating they were the crooks behind the animal trafficking.

The security officers stared at the shrunken people, wondering what the heck had happened. There didn't seem to be any surveillance equipment in the area, so they couldn't watch what had happened. Hopefully, the crooks would spill what happened under interrogation.

Back at the temple, Celestia had called Twilight to an area of the place very few bothered to go.

It was a dark section of the temple, with very little natural or artificial light. It was a storage area, where they kept anything they didn't have a need for at the moment. Boxes of fabric used to make clothing. Tools used to repair damage done to the Temple and just random knickknacks that found their way into the Jedi's possession.

Twilight walked through this area, a little creeped out by how deserted the place was.

She then spotted Celestia, standing near a wall looking around. "Master?" She stepped over to her, Celestia smiling when she saw her.

"Good. You're here."

"Why are we down here? I thought you were going to place the relic inside the temple's vault."

"That's exactly what I'm doing," Celestia replied. She turned to the wall and placed her hand on a specific spot, which Twilight suddenly saw light up and run a light over her hand. Another spot then opened and Celestia glanced into it, as a light flew out and ran over her eye.

"A secret entrance?" Twilight was amazed, as the entire wall suddenly opened. "Why do we have a secret entrance to the vault?"

"This is where we keep dangerous objects," Celestia explained. "Objects that cannot be allowed to fall into the wrong hands." She stepped into the small room and Twilight followed, Twilight realising it was an elevator. "We can't just have it out in the open. If it was known how to get into the vault, the younglings would be constantly trying to sneak in to see all the dangerous stuff."

Twilight thought that she wouldn't try something like that, but realised someone like Flash, Spike or Rainbow would have definitely tried that.

They rode the elevator down about a mile before it came to a stop, Celestia stepping forward before the doors even opened. When they did, she glided down the corridor without even looking where she was going. Twilight followed, as they arrived at a large metal door.

As Twilight looked up at the door, she turned to her master. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Because I believe you can be trusted," Celestia told her. She reached over to a console on the wall, which had a small metal hook sticking out of it. She pricked her finger on it and as the hook folded back into the wall, Celestia typed a code into the keypad.

Moments later, the large door opened and Twilight was greeted to the sight of a large room. Said room was full of glass draws, Twilight stepping inside and looking through the glass.

The draws were all different sizes, some being small whilst others were large. Many were empty, but a lot had something inside of them. Objects and relics of differing sizes and shapes, the glass distorting them and making it impossible for Twilight to tell what they really looked like.

"These are all items of great power," Celestia stated. "Used by Sith in order to increase their strength. In exchange for that strength, they had to do unspeakable things. Kill those they loved. Steal the power from others. Or allow themselves to be inhabited. Power like this, always has a cost."

Twilight raised a hand to one of the draws, which had some kind of strange glowing cube inside of it.

As soon as she placed a hand on it, she was suddenly overwhelmed with a cold and horrible feeling. She pulled her hand away and stepped back, gasping at the horrible sensation. "Why did you bring me here?"

"To show you," Celestia stated. "To help you understand the kind of threat that we're dealing with." She opened one of the draws and placed the relic inside of it. "The Sith are made up of those that only care about getting power as fast as they can, no matter what the cost might be. They choose to give themselves to these dark powers. To become tools of the Dark Side, simply because they couldn't find the patience to do things the right way."

Twilight nodded. She knew Celestia was right. Sombra. Solara. All of the Sith. All they cared about was making themselves stronger, no matter what the cost."

"Let this be a lesson to you. That no matter how much you want to become stronger faster, there's a right way to do things. And that way may take a long time, but it's far better in the long run."

Twilight nodded. "I understand. I'd rather spend years mastering something, then cheat and get it at a cost."

"That's my girl," Celestia smiled as they headed back the way they came. "And I'm sure that one day, you'll be the only one with access to this vault instead of me."

Twilight wondered what the heck she was talking about, but then realised what she meant and suddenly felt very nervous. The idea of becoming the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order felt terrifying. Twilight might have been talented with The Force, but she was a hundred years away from ever being Grandmaster. Luna was more likely to take over before she was."

"I don't know," Twilight told her. "That sounds like way too much responsibility. I think I'd rather you stay the grandmaster."

"I'm sure a lot of Jedi would. But I can't remain in charge forever. The galaxy is forever changing. If the Jedi can't change with it, then we are doomed to become obsolete and eventually die out. When I took over the order, I realised I couldn't let the Jedi remain as it was. That was what caused Sombra to break away from the Order. It was time for the Jedi to evolve and one day, the Jedi will need to evolve again. And it can't do that whilst I remain in command."

"But you've done so well leading the Jedi," Twilight pointed out. They returned to the elevator and rode it back to the Temple.

"That may be. But I've done as much as I can to help the order flourish. One day, a new leader will be needed to help it grow again." She took out her Lightsaber and showed it to Twilight. "These weapons are just like us. Long ago, the blade was connected to a larger battery pack that we had to carry around with us."

Twilight nodded, having read about the early Lightsaber. "But then they were upgraded."

"Exactly. New Jedi saw what had come before and found a way to make it better. Which led to the type of sword you and I use. And that led to the weapons Luna uses. Which led to Pinkie and Applejack's weapons. New Jedi, choosing to make something new instead of being dragged down by tradition. And that's what needs to happen with the Jedi. One day, our order will need to grow and evolve. And to do that, new blood is needed to lead us into the future."

The elevator came to a stop and the pair stepped out of it, making their way back up to the main areas of the temple.

They continued to talk and discuss many different matters, eventually arriving at the main hallway of the temple. It was here that they came to a stop, as they spotted Flash and Springer running around. "Flash?" Twilight called out, making Flash skid to a stop and turn to the pair. "What are you doing?"

Flash rushed over and was about to speak, but suddenly found himself completely out of breath.

He bent over, holding up a finger asking for a moment. The pair looked a bit concerned, then turned to Springer who could still speak. "We have something for you," the droid announced. "It was given to us by a Jedi, though we have no idea who they were."

"What?" Celestia looked shocked by this, as Flash finally regained his composure and took something out of his pocket. The data chip. "You received this from a Jedi?"

"I'm pretty sure he was a Jedi," Flash stated. "He had a Lightsaber, could use The Force and he fought against some animal traffickers."

Celestia hummed, as she took the chip from Flash. "I'm hesitant to connect something to our systems, that could be considered dangerous." She turned to Twilight. "Go to the archives and bring a tablet that's disconnected from our main servers." Twilight nodded and ran off, as Celestia had Flash and Springer follow her.

They arrived at a room Flash hadn't been in before. And when they stepped inside, Flash found it was a large round room with a round holotable in the centre of it.

Celestia turned to Flash, "tell me everything that happened." Flash nodded and explained the situation, how he had received a call for help and ran off to find a Jedi, being attacked by a rock monster that had been enlarged by some kind of shrink and growth ray.

As he finished his story, Twilight returned with Shining, Skybreaker, Cadance and Luna besides her.

"Hey," Skybreaker spoke up, "Twilight said something happened."

"Flash has had a minor adventure," Celestia explained. "And it appears, he was able to get something I will apparently find interesting." Twilight handed over the tablet she had retrieved, Celestia checking to make sure it was disconnected from their server. "Good. If this chip has a virus, we won't get infected." She placed the chip into the tablet, as Shining stepped over to Flash.

"What happened?"

"I got a call from a Jedi that needed my help. He was being attacked by a bunch of animal traffickers."

"Who was he?" Luna asked, but Flash shrugged.

"I didn't see his face. But he was good. Oh, he did have a mechanical arm. Don't know if that helps." Hearing that made Shining frown, as he seemed to recognise that description. "Anyway, he gave me the data chip and said Celestia would want to see what's on it."

"What is on it?" Cadance asked, as Celestia continued to look at the info.

"Interesting." She hummed as she flicked through the data. "The tablet's not picking up any viruses. I think we'll be safe to plug it in." She turned to Luna. "Just to be safe, activate the firewalls around this room's systems. If anything happens, we need to be ready to purge it before the damage can spread."

Luna nodded and stepped forward, typing away at the holotable controls. Once she was ready, Celestia plugged the tablet in and the data was uploaded to the computer. The table began to project something, showing multiple star charts and design schematics.

"What is all this?" Skybreaker asked. He pressed one of the blueprints and found it contained information on a type of ship. "The Sith weren't using ships like this."

"No," Celestia agreed. "But we still don't know how deep this rabbit hole goes. They may have other ships that we haven't seen before. And they might be using these ships to do something."

"I think I recognised this star chart," Cadance pressed one of them. The others turned to it and Luna nodded.

"That's the Cabraille Sector," the omni stated. "If the Sith have ties there, we might be in trouble."

"What's wrong with the Cabraille Sector?" Flash asked, Skybreaker being the one to tell him.

"It's a lawless area. Worse than that, it's controlled by those who hate Jedi. If a ship flies through there and is even suspected of hosting one, it'll be blown out of the sky before it can even attempt to make an excuse."

"Wow. Sounds like the kind of place Lightning Blitz would like to go."

"Maybe," Shining agreed. "But if the Sith wanted to hide something, that would be the best place to do it. Although, it also makes a risk since I doubt they'd be more welcome there than we are."

"Either way," Celestia frowned. "If the Sith are hiding something there, we need to find it and stop whatever it is. But getting there might be an issue."

"I might know of a way we can get there," Skybreaker smiled. "But we might have to wait. I'm not sure if he's on the planet at the moment."

"Who?" Flash asked.

"One of the best smugglers in the galaxy," Skybreaker stated. "You need something snuck somewhere, he can get you in." They all frowned at this, since smugglers weren't exactly known for being trustworthy. But what other choice did they have?

In the Sith castle, Solara was laying on her bed.

She had removed her normal clothing, dressed now in only a black shirt and black shorts. Her hair was a mess, still looking a little frizzy due to the electrical energy that had been sent throughout her body. But as bad as she looked, she felt even worse.

The young Sith had never failed her master before. There had been times she hadn't achieved her goal, but managed to get some consolation in exchange. But this was the first time she had ever failed to accomplish anything. It was a sickening feeling, which made her terrified of what might happen if she failed again.

Suddenly, a beeping sound filled the air and she looked over to a nearby desk.

There, a small dome-like device was beeping. She reached out and struck the device, which lit up and created the hologram of Chrysalis.

"Still pouting?" She asked, as Solara laid on her back and said nothing. "Come now. You shouldn't be upset. You're still alive. Which is better than I expected the outcome of your failure to turn out. Be thankful for that."

"I failed my mission," Solara told her. "How am I supposed to be thankful? I need to find a way to get the relic, which could have been destroyed for all I know. What is there to be thankful for?"

"You still have a chance," Chrysalis told her. "So what if you failed this mission? It's the next mission that matters. You need to stop moping about your failure. Focus on making up for it. Because trust me, you cannot fail your next mission. If you do, that's it. It's a miracle Lord Sombra gave you a second chance. You won't get a third."

Solara sighed, knowing she was right.

"But like I said. It was a miracle you were given a second chance. Lord Sombra wouldn't normally forgive a failure like that. So why did he forgive yours?" Solara turned to her, "there must be something that's making Sombra wish to keep you around. Other than your excellent track record, that is."

"Well I have no idea," Solara told her.

"Maybe he knows something about you, that makes you special."

"I'm nothing special," Solara replied. "Master Sombra found me when I was young. He said my family died, trying to escape the Jedi that were trying to take me from them. I don't really remember anything before I was with master Sombra. All I ever remember, is being trained by him."

"Then maybe the truth lies in the family you lost," Chrysalis stated. "Something to look into another time. For now, you need to focus on retrieving that relic. That should be your only objective." Solara nodded, as Chrysalis' hologram vanished. As it did, the girl began to think about her family. The one that had been stolen from her.

No matter what, she would make the Jedi pay for what they had done.

Back on Canterlot, Shining, Flash and Iron Core had made their way to one of the less reputable areas of the planet.

Flash and Iron were waiting outside a building, as Skybreaker had gone inside to search for the person they were looking for. Meanwhile, Shining had stepped out of earshot and was typing something into his gauntlet.

A few moments later, the device beeped and a voice spoke through it. "Guess you heard I'm back on planet." Shining rolled his eyes, the voice making him smile at the memory.

"Should have known you couldn't resist making trouble." Shining glanced back at Flash, "seems you had a run in with my new student."

"Yeah, I heard you were training a kid with a K-9 droid. Guess it was fate that we ran into one another. Too bad I couldn't stick around. He seems like a nice kid."

"Why didn't you stick around?"

In another part of Canterlot, the cloaked Jedi was sitting on the edge of a gap.

They pulled their hood down, revealing a made with red quills for hair and a robotic arm. "You know me. Never been one for making a scene. Or, at least, making a scene and sticking around to answer for it."

"You just didn't wanna come back to the temple, right?"

"Of course. If I come back to the temple, I'll probably have to spend the next few days doing reports and having debriefings. You know how much I hate that stuff. Besides, I don't have time for all that. And I can't risk being sent on a mission to deal with those Sith losers."

"Stax! The Sith are a big deal. You can't just ignore them."

"I'm not ignoring them," Stax replied. "But the rest of the galaxy's problems haven't disappeared just because the Sith had shown up. Someone needs to keep the planets of the system safe whilst you guys deal with the reds. And if it's not me, then who else is there?"

Shining sighed. "Where'd you get all that info that you gave to Flash?"

"Information comes my way." Shining rolled his eyes, but then noticed Skybreaker stepping out of the building. He looked around and spotted Shining, gesturing for him to come over.

"I gotta go. Next time you need my help, don't almost get my student killed." Before Stax could reply, Shining cut the call and moved over to join the others. "You find the guy you're looking for?"

"Yes. And he's not too far from here. Come on." He walked off and the three followed, Flash turning to Iron.

"So this guy we're meeting. Is he really that good?"

"Yup," Iron nodded. "And not just at smuggling. He's one of the best pilots I've ever seen. If you put him in a Delta-X, he could fly circles around you and Rainbow. If this guy had The Force, he'd probably be the absolute best in the galaxy." Flash was eager to meet this guy.

They soon arrived at a bar and headed inside, Flash looking around and seeing the aliens surrounding them. There wasn't a single one that wasn't missing something or had a robotic limb. Clearly, this bar wasn't for the soft hearted.

"There he is." Skybreaker pointed towards a booth in the back, where someone was lazing about with their feet on the table. He looked no older than Flash, with light blue skin and dark blue hair. He was dressed in a dark blue jacket over a white shirt and brown pants, with two blasters holstered to his sides.

As he drank, he spotted them approaching and put his legs down.

"Skybreaker," he smiled. "Haven't seen you in a while. What can I do for you?" Skybreaker sat down, the others staying stood up as the pilot looked them over. "Iron?" Iron nodded, "who are the other two?"

"Shining Armor and Flash Sentry," Skybreaker replied before turning to them. "This is Soarin Skies. The best smuggler in the galaxy."

"Sup," Soarin told them. "So, what do you need? You never show up unless you need something."

"I need you to smuggle us in and out of a sector of space." Soarin raised an eyebrow at this. "Cabraille."

"The Cabraille sector?" Soarin actually looked worried. "You want me to sneak you into the one place in the galaxy being a Jedi is an instant death offence. You realise what'll happen if someone realises you're Jedi, right? I'll be blown out of the sky before I can even say two words."

"That's why we came to you," Skybreaker replied. "If you can't do it, nobody can. So, think you can do it?" Soarin hummed as he sat back in his seat, clearly weighing the risks and rewards to doing this.

"If I do this, I want to be paid a heck of a lot." Skybreaker nodded, "how long do you want to be in this sector?"

"Long enough to find the information we need. We'll pay you five hundred credits, for every day we're in the Cabraille system. Sound good?" Soarin looked interested.

"Yeah, okay. I'll take you to Cabraille. But you'd better find a way to hide...whatever it is you have that they track to locate Jedi." He brought up his gauntlet and typed something into it, Skybreaker soon hearing a beep from his gauntlet. "Meet me at this location in two hours." With that, Soarin got up and headed out of the bar.

The Jedi watched him go and when he was gone, Shining turned to Soarin. "You sure we can trust this guy? What if he freaks when we get checked and he sells us out?"

"Soarin's not like that," Skybreaker assured him. "He might try and act cool and uncaring, but he'll never sell someone out. It's just not his way, even if it's the only way to keep himself alive." He stood up. "But Soarin's right. We need to find a way to mask our midi-chlorians."

"Our what now?"

"Midi-chlorians," Iron told him. "Don't tell me you don't know what those are." Flash shrugged. "They're a microscopic life form, which are reliant on The Force to survive. The same way we need oxygen to survive, they need The Force."

"Which is why they're mostly found in those who are Force Sensitive," Shining replied. "The stronger someone is with The Force, the more midi-chlorians they can house in themselves. It's one of the ways the Jedi locate Force Sensitive children."

"And possibly how they find Jedi in the cabraille sector." Skybreaker frowned. "There's gotta be a way we can mask them." Flash thought about it and slowly, an idea formed in his head.

"I can make a really dumb suggestion."

Flash's suggestion required them to go meet with those in the Education Core, who were currently studying the rock Trixie and Twilight had brought back.

"You want to borrow the rock?" The Jedi currently studying it asked, the rock currently under a microscope within the temple's research lab. "We just started investigating it. Why would you possibly want to take it away?"

"It might be our only hope of survival," Shining explained. "We're going to the cabraille sector." The Jedi looked shocked. "If we want to survive, we need to find a way to lower our midi-chlorian level. If my student's right, being around that rock might do it."

"It'll also make it impossible to use The Force," Skybreaker pointed out.

"It's not like we'll be showing off our Force skills anyway," Iron pointed out. "If this thing keeps us hidden, I say we go for it."

The Jedi hummed as he looked towards the rock, then took out some kind of device. "What are you doing?" The Jedi said nothing and took a sample of his blood, then took it over to a computer of some kind.

"If you're right, then my midi-chlorian levels should be way down. I've been spending all day around that thing. I shouldn't have any left."

Flash turned to Shining. "What happens if we don't have any of these midi-chlorians in us?"

"Nothing," Shining replied. "Midi-chlorians aren't harmful, but they don't really do anything for the Jedi they inhabit. The only real use they have is allowing others to find Jedi, which can be both a hindrance and a help depending on who's looking for them."

"It seems your idea was correct," the Jedi told them. "My midi-chlorian count is a lot lower than it should be. Insanely low. Whatever this rock does, it's the perfect way to mask a Jedi from being detected." He hummed. "If we can discover a way to replicate that effect without taking the Jedi's powers away, this could be a very useful tool."

"Well we'll be using this tool to make sure we're not blown out of the sky." Skybreaker took the rock and pocketed it, the Jedi frowning as the four headed out. "I promise to get you a new one if we lose this one. Maybe contact Ruby and see if she'll bring any more for you to study." With that, the four were gone and the Jedi no longer had anything new to play with.

By the time the Jedi had retrieved Springer and reached the area Soarin had told them to meet, they were well past the time they were supposed to be there.

When they walked into the hanger area they had been directed to, they spotted the ship that would be taking them to the Cabraille Sector. It was a large ship, even larger than the Shooting Star and any other cargo ship that would usually be used to smuggle.

It was a bullet-shaped ship with wings sticking out the sides as well as the top and bottom, the bottom wind also being used as a leg whilst four more pole-like legs extended down. One came from the front, one came from the back and the other two came out of the wings on the side.

The back of the ship appeared to be split into two parts, an inner and an outer section. The outer section held the wings and appeared to be able to spin, which would allow the ship a great amount of movement.

A section near the front of the ship suddenly folded down, then extended to form a ramp. Colour wise, it was light blue and had streaks of yellow painted along it.

Soarin walked down this ramp and smiled at them. "Took you guys long enough."

"Sorry," Skybreaker told him. "We had to get something that should keep us hidden. You ready to go?"

"Yup," Soarin smirked, "The Wonderbolt's ready to fly." As he said that, part of the ship suddenly fell off and he smiled. "Once I give it one final look over." The four didn't look so sure about this, but they had no other choice.

"Let's go," Skybreaker stated before they headed into the ship. This journey might not be the smoothest ride, but it was their best bet to finding something that might help them fight against the Sith. Only time would tell, if they managed to uncover something.

Chapter 22

View Online

On the outskirts of the Cabraille Sector, a ship was coming out of Hyperspace.

The Wonderbolt, appeared from out of nowhere and continued to fly towards the sector. The bullet-shaped ship moved with incredible speed, despite how bulky it was. The outer sections of the rear spun through the vacuum, the wings moving around and around as they unleashed bursts of propulsion in order to help keep the ship steady.

Inside the ship, Soarin was sitting at the controls.

In front of him was an old fashioned wheel, the pilot using it to control the ship as he chewed a bunch of gum in his mouth. He looked happy, though his passengers did not.

Further back, the Jedi and their droid friend were looking around the section they had been occupying since they left Canterlot. And whilst Soarin was clearly a great pilot, his ship repair skills were obviously less than amazing.

Every wall was poorly welded together or held in place by tape. There were loose wires, hanging from the ceiling, open sections of the floor to allow those parts better ventilation, and consoles that were sparking every now and then. This wasn't a ship. It was time bomb waiting to go off.

Flash, who had been playing cards with Iron, finally admitted defeat and got up.

He headed towards the drive area and as he did, Soarin had to shift the ship around to avoid a stray piece of rock. But the movement caused a panel above Flash to come loose and swing down. "Ow!" He pushed the panel back up, but it swung down again as soon as he let it go. "You need to get this thing fixed."

Soarin said nothing and suddenly spat the gum he was chewing onto the edge of the panel, then swung a leg around and kicked it. The panel flew up and the gum stuck it to the ceiling, keeping it from falling. "It's fixed."

Flash looked at him in horror, as Soarin flew around another large rock.

As he did, a pink holographic screen appeared. And on that screen, a pixel face appeared and started saying something. Flash couldn't understand a word of it, since it was a bunch of high pitched clicks and whizzes. However, Soarin seemed to understand just fine.

"Go group up with the rest of the Jedi," Soarin exclaimed. "Pixel's picked up a ship coming our way."

Flash said nothing and returned to the others, who had clearly heard what Soarin had said since they were packing up anything that could out them as Jedi. Their Lightsabers were all wrapped up in cloth and placed inside a smuggler's hatch, alongside their gauntlets and anything else that could tell someone who they were.

Once the hatch was closed, the four stepped up to the cockpit and watched as Soarin flew towards a large asteroid.

Said asteroid had a ship on it, which flew towards them and unleashed a blue beam of energy that swept across the ship. The Jedi all stayed as close as possible, as the beam broke through the Wonderbolt's shield and flew over them. Soarin did nothing to stop it and just kept flying, as the ship got closer and closer.

"If they do detect us," Shining spoke up. "What are the chances you'd be able to avoid their attack and get us out of here?"

"If it's just this one, I won't have a problem. But if more of them show up, I'm gonna be in trouble." As she said that, the radio beeped and Soarin answered it. "This is Soarin Skies, of the cargo ship Wonderbolt. How can I help you today, gentlemen?"

"What is your reason for being in his sector?"

"I heard a rumour that there was a guy willing to sell high grade vexatose grains at a reasonable price. I know a couple of planets that would pay an arm and a leg for that." They waited, hoping the guy piloting the other ship would believe them. And eventually, Soarin flew past the ship and they made no attempt to destroy them.

"Are you carrying any Jedi aboard your ship?"

"Do I look suicidal?" Soarin replied. "Why would I bring Jedi to a place where being a Jedi would get you killed? No. It's just me and my muscles. They're here to carry the grain onto my ship."

"Why not use a hover dolly?"

"Mine broke. By the time it was fixed, the grain might have already been sold. Speed is the most important factor in making profit in the universe." They began to fly away from the ship and it made no motion to follow them. But they didn't feel safe until the ship was out of visual and radio range, the lot of them letting out a sigh as they sat back. "I almost had a heart attack."

"What do we do now?" Iron asked, as Shining headed over to where they stashed their stuff.

He returned a few moments later with his gauntlet back on, the knight opening up a file with all the data Flash had gotten from the mysterious Jedi. "Okay. The data we received highlighted this planet on the edge of the sector. Hopefully, there'll be something there that'll help us find what we're looking for."

"What are you looking for?" Soarin asked, as he typed the coordinates into the navigational controls.

"Anything that'll help us find out what the Sith are doing," Skybreaker announced. "I'm hoping we catch an actual Sith and will be able to capture them."

"Wow," Soarin looked worried, "I don't want a Sith on my ship. What if they use their freaky magic to turn me into a mindless zombie?"

"How is that any different from normal?" Iron asked, laughing as he said that. "But seriously, you'll be fine. Don't forget, we've got the rock with us."

Skybreaker took the small gemstone out of his pocket. "This bad boy got us through the blockade and it'll help us keep the Sith under control." Soarin nodded and began to make his way towards the planet, but it would still take several hours. The entire sector lacked a Hyperspace Corridor, so there was no way to jump from one planet to another.

The planet the Jedi were heading to, was a volcanic planet with many dangerous areas.

In one of the few sectors that was safe from the many erupting mountains and rivers of lava, a city had been built that housed many dangerous individuals. And one of those individuals, was an alien by the name of Wydorm.

Wydorm was a tall individual, whose upper body was humanoid. His lower half had a bunch of long tentacles, which he used to walk around on. His skin was pale blue and had an occasional white dot, whilst his head had a single large brown eye. He also had a pair of tendrils, sticking out the back of his head. They went down and rested on his shoulders, the ends each having an eye on them.

He was dressed in a white shirt and brown vest, his human hands holding a piece of paper and a death stick in them.

As he took a breath of the stick, there was a knock at the door. He didn't answer straight away, instead taking the time to slowly breathe the smoke out of his mouth as he read the paper. Then, he finally spoke. "Enter!" The door opened and a human stepped inside, looking rather worried. "What is it?"

"A ship has entered the sector and appears to be heading for this planet."

"Did the patrol determine its reason for being here?"

"They said they were looking to buy vexatose grain. But as far as we know, there is no vexatose grain on this planet."

"I see." Wydorm took another huff of his death stick before stuffing it out into an ash tray, smoke slowly escaping out of his mouth. "Did they determine if any Jedi were on the ship?"

"They scanned it and there didn't appear to be any. As far as we can tell, the pilot and his crew are simply smugglers trying to get something else on our planet."

Wydorm nodded as he sat back in his chair. "Rimarun!" From out of the shadow, a black swirling figure appeared. They didn't appear to have any physical form, the being appearing to force himself into a humanoid shape despite the edges flickering.

"You called?"

"When this ship arrives, you will trail them and see what they're up to."

"And if they're up to no good?"

"Come back and tell me. I'll decide what to do with them, once I know what they're after." Rimarun nodded and his body exploded into a swirling cloud, which disappeared into the shadows. The human then left whilst Wydorm looked down at his papers, not looking the least bit curious about what had happened. If they were anything worth caring about, he would focus on them when he needed to.

The Wonderbolt finally arrived at the planet and as they got closer, they all saw what kind of planet they were heading to.

"You want me to land on that?" Soarin asked, seeing the many volcanoes and lava lakes covering the surface. "My ship will melt before we can even land."

"Don't be silly," Skybreaker told him. "Your ship will be fine. If it can survive the harsh vacuum of space, it can survive this." He looked around at the state that the ship's interior was in. "I think." They all watched, carefully, as the ship drew closer to the planet.

Pixel appeared and said something to Soarin, the pilot nodding as he headed to a location of some kind. "There's the spot Pixel found for us to land." It was a large collection of different ships, all parked close to one another. They managed to find an open spot that the ship could fit into, Soarin bringing the Wonderbolt down and landing.

As they landed, the Jedi got to work changing into clothes that wouldn't give away their profession.

Flash and Shining placed their Lightsabers into Springer's storage compartment, whilst Iron and Skybreaker had strange looking cases that had an opening in the side for their weapons. "What's in those things?" Flash asked, as Iron opened it up.

Doing so revealed an unusual tube-like device, with many buttons along the side and what appeared to be a mouth piece on one end of it. "Hexaphone," Iron replied. "I'm not the best player, but I can play enough to make carrying it around seem like something I'd do."

"Same," Skybreaker showed off an identical instrument. "We need to be careful. We can't do anything that might expose us as Jedi."

"I spent two years hanging around non-Jedi and not one of them managed to figure out I could use The Force. I think I'm good." Flash headed towards the ramp, Soarin lowering it as the heat from the planet suddenly wafted into the ship.

"Geez," Springer cried, "my circuits feel like they're gonna melt."

"You'll be fine," Shining assured him. "Just stay away from anything too hot and you shouldn't have a problem." They headed down the ramp and stepped out into the hot planet, as Soarin stayed behind to make sure his ship wasn't messed with.

They headed towards the city and as they did, they noticed a bunch of aliens that seemed right at him on this volcanic planet. Most appeared to be wearing some kind of heat-proof armor, whilst others looked like they were actually made out of molten rock themselves.

As the Jedi marched towards the city, Flash turned to Shining. "So what's the plan? Same thing we did on the desert planet?"

"Afraid not," Shining replied. "We need to be careful how we go about things. We can't afford to let anyone know who we really are. For now, we need to get the lay of the land. Figure out how things work on this planet and only then, do we start looking for information."

Flash nodded as they continued towards the city, he suddenly felt something.

it was like he was being watched by something. But when he looked around, he saw nothing but the many ships that were parked around them. He focused on the cockpits, but none of them had anyone in them. And when he looked around, he didn't see anyone staring in his direction.

"Problem?" Springer asked, floating next to Flash.

The teen said nothing and kept looking around, but still saw nothing. "I thought...I was sure something..." He suddenly heard Shining call back to him, telling him not to fall behind. "It's nothing. Come on." He ran ahead and Springer followed him, the pair completely unaware that they were actually being watched.

From the shadow of a ship, a swirling mass of black smoke appeared and flew into the shadow of another ship. It then started leaping from one shadow to another, keeping up with the Jedi as they made their way into the town. "What secrets are you hiding?"

When they finally arrived at the city, they found the buildings were rather strange in design.

Some of the taller buildings looked like those in Canterlot, though they were only five of six stories tall. But most of the single or two story buildings, were large domed buildings that had parts coming off the side to make them look like stone cactus with windows and a door.

As they got closer, they saw flames coming out the top of these buildings and arms.

There were more fire-themed aliens and as they spotted what appeared to be a bar and inn, the aliens seemed to notice them and watched as they entered the building. "I'm not liking the stink eye," Springer spoke up.

"Maybe you should connect to my back," Flash spoke up. "In case someone tries to make a grab for you." Springer nodded and flew onto Flash's back, changing into his backpack form for him to carry as they stepped into the saloon.

Skybreaker led them towards the bar, as the aliens continued to focus on them.

"What can I get you?" The bar tender asked, as they sat down.

"What have you got that a human and equestrian can drink, without setting our throats on fire?" The bartender reached down and brought out a bottle of something, which he poured into a quartet of glasses. As he did that, one of the aliens looked over at them.

He was a red and black humanoid tiger, wearing a gray sleeveless shirt and red pants.

He didn't seem particularly happy to see them and as the four took a drink, he saw Flash look ready to almost throw up. "A bit stronger than you're used to, huh?" The bartender laughed, as Flash turned away from the bar. As he did, his eyes happened to glance over at the tiger and they locked onto one another.

Flash noticed his upset look and quickly turned away, but the tiger was already getting up and heading towards him.

"Problem," he told the others. The next thing they all knew, Flash was being spun around and had the alien staring right into his face.

"Have you got a problem with me!?" The beast roared into Flash's face, making Flash lean back as he was covered in slobber.

"No," Flash replied. "What makes you say that?"

"You were looking at me." He grabbed Flash's shirt, "I don't like people looking at me."

"I was just glancing around and happened to see you. That doesn't mean I was looking at you."

"Are you calling me a liar!?" He looked ready to claw Flash to bits, but Shining got up and got between them. "What do you want? You wanna get on my bad side too?"

"No," Shining told him. "This is clearly just a misunderstanding. Let's all just take a step back and calm down. I'm sure my friend didn't mean anything by what he did. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed."

"Hey!"

"Why don't we buy you a drink and we'll call it even."

"You think a drink will make up for this insult? No, I want something better than a lousy drink." He spotted Springer and smiled. "That droid looks like it'll come in handy. It's mine now. Hand it over, or get cut the shreds."

Springer turned to him. "I think I speak for everyone when I say, flag that!"

"The droid's right," Skybreaker agreed. "We're sorry you feel insulted, but you're not taking him." The tiger snarled, as his hands began to grow claws out the end. Luckily, Flash had been able to escape his clutches before he could slash at him. "Just calm down."

"GIVE ME THE DROID!" He swung his larger hands around and the four barely managed to avoid getting their guts clawed out, as the tiger sliced through the wood of the bar.

He let out another roar and tried to punch Flash, who leapt back and reached for where his Lightsaber should be. But the weapon wasn't there and Flash remembered Springer currently had it. If he didn't want to let on that he was a Jedi, Flash had to find a way to beat this guy without The Force.

The tiger charged at him and Flash ran towards the wall, attempting to jump off it and do a back flip over the beast. But since he was still in the range of the crystal in Skybreaker's pocket, he failed that spectacularly.

The tiger reached him and prepared to grab him. But Springer acted faster and his blaster folded out of his nose, allowing him to fire several shots that knocked the tiger back.

As the beast fell backwards, Flash ran for the exit and the others followed suit. The beast rolled around, stunned but still able to move. And when it saw them making a run for it, he roared and got back up.

The four Jedi and their droid found themselves running through the city, a roar behind them signalling the tiger's desire to make them pay. "Great!" Iron cried. "We're here two minutes and we're already causing trouble."

"It's not my fault," Flash cried. "I didn't do anything."

Shining glanced back. "Obviously, he just wanted Springer. Probably wanted a dog-themed servant to push around." As he said that, the tiger came into view as it ran on all fours. "Faster!" They picked up the pace, but the tiger was still gaining on them.

"Down there!" Skybreaker yelled, pointing towards a gap between two buildings.

Iron squeezed through, having to walk sideways as he did so. Shining followed and Flash realised Springer wouldn't fit, even if he hovered down it himself. "Leave me!" Springer suggested, as the tiger roared. He retracted his straps and floated off Flash's back, but Skybreaker had other ideas.

He grabbed Springer and spread his wings, leaping into the air as Flash squeezed through the gap.

The tiger reached said gap and thrust his arm into it, but Flash was just far enough away to avoid getting cut to pieces. He roared, as he tried to force himself through the gap. But it just wasn't wide enough to allow it through. "Get back here!" He roared, as Iron, Flash and Shining all kept moving through the gap. "You can't run forever. I'll make you pay!"

"Geez," Iron rolled his eyes. "That guy's a few pieces short of a jigsaw."

They eventually reached the other side of the building gap and came out the other side, appearing in another street full of different aliens. Once they were all out, Flash looked back at the tiger and it roared again. But it clearly didn't realise it could go around the buildings and get to their street in less than a minute.

They all looked up and saw Skybreaker, carrying Springer over the building.

He flew down and landed next to them, as they looked around to see if there were any more buildings they could go into for information. "Can we keep out of the bars this time?" Springer begged. "There might be another loony that wants to steal me."

"Maybe we should take you back to the ship?" Shining suggested, though he knew that meant finding another place to hide their Lightsabers.

"Let's just be careful," Skybreaker stated. "I'm sure there's somewhere we can go without causing a mess." The others didn't seem to believe this and they all followed him, as they made their way down the street.

They kept going until they found what looked to be the largest building of them all. It looked like a giant stone manner house, completely different to all the other buildings around them. And as the four got closer, they realised people were walking in and out of the building like it was nothing.

"What is that place?" Iron asked, as they passed someone who was carrying a larger stack of books.

"A library?" Shining looked surprised. "Twilight would have loved to come here." Flash stared at the books, noticing their old fashioned form of being made of paper and leather. "This place is so hot, how the heck are they not bursting into flames?"

"Let's take a look inside," Skybreaker suggested. "If no Jed-" He stopped, looking around to make sure nobody was close enough to hear. "If none of us have ever been in here, there could be info that's not in the archives." They nodded and headed for the door, stepping inside the large stone building and finding themselves at some kind of reception desk with a mechanical gate blocking their entrance.

"Five credit entry," the woman at the deck announced. They frowned and were about to pay twenty credits, but the woman turned to Springer. "Droids aren't allowed in. It'll have to wait outside." Springer was liking this place less and less.

"I'll stay out here with him," Flash told the others.

"Be careful," Shining told him. "If you know who shows up, try not to engage him." Flash nodded as the three paid the entry fee and headed inside. Meanwhile, Flash and Springer stayed outside and moved over to a column outside the library. If the tiger guy showed up, they wanted to be as out of sight as possible.

Inside, Skybreaker, Shining and Iron were amazed by the number of old fashioned books that were filling the many different shelves. They walked into the very middle of the large shelf filled room, allowing them to look up and see a hole in the ceiling. This hole was a built in feature, allowing them to look up and see another four floors that had barricades around the central hole. On the roof was a skylight, allowing natural light into the building.

They finally decided to focus on the books themselves, Skybreaker and Iron choosing to head to a higher floor whilst Shining stayed on the ground level.

They started checking the many different aisles that had multiple different genres. There were books on farming, mechanical engineering, hairdressing and so much more. Shining randomly grabbed one of the books and pulled it off the shelf, his eyebrow rising at the title. "A hundred and two uses of noun fungus?" He put the book back and kept looking, wondering what could possibly be in there that might be useful to the order.

Flash and Springer remained outside, Flash leaning against the column looking bored as all heck.

Springer had turned off his hoverskirt and was looking out at the city, wondering who else was out there that might try and nab him away. But before he could find a new enemy, an old enemy showed up. "Tiger guy!" He cried, Flash looking around the column and seeing the bulky feline.

The psycho hadn't spotted them yet, but he was getting closer.

"Springer, fly out of sight." Springer activated his hoverskirt and lifted himself into the air, whilst Flash remained hidden behind the column. He occasionally glanced back, as the beast man began to sniff the air. "Don't tell me, he's tracking my scent."

The tiger began to make his way towards the library and Flash looked up at Springer, telling him to be ready with the Lightsaber if he needed it. But as the tiger walked up the stairs to the building, Flash moved around the column so he was on the other side of it to the tiger.

The alien stopped and continued to sniff the air, Flash praying he didn't look up and see Springer.

But then, he growled and marched into the building. "Huh?" He looked through the doors and saw him walking past the reception, the woman calling out he needed to pay entry.

But instead, the beast slammed his claws into the metal door and tipped it off its hinges. Flash realised he wasn't the one the guy was sniffing down. But if not him, then who?

"Guys!" Flash opened up his gauntlet, "guys, come in!" But nobody answered, as something was blocking his gauntlet's signal. "Come on!"

Shining had arrived at the myths and legends section, hoping that might be intriguing.

But all the books were on fairy tales and fables that Shining already knew. However, he soon picked up another book that seemed to be in a language he couldn't read. But as he looked at the cover, he realised he had seen the symbols somewhere before.

"No way." He opened it up and realised it was all written in the unusual symbols, that he had seen in the temple where the first relic Solara got was. The whole thing was unreadable to him. But he knew this had to be important.

He flicked to one page and found something had been drawn onto the page. It was some kind of stone archway, full of a strange light. When he flicked to the next page, it showed the image of someone standing in front of the arch. The light from said arch appeared to be flowing into them, making Shining wonder what it was supposed to be depicting.

But before he could read anymore, a horrible crashing noise caught his attention.

He ran towards the sound and when he got there, he was shocked to see the tiger man from before attacking the library. "WHERE ARE THEY!?" He clearly had no love of books, as he knocked down one shelf after the other. He let out a roar as he sniffed the air, "I know you're here!"

Shining frowned and looked down at the book, knowing he had to get this thing to the order. But that would be difficult with this guy destroying the place.

He quickly took off his bag and stuffed the book inside, fastening it up as the beast finally spotted him. "YOU!" He charged forward and Shining leapt to the side, throwing his bag on his back as he rolled along the ground.

The tiger roared again and began wildly slashing at him, Shining doing his best to avoid getting hit by his claws. At one point, he ducked under a slash and thrust his hand forward. He hit him in the stomach and risked using The Force, using it to throw him backwards into another bookshelf.

As the tiger was buried by a large pile of books, Shining ran for the exit.

But before he could escape, a bookshelf was thrown over his head and crashed in front of him. He skidded to a stop and turned to the tiger, who had pushed himself free of the books and was making his way towards him.

He growled, ready to cut Shining to pieces.

But before he could charge, Iron fell down from above and slammed his feet into his back. The tiger roared as he was pushed to the ground, Iron leaping away from him before he could. He turned to Shining, "you okay?"

"Yeah. And I think I've found something." The tiger pushed itself up, "we have to get out of here."

"I'm open to suggestions." Iron turned to the shelf, which was blocking their only way out. And before Shining could make a suggestion, the tiger charged and the two were forced to dodge his slashes. Iron growled, taking his hexaphone case off his back. But Shining shook his head. They couldn't risk to blow their cover yet.

As the tiger roared again, Skybreaker flew down with a wooden chair in hand.

He smashed the chair over the guy's head, causing him to stagger forwards. But that barely did anything and Skybreaker flew away before he could retaliate. The three Jedi watched, as the alien recovered and prepared to attack again.

Iron kept his hand close to the slot in his case that held his Lightsaber. They might have no other choice but to use them.

But before they could, something suddenly happened. A black swirling cloud appeared below the tiger's feet, which suddenly sprouted tendrils and used them to wrap around the beast man. The sight of this shocked the Jedi, who watched him fight against the darkness. But his claws just phased through the cloud, whilst the tendrils wrapped more and more around him.

"LET ME GO!"

"I don't think so," the cloud spoke. "This isn't the first time you've caused trouble. Wydorm warned you what would happen if you did anything like this again!"

The tiger roared, as he ripped against the tendril. But he was still unable to escape. And as he tried, the shadow figure lifted the tiger up before slamming him into the ground. The tiger howled in pain, as he was lifted up again and slammed back down.

He did this several times, the tiger roaring with every impact.

After the tenth smash into the ground, the tiger went completely silent as it lost consciousness. Its face was pretty bloody, but it would survive and the Jedi all breathed a sigh of relief. But those sighs turned to gasps, when three more tendrils shot out of the cloud and slammed into them.

They all cried out, as they were thrown backwards into the wall.

Their bags and cases took most of the damage, but the three were still thrown for a loop as the tendrils wrapped around their bodies. They were then lifted into the air and pulled towards the cloud, as it took a humanoid for. One arm was wrapped around the unconscious tiger, whilst the other was split into three and wrapped around them.

"What are you doing?" Skybreaker struggled against the shadow. "We didn't do anything wrong. He attacked us."

"Maybe. But you three are up to something. Your ship came to get vexatose grain, but I know for a fact that there are no such grains on this planet. And even if there were, why would you come here instead of getting them?" The three shared a worried expression. "Wydorm will want to talk to you."

Another tendril flew out of his stomach and slammed into the bookshelf, ripping it apart and allowing him to pull them out of the library.

"Where's your other friend. The one with the droid?" They all looked around, but found Flash and Springer were nowhere in sight. The three sighed in relief, since that meant they were likely safe. But as they were dragged away, they feared they might be in serious trouble.

Hopefully, Flash and Springer would find a way to save them.

Off to the side, Flash and Springer watched as their friends were being pulled away.

His first instinct was to run up to them, take out his Lightsaber and slice the shadow guy's arms off. But he knew that if he used his Lightsaber, they might have the rest of the city chasing them down. They had to think of a way to save them without causing a riot.

"Any ideas?" Springer asked, as Flash looked around.

If he wanted to save his friends, he needed help. And currently, there was only one person that would be willing to help them out of this. But it was probably gonna cost them.

Back at the Wonderbolt, Soarin was sitting in one of the rooms playing a video game on the computer.

He was playing a racing game, flying a ship through an obstacle filled course in an attempt to get first place. But whilst his normal piloting skills were great, his video game piloting skills needed work. "AUGH!" He cried, as he passed the finish line in last place. "This thing is so rigged."

Suddenly, the holographic screen of Pixel appeared and started saying something in its odd language.

"What?" Soarin turned off the game and turned to him, as Pixel kept saying something. "What do they want?" Pixel said a single word. "Fine." He got up and walked back into the cockpit, sitting down as he pressed a few buttons. "Sup. Pixel said you needed help with something."

"My friends have been captured!"

"What?" Soarin eyes widened. "How? Why? Don't tell me they found you what you guys are."

"I don't think they did. Listen, you gotta help me."

"No. What I gotta do is get the heck out of here. If they've found out who you guys are, the first thing they're gonna do is find the guy that brought them here and make him pay just as badly as you're gonna pay." He started powering up his ship. "If you don't wanna get stranded here, then you should get back before I'm ready to leave."

"You can't do that. We can't just leave them here. They'll die."

"You knew the risks when you came here."

"And you agreed to help us."

"I agreed to get you here and I did. It's not my fault your friends got themselves captured. Should have kept their heads down."

"Don't do this. The Jedi know your ship. Skybreaker gave its details to the order before we left. They'll find you if we die and make sure you're never able to fly again."

"I doubt that. I'm pretty sure Jedi don't hold grudges. Doesn't it lead to the Dark Side?"

"I'm begging you. Help me save them and you'll be rewarded."

"How?" Flash didn't say anything for a few moments, Soarin thinking he had no idea what to say. But then, he spoke up.

"Your ship is a wreck. It's a miracle it even got here without the whole thing blowing up." Soarin frowned, feeling a little insulted. "Help me save them and the Jedi will repair your ship for you." Soarin smiled at this, remembering those amazing looking ships he had seen the Jedi use.

"And you promise they'll actually repair it?"

"If they don't agree to the repairs, I'll fix it myself. No matter how long it takes. You have my word." Soarin hummed, then nodded.

"Alright. You've got yourself a deal. Where are you right now?"

"Springer and I are tailing the one who captured them." Flash and Springer were carefully making their way through the town, Springer on Flash's back.

They watched, as the shadowy figure arrived at yet another large mansion of a building. When he got there, several guards came out and took the tiger into custody. He then dragged Flash's friends into the building, Flash seeing it was well guarded.

"This could be a problem."

"Come back to the ship and we'll come up with a plan. I might have to move the ship somewhere else, so that they don't come and attack before we've got a chance to save them and escape." Flash nodded, though he hated the idea of leaving his friends behind.

They needed to be smart about this. If not, there was no telling what might happen.

As soon as they were dragged into the mansion, Shining, Skybreaker and Iron were tried up and their bags were confiscated.

The shadowy figure's arms returned to their normal state, as he lead them towards one of the rooms.

When they arrived, they were pushed inside and all sent staggering until they fell to their knees. As they did, they looked forward and saw someone standing behind a desk. Smoke was coming out of their mouths and as they turned towards the three, the Jedi realised they were likely talking to the guy in charge of the entire town.

Skybreaker spoke up. "I'm guessing you're the one called Wydorm?"

The figure moved around his desk and headed towards them, his many leg tendrils flopping against the floor as he got closer. When he finally reached them, his tendrils curled up and he was lowered to their eye level. He breathed out, causing smoke to fly into their faces. "You've got a lot of nerve, coming to cause trouble on my planet."

"We're not here to cause trouble," Shining told him.

"Really?" Wydorm told him. "You lied about why you were coming here. In my experience, that means someone's up to something no good. But if you're not here to cause trouble, what are you for."

The three shared a look, clearly unsure what to say that would allow them not to get executed. Eventually, Iron spoke up. "We were sent by the Republic." Wydorm raised an eyebrow at this. "They discovered information, that a group of criminals have some kind of connection to this sector."

"Criminals?" Wydorm chuckled. "Almost everyone in this sector is considered a criminal by your Republic. That's why most of us come here. Even I have several warrants for my arrest in your precious Republic."

"Well these criminals are different," Shining told them. "They're the kind of criminals you wouldn't want in your sector."

Wydorm glared at him. "Jedi?"

"Sith," Skybreaker corrected. "But I would assume you would be just as angry that they're somewhere in here. They're ever worse than Jedi."

"Sith...Jedi...they're all the same thing." Wydorm pulled away and moved back to his desk. "So, you work with Jedi? That's the only reason I can see you coming here. They knew Jedi couldn't come, so they sent you instead. And in my opinion, that makes you just as bad as Jedi. Those that work with them, are just as terrible as those Force wielding freaks."

"We're not working with them," Iron stated. "We work for the Republic. The Senate decided to send us, not the Jedi."

"How can I be so sure?" Wydorm replied. "You say you're not working with the Jedi, but how can I be sure? For all I know, you could be Jedi attempting to spy on us for some kind of Jedi incursion."

"Why would the Jedi want to attack this place?" Shining asked. "They have no reason to wage war on this sector. Especially since the Sith are a more pressing concern." Skybreaker and Iron nodded, but Wydorm clearly didn't believe them.

He snapped his fingers and the door opened, a man walking in carrying their bags and instrument cases.

They suddenly looked worried, as Wydorm opened up one of the cases and looked inside. He found the hexaphone and looked it over, Iron frowning since there was a good chance he could find his Lightsaber in there. "Be careful with that!" Iron cries, seeing Wydorm throw the instrument into the air. He had to pretend it was the most important thing in that case. "You have any idea how expensive that is?"

"If you're here on assignment by the Republic, why are you carrying a large musical instrument around?"

"We needed a cover for why we were here," Shining replied. "A couple of musicians and their manager seemed like a good idea." Wydorm clearly didn't believe that, but he also didn't find the Lightsaber compartment and returned the instrument to the case.

He checked Skybreaker's instrument as well, also not finding his concealed weapon. Then, he checked Shining's bag. "Hello." He took out the book Shining had found. "What do we have here? If I'm not mistaken, this is one of the books from our library." He turned to them. "Attempting to make off with it, were we?"

"No," Shining stated. "I found that book and thought it might be helpful. There are symbols in it, that might have something to do with the Sith. Those same symbols were found all over areas connected to what they're after."

"So you intended to steal it?"

"I only put it in my bag, to keep it safe. If that overgrown house cat hadn't attacked us, I would have just taken some pictures of it and left with them." Wydorm flipped through the book and clearly didn't believe any of what Shining was saying.

Eventually, he snapped the book shut and turned to them. "You're clearly hiding something. And I am not a very patient man." He turned to the man that had brought the bags in. "Take them to the heat cells. See if that doesn't loosen their tongues." The man nodded and left the room, whilst the Jedi looked worried.

"What's a heat cell?" Skybreaker asked.

"Underground cell," Wydorm replied. "Built directly over a lava tube. Gets rather hot in there. If you're not given water at least once an hour, you'll likely dehydrate. Last chance before you go an entire night without water." The three knew the only thing they could say, was that they were Jedi. But that would likely get them killed faster than the heat cell. "Fine. Enjoy being roasted to death."

A bunch of guards ran into the room and grabbed the Jedi, lifting them up and dragging them out of the room.

Wydorm sat back down on his desk and lit another death stick, as the shadowy figure appeared. "Anything else I should know about, Rimarun?"

"There was another with them. A teen with a K-9 droid. I lost track of him when I captured the others. What do you want me to do?"

"Find him," Wydorm replied. "But don't capture him right away. I want to see what he does." Rimarun nodded before his body exploded back into a cloud and disappeared into the darkness. As he did, Wydorm looked down at the book Shining had found and began to look through it. "Let's see what you can tell me."

Flash and Springer soon returned to the Wonderbolt, where Soarin was busy getting the ship ready for take off.

As they got onboard, Soarin was trying to shove a bunch of wires into a panel and force it shut. Flash rolled his eyes at this and moved over, pushing Soarin out of the way as he started streaming the wires into their proper place. "Please tell me the ship wasn't like this when you got it."

"Pretty much," Soarin returned to the cockpit. "That's why I got her for such a steal." He activated the engines and the whole thing began to power up, Flash having to leap back to avoid getting electrocuted. "Okay. I'm gonna have to hide her somewhere outside of the city."

"This thing's the size of three houses," Springer pointed out. "Where the heck can you hide it?" As he said that, Pixel appeared and started speaking in his strange voice.

Soarin nodded. "Sweet. He's found a ravine that's not too far from here. I can put the ship down there and you shouldn't have much trouble getting back to the city."

Flash hoped he was right. As he finally closed the panel, Springer tapped into the ship's coms and shifted the frequencies.

The ship began to take off and as it did, Springer managed to lock onto a particular channel. "I think I've got something on our friends." Flash turned to him, as he listened intently. "Got it. They're being sent somewhere called the heat cells. But it's not giving me any more information."

"Can you lock onto their gauntlets?" Flash asked, as Springer tried to hack into that system. As that was going on, Soarin flew the ship in the direction of the ravine. They flew away from the city and as the ship vanished into the distance, the shadowy figure known as Rimarun appeared in the ship's landing zone and saw them fly off.

"Damn it!" He cried, reverting back to his shadow form and flying off back towards the mansion. Hopefully, they would be able to scan for the ship before it went out of range.

"I got em!" Springer announced, having finally locked onto Shining's gauntlet.

The holographic screen appeared, showing the entire city. And in that city, a dot was moving through at high speed. "They must be on some kind of transport."

"Any idea which direction they'll be heading in?" Flash watched them shift through the streets and tried to find a building in that location, that could match a cell or a jail. But nothing looked right. "Maybe they're not going somewhere in the city." He zoomed out and began to look for spots outside of the city, mostly in the area Shining's dot was heading.

"There," Springer stated. "Several miles north of the city. There's a structure of some kind." Flash moved to that location and saw what he had found. A large square structure of some kind. It wasn't big enough to be a prison, but it was big enough to be a prison entrance.

"That's where they're going," Flash nodded. "We've gotta get them out of there before they're sent into that place."

"Not a good idea," Soarin told him. "I'm willing to bet that place is heavily guarded. The transports are probably just as well guarded. Attacking without a plan would probably get you killed or thrown in a cell with them." Flash frowned, knowing he was right. If Flash wanted to save them, he needed a plan.

As he studied the surrounding area, he also noticed something else. Another building, close to the prison, but very different to the rest of the structures he had seen on the planet. "What is that?"

"Some kind of arena," Springer replied. "But I'm not sure what it's used for." Flash had a bad feeling about that place.

They arrived at the ravine and found it was the perfect place to hide the ship. There was an opening that the Wonderbolt fit in perfectly, which was deep enough to hide it from view. The only issue was a nearby volcano. If it erupted, and it looked like it was about to, the lava would flow through the canyon within minutes and melt the ship.

As this was going on, Flash was looking through Soarin's closet. "What are you doing?" Soarin asked when he saw what he was doing.

"I've probably been seen by that shadow guy. Call it a hunch, but I'm pretty sure he was watching us before that tiger guy showed up." He pulled out a hooded cloak and threw it over him, pulling up the hood to hide his face. "If I head there, I gotta make sure I'm not seen."

"So what's the plan?" Soarin asked, only to get another cloak thrown at him.

"We're heading back to the city and we're gonna find anything that'll help us free our friends. Meanwhile, Springer will stay here and keep an eye on Shining's location. If he heads where we think he's going, we'll come up with a plan to get them out. If not, we'll need to track them down and find a way to free them."

"You want me to come with you?" Soarin asked. "But what if we need someone to airlift us out of a jam. Pixel can't fly the ship by herself."

"No, but Springer can. If anything happens, he'll bring the ship to our location and get us out of there." Soarin frowned, but nodded in agreement. But as he did, he noticed Flash had his Lightsaber hanging from his belt.

"Are you nuts? You're gonna give yourself away with that."

"Unless you're willing to hand over your blaster, I need a weapon to protect myself. I'll keep it hidden, but I'll come up with an excuse in case someone sees it." He moved back to the map and frowned when he saw how far he would have to walk in order to get back to town. "This is gonna take a while."

"Actually, it won't." Soarin moved over to one of the storage lockers and opened it up. Inside were a bunch of metal disks, which appeared to be split into four pieces. He threw one at Flash, the Padawan grabbing it whilst Soarin dropped another to the floor.

Before it could hit the ground, the disk split into two. Those two halves moved apart from one another, but remained connected by some kind of light blue glass structure. Once the two halves were a good four feet apart, they stopped and then split in half again. This time, they split in the opposite direction and the blue glass expanded until it was a foot long.

"Hoverboard?" Flash realised what it was, as Soarin stepped onto it.

"Ever use something like this?" Soarin raced through the ship and out into the ravine, whilst Flash looked at the disk.

He dropped it and the disk split apart, only the glass within this one was orange. Once the board was the same size as Soarin's, Flash stepped onto it. Balancing took a bit of work, but he eventually got the hang of it. And soon enough, he was flying out of the ship and following Soarin up the side of the ravine.

The pair reached the top and began to fly toward the town. At the speed the boards were going, it wouldn't take long to get back to the city. And hopefully, once there, they could find a way to save the others and get the heck off this planet. But was it too late?

Chapter 23

View Online

Shining Armor watched the environment speed past them, as he, Iron Core and Skybreaker rode on the back of a prisoner transport.

The vehicle was a hover speeder, with a large cab at the front that the driver could safely ride in whilst the prisoners were forced to sit on the back with chains keeping them from escaping. Aside from the three, there were four other people chained to the transport. Each one was a different species, Shining glad that tiger guy from before wasn't with them.

The three Jedi were still dressed in their own clothing, which meant they still had the Force Suppression Crystal that was keeping them from using their abilities to escape.

As they drove along the volcanic landscape, Shining hoped Flash hadn't gotten into trouble.

"Here we are, ladies." They all looked ahead and saw a building that didn't look big enough to be a prison. But then they remembered what Wydorm, the leader of this planet, had told them.

They were being placed inside heat cells. Underground prisons that got so hot, it would be impossible to survive without regular access to water. And they weren't likely to get that any time soon.

The speeder arrived at the building and came to a stop, as a bunch of guards stepped out of the building. And as they moved over to them, Shining noticed another building in the distance. Some kind of round structure that looked like a stadium of some kind. One Shining hoped he wouldn't be spending time in.

The guards unlocked the chains and pulled the prisoners down off the transport, one of them refusing to move only to get zapped by an electric stick one was carrying.

"Move it!" They pushed the prisoners towards the building, the seven heading inside to find the place was a reception area with an elevator door inside. The prisoners were pushed into the elevator and once the guards were inside, the lift began to lower.

As it descended, Shining noticed the guards were wearing strange looking suits. And as they went lower, he realised what the suits were for.

"Augh!" One of the prisoners cried, as he leapt up. The elevator was growing hotter and the prisoners were starting to feel the heat through their shoes.

The Jedi's boots were well built, so they weren't feeling as much of the heat. But they still acted like they could so the guards didn't take them away. They all started jumping around, the guards laughing as the elevator came to a stop. And when the elevator opened, even more heat filled the room and the prisoners cried out.

They were pushed into a long corridor, with metal doors that didn't have handles.

Instead, the guards shoved the ends of their electro sticks into a hole and turned them. This unlocked the door and allowed them to push the doors open, followed by the prisoners being pushed into the stone cells.

The cells were like ovens and as the three Jedi were locked into their cells, the heat began to build and they could feel themselves beginning to sweat. Ten seconds down, a billion more seconds left.

The cell was dimly lit, with a single small light sticking out the ceiling that barely made any light. The place was dark, hot and practically sound proof. This wasn't going to be a fun time. "Flash," Shining whispered, "I hope you're working on a plan to get us out of here."

Flash Sentry and Soarin Skies were racing across the land, using the hoverboards Soarin had provided to get back to the city.

As they raced to the city, Flash opened his gauntlet and called Springer. "How's it going with Shining and the others?" After a few moments, the gauntlet beeped and Springer spoke back.

"It's just like you thought. Shining and the others were sent to the place you spotted. But as soon as they entered, I lost their signals."

Flash frowned, "probably got sent underground. We've gotta find a way to get them out of there without causing too much of a commotion."

"How do you intend to do that?" Soarin asked.

"I'm gonna need more info before I can come up with that idea." As they got closer to the city, they pulled their boards to a stop and got off. The boards retracted back into the disks and the two pocketed them inside their cloaks, both making sure to keep a low profile as they entered the city.

The place was once again full of different fire resistant aliens, who found joy in living on this molten planet.

As Flash and Soarin walked through the town, Flash spotted the inn where they had run into the tiger guy and started all this trouble. He knew it was best to stay away from that place, along with the library where his friends had been arrested. So where could they go?

Flash let his mind become open, knowing The Force would help him. If he needed to be somewhere, it would lead him to that place. That was his only hope. Trust in The Force.

And sure enough, he suddenly felt a tugging sensation. One that caused him to turn in one particular direction. "This way," Flash told Soarin. They headed in the opposite direction to the library and after an hour or so of following the pull through the city, they arrived at a tavern that they might be able to find some information in.

They stepped inside and were happy to find the place was rather lively, so nobody noticed them as they approached. They headed to the bar and sat down, as the bartender was cleaning a glass. "What can I get you two?"

"Something that'll keep us hydrated and alert," Flash replied. He nodded and a few moments later, the two found themselves being given a pair of glasses full of ice and nothing more.

"Give it a minute," the bartender announced as he walked over to another customer. The pair stared at the glasses and sure enough, the ice was beginning to melt due to how hot it was there. They drank down the water and were pleased to find it was still cool, the slowly melting eyes keeping them refreshed as they sat there.

"Did you hear?" Someone suddenly announced. "Wydorm sent a bunch of guys to the heat cells." Flash picked his ears up, hoping this had something to do with his friends.

"Poor saps," another man stated. "What did they do to deserve that?"

"Apparently, they trashed the library with Khanax."

"Khanax? That overgrown hairball has been nothing but trouble since he got here. Did he get sent to the cells as well?"

"I don't think so. I didn't see him on the transport. They're probably gonna send him somewhere worse. He's had it coming for a long time." Everyone else nodded, Khanax clearly not having many friends in this tavern. "But I also heard, those guys were being followed by Rimarun before the library fight. You think Wydorm knew they were gonna cause problems?"

"Probably. That man has eyes and ears all over the place. Maybe even in this place. Rimarun could be here right now, waiting for us to say something that'll get us thrown in a heat cell of our own."

"I'd hate for that to happen," a new alien spoke up. "I heard of a guy that got caught trying to steal a rare mineral from someone under Wydorm's employ. When he got caught, the poor sap spent a night in a heat cell with no food or water. It was so hot in there, when they let him out he looked like a crinkle bluk fruit."

"What happened to the mineral?" The other guy asked.

"Apparently, Wydorm put it in his special safe. That's where everything belonging to prisoners ends up." Flash and Soarin stared at one another. Flash suddenly knew why The Force had brought him to this tavern.

"We need to get into that safe." Flash was sure that his friend's stuff was in there. The Lightsabers and whatever else they might have found in the library.

Soarin nodded in agreement and as the light of the setting sun flowed into the window, the pair got up to leave. But before they could, someone at the bar happened to glance around and spot something. "Hey!" He pointed at Flash, "what's that?" Everyone looked around and saw what he was pointing to. The weapon that was currently hanging from Flash's waist.

"It's one of those shine-swords," another called out. "The kind that Jedi use!" At the mention of that word, everyone in the room looked at Flash as if he had just taken candy from a baby.

Soarin looked worried, but Flash smirked. "Yeah, it's a Jedi weapon." He leaned against the bar. "Took it from a Jedi myself." He knew there was little chance they would believe him, but he had to try. "You should have heard him squeal. Don't know why the Galaxy is so afraid of them. I just snuck up on the guy and..." Flash drew his finger against his throat.

The people in the bar looked amazed by this, but one didn't look so convinced.

"How do we know you really killed the Jedi? You could just be a Jedi pretending to have killed one."

"True. But why would a Jedi come here, where he knows being found would get him killed? I don't think anyone's that stupid." He took out his Lightsaber and held it up. "Besides, this thing's not even a real one. At least, I don't think it is. Look." He hit the button and nothing happened, Flash glad he removed the power cell before coming here. "So. Just a piece of junk. I just keep it because I heard this place hates Jedi. Thought having one of these might nab me some street cred."

"Heck yeah, it does." One of the aliens cheered. "You gotta tell us what it was like. I've always wanted to see a Jedi die. I heard when they die, they burst into flames and only their clothes are left behind."

Flash's brain went into overtime, as he tried to think of a story that would convince these people he was really a Jedi killer. "Well, there I was on Shikoya. I had just gotten some repairs done to a droid in this little shop..." He kept spouting his story off, hoping he didn't say anything that would contradict what he had already said.

The people in the bar really ate up the story, as they continued to drink. Flash and Soarin kept drinking the melting ice and as the people drank, their tongues got a lot looser and they started answering any question Flash and Soarin gave them. By the time the two moons were high in the sky, Flash and Soarin knew everything they needed to know about Wydorm and his mansion.

Back in the underground Shining, Iron and Skybreaker were all feeling the heat.

It was so hot in the cell, that breathing was rather difficult. Their airways were beginning to narrow and every time they breathed in, they could feel their lungs getting close to burning. They had used what little energy they had to look around the cells and try to find a way to escape. But the cells were locked up tight and the only way to escape, would be to use The Force to unlock the doors.

Alas, even if they wanted to do that, Skybreaker still had the Force Suppression Crystal. And since he was in the middle cell, Shining and Iron were still within the crystal's range of effect. "Maybe I should have left this thing on the ship," Skybreaker groaned out. His mouth felt dryer than sandpaper.

Sweat was continuing to pour off his forehead and his robotic wing was starting to get uncomfortably hot.

They were all exhausted, but they couldn't lay or sit down. Whilst their boots were heat resistant, the rest of their clothing wasn't. If they tried to lay down, the cloth would likely catch fire or melt into their skin. So all they could do was stand there, moving around to try and keep their boots from also getting too hot.

They didn't know how long they would be able to stand being in this place. But they had to be strong. They knew Flash was still out there and hopefully, he would find a way to get them out of there.

The streets were empty, many people having retreated to their air conditioned homes in order to get a good night's sleep.

Two people were still away and sneaking through the street. Flash and Soarin had gotten everything they needed to know, the two making their way towards the mansion in order to find what they were searching for. As they arrived at the street with the large building, they spotted a bunch of guards keeping the place secure.

They frowned, trying to find an opening in the security. And as they looked around, Flash spotted some barrels piled up together a short distance away.

He reached out with The Force and pulled one of the lower barrels, causing it to slide out and make the whole pile fall.

Luckily, the commotion it made was loud enough to catch the attention of the guards and nobody else. The guards ran over to the pile, allowing the two to rush over to the gate. They grabbed their hoverboards and used them to fly over the gate, getting onto the other side and leaping into the shadows of the wall. They had dressed in their darkest clothing and covered their faces with wraps of black scarves, allowing them to blend into the darkness.

They waited for the guards to look away from their general direction before running for the door.

As soon as they reached it, Flash used The Force to unlock it and allow them to sneak inside. Moments after they did, the guards happened to look back in their direction.

The two found themselves in the large manner house and as they made their way through the building, they were careful not to make too much noise. Soarin was surprisingly stealthy, the teen light on his feet as they headed in the direction they had been told the safe was in.

But as they turned a corner, they suddenly came face to face with a servant who was clearly doing some night duties.

The man stared at them in shock and was about to scream, but Flash spoke up. "We're meant to be here."

"You're meant to be here." The man began to relax.

"We're the night watchmen. Hiding in the shadows to sneak up on unsuspecting crooks."

"You're the night watchmen. Hiding in the shadows to sneak up on unsuspecting crooks." Soarin looked surprised by this, as Flash waved his hand at the servant.

"You're going to take us to Wydorm's safe, to make sure it's secure and won't be broken into."

"I'm going to take you to Wydorm's safe, to make sure it's secure and won't be broken into." He turned away from them and started to walk off, Flash and Soarin following him through the manner. Luckily, they didn't run into anyone else and soon arrived at the door. "This is the room where Wydorm's safe is located."

"Excellent." Flash found it was unlocked and turned to the servant. "You will go to your bed and sleep. You've got a busy day tomorrow."

"I will go to bed and sleep. I've got a busy day tomorrow." He walked off, the two waiting for him to leave before they entered the room.

"That was just freaky," Soarin told him. "How do I know you didn't use that same trick on me to make me stay?"

"That trick doesn't work over coms," Flash replied as he looked around the room and found a large metal door sitting there. "Besides, it only works on the weak minded. You're way too smart to let me manipulate you."

"Damn right."

"Now go guard the door and make sure nobody's coming."

"Why do I have to guard the door? Why can't I try and open the safe?"

"Fine, then open the safe. Just be careful not to trigger any of the traps. Something like this has probably got a bunch of defences. Might zap you with a million volts."

Soarin turned towards the safe and seemed to realise something. "Oh, I get it. You told me to guard the door because you knew I'd want to open the safe. You wanted me to open the safe and make sure it's not booby trapped. Using one of your Jedi mind tricks."

"What?" Flash smirked, "no."

"Well nice try, but it didn't work." He pointed at Flash. "You open and safe and I'll guard the door." He moved to the door, whilst Flash shrugged and turned towards the safe. As he approached it, he held out a hand to see if he could feel any kind of electrical field. And whilst he could feel power running through it, it wasn't going through the outer layer of the safe. Just the controls.

"Okay." He touched the safe and didn't get zapped. He saw an electronic keypad, the Jedi taking out his Lightsaber and replacing the energy cell. Once it was working, he turned the weapon on.

"You're not gonna cut through the safe, are you? I thought we were trying to be stealthy."

"We are." Flash held the flat of the blade up to the keypad, causing four buttons to be revealed as smudged. "I'm checking for fingerprints. Two, three, five and eight. The code's a combo of those four numbers."

"What'll happen if we input the wrong code?"

"Probably nothing the first two or three times. But if we get the code wrong too many times, we'll probably set off an alarm." Flash took a deep breath and carefully pressed one of the numbers. "Two, three, five, eight." He pressed enter and the keypad beeped read before turning back to green. "Alright. Five, three, eight, two." It beeped red again. Flash had a feeling this would be their last shot. "Get ready to run."

Soarin took out both blasters, as Flash typed the code in.

He hit the enter button and flinched, only for it to ding and the door to open. "Yes!" Flash swung the door open and looked inside, seeing a whole bunch of different objects in the room. Weapons, pieces of metal Flash assumed were rare, old droid parts and so much more.

Flash spotted a pair of cases in the middle of the room, along with a bag Flash recognised as Shining's.

He carefully stepped forward and opened the cases up, searching for the compartments that had the Lightsabers inside. He also opened up Shining's bag, but there was nothing in it. However, he could sense something. Shining's presence. Similar to a human scent, a presence could stain an object a strong Force User touched.

He turned towards the presence and spotted a book, laying on the table looking rather old.

Flash picked the book up and flicked through the symbols, the Padawan slowly realising what they were. "These are...from that temple." He had stared at the images of them long enough to recognise and realised Shining must have found it in the library before he was arrested.

"Hurry up," Soarin told him.

Flash frowned, knowing that this book going missing might cause a problem. But he couldn't risk them not getting it. As such, he stuffed the book into Shining's bag and put it on. Once it and the Lightsabers were stored away, Flash ran out of the safe and quickly closed it.

Looking at it, he smirked at an idea and hit the reset button. He typed in the old code and then typed in a new code. Hopefully, getting this thing unlocked would distract the guy in charge and give Flash the chance to help his friends.

"Let's go." Soarin nodded and they began to make their way out of the house, not running into anyone on the way out.

They were able to get out after causing another distraction, they flew over the wall and disappeared into the night. But what they didn't realise is they had been seen, by the shadowy figure that had arrested Flash's friends before.

As the sun began to rise the next day, Shining, Iron and Skybreaker were all a wreck.

Having been roasting in the heat cell overnight, unable to sleep or even lay down, they were exhausted, dehydrated and suffering from a splitting headache. It took all their will not to collapse, knowing that would likely end in their deaths if they weren't careful.

Then, the heat cells finally opened and the guards let them out. They staggered out of the cells and were pulled into the elevator, the heat from the underground lava channel slowly growing less and less as they moved upwards. The guards laughed at their terrible state, one holding out a bottle of water to them.

But instead of offering it to them, he poured it onto the floor and they all laughed as they watched it steam up once it hit the metal.

They finally reached the top and were pushed out of the elevator, gasping as they felt the air conditioned air touch their faces. They were dragged over to a computer at one side of the building. And when it switched on, Wydorm glared back at them. "So, how are our guests?"

"Great," Iron told him. "Thanks. I needed to lose a few pounds and your cells probably helped me sweat it away." The other two nodded, as Wydorm frowned.

"Well, I have something interesting to tell you. Whilst you were locked up, somebody broke into my home last night. They stole the book you tried to take from us." That surprised them, Shining imagining Flash having the book. Hopefully, he would be smart and take it back to Canterlot. "Any comments?"

"Well it wasn't us," Skybreaker stated. "We've been in your lovely care all night."

"I know there was another person with you. And that you came here on a ship with another pilot. Tell me where they are or I'll put you back in those cells and throw away the key."

Shining shrugged. "Couldn't tell you if we wanted to."

"I think you know where it is," Wydorm stated. "And you will tell me." The three simply stared at him, showing he wasn't going to get any information from them. "Fine. If you want to die, you might as well do it entertaining the people." He turned to the guards. "Send them to the coliseum." The guards nodded and the computer switched off, whilst the guards pulled the three to their feet.

Back at the Wonderbolt, Flash was looking through the book he had liberated.

He had no idea what the words in the book meant, but he knew Twilight or someone else would be able to figure out what at least some of it meant. And once they translated that, they might be able to translate the rest of it.

He closed the book and placed it on the table, as Soarin was busy doing some more repairs to the ship. All the while, Springer was continuing to try and figure out a way to save the others. And as he did, he suddenly noticed Shining's signal reappear. "Guys. The others are back on the map."

Flash and Soarin moved over to the computer, Pixel appearing along with it. "Any idea why they've been brought back above ground?"

"No idea," Springer sighed. "But I doubt they're letting them go." It was then that the dot began to move, leaving the building. "They're heading somewhere else." All they could do was watch, as the dot slowly moved away from the last building and towards the coliseum.

"That can't be good," Flash gulped before the dot suddenly disappeared. "No, no, no!" He turned to Springer, "what happened?"

"I don't know," Springer replied. "The signal just gave out. Whatever those heat cells they were in are, they must have done something to screw up the gauntlet's systems."

"Well they're heat cells," Soarin pointed out. "Maybe they're cells that are really hot? How much heat can your gauntlets withstand?"

"They can be in temperatures of over six hundred degrees without any serious damage," Springer replied. "The Jedi wouldn't even feel them get hot. But prolonged exposure to intense heat, even below six hundred degrees, must have caused a small circuit to burn out."

"So what do we do?" Soarin asked, turning to Flash.

The Padawan stared at the coliseum, nodding as he realised there was only one thing they could do. "We find a way to save them." Soarin nodded, Springer agree. However, someone else wasn't in agreement.

"Oh, you won't be saving anyone." They all spun around, but saw nobody there. "But you'll get to join your friends again, when you're fighting with them in the arena." Before anyone could say anything, a black tendril shot out of a nearby shadow and wrapped itself around Soarin's neck.

He gasped, as he was pulled towards that shadow and his head was slammed into the metal.

He flinched, as he struggled to pry off the tendril. Meanwhile, Flash ignited his Lightsaber and charged forward. He prepared to try and slice the tendril off of Soarin's neck, but realised one quickly move by the tendril could have Soarin become his new target.

"Do something!" Soarin gasped, as the shadow tightened around him. But Flash had no idea how to get it off of him.

But then, a laser shot past and struck the tendril before anyone realised what was happening. The tendril snapped and Soarin gasped, as the shadow around his neck faded away. When the tendril snapped, a cry of pain filled the air and Flash turned to see Springer with his nose blaster out.

"Nice shot." He turned to Soarin and helped him back to his feet, Soarin rubbing his neck as he panted.

The pair then stood back to back, Flash holding his saber at the ready whilst Soarin took out his blasters. "Show yourself!" Soarin cried, "come out so I can blast you to pieces."

"I'd rather not," the voice replied. "Why don't you put your weapons down and accept your fate. I'm sure your friends will be happy to see you, when you're all sent to the coliseum to face justice."

"Justice?" Flash asked. "What did they do to make them worthy of being sent to fight to the death? Defend themselves from a psychopath?"

"Falsifying their reasons for coming here. And based on those weapons you stole last night, being Jedi. That profession is quite illegal in this part of the galaxy."

"Why is it a crime to be a Jedi here?" Springer asked. "What did the Jedi ever do to make them hated here?"

"What didn't you do?" The voice replied. "Walking around, like you're better than everyone else. Thinking everything you do is what needs to be done. Using your freaky mind powers to always get your way. I saw what you did to that servant. Bending his mind to your will. What gives you the right to do something like that?"

Flash frowned. He didn't want to do that to the man, but he also didn't want to get caught. "What about you? Locking our friends in ovens, just because they won't tell you anything. The rest of the galaxy realised that kind of punishment was wrong a long time ago."

"I'm not taking ethical advice from a Jedi!" A tendril shot out of the shadows and almost grabbed Flash's Lightsaber, but he dodged it and slashed the blade down. "GYAH!" He pulled his sliced tendril back, as Soarin fired at where it retreated to.

"He could be anywhere!" The pilot cried, as they looked around. "In any shadow."

"Any shadow?" Springer slowly let that sink in before an idea popped into his head. "That's it!" He turned to the computer. "Pixel. Turn the light up as brightly as you can. So bright that they fill every nook and cranny!" Pixel replied before the lights grew brighter, Flash and Soarin flinching at it.

As they grew brighter, the shadows in the ship began to disappear.

Only one shadow remained, being a puddle of shadows on the floor. "Augh!" The puddle cried, clearly not enjoying being in the light.

Soarin quickly started blasting at the shadow, but it began to run away. It moved along the ground, zigzagging to prevent Soarin from hitting it. It then moved up the wall and into one of the ventilation shafts. "He's on the run!" Soarin cheered, as Pixel told him something. "Seriously?"

"What did she say?" Flash asked.

"The ship can't maintain this level of brightness," Springer told him. "If we keep them this bright, they'll eventually drain the power cells and we won't be able to take off."

Flash frowned, "we need to catch that guy before the power runs out."

"No problem," Springer told him. "Pixel. Shut all but one of the ventilation exits. Then blast some cooling solution through the system and force him out of that one exit. We'll be waiting to blast him." Pixel then told him something. "Seriously?"

"What?" Flash really wished he could understand that computer.

"She said the vents don't close. That system broke two years ago." Flash turned to Soarin, who frowned.

"It's been on my to-do list." He held up his blasters. "We'll have to do this the old fashioned way." Flash nodded back and they headed out of the cockpit, the three having their weapons at the ready in cast it attacked again.

First, they checked the engine room. The last thing they wanted, was this guy ruining the engines.

They headed into the room, Flash pointing in different directions to tell them which way to go. The other two nodded and they all headed in that direction, each ready to attack if the shadow guy attacked. The room was just as bright as the others and with nothing disconnected from the floor, there was nothing to hide under.

Springer was the first to arrive at the vents, his eyes unleashing a light that scanned the exit. "No sight of bio-matter on the vent. So if that guy did come through her, he's the kind of guy that doesn't leave a trace."

"He's gotta be somewhere," Flash replied. He then extinguished his Lightsaber and held out a hand, focusing on trying to locate the individual throughout the ship. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't locate a life sign other than him and Soarin. "Where are you..."

"Right behind you." Flash's eyes went wide and he spun around, only to suddenly get hit by a long black tendril.

The whip slammed into him and he was knocked backwards, crashing into the wall and letting out a moan as he dropped his Lightsaber. And as he slid to the ground, the shadowy figure took a relatively human shape. "HE'S HERE!"

Soarin and Springer made their way towards him, as the figure exploded into a dark cloud.

That cloud shot towards them and slammed into the pair, knocking them back. But as they were thrown back, the two fired their blasters. They hit the shadow and made the being inside cry out, forcing him back as Soarin and Springer hit the ground.

Flash pushed himself up and summoned his Lightsaber, charging at the figure as he ignited it. He swung it towards the opponent, but the shadowy cloud dodged the attack and Flash had to be careful not to hit anything. This allowed the shadow to form behind him and swing his whip-like arm into Flash's back.

"Gaaah!" He was thrown forwards and crashed into the ground, his sword once again falling from his grasp. And before he could recover, the shadow grabbed his leg and started pulling him across the ground. Flash yelled, as he was dragged through the engine room.

Soarin and Springer had recovered and attempted to blast the shadow, but the figure managed to avoid their attacks and swung Flash around. He slammed into the wall and cried out before being pulled out of the room, moaning as he was pulled through the corridor and smashed into the wall.

Flash moaned, feeling like a pinata as he was bashed around. He needed to escape.

And then, he was pulled past the spot he had left Iron and Skybreaker's weapons. The Lightsabers caught his attention and he quickly called upon one, though found it difficult due to being swung around so much.

But one eventually came flying towards him and flew into his hand, Flash igniting Iron's weapon before swinging it back at the shadow. "GYAAAH!" He released Flash and staggered forward, allowing Flash to stagger back and get to his feet.

The shadow swerved around and leaned against the wall, as Soarin and Springer arrived on the scene. Soarin handed Flash his Lightsaber and they all turned their glare on the injured figure, who suddenly exploded into a large cloud that filled up the entire corridor.

The three were quickly overwhelmed and all screamed out, Soarin and Springer firing at random whilst Flash swung his blade around. But they didn't hit a thing and eventually, the three found themselves getting slammed by a large tendril.

They all cried out, smashing into the walls with Flash even hitting the doors to a closet.

As Flash fell to the ground, the door opened and Flash found himself staring at a bunch of dusty cleaning supplies. Clearly, Soarin wasn't much of a cleaner either. And as he caught sight of something that gave him an idea, he heard Soarin and Springer cry out.

Both had the tendrils around their necks, Soarin gasping for air whilst Springer's neck threatened to break off his body. Soarin had lost both his blasters and Springer's blaster was pointed away from anything worth shooting. And as the pair struggled against the hold, Flash felt a tendril beginning to wrap around his body.

He flinched at the tight hold, as he reached out to grab what he had seen. He knew it was a long shot, but he had to try.

As the tendrils squeezed his legs tightly, he managed to grab the hose and slam the end into the tendril. He reached for the button, but it was out of reach. Luckily, he was able to use the force to activate it and the machine burst into life. A loud sucking sound filled the air, as the shadowy tendril was sucked into the hose.

"What?" The shadow cried, as more of his body soon followed, "No! Stop!" Bit by bit, he was sucked into the ship's vacuum and he screamed in fear and pain. Springer and Soarin were eventually released, as he clawed against the ground.

Flash moved the vacuum closer to his main body, allowing more and more of him to be sucked inside. "It's time you cleaned up your act. Let's see how you like being imprisoned against your will!"

"You!" He growled, as his grip on the floor slackened. "You...SUUUUUUUUUUCK!" With that, his entire form was hovered up into the hose and he completely disappeared. And once he was gone, Flash cut the vacuum's power and removed the dirt holster from the rest of the machine.

Since it was a glass container, they were able to see the dark cloud currently floating inside of it. They could even hear his voice, though it was muffled and quiet. They all smirked at it, though they feared he would find a way to break free.

"Give me a second. I know how to keep him in there." Soarin ran off and returned with a roll of the most useful product in the galaxy. Duct tape.

They quickly got to work, wrapping the tape around the container until it was completely covered, There was no way he was getting out of there. "Pixel," Springer called out, "you can turn off the lights." The light lowered and they headed towards the cockpit, where they were once again faced with a problem.

"How the heck do we get in there?" Soarin asked, staring at the coliseum.

"I have no idea," Flash replied. "But there's gotta be a way to free them before they're sent in to fight to the death." But he wasn't sure how, meaning they only had one option. "I'm gonna head over there. Get the lay of the land until we can figure out a way to rescue them. You stay here and make sure smokey doesn't find a way to escape. I'll call you if I need any help."

Soarin nodded, as he threw his cloak on and took out a hoverboard. Once outside the ship, he flew up the side of the canyon and headed towards the coliseum. It would take him a while to get there. But hopefully, he would find a way to free his teammates before it was too late.

Shining, Iron and Skybreaker were still exhausted. On the transport, they found themselves unable to stay awake and drifted off.

They didn't sleep long, since they were shocked awake as soon as they arrived. Luckily, years of training had allowed them to get by on very little sleep. As they climbed out of the transport, they looked up to see the building they had arrived at.

The structure was a giant coliseum, with walls forty meters higher. The structure was located on a round slab or rock, with a mote surrounding it that was twenty feet deep. Said mote actually went under the coliseum, as a section of the rock it was on was suspended in the air. From what they could guess, only a single strong pillar was holding the whole thing up.

They walked towards the coliseum, as a bridge was extended towards it. They carefully made their way over the bridge and once they were on the other side, the bridge retracted back to prevent anyone from getting across.

The trio were led inside the building, down into a lower area where they would remain until their time to fight.

There was a single large cell, which they were all thrown inside. Once the doors were locked, they could finally talk. "Great," Iron growled, "so this is how it ends. Fighting to the death, in some nutcase's arena. Not how I wanted to go."

"We're not dead yet," Shining replied. "Flash is still out there and by the sounds of it, he's working to free us."

"How? He stole a book. How is that gonna free us?"

"He didn't just steal a book," Skybreaker pointed out. "Hopefully, he got our weapons back as well. Now he just needs to figure out how to get us out of here and we can escape."

"Easier said than done," Iron replied. "I'm not trying to be negative or anything, but how are we supposed to get out of this when everyone on this planet wants to see us dead?" The other two tried to answer, but they had no idea. Hopefully, Flash would be able to find a way out of this for them.

Flash had been racing towards the coliseum as fast as he could, making sure to keep an eye out for anyone that might try and stop him.

He soon arrived at the location and as he did, he jumped off his board and ran to the top of a hill. He jumped down and stared at the building, using his gauntlet to get a better picture of the place and zoom in. "You guys seeing this?"

"Yeah," Soarin replied, "we see it. Any idea how you're gonna get in there?" Flash did not have any idea how he would get in there. He needed to find a way to get close, without drawing attention to himself. But how?

He then spotted someone walking around outside the building. A guard in a suit that covered them from head to toe, an electro staff in their possession.

He let out a hum and realised that was his opening. He had never manipulated someone from such a distance before. He wasn't even sure it was possible. But he had to try.

He reached out and focused on the man, whilst remaining close to the ground and out of sight. He used all the control he could muster, so much so that he was already feeling himself get a headache. But as he focused on the man, he gave a single simple command. "Come here. Walk over and don't notice me."

The man remained where he was and Flash groaned, pushing himself to his limits as he repeated the command. And this time, the man actually turned towards him.

He took a single step, then another, followed by a few more. Flash smiled, but this caused him to lose focus for a moment and the man stopped. Flash refocused and the man was once again moving towards the hill, slowly making his way closer and closer.

Eventually, he arrived around the hill and Flash was able to relax. But as he did, the man started to come around. "What the?" He looked around. "What am I doing here?" Before he could see anything, Flash rushed over and chopped him on the back of the neck.

He gasped, as he was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground. Flash quickly grabbed him and dragged the man around the hill, whilst beginning to take off his suit. A few moments later, the man was in his underwear whilst Flash was dressed in his suit.

He picked up his electro staff and headed around the hill, making his way to the coliseum.

He arrived at the edge of the mote, as someone on the other side spotted him. "Hey! Why'd you go behind that hill?" Flash panicked for a moment, but kept his cool and came up with a reason. "I thought I spotted something behind it. But there was nothing there."

"You were behind it for a while," the other guy pointed out.

"Wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything. But it was nothing." He looked up at the building, then spotted one of the extendable bridges. "Mind if we switch places. I really need the bathroom."

"I told you not to drink the jumbo," the other told him before Flash extended the bridge. Once the other guy was across, Flash headed over and the bridge quickly retracted. If Flash was caught now, there was no way he could escape from this place. Either they all got out, or Flash would be joining his friends.

Walking into the building, he looked around but couldn't see any sign that might tell him where the prisoners were.

He made his way through the arena, checking every room and section for any sign that might help him find his friends. But every room looked the same. "Why build something so big, when you're just gonna leave it empty?" He got his answer, when he stepped through another door and found himself back outside.

He was inside the main area of the arena, where hundreds if not thousands of seats surrounded a large battlefield.

Said battlefield was a pretty big place, being egg shaped with a stone floor. Said floor had several holes within it. In the centre, there was a long trench that led from one end of the battlefield to the other. Stairs could be seen on either side of the trench, allowing the fighters to climb in and out of it with ease. The walls of the trench also had holes in the side of it, which Flash guessed led to the other holes scattered around the battlefield. The place wasn't just about two people fighting it out. The combatants could use these tunnels and trenches to get the drop on their opponents.

Flash stared at the battlefield and realised if he couldn't find a way to get the others out, they would have to step into that arena and get themselves killed.

"Come on," Flash groaned. "There's gotta be a way to get them out." He was in a guard's uniform, so there was a chance he could just sneak in and liberate them before anyone caught on. But he still needed to find where they were.

As Flash stepped around the outskirts of the arena, he arrived at the centre of one side. And located there was a special box, most likely for VIPs who were watching the fight. And as he got closer, he heard a voice. "Any sign of Rimarun?" He quickly pressed himself to the side of the box, as the voice continued to speak.

"No sign of him," another voice replied. "We've searched everywhere for him, but he's nowhere in sight. We haven't seen him since last night."

"When the book went missing," the first voice replied. "Is it possible that he went after the thieves. Why didn't he tell anyone where he was going?"

"You know Rimarun. He prefers to do things on his own. He was probably worried if he told us, we'd ruin whatever plan he had. Can't say it hasn't happened before."

"True. Hopefully, he tracked the criminals back to their ship. If that's the case, he may be returning with a bounty of captives. But if he hasn't returned yet, he's either miles away or..."

"Or?"

"Doesn't matter. For now, we focus on the captives we have. They'll be in for a serious fight tomorrow. We're gonna make a fortune, selling tickets to their gruesome death. If they somehow manage to survive to the end, we'll simply fill the stadium with lava and watch them all burn to death."

"What if someone tries to free them?"

"Impossible. There are guards stationed everywhere. There's no way they're getting away from here. I'd rather destroy this arena, then let them escape."

"Destroy the arena?"

"I placed explosives on the main support of this entire island. If anyone tries to get away, I'll simply blow it and the arena will crash into the mote. And when that happens, the ground beneath the mote will break apart and it'll fall into the lava stream below."

"You would kill everyone here, even yourself, just to keep the prisoners from escaping?"

"Of course not. There will be ships to quickly evacuate anyone, should they need to be evacuated. And the first area to be dunked into the lava will be the battlefield. If the prisoners are in there, they won't survive ten seconds. Once they're dealt with, I'll have the rest of the stadium lifted out of the lava."

"And if a ship arrives to try and airlift the prisoners to safety?"

"The coliseum has built in anti-aircraft cannons. Any ship not registered to their systems will be blown out of the sky. I've taken every precaution. There'll even be a shield above the stadium, so they won't be able to fly out. With a simple flick of a switch, the shield will lower until they're pinned to the ground. Those fools are not going to escape."

"If you say so." Flash listened to them, as they both turned to leave the place. He tried to listen to the rest of their conversation, but they were too far away.

He stood there, letting what he had just learned sink in. Getting his friends out, might be more difficult than he had thought. But as he let all the info he had just gotten sink in, a plan started forming in his head. It was an insane plan, but it might just be his only way to save his friends. If it didn't work, they would all end up dead. But Flash couldn't let his fears get the better of him. He would save his friends and they would all get off this infernal planet. No matter what it took.

Chapter 24

View Online

The volcanic planet was in a frenzy, as many ships and speeders were flying across the land.

The reason was because a group of criminals had been sent to the coliseum and seeing them fight to the death, was one of the best forms of entertainment they had on this planet. Once you went into the arena, the only way out was to be the last man standing. And even then, Wydorm could still melt you if he decided to.

It was currently night time and the battles would begin first thing in the morning. Now, all those fighting could do was sit and wait.

This included Shining, Iron and Skybreaker. The three Jedi were still trapped in their cell, unable to do anything except wait for their time to fight. But when that time came, they weren't sure they would be able to do anything.

Their night in the heat cells had really done a number on them. They were still dehydrated and they hadn't eaten anything in almost two days. They were running on empty.

"Still think Flash is gonna find a way to save us?" Iron asked, Shining frowning.

He wanted to argue, but his mouth was too dry and his stomach too empty. A part of him was starting to think Flash wouldn't save him. Had he simply left with Soarin to take the book back to Canterlot?

Suddenly, the doors opened and someone stepped inside. That somebody was a guard, who looked a little worried as they made their way towards the three. They were carrying three plates of food and as they reached the cell, they quickly placed the plates through a slot in the cell.

"Here," he told them, "eat up. You'll need all the strength you can get." The three rushed over and quickly started eating the food. "Be quick. I've gotta get those plates out of here before anyone else comes."

This caught Skybreaker's attention. "You're not supposed to be giving us food. So why are you?" The guard replied by removing his helmet and revealing who was hidden underneath.

"Flash!" Shining cheered. "Great. Get us out of here."

"I can't." Flash looked up at the cell's lock. Despite this place being rather old, the jail cell was cutting edge. An electronic lock he wouldn't be able to use The Force on, even if that suppression gem Skybreaker had wasn't causing him to be powerless at the moment. "I don't have a key. The head guard's the only one who has one and he constantly checks to make sure he has it."

"Great," Iron growled as he stuffed some food into his mouth. "So we're still stuck in here."

"Not for long," Flash stated. "Soarin and I are gonna get you out. We have a plan to free you guys. But it's gonna take some time." He looked around before taking out a large bottle of water, which he was just able to slot through the bars. As the three began to drink, Flash explained his plan.

"That's insane!" Skybreaker told him.

"I know. But you're gonna have to trust me. It's the only way to get out of here and not be chased all the way back to Canterlot." The three frowned, clearly not liking this idea. But they didn't have any choice.

"Alright," Shining nodded. "We'll trust you. But be careful."

Flash nodded and held out his hand. "Give me the suppression gem. You're gonna need every advantage you can get tomorrow."

"This thing has given us nothing but trouble," Iron stated. "Just throw it in the nearest lava pit you can find."

"We still need it," Skybreaker told him as he handed Flash the gem. "If we try to escape and they scan the ship on the way out, they'll know we're Jedi and blow us up. We need to keep our midi-chlorians down." Flash pocketed the gem and took the empty plates and bottle. "Alright, Flash, we're trusting you. We'll do what we can, but this had better work. If it doesn't, being trapped here will be the least of our worries."

Flash nodded and put his helmet back on before heading. The three caged Jedi could only watch, waiting for morning to come. But with their bellies full and their thirst quenched, they were able to get some sleep to make sure they were well rested for what was to come.

Flash continued to sneak through the coliseum, quickly disposing of the food and bottle before someone could see it.

Once that was done, he began to make his way out of the coliseum. He had finally found a map and had memorised it, so now he knew exactly where to go in order to get where he needed to be. So, stepping out the other side of the coliseum to where he had entered, he stepped up to the edge of the mot as the guards on the other side extended the bridge.

Once he was across, he made his way towards an area surrounded by several tall hills.

This area was surrounded by ships. Small transports designed to work by remote and autopilot. If the coliseum was damaged or attacked, the ships were meant to evacuate everyone in there.

He snuck down towards one of the ships, whilst using his gauntlet to contact The Wonderbolt. "Soarin? Soarin, are you there?"

"I'm here. You okay?"

"I'm fine." Flash found one of the ships was open and stepped inside, making sure nobody saw him as he entered. "Listen, I'm gonna send you some codes and you need to reprogram Pixel to make it your new identification code."

"What? Why?"

"This coliseum apparently has some anti-aircraft cannons. If you fly too close to the coliseum, you'll risk being blown up." He sat at the controls and started typing away at them, eventually coming across the ship's identification codes. "the cannons are programmed to ignore certain codes. One of which I am sending to you right now."

"But I don't know how to reprogram my identification code."

"Springer does. Just give him these codes and he'll be able to reprogram the ship's code. Just be sure not to delete your old one, or getting out of here will be impossible. If we run into a border patrol ship, we need to have the same code we came in with. Otherwise, they'll know we changed it. And there's never a good reason for changing a ship's identification code."

"Got it. Are you sure this is gonna work?"

"Not really," Flash frowned. "But it might be the only way we all get off this planet. Either we all escape, or we all end up dead. It's just as simple as that." Soarin said nothing, clearly not liking the idea of being killed. "At least you're in the safest spot. If things don't turn out right, you'll still have a chance to get out of here. Get the book we took to the Jedi Council and tell them what happened. They may even believe you about the deal we made."

"I don't care about the deal we made. If I leave you guys, I might never be able to look at myself in the mirror again. I care about staying alive, but living with a bunch of guilt isn't something I'll enjoy. So you'd better survive this. Understand?"

Flash smirked. "Understood. Don't worry, I have no intention of dying today. Flash out." He cut the call, whilst also sending over the codes he would need. Now he had a bunch of work to do, which he needed to complete before sunrise.

Morning came and everyone looking forward to seeing the carnage had arrived.

The coliseum quickly began to fill, the crowd cheering as they waited for the fun to begin. Vendors were even walking around, selling alien food that looked like something a nerf would vomit up on a stick.

In the VIP box, Wydorm entered and sat down. As he did, several people that worked for him stepped up. "Still no sign of Rimarun?" They shook their heads, which made Wydorm frown. "We may have to assume that he is no longer with us. If that's the case, we'll make these criminals' deaths the punishment for his loss."

"Yes sir," they nodded as Wydorm stared down at the arena. It wouldn't be long before they tasted justice.

Skybreaker, Iron and Shining had been led out of the cells and taken to another area.

When they arrived, the head guard turned to them. "Get yourselves kitted out. The people want a good fight." They glared at him. "And don't think you're getting out of it. The only way out of this room leads out into the arena. And if you refuse to exit, we'll fill the room with poisonous gas."

"Really have all your bases covered, huh?" Shining smirked, as the guards opened the door and threw them all inside.

They looked around and saw the room was full of basic armor and old weapons. "Not exactly the latest in high tech gear." Iron picked up a spear and tested it out, "balance is all wrong."

"They don't want us to survive," Skybreaker picked up an axe. "Just live long enough to put on a good show." He grabbed some armor and tested it out. "We have to buy time for Flash's plan to work."

"And if it doesn't?" Iron was still unsure if this idea would actually work.

"Then let's show them they made a mistake messing with us." Shining picked up a shield and drew a sword. The other two nodded and got to work, finding the best armor that would fit them and testing the weapons to make sure they wouldn't break. Eventually, they were all wearing body armor, helmets and shin guards. It wasn't the best, but they should at least survive.

Back outside, Flash was making his way through the coliseum. He needed to make sure everything was ready for when he made his move.

He stepped out into the seating area and looked up towards Wydorm, as the alien leader of the planet picked himself up and moved to the front of the box. "Today, we have an event that I'm sure nobody will forget. Several criminals, apprehended in an attempt to steal our planet's secrets. They've admitted to being in league with filthy Jedi, coming here to steal information for them."

The people booed at this, Flash frowning as the gate began to open.

"Now," Wydorm continued, "we will enjoy their futile attempts to survive against the coliseum's host of different obstacles." Flash looked down and saw his friends, the trio stepping out into the area decked out in terrible armor and carrying things that barely passed for weapons.

The crowd booed again, Shining, Iron and Skybreaker looking around to take in their environment and make a plan. They seemed to be saying something, but Flash couldn't hear them. Hopefully, whatever was waiting for them to fight wouldn't be too much of a problem.

He shook his head and continued towards his target. The faster he completed the job, the less time those in the arena had to fight.

Wydorm looked down at the Jedi, who stared up at him. "Criminals. I am a lenient man. Give up the location of your conspirators and I will allow you a simple and much less painful death."

"Nice try," Skybreaker told him. "But you'll have to try harder to scare us." Wydorm sighed and sat back, waving his hand to show he was done trying to get info out of them.

The servants spoke to someone on the radio and the far gate began to open, the three Jedi readying their weapons as it rose upwards. As it did, a roar could be heard coming from the gate. The three stood ready, as more roars filled the air. They quickly realised that whatever they were fighting, there wouldn't be just one of them. Shining lowered the face plate on his helmet and held up his shield, wanting to be ready if something flew at them.

Suddenly, a trio of four legged creatures shot at. They were wolf-like in appearance, but had a tail more akin to a scorpion with a long blade on the end of it. They quickly started racing towards the three, who readied their weapons to fight against them.

But suddenly, they all shot to the side. One went one way and the others went the other way, the three picking up speed as they circled around them.

This forced the three to stand back to back, Skybreaker and Shining raising their shields whilst Iron held his spear at the ready to strike. Then, one of the creatures shot forward and tried to claw at Skybreaker.

He managed to use his shield to block, but the creature's tail then shot down and almost stabbed him. However, he was able to deflect with the side of his axe before swinging it downwards. The blade's tip cut into the wolf's head as it pulled away, creating a small cut that made the beast roar in pain.

It staggered back, a long cut running down its head. But nothing that would kill it right away.

Another wolf charged at Iron and the Padawan swung his spear along the ground, causing a cloud of dust to form between them. And when the wolf flew through it, the dust got in its eyes and blinded it.

Iron ran over and as the creature tried to get the dust out of its eyes, he thrust his spear towards it.

But the wolf seemed to smell or hear him and leapt back, only to fall into the centre trench and roar as it disappeared. But Iron leaving the others had made him open to being attacked by one of the other two wolves, the uninjured one charge with its blade tail ready.

Shining saw this and leapt in front of Iron, his shield blocking the blade but getting a serious dent from the impact.

He pushed the tail away and kicked the creature in the face, knocking it back and allowing Iron to thrust his spear into it. A mighty howl filled the air, as the creature quickly succumbed to the injury and fell to the ground. Those in the stands booed, as Skybreaker spread his wings.

He took to the air, happy to see his time in the heat cell hadn't damaged his robotic wing. But as he flew higher, he looked up and felt something above him. An energy field of some kind.

He tapped his axe against it and a force field suddenly appeared, being projected over the entire arena. Makes sense, given how many alien races had wings. There would be no flying out of there until the energy field was brought down.

Skybreaker glanced at Wydorm and noticed several guards armed with blasters, all of which were pointed at him.

He flew back down, as the two remaining wolves attacked Iron and Shining. But both were able to fend them off and when the one Skybreaker hurt tried to stab Shining, he blocked with his shield and swung his sword to try and cut the tail off.

The creature jumped back, but Skybreaker took the chance and threw his axe down.

The weapon embedded itself into the creature's back, making it howl in agony as Shining took the opening and stabbed it in the chest. Skybreaker flew down and pulled the axe out of its back, right as Iron tripped and fell to the ground.

The wolf leapt on him and he barely managed to raise his spear, using it to keep the beast from biting his face off.

It roared at him, as it pushed down harder and harder. But Iron used every bit of his strength and threw the creature off of him, right as Skybreaker threw the axe and stabbed the creature in the chest.

It fell back, unable to fight anymore due to its wound. Skybreaker then flew down and used his axe to put it out of its misery, as the crowd booed.

Wydorm stared at them, clearly interested in their skill. "No matter. They'll fall eventually. We just have to keep pushing them." He ordered the next round to start.

The blood was barely dry on their weapons, when the gate began to open once again.

The Jedi nodded at each other, not wanting to be surrounded like before. So before their next opponent could rush out, the three ran over to a different hole and climbed down into the tunnel. The crowd booed at this, calling them cowards as they waited for the next fight to begin. And soon enough, a bunch of round droids came flying out of the gate.

There were around twelve of them and each one looked like a mechanical eye, with arms on the side holding drills, buzz-saws and other tools that would be dangerous in the wrong hands.

The eyes began flying around the place, scanning it for any signs of life. The crowd yelled out at them to look in the holes, but the machines either couldn't hear them or wouldn't listen. All they did was keep scanning the place, with one eventually moving to scan the tunnel.

But before it could complete the scan, Iron's spear came flying out and stabbed its camera.

The Padawan leapt out and used the drone to smash two more down, then swung his spear around to send the machine flying off the end and crashing into another. This was when Shining and Skybreaker leapt out, both using their shields to destroy a drone's camera.

Without the camera, the drones just kept flying around out of control. Two even crashed into each other.

The crowd continued to boo, as the three dodged the drills and buzz-saws before attacking with their own weapons. The drones soon dropped like flies and the three were once again standing back to back, panting as they saw the final machine hit the ground.

No sooner was the last drone destroyed, did the gate open up and the three turned to it. They had no idea how many more opponents they had to face. But they hoped Flash would start that plan of his before it was too late.

Flash walked through the stadium, having spent the entire fight heading from one section to the next.

He spotted his next target, a guard dressed just like him. He nodded to the guard, who was standing watch over an area of the stadium. "Sup." The guard nodded back, as Flash focused all his concentration on the guard. "You will leave the stadium and not come back for the rest of the day."

The guard tilted his head. "I will...I will."

Flash doubled his efforts, feeling a stronger will than the others. "You will leave the stadium and not come back for the rest of the day."

"I will...leave the stadium and not...come back for the rest of the day." He began to head towards the exit and Flash sighed, glad that had worked. He had managed to get a good number of guards to leave the place, meaning there wouldn't be as many people to fight off when this happened.

Eventually, he found the room he was looking for and headed inside. When he did, he found himself staring at a large machine that was humming and buzzing with energy. "Perfect." He stepped forward and started examining how the machine was designed. "Gotta rewire this without causing it to shut down." If he didn't and someone noticed the field was done, he would be in serious trouble.

After a few minutes of looking over the controls and circuitry, he had a fair idea how the machine worked.

As such, he carefully pulled out one of the wires and jammed it into a new place. This was followed by a second wire, then a third, fourth and fifth. He had to be careful which wire he yanked out, since pulling out the wrong one could cause the field to expand and crush his friends.

He slowly completed more and more of his alterations, wishing Springer was there to double check his work. But since he wasn't, Flash had to trust in his own skills to get it done. "Hold on guys. I'll get you out of there as soon as I can."

Shining had lost count of how many opponents they had faced.

After the drones, they found themselves fighting a giant praying mantis monster. After that, it was a large bird that spat acidic drool. There were more monsters, but Shining was too exhausted to properly remember them all.

The three stood there, exhausted after defeating so many opponents. They were thankful Flash had given them food and water the previous night, since there was no way they could have survived this long without them.

A bunch of drones were currently cleaning the field, picking up whatever remained of those the three had already defeated. It gave them a minor rest, but the machines worked fast and were soon finished cleaning the field of everything except them.

As the last droid left, Wydorm picked himself up and spoke to them. "I'll admit, you've impressed me. Nobody has ever survived this long within the arena. None without losing body parts, anyway." The three had some minor cuts and bruises, but nothing they couldn't heal from. "But now, I'm afraid your time is drawing near."

"How many more opponents do we need to beat to get out of here?" Shining asked, as Wydorm laughed.

"You seem to be misinformed. You're not fighting for your freedom. You're fighting to survive. And you'll keep fighting until you can fight no longer. And against this next opponent, I believe that'll be soon." He sat back down, as the gate began to open up again.

As it did, something large and heavy started moving towards the arena. "Whatever comes out of there, we can take it." Iron and Shining nodded, as their opponent busted his way through the gate.

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" It was the tiger alien, kitted out in his own armor and carrying a large mace in one hand and morning star in the other.

"Oh," Skybreaker's confidence wasn't so high anymore.

The tiger man saw them and smiled. "Oh, this is too perfect." He pointed his weapons at them. "They told me if I killed you, I'd be let off. Knowing that it's you, I'm gonna enjoy this even more." He let out another roar before charging, swinging his morning star around as he did.

The Jedi all leapt to the side, Skybreaker flying up whilst Shining jumped down into the trench and Iron pointed his spear at the beast. The tiger swung its mace around and Iron was able to dodge it at the last moment, whilst thrusting his spear towards the tiger's arm.

But whilst it stabbed into his flesh, the impact was too much for the staff and the wooden handle broke apart. "Useless!" Iron cried, as the tiger roared in pain and was forced to release his mace.

He staggered back and used his teeth to grab onto the spear, pulling it free of his arm before spitting it out. He glared back at Iron, who managed to pick up the mace. But it was so big, he needed both arms to carry it. No way was he going to be able to swing it around successfully.

As such, when the tiger swung the morning star around, all Iron could do with the mace was hold it up defensively.

The impact sent Iron flying back and he crashed into the ground, sliding along it and almost falling into one of the holes in the arena floor. He groaned, as the tiger prepared to attack him again.

But before he could, Skybreaker flew down and aimed an axe slash towards the tiger's back. But the beast man leapt to the side to avoid the attack, as Shining leapt out of the trench and swung his sword towards the tiger's head.

The beast used the chain of his flail to block the blade, as Skybreaker helped Iron to his feet. Shining was forced to back off, for fear of losing his only weapon like Iron had. The three glared at the tiger, who could still use his stabbed arm despite all the blood pouring out of it. They weren't sure how much longer they could keep this up. If Flash didn't do something soon, they would all be in trouble.

Back in the field generator room, Flash had finally finished rewiring the generator. If he had done it right, Wydorm would be in for a surprise when he tried to flatten his friends.

Flash quickly activated his gauntlet and managed to connect to The Wonderbolt. "This is Flash. How far are you guys from the stadium?"

"We're about a minute or so away," Springer replied. "You ready to do this?"

"As I'll ever be," Flash nodded as he made his way towards the VIP box. Along the way, he arrived at the spot he had hidden the Jedi suppression stone. He wished he didn't still need it, but he would have to do the rest of this without using The Force. "Let's do this." He arrived at the door and with all his strength, managed to kick it open.

Wydorm, his servants and the guards in the booth all jumped at the sudden intrusion. Flash used this surprise to knock out the two guards in the room, grabbing their blasters before pointing them towards Wydorm.

The alien slowly stood up and took out his death stick. "Let me guess. You're a friend of those three in the stadium."

"That's right," Flash nodded. "And you're gonna let them leave."

"And how do you intend to do that?" Wydorm asked. "You think holding me at gunpoint will mean I'll let your friends go? Hardly. You're not the first person to try that. I'm not afraid of dying." Flash smiled, as a noise filled the air. "What?"

Everyone looked up to see The Wonderbolt, flying over the coliseum.

"Why isn't that thing getting shot down?" Wydorm asked, reaching into his pocket and pulling something out. "I'll blow this place up before they have a chance to escape." Flash looked worried, as The Wonderbolt's docking ramp opened.

Soarin leaned out of the ramp and threw a rope down, only for it to hit the barrier keeping the fighter inside the stadium.

Wydorm laughed at the sight of this. "Nice try, but your friends aren't getting out of here. And your ship will soon be a giant pile of flying scrap." He took something else out of his pocket and pressed it, the energy shield coming visible as the command was sent to lower it so the warriors were pinned to the ground.

But then, to Wydorm's shock, the shield completely vanished. "What happened?" One of the servants asked, as Wydorm looked shocked.

The Jedi all looked up and saw the shield vanish, causing the rope to fall down even lower. Not so low that it hit the ground, but still low. "That's our cue!" Shining stated, as he and Skybreaker threw their weapons towards the tiger.

The beast man leapt back, barely avoiding getting stabbed, as Skybreaker grabbed the pair and lifted them into the air.

"STOP THEM!" Wydorm roared, but discovered many of his guards were gone. "What's happening!" He watched, as the three reached the rope. Iron and Shining grabbed onto it, whilst Skybreaker flew up to the ship. As he did, Soarin pointed his blasters down and fired at anyone who tried to fire at them.

Wydorm growled and turned back to Flash, only to see the Padawan throw something at him.

That something was a disk, which struck his hand and knocked the detonator control out of his grasp. Flash then ran forward and leapt out of the booth, grabbing the detonator and landing on the extending hoverboard.

Wydorm glared at him, as Flash held up the detonator and pressed the button.

A massive explosion rocked the entire coliseum, as Flash reached the rope and grabbed hold of it. The stadium shook before the whole thing suddenly fell several meters, the only thing holding it up having been destroyed.

The stadium smashed into the bottom of the mote and just as Wydorm had said, the bottom shattered and lava began to spill out.

The tiger alien watched his enemies climbing up a rope, only to then feel an incredible amount of heat coming from the ground. This made him look down and see the trench of the stadium begin to fill with lava, which spilled out onto the battlefield as the rest of it began to melt.

Realising how much trouble he was in, the cat ran over to the wall and leapt up. Digging his claws into the side, he pulled himself upwards until he reached the top.

The audience began to panic as well, whilst the Wonderbolt started pulling away from the stadium. Wydorm saw this and glared at the ship, then used a device in the room to speak out to the stadium. "Everyone relax. The ships we have for evacuation should already be on their way."

Sure enough, a transport ship had appeared close to The Wonderbolt. It looked ready to start gathering the audience, but then one of the anti-aircraft cannons took aim and fired. Everyone was in for a shock, when the ship was completely destroyed. And as more ships approached, the cannons took aim and fired.

"What?" Wydorm cried, then glared up at the person currently climbing up the rope out of his stadium.

Flash panted, as he pulled himself up the rope. Shining and Iron had reached the top and were waiting for Flash to get there before the ship shot off. But as the arena filled with lava, the heat began to rise and Flash found himself starting to sweat. And the shockwaves from the exploding ships didn't make things easier.

As he got closer to the ship, he suddenly felt the rope move. "WOW!" He cried, almost losing his grip and holding on for dear life. He looked down and was shocked to see Wydorm, who had somehow jumped the large distance and reached the rope. The alien growled up at Flash, as he began to climb up and looked angrily at him.

"I won't let you get away!" He cried, climbing higher and higher. He was climbing much faster than Flash was and would soon reach him.

"I got this!" Soarin pointed his blaster at the man, but the rope was wobbling too hard for him to get a lock. "Damn it! Can't get a clear shot."

"There's gotta be something we can do!" Iron yelled, as Soarin suddenly had an idea.

Wydorm was only a few feet away from Flash and as they both got closer to the ship, he reached out to try and grab Flash's boot. "Do you realise what you've done? There's no way we'll get everyone out of the stadium in time. You've sent them all to their deaths."

Flash looked down and saw that more of the stadium was being filled with lava. The audience had managed to get to the top of the stadium, with one side of it leaning against the edge of the mote. They started climbing out, but there was only so much space there for everyone to escape with.

Wydorm glared at him. "You're responsible for all this pain, fear and destruction. And I won't let you get away with it. You're no better than those filthy Jedi."

"I am a Jedi!" Flash announced, as he dodged another swipe from Wydorm. "And I'm not proud this had to happen. But if it was the only way to save my friends, then I'll learn to live with it."

"You won't have to for very long. I'm going to throw you into this lava and the rest of your friends will share your fate."

"I don't think so!" They both looked up and saw Soarin, who was holding something in his hand. A vacuum device. "You can have your friend back!" Soarin threw the device down and Skybreaker leapt out of the ship with it, Flash smiling as he swung around and let go of the rope.

Wydorm saw this and before he could do anything, the vacuum slammed into him and he was thrown down towards the lava.

At the same time, Skybreaker caught Flash and used all his strength to lift him up to the ship. The damage done to his wing made carrying more than himself for too long a challenge, but he managed to get to the ship just before the servos gave out.

Shining and Iron caught them both and pulled them in, as the ramp closed and the ship began to fly off.

Wydorm and the vacuum fell more and more, the vacuum having bounced off Wydorm and shifted its direction to a more diagonal path. This caused it to hit the side of the coliseum and shatter, resulting in the being inside becoming free.

Rimarun exploded into a large cloud of shadows, which swirled around out of control before retaining his humanoid form. But Wydorm wasn't so lucky and with one final scream, he fell into the lava.

Rimarun saw this and looked away, not wanting his last memory of his boss to be him melting to death. His scream of agony would always remain with him, though, and he looked up towards the ship that was now flying away. He glared at them, swearing revenge. But first, he had to escape the lava. As such, his body morphed into a shadow that raced along the ground.

He eventually reached the crowd, as more and more of them were fighting to try and escape.

Rimarun reached this crowd and unleashed a bunch of tentacles, which wrapped around the people at the back and lifted them into the air. He kept doing this, carrying more and more people into the air as he approached the edge of the coliseum.

When everyone was raised by one of his tendrils, he moved over the rock that made up the coliseum's wall and stretched the tendrils towards the edge of the mote. Once there, he started dropping people and eventually, everyone except him had escaped.

And as the lava engulfed more and more of the stadium, Rimarun merged all his tendrils together and transferred the rest of himself over to it. Eventually, the last piece of his retracted into the rest of him and formed a humanoid shape.

Everyone turned towards the stadium, which melted more and more into the new lava pool. And as it did, the lava started spilling over the sides. "We have to leave this area!" Rimarun announced, with nobody ignoring him. They all began to run towards their speeders and ships, as one of them turned to Rimarun.

"Where's Wydorm!?" They had been so focused on escaping, nobody had noticed what had happened.

"He's dead!" The shadow being pointed to the sky. "Those Jedi killed him." Everyone gasped, shocked that they were Jedi and shocked they had killed their planet's leader. "They killed him for attempting to bring them to justice. They attempted to kill us for simply being here. Those monsters are now attempting to flee, stealing our secrets."

The crowd roared in outrage, as Rimarun stared up at the spot the ship had disappeared to.

"You won't get away with this. I'll find a way to make you all pay. I swear it."

Up on the ship, everyone was feeling the exhaustion of the last few days.

They knew they couldn't relax. Not until they left this sector and got back home. "You might wanna take it easy," Springer stated. He was watching Iron, Shining and Skybreaker, as they drank as much water as they could possibly drink. "It's a long way back to Canterlot and I don't trust this ship's water recycler to restock our supply."

Iron turned to him. "You spend a night in a heat cell, barely get any sleep and fight in a death match, then get back to us about how much water we use." Springer shook his head, as he returned to the cockpit.

There, Soarin was doing his best to get as far away from the planet as possible. "You guys think we'll be okay?"

"I'm not sure," Flash replied. "I'm hoping everyone was so focused on getting out of the stadium, they won't be able to come after us until we're long gone. But all it'll take is one of those guys to have a communicator and we could have a whole fleet coming after us."

"Flash is right." Skybreaker stepped into the room, carrying a large bag of chips. "We need to get out of here as fast as possible. Soarin, what's this ship's top speed out of hyperspace?"

"Hold on." Soarin grabbed a leaver and pushed it forward. The next thing everyone knew, the ship was rocketing forward and they almost fell over. "Heading for the closest hyperspace corridor now." He started scanning for one, whilst the others picked themselves up. "But we're still a good way away. We might not make it to the corridor before a ship finds us."

"We'll deal with that when it comes up," Skybreaker announced. He then turned to Flash, "you did manage to get our Lightsabers, right?" Flash nodded and gestured to the area they had kept the blades, Iron and Skybreaker heading over there. At the same time, Springer opened his compartment and Shining retrieved his Lightsaber.

Having his weapon back in his hand made Shining feel much more comfortable, the Jedi quickly attaching it to his belt. As he did, he noticed Flash looking a little sombre. "You okay?"

"Jedi are supposed to protect life," Flash replied. "We're supposed to be the ones keeping the peace and allowing everyone to live together. But do I have the right to call myself that, after what I did? Because of me, who knows how many people burned to death."

"Flash," Shining frowned, "you didn't have a choice. Yes, I wish there'd been another way to get us out of there. But it's clear, Wydorm wanted to make sure we couldn't get out of there. Blowing the place up was the only option. If you hadn't, people would have stormed the arena trying to stop us."

"I guess you're right. But still. I'm gonna be carrying this for the rest of my life."

"Join the club," Shining replied. "Every Jedi's done something they're not proud of. Sometimes it's a mistake they had to carry and learn from. Other times, it's something they had to do for the greater good. It's like Celestia once told you. We're not gods. We make mistakes. What matters is that we learn from them. It's carrying these mistakes that'll help you become the Jedi you want to be. It keeps you humble and makes you wonder if your idea is a good one."

Flash nodded, understanding what he meant by that.

But before anyone could say anything else, the entire ship suddenly lurched forward. "WOW!" Flash almost fell over, as Soarin worked to get the ship back under control. "What was that?" The ship lurched again, as warning lights came on. "Soarin?"

Pixel's screen suddenly appeared and started yelling things in Soarin's face. "We're being attacked!"

Iron and Skybreaker arrived, as the ship lurched again. "Someone's blasting at us!" Iron cried, as Springer connected to the computer systems and changed Pixel's screen. Doing so showed the image from one of the ship's rear view cameras. And there, it showed the ship that had scanned them the first time they had arrived.

"What do we do?" Flash asked, as the ship fired another shot.

But Soarin wasn't letting it shoot up his ship again. He made the ship do a barrel roll, the Jedi all crying out as they were thrown around the cockpit. It had allowed them to escape getting hit, those the Jedi's eyes swirled and some looked a little nauseous.

Skybreaker pointed at him. "Don't...do that...again."

"Well then you'd better get to the blasters and stop that guy from firing at us again." They frowned at this, since they doubted The Wonderbolt's weapons were in any better state than the rest of the ship. But seeing that they had no other choice, Shining and Flash rushed towards the area where the ship's asteroid cannons were located.

Flash climbing up to the top of the ship, found the blasters were similar to the ones on The Shooting Star. This meant he was able to quickly figure out how they worked and powered them up, Shining doing the same with the bottom blasters.

The cannons folded out and the two started firing at the ship, which showed itself to be much more agile than The Wonderbolt. As they fired, the ship zigged and zagged, weaved and even did its own barrel roll. Nothing they did allowed them to hit the ship, making them frown.

"This guy's one heck of a pilot," Shining stated. The ship replied by shooting at them again, Flash and Shining choosing to blast its lasers so they wouldn't hit them. The lasers slammed against one another and exploded, creating a shockwave that pushed The Wonderbolt forward and caused the ship to lose control.

They hoped that would cause the ship to crash into something, but the pilot soon regained control and kept up the chase.

"How much further until we're out of the sector?" Shining cried, but Soarin didn't answer. That made Shining think they were still a ways away from getting out of there, meaning they had to keep this ship off them for a while.

Flash also thought that and as he looked around, he spotted a bunch of asteroids off in the distance.

He quickly turned his blaster in their direction and fired, hitting one of the ones at the back and destroying it. The explosion knocked the asteroids flying, many in the direction of the other ship.

Said ship began flying around them, focusing its blaster fire on the rocks and allowing The Wonderbolt to fly further and further away. "Nice one, Flash!" Shining cheered, Flash smiling as he continued to watch the ship attempt to escape the onslaught.

Eventually, the last asteroid was destroyed and the ship found itself a few hundred miles away. Soarin was able to push the ship back to full speed, as the other ship worked to catch up. But as it did, Shining spotted some more rocks close by and followed Flash's example.

He fired at them and the rocks were blown towards the ship, which was focused to shoot them down or stop to wait for them to pass. The Wonderbolt gained more ground because of this and Soarin found a hyperspace corridor, which wasn't too far away. "We're almost there!" He cried. "Just a few thousand more miles."

"Throw some more asteroids their way!" Skybreaker cried, but Flash and Shining couldn't see any more asteroids.

"What do we do?" Flash called out, as the ship began to gain on them again.

"Just keep firing." Shining shot at the ship and Flash followed suit, the two trying their best to keep the ship as far away from them as possible. But the ship still managed to avoid all the blasts whilst catching up to them.

All the two could do was keep firing at the ship, focusing on keeping the lasers it was firing from hitting them. But one managed to hit part of the ship's thruster and the Wonderbolt suddenly started losing speed.

"Not good!" Soarin cried, as he tried to push the ship back to full speed. But they just kept going slower and slower. "Do something!"

Flash and Shining both panicked, as they tried to think of a way to stop it. And as the other ship fired at them again, Shining saw an opening. "FLASH! Blast those lasers!" Flash did just that and as the lasers collided, Shining fired his own shots in a circle.

When the lasers collided, they exploded and the ship moved to avoid the shockwave. But in doing so, it flew into the path of the laser circle. Before the pilot could respond, one laser struck it and an explosion sent the ship flying off in a random direction. It wouldn't blow, but the smoke coming off the ship indicated that it was in a bad way. They wouldn't be following them for a while.

"Got em!" Flash cheered, the others sighing in relief.

Soarin smiled, as Pixel appeared to tell him something. "We've just passed the sector border. We're out of Cabraille." Another sigh of relief filled the ship, as The Wonderbolt continued to fly at its weakened speed. Luckily, the damaged thruster wasn't needed to go to hyperspace.

The rest of their journey was pretty uneventful. There were no other ship attacks before they reached the corridor and once in the light-speed river, they were home free.

The trip back to Canterlot was long and several times, they heard a sound in the ship that made them worry they would explode. But eventually, they arrived back at the planet and Springer uploaded the ship's original identification code.

They flew straight to the temple, Skybreaker giving Soarin clearance to land there and get his ship fixed up.

As soon as they arrived, they were met by several members of the Jedi Council. Celestia was one of them and as soon as she saw the state they were in, she had them sent straight to the Medical Centre before they could even show her the book.

And that was how Flash found himself laying on a hospital bed, Fluttershy using a scanner to make sure he was okay. "I'm fine," he assured her. "The others are the ones you need to worry about. Compared to them, nothing really happened to me."

"Maybe," Fluttershy told him, "but you're still running low on a few key vitamins and proteins. You said you've spent the last few days in a flurry of activity?" Flash nodded. "That explains it. You've barely eaten or had any sleep. You need to spend the next few days recovering before you can be cleared for active duty. But you're right. Compared to the others, you're fine."

Sitting atop another bed, Shining Armor was being cared for by Cadance.

The omni Jedi smiled at her patient, as she hooked an IV drip up to him. "Of course you found a way to end up in a coliseum, fighting a bunch of monsters in a hundred degree environment."

"What can I say," Shining smiled. "It's a gift." Cadance rolled her eyes, placing a hand on his shoulder and smiling at him. Iron and Skybreaker were also receiving treatment, the lot of them confirming to be fine once they had had enough rest.

The doors of the medical bay opened, Celestia and Luna stepping inside and smiling at them. "And how are our favourite fugitives?"

"We're fine," Skybreaker told her. "And fugitives is the right word. We probably have wanted posters all over Cabraille by now. I don't think we'll be able to head into that sector again."

"Soarin neither," Flash agreed.

"Yes," Luna turned to him. "About your pilot friend. Why is he asking us to completely fix up his ship?" Everyone turned to Flash, who gave them a nervous chuckle.

"Anyway," Celestia turned to Skybreaker, "I'm guessing you didn't get a chance to find anything whilst you were there."

"On the contrary," Skybreaker gestured to a bag he had brought with him. Celestia brought it over to herself and she opened it up, pulling out the book they had...acquired from the library. "That book is full of the same symbols we found in the temples. It's possible you might be able to discover something from it."

Celestia flicked through the pages, shocked by this discovery. "Amazing." She smiled at them. "You've done a fine job here. With hope, this may be our chance to defeat the Sith once and for all. Get some rest. You've earned it." They all nodded, as the two masters left the hospital wing.

"Any idea what any of this is?" Luna asked, with Celestia shaking her head.

"No. But hopefully, some of these new symbols will be somewhere in our database. If we can figure those out, we might be able to uncover what the symbols we've already acquired are." She closed the book, letting out a sigh as she did so. "I'm starting to regret sending Twilight on that mission. She's got a real eye for these kinds of things."

"She won't be that long," Luna pointed out. "I'm sure she'll be back soon. The mission wasn't too far away." Celestia nodded, as she looked up at the sky through a window. She couldn't help but wonder what Twilight was up to right now.

Several sectors away, Twilight was riding a large transport ship through the galaxy.

Said transport was absolutely huge, large enough to fit thousands of people and millions of tons of cargo. She had been sent to act as extra security for the ship, alongside Applejack and Heather. The three had been sent to make sure nothing happened to this ship, since there was a chance the Sith might attack ships heading for Canterlot.

She made her way through an area of the ship that was an open floor plan, where the passengers could walk around and enjoy themselves as they travelled between planets. Applejack and Heather were waiting for her there.

"Find anything out of the ordinary?" Twilight asked, the girls shaking their heads.

"Nope," Applejack told her. "Everythin' seems fine."

"Same here," Heather agreed. "Maybe this time we'll get a mission that won't end in utter insanity." She looked around. "Just stay on guard. There's no telling what could happen if we get complacent." The others nodded as they headed off, completely unaware that they were being watched.

Off to the side, leaning against a pillar, a young equestrian woman was watching them. A young woman with yellow-orange skin and hair that was a mix of red and yellow. She was dressed in a purple top, orange skirt and leather boots on her hooves with a leather jacket on top.

She stared at the three with a smile. "Perfect."

Chapter 25

View Online

In the deep reaches of space, the giant transport ship was making its way to Canterlot.

Thousands of passengers, either travelling to Canterlot or one of the many other planets this ship was heading to, were enjoying themselves about the large ship. On board there were shops, selling a variety of things from the many worlds the ship had travelled to. Food, clothing, games. There were all sorts of things.

There were also entertainment options, such as an arcade, VR simulations and even a library.

It was in this library that we find Twilight Sparkle, the young Padawan going over the many different books that could be found within the aisles of the library. She didn't expect to find anything that could help the Jedi in their fight, since these books were meant to be entertainment for the people on board, but she wanted to be sure she didn't accidently overlook something.

After finally checking the last aisle, she sighed after finding nothing of interest.

Stepping out of the library, she used her gauntlet to open a channel to the others. "Still nothing we need to deal with here. How about you guys?"

"All's clear," Heather replied. "There was a little issue with two aliens that had had too much to drink, but nothing the ship's security couldn't handle."

"Clear here," Applejack rhymed. "Looks like we won't get ta see any action today." Twilight was glad for that. With all the insanity that had been going on the last few months, she was glad to have an easy mission for a change.

Twilight continued down the area of the ship that was designed like a giant mall, watching as many different types of aliens ran around the place having fun. But as she turned a corner, she suddenly found herself slamming into someone who was also running.

"Wow!" They both fell to the ground, Twilight being at the bottom of a two person heap on the floor. "Ow."

"I'm sorry," she heard the other person apologise. They quickly got up and Twilight saw it was an equestrian magi her age, with orange-yellow skin and hair that was a mix of red and yellow. "Here, let me help you up." Twilight nodded and took her head, being pulled up to her feet. "I'm really sorry."

"It's fine," Twilight replied. "No big deal. Maybe don't run so fast next time." The girl nodded, as Twilight looked around. "What had you running so fast anyway?"

"Oh, I heard a store here was serving one of my favourite drinks. Wanted to get there before it was sold out." She then spotted the weapon hanging from Twilight's belt. "Is that a Lightsaber?" Twilight smiled as she held up the device.

"Sure is."

"So you're a Jedi?"

"Only a Padawan. My name's Twilight. What's-" She didn't get to answer as in that moment, the ship was suddenly propelled to the side, causing almost everything and everyone to be thrown to the ground.

"GYAH!" The girl cried, hitting the ground with Twilight. "What was that?" An alarm suddenly went off, causing everyone to start panicking.

Twilight quickly contacted the others. "What's going on? Is it the Sith?"

"Not sure," Heather replied. "I'm on my way to the bridge to find out. Get ready. We might have a fight on our hands.' The call ended and Twilight took off her Lightsaber, ready to use it if needs be.

Meanwhile, her new friend frowned. 'Great. I make contact and before I can trick this girl into telling me something, the ship gets attacked. This better not be one of ours.'

"Follow me," Twilight told her. They ran off, the two girls heading the same place everyone ended when an alarm went off. The escape pods.

On the bridge, the captain of the ship was directing his crew. Suddenly, the ship violently rocked and several people were thrown about.

"Shields to maximum!" He roared, as the door opened and Heather ran inside. The captain noticed her and turned his chair in her direction. "We're under attack by pirates."

"Pirates?" Heather hadn't been expecting that.

A holographic screen appeared between them, showing footage from the ship's outside camera. And there, she saw a bunch of small but fast ships racing around their vessel. "They're a band of thieving psychos I've had the displeasure of dealing with before. They're dangerous."

"What do we do?" Heather asked, fearing someone would get hurt as they tried to deal with them.

"We can fight them off," the captain announced. "But just in case, we need to get all the passengers into the escape pods. That way, if the pirates board us, they won't be able to take any hostages." Heather nodded, as the ship rocked again. "Can you and your Jedi make sure the pods are safe?"

"You can count on us," Heather nodded. She headed out and ran for the escape pods, as she opened up her gauntlet. "Girls, it's not the Sith."

Twilight listened, the girl running beside her doing the same. "We're under attack by a band of pirates."

"Pirates?" Twilight hadn't been expecting that. "So what do we do?" Before Heather could answer, an explosion occurred right beside them. Everyone in the area screamed, as they were thrown to the side and smashed into a nearby wall.

Twilight hit the ground and let out a groan, as her years of training told her to assess her body for damage. As such, she focused on each part of her body and the pain it was giving off. As far as she could tell, she didn't have any broken bones.

She pushed herself up and looked around, seeing other people getting up and continuing to run for the escape pods. But then, she spotted the girl that she had run into before. "Are you okay?" She pushed herself to her feet and moved over to her, rolling her onto her back.

The girl wasn't moving and when Twilight checked, she sighed realising she was just unconscious. A cut could be seen on her forehead, causing blood to spill down her head.

"Not good." She did her best to lift the girl up and onto her back, carrying her towards the escape pods. But with the ship rocking about and the girl weighing probably more than her, Twilight wasn't having the best of times.

At the escape pods, Applejack had arrived with a worried look on her face.

She had heard the explosion over the radio and when Twilight refused to answer her, she realised something bad must have happened. "Everyone inside!" Applejack cried, as families started piling into the many escape capsules. Each capsule held about twenty, which means multiple families could fit inside one.

Applejack watched the pods fill up, the people inside waiting to either leave once the attack was over, or be shot into space to await pickup.

The ship rocked again and as Heather arrived, she saw Applejack and frowned. "Where's Twilight? She's not answering her communicator." Applejack gestured that she had no idea, making Heather grow even more worried.

But before they could think about going to find her, another explosion caught her attention. This one was close by and as soon as it settled down, an alarm rang. "Intruder alert. Intruder alert. We are being boarded!"

"Not good," Heather took out her Lightsaber and Applejack grabbed her axe.

"Escape pods, deploy. Escape pods, deploy." The ones that had already been filled began to fire, leaving the ship. Meanwhile, those still getting people in remained as targets.

And sure enough, a bunch of people started running towards the area with blasters in hand. But as they ran towards them, they were met with the two Jedi and found Lightsabers swinging around in their faces. One attempted to shoot Heather, but she easily sliced through the gun and pushed the pirate back.

A few more fires, but Applejack swung her axe around and deflected the lasers back to where they came from.

Heather then thrust her hand back, sending a bunch of the pirate flying backwards and knocking several others over. This gave the escape pods more time to fill up, several managing to launch as soon as the last person was strapped in. With each passing minute, more and more pods flew into space.

Applejack watched another shoot off and frowned. "Are they gonna be okay?" She turned to Heather, who cut through another gun before throwing the pirate into a wall. "What if they get attacked?"

"They should be fine," Heather replied. "The pods are equipped with scramblers to keep ships from targeting them." She ducked another laser and Forced the pirate into another. "They should lock onto the nearest M-class planet and fly to it, sending out an emergency beacon as they do."

"A'h hope ya'h right," Applejack gulped as she punched one of the pirates in the face. A loud snapping sound filled the air, as the guy fell to the ground. "Any idea where Twilight is yet?" Heather shook her head. She could only hope that Twilight managed to get somewhere safe and didn't run into any of these pirates.

Twilight continued to run through the ship, seriously weighed down by the girl she was carrying.

She knew she was close to the escape pods and prayed some were still there. But as she turned a corner, she was greeted to a terrifying sight of several figures in black leather clothing and gas mask-like face coverings, that left the top of their heads clear.

They were all carrying guns and when they saw her, they took aim and she barely managed to get behind a pillar in time.

But as the lasers flew towards her, she could feel the metal pillar giving way. She had to do something, so she carefully put the girl down against the pillar and leapt out from behind it.

Drawing her Lightsaber, she began to deflect the blasts coming her way and even sent a few flying back towards the pirates. She eventually reached them and started cutting through their blasters, several staggering back at this whilst the others took out some knives.

Seeing no other choice, Twilight stabbed her Lightsaber into them and they cried out in pain.

She cut the head off another and used The Force to throw the last ones back, making them crash into the walls and a few pillars. Twilight sighed in relief, seeing all the pirates either dead or unconscious. She didn't waste any time and rushed back to the pillar, happy to see the girl was still unharmed.

Hoisting her back up, she kept running as fast as she could.

Applejack and Heather watched, as one of the final escape pods was launched.

There were still a few pods left, but nobody was inside them. The pirates were all taken out as well, though they knew there would be more coming. As such, Heather tried to get through to Twilight. "Hello. Can you hear me?" But Twilight continued to be silent. "Alright. Let's go find her."

Applejack nodded as the pair prepared to leave the escape pods. But before they could, they heard movement and turned towards the source.

Both held up their weapons, waiting to see if it was friend or foe. And when the figure came around the corner, they sighed in relief. "Twilight!" Heather ran over to her, seeing the Padawan was carrying someone. "Are you okay? Why weren't you answering?"

Twilight looked down at her gauntlet and they all saw it was damaged, likely due to the impact she had had with the wall.

Applejack hoisted the unconscious girl off Twilight's back, as they headed for the escape pods. "Who is this?" Twilight shrugged.

"I don't know. We met right before this all happened. I wasn't able to get her name before we were blasted into a wall." Suddenly, the ship rocked and the alarm sounded again.

"The ship's been compromised!" The captain yelled. "All hands, abandon ship!"

Heather activated her gauntlet and connected to the bridge. "Captain. We can hold the pirates off until you get here, but we can't do it forever. You need to hurry."

"We're not coming to those escape pods. We've got our own up on the bridge. If everyone else is already gone, you need to get in a pod and go."

"Understood," Heather nodded. She cut the call and turned to the girls, both already heading into an escape pod. They got to work, strapping the unconscious girl into one of the seats before strapping themselves in. The ship occasionally rocking didn't help, but they were eventually ready to launch.

As Heather began the launch procedure, they heard laser fire approaching and realised they were about to get attacked again.

"No time to connect to the other pods." Heather hit the launch button and the doors locked shut, the pod exploding out of the ship by being shot through a long tunnel like a cannon ball. Eventually, they flew out the end and were flying into deep space.

The pirate ships noticed them and they suddenly started firing at them, the three all praying to The Force that the scrambler would protect them. There were a few close calls, but none of the lasers hit them. And eventually, they got far enough away that the pirate ship broke off pursuit and returned to the larger ship.

"That was too close," Twilight sighed.

"Well don't celebrate too soon," Heather told her. "We're still in trouble."

"What did you mean before?" Applejack asked, as the pod flew through space like a spiralling bullet. "When you said there wasn't enough time to connect to the other pods."

Heather sighed, as she started typing at the control panel next to her seat. "The pods are all connected wirelessly. Or they should be. But we needed the ship's computer to make the connection. The pods are all meant to head to the same place, once one finds an M-Class planet to fly to. But since we didn't have time to connect, it's likely we'll be heading somewhere completely different."

"So we'll be stuck on our own?" Twilight asked, Heather nodding as they heard a beeping sound.

"Looks like we found a planet to land on." She checked the coordinates and frowned. "Thirty four hours until we make planet fall." The Padawans didn't like the sound of that. "Don't worry. We'll be fine. If you're hungry, there should be some ration bars or something in one of the containers."

They girls weren't hungry, Twilight instead turning her attention to the injured girl that was still unconscious.

The cut on her head was worrying Twilight, who looked around before spotting what she wanted. "Applejack, can you hand me that first aid kit?" Applejack used The Force to bring the box over to her, then handed it to Twilight.

She quickly got to work, taking out a scanning device to determine what injuries she might have sustained in the explosion.

The light flowed over her body and determined she had a concussion and gash on her head. Strangely, Twilight noticed that she also had a bunch of old scars that had been a part of her body for a while. Several broken bones that had barely repaired themselves properly and some minor damage to her internals that looked rather recent. Whoever this girl was, she had clearly been through a lot.

Twilight followed the device's instructions, using a special spray to seal the wound on her head. She then wrapped some bandages around her head, above and below her horn, and used the spray on a few scratches she had also received.

"I'm no Jedi Healer, but this should be good enough until we can get some real medical attention." Heather and Applejack nodded, as Twilight finished treating the girl. After that, they had nothing else to do except sit around and wait for the pod to reach the planet.

Twilight chose to spend the time, trying to repair her gauntlet. There were a few tools in the pod, but the damage done to it was much greater than she had expected. She could probably get it working, but she wouldn't be able to connect to any Jedi systems. The best she could do was get the coms working.

Heather had been working on her gauntlet as well, trying to boost the signal so she could contact the Jedi. But there would be no way to do that without a powerful transmitter. And whilst the pod had one, she wouldn't be able to connect to it without direct access. And the transmitter was outside the pod.

Hour after hour passed and as it did, the Jedi were forced to do nothing except meditate. It was the only thing they could do to pass the time without going stir crazy. They started having some of the rations in the pod, but they weren't exactly thrillingly tasty. And since the pod didn't have a bathroom, they chose not to eat too much.

As the twenty-eighth hour passed, a moan filled the pod and the Jedi turned towards the girl that had been knocked unconscious.

Twilight removed her seat binds, the pod's zero gravity causing her to float out of the chair. She pulled herself in front of her and as the girl opened her eyes, Twilight was the first thing she saw. "Are you okay?" She asked, as the girl clutched her head.

"Hurts." Was all she could say, Twilight nodding as she took a pain relief device out of the medi-kit.

"This should help." She placed the device against her neck and a hiss filled the room, the girl pulling back from it as she looked back at Twilight. "You suffered a bit of a head injury. I'd say we'll get you to a doctor, but I don't know how long we're gonna be out here."

"Where...where am I?" She asked, before a worried look appeared on her face. "Forget that. Who am I?" This surprised the Jedi, as they realised she must have been more gravely injured than they had originally believed.

"You don't remember who you are?" Heather asked, the girl shaking her head.

"No, sorry. I have no idea." she flinched, as she held her head. "Ow."

Twilight frowned. "this should have dealt with the pain."

"It can only make the pain manageable," Heather stated. "Hopefully, the pain will die down in time. But this isn't good. Getting hit in the head must have caused damage to the memory section of her brain. This isn't good."

"Do you think she'll get her memories back with time?" Applejack asked.

"I'm not sure. I'm not a medical Jedi. I can make a few healing salves from plants, but I don't know enough about anatomy to say anything for certain. But...I think I remember First telling me something once. Minor head injuries can cause issues creating new memories or remembering recent things, whilst more serious head injuries can cause complete loss of all memory...sometimes permanently."

The girl looked worried. "So you're saying I might never remember who I am?"

"It's possible," Heather frowned. "I'm sorry." She could tell the girl was panicking, as she looked around the pod. "I know you're probably scared. Don't be. You're safe with us."

"What are we even doing here?" She asked. "Who are you people?"

"We're Jedi," Twilight explained. "Do you...know what a Jedi is?" She frowned, as she clutched her head some more.

"It...it sounds familiar. But I'm not sure."

"Well," Twilight kept going, "Jedi are guardians that protect those in need. The three of us were on a ship, acting as extra security. That's how you and I met. But before we could say anything to each other, the ship was attacked. You were blasted into a wall and got knocked out. After that, I carried you to the escape pods and everyone got away. But since we were the last to leave, we got separated from the rest of the pods."

"Ya'h family's probably on one of those pods," Applejack pointed out.

"Maybe." Heather hummed. "I don't remember anyone calling out that they were missing a member of their family. If your family was on a pod, wouldn't they stay until you showed up."

The girl frowned and looked out one of the pod's windows, out into the depths of space. "So we're in an escape pod?"

"Yes," Twilight pulled herself back into her seat. "We'll be making planet fall in a few hours. You should use this time to try and rest. You might be able to remember something if you let yourself sleep and recover." She took out one of the ration bars. "Here. You've been out for more than an entire day. You must be starving."

She nodded and took one of the ration bars, opening it up and looking it over.

When she took a bite, her face screwed up and she was struggling not to spit it out. "I don't know who I am, but I'm clearly someone who doesn't like these things." They laughed at this, as the girl forced the rest of the ration bar down her throat and moaned at the taste.

Once she had finished her less than delicious meal, she took their advice and let herself go to sleep. It came rather easy for her and once she was asleep, the Jedi looked at one another. "So what do we do?" Applejack asked. "If she doesn't remember who she is, she'll have nowhere to call home."

"I'm sure we can find out who she is once we've been picked up," Heather explained. "The ship must have had a passenger manifest. She'll be on there."

"You think she has a family?" Twilight asked. "If nobody was waiting for her at the pods, she must have been alone. Either that or they didn't care about her."

"Let's not jump to speculations," Heather told her. "For now, let's just focus on staying alive long enough to get rescued. Once that's out of the way, we'll focus on helping her get her memory back and getting home to her family. And you never know. By the time we're rescued, she might remember who she is and where she comes from." They nodded and let the subject end there.

Twilight looked out the window and saw something in the distance. "The planet." They all looked out at the celestial body and realised Twilight was right. They were heading in that direction and despite being in visual range, they were still a long way off from the planet.

As they got closer, they noticed the planet appeared to be purple in colour. There were section of orange on it as well, which they assumed was some form of rock or desert.

As they got closer and closer to the planet, they were able to make out more details. Soon enough, they realised the orange parts of the planet weren't rock, but water. Large oceans, coloured orange instead of the normal blue. And by the looks of things, the purple parts of the planet were due to the colour of the plants on it.

"Amazing," Twilight whispered. "The sun in this sector must be a rare type of colour. That's the best way to explain why the plants evolved to be that colour."

"Maybe," Heather nodded. "But looking nice isn't going to help us." She tried to get a scan of the surface. "The planet might have a breathable atmosphere, but we're gonna need more food and water. Those ration bars won't last forever and if the planets are poisonous, we could starve before a rescue team has any chance of getting here."

"You're right," Twilight nodded. "But this pod doesn't have any way of steering. If we don't land somewhere hospitable, we're not gonna last very long."

"Let's just hope we don't crash into the sea," Applejack stated. "A'h wouldn't call that hospitable." The others nodded, as the planet got closer and closer. And eventually, they were pulled into the planet's gravitational pull and the pod's engines stopped.

The sudden jolt, caused the amnesiac girl to awaken and look around. "What's going on?"

"We're about to land," Twilight told her. She looked out the window and saw the planet they were heading towards. And as they were pulled down towards it, she saw they were headed for a purple forested area. "Hold on tight."

"We're gonna crash!" She cried, but the Jedi weren't worried.

"Preparing to fire landing thrusters!" Heather typed at the controls and as they drew closer and closer to the ground, a quartet of explosions occurred above them and a bunch of jets caused them to slow down. As they slowed down, they reached the forest canopy and fell through the leaves.

Said leaves were soon burned away by the jets, which luckily didn't cause the entire forest to catch fire. And slowly, they were lowered to the ground. Once they were only a foot or so off the ground, the jets stopped and the body fell the rest of the way.

A loud clunk could be heard, as they bounced off the ground and almost tipped over. But a whirring sound filled the air and the pod remained upright, finally having landed on the planet. "Not the smoothest of landings," Heather stated. "But I've had worse. Alright. Let's see where we are."

They all nodded and prepared to leave the pod, Twilight turning to their new friend. "You should stay here." She gave her an odd look. "You're still recovering from a head injury. Overexerting yourself right now won't be good for you. Stay here and continue to rest."

"Okay." She remained seated, at Twilight, Heather and Applejack headed out into the forest.

Looking around, they were happy to find the planet had pleasant air. Just because a place was breathable, didn't mean you wanted to spend all day breathing it in. But the air here wasn't just breathable, but clean and had a rather nice scent to it.

Heather instantly moved over to one of the trees, pulling a leaf off the bottom most branch and using her gauntlet to scan it. "Well, this foliage isn't toxic. So we don't have to worry about that right now."

"We still gotta find water and food," Applejack stated. "But a'h don't like the idea of strayin' far from da'h pod."

"Applejack's right," Heather nodded. "We need to find water, but we can't go too far." She moved back to the device and used her gauntlet to scan it, Applejack doing the same. "Alright. We'll go in different directions, but continue to keep a link to the pod. If we lose it, we head back as fast as we can."

"What about me?" Twilight showed them her still damaged gauntlet, Heather humming.

"Stay here and keep an eye on things. We don't want to leave our injured friend defenceless." Twilight nodded and the two headed off, leaving her to look around before putting her focus on the pod.

She headed back to it and could now see what type of technology it had. First, she had to find the transmitter so Heather could send out a high powered signal to the Jedi. She looked around and after a few minutes of searching, found an access panel.

Using it, Twilight found the top of the pod suddenly opening before something folded out of it. "What's going on?" The girl inside asked, as a robotic arm extended before a satellite opened up.

"Just checking to make sure the transmitter's okay," Twilight told her. It was then that she had a thought. "Hey," she headed inside, "we never checked. Do you have anything on you that might help with figuring out who you are? You don't have a gauntlet or anything, but you might have some kind of ID."

She started checking her pockets, starting with the ones in her jacket. But they were empty. So was any other pocket she could find. "I don't have anything."

"That's odd," Twilight frowned. "I would have thought you'd at least have some form of credit transfer device. What were you doing on the ship's entertainment deck if you didn't?"

"I...I don't know." She clutched her head, obviously trying to force herself to remember. "I don't know anything about myself. It's like whenever I try to remember, something's stopping me."

"Don't force it," Twilight told her. "That could be doing more harm than good. I know you're scared, but you have to let your memories come naturally. I'm sure you'll eventually see something that'll spark and make you remember something similar."

"I guess," she sighed. After a few more moments, she got up out of her chair.

"What are you doing?"

"I can't sit around here. Head injury or not, I'm not gonna let my new memories be nothing but the inside of this pod." She walked for the door and Twilight wanted to stop her, but knew she probably couldn't and chose to let her walk around outside. She would be there to help if something happened.

The girl headed outside and looked around, marvelling at the sight of the trees around her. Twilight stepped up beside her, as the girl noticed something. "What's that?" They looked around and spotted a blue glow in the distance, causing the forest to shine an almost supernatural radiance.

"I'm not sure," Twilight replied.

"Let's check it out." She walked forward and Twilight frowned.

"We shouldn't stray too far from the pod." But then she saw what the girl had in mind, as she moved over to a tree and started climbing up it. "I don't think that's such a good idea. With your head injury..." But the girl just kept climbing and Twilight sighed before following her.

The pair made their way up the tree, Twilight finding it difficult with her hoof legs. Strangely, the other equestrian didn't have any issues and soon reached the very top of the tree.

Twilight eventually got there as well, pushing herself up the branches and through the canopy. There, she and the girl turned their attention to the light and realised what it was. "Sunset," the girl stated.

The planet's blue sun was beginning to set on the horizon, causing a brilliant glow that covered the entire forest. Whatever the planet's atmosphere was, it was causing the light from the sun to shake and vibrate. "Look at that shimmer," Twilight whispered. She then smiled as she turned to the girl. "i know it's not your real name, but we gotta call you something. So how about that?"

"Shimmer?" The girl asked.

"Sunset Shimmer." Twilight watched the girl think about it, eventually smiling as she clearly enjoyed the name. "Alright then, Sunset. I promise we'll find out who you really are. Until then, we'll protect you."

"Thank you," the girl smiled. "I just wish I knew one thing about myself."

"Well...we know you're probably from Canterlot." The girl raised an eyebrow at this. "You're an equestrian and you were on a ship heading for Canterlot. So you're probably from there or have friends or family there. Once we get there, we can start looking for any information about you."

"Thanks," Sunset smiled. "But how long will it be before we're rescued."

"It won't be that long. The transmitter on the pod will be able to reach Canterlot. Once Heather's back, we'll use it to send a distress signal and a ship will arrive to pick us up in a few days." Sunset nodded, hoping Twilight was right about that.

Twilight glanced back at the sunset and realised that it meant night would soon be upon them. And there was no telling what might come out in the darkness. "We should get down before it's too dark to see where we're climbing." Sunset nodded and they began to climb down, all the while hoping Heather and Applejack would get back soon.

Applejack had been walking for a good while, keeping her eye on her gauntlet to make sure she didn't lose track of the pod.

She soon noticed the light was getting dimmer, making her realise that night time was approaching. "Better get back to the pod." But just as she was about to stop, she noticed something to the side of her. "Huh?" She stepped towards it and found it was a tree stump. Once that was perfectly smooth, meaning the tree that had been a part of it was likely removed by a sharp blade. "What coulda done this?"

She suddenly heard a snapping sound and was put on guard, the Jedi jumping away from the stump and hiding behind a tree. She grabbed her axe, ready in case whatever it was wasn't friendly.

She heard more movement and slowly, the cow girl looked around the tree and saw something walking along the forest floor.

It was a creature standing at around seven or eight feet, being a mixture of pink, blue and yellow. Its head was yellow, looking like it belonged to a lizard or something. And coming out the back of its head were a bunch of pink leaf-shaped blades, which overlapped to form something resembling a slicked back hair style.

The same pink leaf-shapes also covered a large portion of its body, with the only other part not covered by it being its chest and stomach. But that was only because its chest and stomach, were covered by a hard blue carapace. Meanwhile, its arms, shoulders, sides, back, legs, feet and long tail were covered in the pink scales. A blade stuck out of the creature's elbows whilst the end of its arms, had three sharp claws that were roughly a foot long and had a hooked end.

The creature sniffed the ground, moving closer to the stump Applejack had been at. The Jedi had a worry that if it was carnivorous, this creature would likely be able to track her down. Would she have to kill it?

The creature reached the stump and sniffed at it, clearly noticing a smell. But instead of following it to Applejack's spot, it turned away and began to walk off.

Applejack sighed in relief, glad to see the creature wasn't interested in her. She didn't waste any time and once the beast was out of sight, she started making her way back towards the pod.

Twilight had been busy working on the transmitter, trying to use what little light she had available to figure out how to connect it to their gauntlets.

Sunset was sitting in the doorway, looking out at the quickly darkening room. And as the light got dimmer and dimmer, she suddenly felt very nervous. "I hope this place doesn't have any night time predators."

Twilight said nothing in return, not wanting to lie to her and not wanting to say that there probably were night time creatures here. She just focused on the transmitter and eventually, she heard a rustling in the bushes.

The two stiffened and Twilight slowly reached for her Lightsaber, ready to use it if the time came. But then the cause of the rustling stepped out to reveal it was Heather, returning after she had finished checking her direction of the area. "Hey," she told them. "Good news. I managed to find a river and my gauntlet determined it's not hazardous."

"Great," Twilight nodded. "I managed to get the transmitter working. I'm just trying to figure out how to connect it to the gauntlet. It's kind of tricky." Heather stepped over and noticed the girl with them.

"You feeling any better?" She nodded. "Good. Remember anything?"

"No," she replied. "And until I remember my real name, you can call me Sunset Shimmer." Heather looked surprised by this, but nodded as she turned back to Twilight.

"Okay. Let's see how this transmitter works." She and Twilight began to work on figuring out how to connect the two devices, but it was easier said than done.

And as they tried to get it connected, another rustling sound filled the air. The three were all on guard, but sighed in relief when Applejack stepped through the trees. "Hey," she waved, "I the last one back?" They nodded, as they focused on the transmitter again. Applejack nodded as she stepped up to them. "Well we now know life's on this planet."

"Really?" Twilight looked amazed, "what kind of life?"

"Well it ain't intelligent," Applejack announced. "It was some kind of weird lizard creature, standing on two legs with large claws and weird armor. Not sure if it's predatory or not, but I don't think we have to worry about it."

"I hope so," Heather frowned. "The last thing we need, is a predator hunting us down." But as she said that, she was suddenly overwhelmed with a powerful wave of killing intent. She staggered forth and quickly shook her head, as the Padawans looked confused.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked, as Heather turned towards the forest.

"There's something here. Lots of somethings." She took out her Lightsaber and held it up, Twilight and Applejack doing the same. Sunset reached for her belt, purely out of instinct, but realised there was nothing there to grab. Instead, she hid behind Twilight as they looked out into the forest.

"We're being watched," Applejack stated. "A'h can feel the eyes on me." They nodded, feeling it too. The kept looking around, but there was no sign of anything anywhere.

They listened, but there was no rustling. Not even from the window. The forest was oddly silent. "Where are they?" Twilight asked, the others wondering the same thing. Then, Sunset happened look up and gasped.

"Up there!" They all looked up and saw something hanging from the trunk of a tree. It was one of the lizards that Applejack had seen, using its hooked claws to dig into the tree and hang from it. And it wasn't alone.

Several more of these creatures were hanging from branches and trunks, all staring down at them with a glare that could make steel melt. As soon as they realised they had been seen, the creatures all let out a hissing cry before leaping off the trees.

The Jedi ignited their blades and as the creatures landed, they stood defensively of Sunset and the pod. "Get back!" Heather cried, but one of the creatures ran forward. "I'm warning you!" He leapt into the air and prepared to swing its claws at them.

Twilight acted and thrust her hand forward, causing the creature to be blown back until it crashed into a tree. And to her surprise, the tree's trunk broke as the little creature fell to the ground. As it fell, the other creatures charged in for an attack.

Applejack was the first to retaliate and swung her light-axe at one of them. But the creature did something they hadn't expected and raised one of its arms in defence. They expected to see the arm go flying off, but it didn't.

Instead, the laser of the axe blade bounced off the pink scale and Applejack staggered back. "What the?"

"No way," Twilight gasped. Another of the creatures ran forward and spun its tail towards her, Twilight defending with her own sword. But like Applejack's, the blade simply bounced off without causing any damage. "Impossible."

"Their armor is Lightsaber proof?" Heather asked, as another one charged. She swung her blade at it, but also got no result other than the blade acting like nothing but a club. "What the heck are these scales made out of?"

"I'm not sure," Twilight frowned. But this isn't good." One of the creatures then curled up, forming a perfect sphere with the spines sticking upwards to form a spiked wrecking ball.

The creature suddenly started spinning in place and eventually, it shot forward and moved towards them at high speed. "Look out!" Sunset cried, with Twilight attempting to grab the creature with The Force. But it was moving too fast and before she could get a hold of it, Sunset tackled her and the pair hit the ground.

This allowed the curled up creature to fly past them and crash into the pod, the metal getting torn apart by the impact.

The four gasped, as the pod was pushed over by the impact. The top slammed into a tree and the transmitter was broken off, horrifying the girls as the rest of the creatures charged forward.

"Move!" Heather cried, she and Applejack jumping out of the way. Several more had curled up and spun around, turning into giant cannon balls that barely missed them. They all flew around until eventually hitting a tree and ripping them down, and causing the surrounding forest to get a lot thinner.

One flew towards Twilight and with all her strength, she swung her Lightsaber towards it. And like a baseball bat, it caused the creature to go flying off in the other direction.

This caused it to slam into several more of the creatures, who appeared to be the only thing able to withstand getting hit by themselves. They were still knocked over, though, allowing Twilight to run over to where the pod's transmitter had been broken off.

The satellite dish was bent and missing a piece, but Twilight prayed there was some way they could fix it. They just had to get out of there to do it.

Applejack used her axe to bat another of the creatures away, whilst Sunset was forced to only stand there and pray nothing attacked her. "We have to get out of here!" Heather cried, batting a creature away from her. "Before these things tear us to pieces."

Twilight agreed and tried to pick up the transmitter, but it was really heavy. "Applejack!" The cow girl saw what she was doing and nodded, rushing over to her as several of the creatures charged in after her. Twilight saw them coming and refused to let them damage the transmitter anymore.

As such, she used all her concentration to grab, the creatures suddenly finding themselves floating up into the air.

They struggled against the hold, but Twilight was able to keep them from escaping or getting close to a tree. All they could do was swing them claws around wildly, not slashing at anything whilst Applejack began to pick up the transmitter.

"Alright," she hoisted the device up, "where we goin' with this?"

"Try the river," Heather cried. "It was pretty wide and deep. If their armor's that strong, it must weigh a ton." They nodded and started heading in the direction Heather had originally gone in, with Twilight stuck standing where she was. "Come on, Twilight."

"You all go! I'll follow once you're far enough away."

"Twilight!" Heather cried, "you don't know where the river is!"

"I'll find it!" Twilight argued back. Heather frowned, but began to run. Twilight began to count, wanting to give them as much time as she could before she attempted to chase after them. And after hitting one hundred, and feeling herself beginning to tire out, she used all her strength to throw the creatures as far as she could before running in the opposite direction.

The armored monsters hit the ground and a few trees, several finding themselves getting stuck to said tree, the ones on the ground picking themselves up and hissing as they saw their pray was nowhere in sight.

Twilight ran as fast as her legs could carry her, her lungs burning from the amount of pressure she was putting them under.

She heard the beasts beginning to give chase and used her Lightsaber to cut through any tree she passed, praying it would at least slow the creatures down. But she soon heard smashing sound and realised they were barreling through the fallen trees, Twilight crying out as the sounds got louder and louder.

But eventually, she heard the sound of water and prayed the river was near.

And sure enough, she pushed her way through the foliage and found herself staring at a massive current of orange water. It was rolling along at an incredible speed and the water was so wide, three Shooting Stars could land in the river front to back.

On the other side, Twilight spotted Heather and Applejack standing there. She didn't see Sunset at first, but then spotted the girl floating above the water. Heather and Applejack were working to lift her over it, Twilight still wondering how the first two got across.

Sunset was only halfway across and wouldn't be able to lift her up for another minute or two.

But Twilight didn't have a minute, as she heard the creatures getting closer and closer. Any second, they would burst through the foliage and attack. Twilight had to find a way to get across.

It was then she had an idea. It was insane, but it just might work. Or she could be killed.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." She reached out with her mind and focused, using every ounce of concentration she had left. And slowly, a large sphere of water was lifted out of the river.

Applejack and Heather saw this, both wondering what Twilight was gonna do. Then, they watched the sphere flatten out into a disk. Once that moved right in front of Twilight. And to their shock, Twilight moved to step onto it.

"There's no way that'll work," Applejack cried.

"No, it might. If she can add enough pressure to the water to make it dense enough. But that level of focus might be beyond her." They watched, as Twilight stepped onto the water. And to their shock, her hoof didn't fall through.

Twilight brought her other foot onto the water disk and whilst she felt it difficult to balance, she was able to stand on it without falling through the water. But as she did, the creatures finally arrived and Twilight felt herself panic. But she remained calm and commanded the water to move towards the other side.

The disk moved and she was able to stay upright, as the beasts arrived and seemed rather worried about the water.

But one brave beast curled itself up and spun on the spot, tearing up the ground as it picked up speed. Then, she shot forward and flew off the edge of the riverbank. There, it was sent flying towards Twilight and she found herself the target of its attack.

But at the last moment, Twilight lifted the water disk upwards.

The spinning ball missed her, barely scratching the water disk's surface. The water rippled, but Twilight was able to keep herself from losing control and kept the disk dense enough to stand on. But the creature wasn't so lucky and crashed into the water, sinking just like Heather had hoped.

As it did, Twilight pushed the disk closer and closer to the other side. But the disk started losing water and shrank down, Twilight feeling it getting smaller.

"Jump!" Heather cried, as she and Applejack finally lowered Sunset to the ground.

They watched Twilight losing her balance and after a few seconds, she managed to crouch down and propel herself into the air. The Padawan fell through the air and drew closer to the riverside, only to fall short.

Sunset ran forward and as Twilight hit the water, she reached out and grabbed her arm. But the river was so strong, it almost pulled her into the water. Luckily, Applejack was able to grab her hand and Heather grabbed hers.

Together, they were able to pull Twilight up and out of the water.

Now safe on the other side of the river, they all side in relief as they sat there. "Everyone okay?" Heather asked, the girls all nodding as they turned to the other side of the river. There, they spotted the creatures trying to figure out how to cross without sinking. But there wasn't a way and after a few moments, they turned to leave.

Sighing in relief, the girls looked around and realised they were now in the middle of nowhere. No food, no way of containing water and no form of shelter to protect them.

"We're in trouble," Twilight gulped.

"So what do we do?" Sunset asked. "Try and find somewhere else to call home?"

"Not a good idea," Heather stated. "It's pitch black and we have no idea what the terrain is like around here. One trip and we might all end up with head injuries." She sighed, looking around at all the trees surrounding them. "We'll stay here for the night and hope we can find shelter tomorrow." They nodded and all settled down.

They quickly grabbed some sticks off the trees and built a makeshift campfire, Applejack using her axe to light it and stare it up.

As they sat there, Twilight tried to see how damaged the transmitter was. But it was so dark, she couldn't figure out if it was fixable or not. "What do we do?" Sunset asked. "If you can't fix the transmitter?"

"Get comfortable," Heather replied. "We might be here a long time." They all frowned at this, not liking the idea of spending too long on this planet.

They all sat there, waiting and hoping nothing came out to attack them again. The four chose to take it in turns standing guard, Heather being the first to stand watch whilst the younger members of her group finally got some shuteye.

Heather sat there, letting the sounds of the wilderness around her fill the air uninterrupted. She spent the next hour trying to keep calm and keep a watchful ear out. She prayed they would not be marooned upon this planet for long. And if they were, that they could find a place to safely call home.

As the hour passed, Heather felt herself beginning to get tired. But she needed to stay awake for at least another two.

However, a sound suddenly caught her attention and pushed any thought of sleep out of her mind. A rustling sound, which Heather hoped wasn't another of those creatures. She turned to the source of the sound, taking out her Lightsaber whilst moving over to shake Applejack awake.

"Huh?" Her Padawan asked, "ma'h turn?"

"Wake the others," Heather told her. "Quietly." Applejack could see the worry in her eyes and did just that, shaking Twilight awake but covering her mouth to keep her from crying out. She then moved over to Sunset and did the same, the three all getting up and preparing for a fight.

The bushes suddenly began to glow, as a light green light began to stream through the gaps in the foliage. This put them on edge, fearing some horrible monster was about to step out and use a glowing lure to hypnotise them into being its lunch.

The bushes rustled some more, as the light shined brighter. And eventually, the source of the light stepped out of the foliage.

Before they could activate their weapons, the girls realised it was a small creature of around a foot and a half in height. It was humanoid, but had stubby arms and legs. Its body was made out of wood, or a wood-like substance, was white in colour and covered in lines. Three leaves were sticking out the top of its head, whilst a bunch of vines were coming out the end of its arms to make fingers.

In the creature's grasp was some kind of wooden torch, with some kind of glowing green moss-like substance on the end.

The Jedi stared at the creature, whilst it stared back. The Jedi couldn't sense any malicious intent coming from it, so lowered their weapons. The wooden creature continued to stare at them, only to make several clicks and clacking sounds as it spoke.

None of them understood it, which the alien seemed to figure out. Instead, it turned away and gestured them to follow before heading back into the undergrowth.

The four shared a look and after a few moments, all nodded before Applejack hoisted the transmitter onto her back. With that, they all followed their new friends deeper into the wonders. Only time would tell if they were right to trust him or not. Hopefully, they wouldn't come to regret this.

Chapter 26

View Online

On a distant planet, somewhere in the uncharted regions of Republic Space, three Jedi and one amnesiac girl had found themselves stranded after their ship was attacked by pirates.

Having landed on this differently coloured planet, the four had found themselves trapped, attacked and almost shredded by the planet's inhabitants. Now, in the pitch black of night, they were following another native species of the planet that had stumbled across them.

Twilight, Applejack, Heather and the memoryless girl that had named herself Sunset, were making their way through the forest as it was illuminated by the strange plant humanoid the size of a baby.

The creature let out a clicking sound, clearly trying to say something?" What?" Applejack asked, only for pain to rocket through her leg. "OWWW!" She grabbed her foot, as Heather moved the brush away to reveal a large root that was sticking out of the ground.

"I think he was trying to warn us about that."

"We really need ta learn how ta speak to these guys." Applejack moaned, as the others stepped over the root. The cow girl was the last to follow and as they continued to make their way through the forest, they were careful not to blindly step anywhere.

"So what do you think these things are called?" Sunset asked, the others shrugging.

"Beats me," Heather replied. "Most intelligent species in the galaxy have their own names for their kind, which we don't learn until we can speak their language. But most of the time, the filler names given to them stick even after their real names are learned. On one planet, humans are known as flubwubbes. On another, we're clip-clop-cladalops." The girls laughed at this, catching their new friend's attention.

"Well we've gotta call them something," Sunset stated. "Any ideas?" They tried to think of something, but nothing came to mind.

Eventually, something appeared in the distance that they appeared to be moving towards. A mountain, roughly five or ten miles high. They wondered why this little guy was leading them there, each having a small fear he was leading them to some kind of mountain death trap.

As they got closer and closer to the base of the mountain, the sound of water filled the air. It sounded loud, even louder than the large river they had crossed earlier that night. And the little guy appeared to be leading them towards that water.

Eventually, they arrived at the bottom of the mountain and found themselves looking at a large wall several hundred feet high. And one part of the wall had water, racing down it into a small lake that was feeding many different rivers.

Small bridges had been built to pass these rivers, though by the size of them it was clear they weren't designed for anything bigger than the shrub man they had met.

He walked over it without issue, whilst the girls chose to jump over the river. Luckily, this one wasn't as wide as the first and they were able to get over it easily. The only one the Jedi expected would need help was Sunset, Applejack and Heather preparing to lift her over like at the other river.

But as they turned to lift her up, Sunset jumped off the edge.

They were surprised to see her do several flips through the air before eventually landing on the other side of the river, a look of shock appearing on their faces, as she did a perfect landing. "How did you do that?" Heather asked, Sunset looking back at the river before looking herself over.

"I don't know. I just...knew I could."

"Your body's muscle memory must be kicking in," Twilight explained. "it's possible you'll start remembering if you keep doing whatever you feel like you can naturally do." Sunset nodded, as their shrub friend made his way across the bridge.

There were a few more rivers of varying sizes between them and the mountain, all of which the girls were able to leap over. And eventually, they made it to the bottom of the mountain. "Why do ya'h think he brought us here?" Applejack asked, but none of them had an answer for her.

Then, the little guy moved over to a part of the mountain and Twilight noticed something. A pipe, made out of wood and connected to the side of the mountain. The pipe had been painted to mimic the same texture as the rock, so one wouldn't notice it from afar.

The little guy put his mouth to the pipe and blew into it, Twilight heading a noise coming from higher up.

The four looked up and realised the wall had a ledge about half way up, right next to where the waterfall was located. And from over the edge, a bunch of small heads appeared to look down at them. It was more of the shrub aliens, who appeared to be counting how many of them there were.

Moments later, five long pieces of rob were thrown down and landed next to them.

Their new friend grabbed one and tried it around himself, the rope then being pulled up a foot or two so he was now hanging from it. He started climbing up the side of the mountain, showing impressive skill as he did so.

The girls shared a look and soon tied a rope around their own wastes, Applejack also tying hers around the transmitter, which were then pulled up until they were hanging from them as well. The five started pulling themselves up the rope, Twilight being reminded of an old show she watched back when she and her friends were rarely allowed to watch that stuff. In that show, the person had simply walked along something whilst the camera videoed it sideways.

They pulled themselves higher and higher, their arms feeling the burn as they held onto the rope. If they lost their grip, they could end up breaking their neck from the fall and whiplash.

But after several minutes of painful climbing, they finally reached the top.

The plant guys helped pull them up and when they were on the ledge, they saw a large cave that seemed to go deep into the mountain. They looked around and saw several chairs located on the ledge, along with the other end of the pipe that had allowed their friend to signal them. Two more pipes could be seen running along the ground, these ones going from the waterfall into the cave itself.

The shrubs began to talk to one another, clicking and whizzing to communicate with one another. The aliens all looked the same, so much so that the Jedi couldn't tell which had been the one they first met.

They assumed the one that turned to them was that shrub and once again gestured for them to follow, as he headed off into the cave. The other shrubs sat in their chairs, clearly on some kind of watch duty.

The girls followed their friend into the cave and found it was a gentle slope leading down into the deeper parts of the mountain. "What do you think's down there?" Sunset asked, with nobody sure how to answer.

As they got deeper into the cave, they found more of the glowing moss was lining the walls and keeping them from being blind. They kept going for about five minutes, until they finally arrived at the end of the tunnel. And what they found on the other side amazed them.

It was a large circular cavern, full of wooden buildings that were small but clearly comfortable to live in. The walls and roof were covered in the glowing moss, lighting the place up but not so much that it would be impossible to sleep in.

Their friend led them through the cavern, following the wooden pipes that lead from the waterfall into this area. As they walked into the tiny village, they saw more shrubs who obviously lived there. Some were on the street, either working on something or playing around. Others were in the buildings, though they quickly came out when they saw the giants walking through their town.

Each of the girls had to walk in single file, since the streets were barely large enough to let them walk on their own.

The shrubs all stared up at them, some looking curious, others looking scared and a few looking suspicious. Many ran back into their houses, whilst others held small wood and stone tools up as if they expected the giants to attack them.

When they entered the town, the pipes became covered by some kind of wooden box. Smaller versions of the shrub people were walking along it, the wood not looking the least bit strained under its weight. Though these smaller shrubs jumped off and ran away when they saw them.

The pipes soon led to the centre of town, where a large water fountain-like structure could be seen. One pipe was connected to one side of the fountain and the other one went down into the floor next to the fountain

They looked down and discovered the fountain was actually a well, which was being filled by watering coming out of the first pipe. The second pipe was sticking out the side and they realised it was meant to prevent the well from overflowing. As one pipe filled the well with fresh water, the other pipe sucked it back in and likely sent it back to be returned to the waterfall.

"Wow," Heather whispered. "These guys are clearly intelligent. But I don't get why plant-type aliens are living in caves. I would have thought they'd be living in the forests." Twilight and the others wondered the same thing.

As they stood around the well, an older looking shrub walked forward with a walking stick and droopy leaves. He stepped up to the one that had brought the newcomers and started talking, their friend talking back. The four had no idea what they were saying to one another, but the older one didn't sound pleased.

"You think he doesn't like us being here?" Sunset asked.

"I think he doesn't like that we were brought straight here," Heather replied. "He probably wishes we hadn't been shown where they live, until he knew whether he could trust us or something." They nodded, as the two finished their conversation.

"We're sorry for intruding," Twilight tried to communicate to them. "We are travellers, from a distant world. We didn't mean to come here, but we're trapped." She tried to use her hands to help gesture what she was saying, the shrub people watching the impromptu game of charades and trying to figure out what she was saying. "We were then attacked by these creatures. That rolled up and almost ripped up to bits."

The shrubs still looked confused, as Twilight tried to mimic the creatures. She used her fingers to mimic claws and made some slashing motions, then pretended to curl up like them. This seemed to make the shrub people realise the problem.

The elder gestured to what Twilight was doing, then pointed to several shrubs. "I think they're familiar with the creatures," Sunset announced.

"Maybe that's why they live here," Heather guessed. "If those creatures are omnivores, these guys might be one of their favourite things to eat. It'd make sense that you'd live somewhere hard to get to, if you're being attacked by something like that."

"Can we stay here?" Twilight asked, the shrub elder tilting his head. "Can we..." She gestured to the four of them. "Stay here?" She then gestured to the cavern and the elder looked unsure. "We promise to be good." The elder still looked unsure, but turned to other shrubs and started talking amongst themselves.

the girls waited and prayed they would agree, even if this area was a bit too small for them.

Eventually, the shrubs turned back to them and all nodded. They could stay there. "Thank you." They looked around for somewhere they might be able to sleep. Somewhere that was out of the way.

The elder seemed to realise what they were doing and pointed to one part of the cavern. There, they found the area was completely empty. There wasn't a lot of space, but they could all lay beside one another and sleep.

They once again gave their thanks and were happy to finally get a decent night's sleep. Though considering how late it was, the night wasn't going to last as long as they would need to be completely regenerated. Hopefully, they would be able to lay in once the sun was up.

On the planet Canterlot, daytime had already arrived.

Flash had been discharged from the hospital, whilst Shining, Iron and Skybreaker would remain to make absolutely sure their time as prisoners didn't leave any lasting effects.

He made his way towards the dining hall, Springer hovering by his side. After the intense few days he had gone through, he was glad to have some free time to himself. At least until he was called to help repair Soarin's ship back to factory settings.

He quickly grabbed some grub and spotted his friends at one of the tables, the teen sitting besides Fluttershy as she, Rainbow, Pinkie, Trixie and Rarity all welcomed his arrival. "Any idea when Twilight and Applejack are gonna be back?" He asked. "Twilight's probably already itching to translate that book. And she doesn't even know it exists yet."

They all chuckled at this, the five shaking their heads.

"I'm afraid not. I think the ship is scheduled to arrive tomorrow, but it could be later." Flash nodded, as they kept eating and spoke about different things they would be doing. The war might have still been going on, but the Sith had been oddly silent recently. There hadn't been any attacks or sightings of them anywhere.

Flash wasn't sure what he should do, wondering if he should go with Rainbow to do some seeker practice or do some studying in the archives. But before he could make a decision, his gauntlet beeped. And his wasn't the only one. The other girls all received the same message, asking them to go to one of the Jedi control rooms.

Quickly finishing up their meal, they headed off to the room and found almost all their masters there waiting for them.

The only one not there was Shining, though Cadance and Thorax were there. "Any idea why we were called here?" Rainbow asked Spitfire, the woman shaking her head as the control doors opened.

They headed inside and Celestia was in there, looking rather worried. "Sister?" Luna asked. "What's wrong?"

"The ship Twilight, Heather and Applejack were on has been destroyed." Shock and horror was on every face in the room. "We just received news of it happening. Apparently, they were attacked by pirates and the crew had to abandon ship."

"What about Twilight and the others?" Pinkie asked.

"They would have been the last to evacuate," Celestia explained. "We've yet to pick up any transmissions from them, but I'm sure they're okay. Most likely still heading towards an M-class planet."

"But what if they're not?" Fluttershy asked. "What if their escape pods lost power, or they were shot by one of the pirates? What if they were captured? What if-"

"Calm down!" First told her. "Relax." Fluttershy nodded. "I know you are worried. But letting yourself jump to the worst possible conclusion, will only cause more problems than it solves. We do not know what happened and until then, we should not drive ourselves mad by trying to guess what has happened."

"He's right," Celestia nodded. "That's why I'm sending you all to the area that the ship's distress signal came from. See if you can find a way to locate them and determine what happened." They all nodded and began to head off, some heading for the Delta-X ships whilst Cadance and a few without ships headed for the Shooting Star.

All of them hoped the three were alright and they hadn't gotten themselves into too much trouble.

Sunset's back was stiff, as she felt herself beginning to wake up.

She let out a moan, as she sat up and tried to crack her back into place. And as she did, she noticed she was the only one still in the sleeping spot that had been given to them. The three Jedi were all gone, Sunset wondering where they had gone.

Before she could ask, one of the shrub people walked over with a bowl of green stuff. It offered the bowl to her, Sunset taking it and giving it a sniff. The smell didn't fill her with hope for the taste, but she didn't want to be rude. So, she quickly started gulping it down. And sure enough, it wasn't great.

It wasn't horrible, but it was hardly five stars. But she managed to drink it all down and sighed as she finished it. "Thank you." She handed the bowl back to the shrub, as more showed up carrying some kind of long green cloth. "What's that?"

One of them pointed towards its forehead, making Sunset realise she was supposed to replace her bandage with it. As such, she reached up and started undoing the wrapping around her head injury. As she did, she flinched as her head started to throb.

Once the bandage was completely off, the shrubs jumped onto one another's shoulders until they were tall enough to reach her head. Sunset stayed still and let them do their work, the amnesiac noticing a dark green paste of some kind was one the bandage.

Before she could ask what it was, the shrub pushed the paste covered part of the cloth onto her injury. She flinched, but stayed still as the paste was pushed into the wound. The shrubs then wrapped the bandage around her head, doing so several times before tying it into place.

"Thanks." Sunset could still feel the paste pushing against her head wound. But after a few moments, she felt the numb pain beginning to go away. Whatever that stuff was, it was helping her feel better. Hopefully, it would help her remember things as well. "Do you know where my friends are?" The shrubs tilted their heads. "My friends." She pointed to the space besides her, where the others had slept.

One of the shrubs seemed to understand and pointed towards the exit, making Sunset nod.

"Thank you." She got up and was careful, as she moved through the streets of houses barely a foot taller than her. She headed towards the tunnel leading to the exit and after being careful not to trip over the pipes, she headed up to the mouth of the cave.

As she got closer to the exit, she could hear voices and realised it was the Jedi.

She found the three, all sitting outside the cave with their transmitter on the floor in front of them. "Anything?" Applejack asked, as Twilight was working on repairing the damage done by the clawed creatures.

"I'm trying. But this thing isn't exactly simple to use." She was fiddling with some of the circuits inside the box, whilst Heather worked on fixing the satellite arm.

As she did, she noticed Sunset and smiled. "Good morning. Sorry if you woke up alone. We thought with your head injury, you'd want to sleep a little more and properly rest up. You feeling better?"

"Actually, yes. My head still hurt a bit when I woke up, but they gave me a bandage with some kind of paste on it. It's really starting to make me feel better."

"Remember anything?" Twilight asked, but Sunset shook her head.

"No. It's still a blank." She sat down and saw the three working, but it was clear that they had no idea how to properly fix the transmitter. "Any chance you can get it to work?" They frowned, Twilight attaching something inside the device. But this caused a spark and a puff of smoke, which made her cry out as she pulled back.

"You okay?" Applejack asked, as Twilight fanned the smoke away.

"No," she cried. "I think I might have blown something." They frowned, Twilight sighing. "I'm sorry. I don't think I'm gonna be able to fix this." The three shared a worried look, fearing they might be trapped on this planet for a long time.

Sunset then happened to look at what Twilight had been working on and as she did, she suddenly felt a flash of something in her mind. "Huh?" The took a closer look and as she did, some kind of memory was sparking in her brain. "Wait..."

Suddenly, she found herself somewhere entirely different.

She was in a large room, though the image was fuzzy. And as she stood in front of a table, she was working on some kind of machine. And suddenly, tons of mechanical knowledge suddenly flew into her mind.

In the blink of an eye, Sunset was back on the cliff and shook her head. The Jedi noticed this and frowned. "Are you okay?" Heather asked.

"Yeah," Sunset scooted forwards. "I think I remember something." She reached in and started fiddling with the transmitter's circuitry. "Bypass this general circuit and place it in a binary repeater. That should allow it to start working without needing the damaged pieces. Reroute some of the power into this section to keep it stable and lower the range to allow it to not overload."

"You know mechanics?" Twilight asked.

"I just suddenly started remembering. I remember being in a room, working on some kind of machine. But that's all I can remember."

"That's fine," Heather told her. "I'm sure more will show up soon. But for now, you can fix the transmitter and get it working?"

"Yes. But with the damage done, I've had to weaken its range. So even if we can get it working, it might not have the reach we need to get to the planet you want."

"That could be a problem," Applejack frowned.

"We might not be able to get the message to Canterlot," Twilight stated. "But if we can reach another ship, we can ask them to broadcast it to Canterlot. We just have to hope whoever gets the message, isn't someone we don't want showing up at our doorstep."

Sunset kept working on it, her hands moving with amazing precision as she had clearly done this a lot in the past.

"Alright," Heather activated her gauntlet. "Let's start working on a message to send. Even if Sunset's able to fix the transmitter, we might only be able to send a short message. We need to tell whoever gets this who we are and what our location is."

"How?" Applejack asked. "We don't know where we are."

"Yes we do," Heather told her. "I have the exact star position of the ship we were in before we evacuated. During our trip to this planet, I was able to keep track of where we were heading. Even if I'm a few light years out, they should still be able to find us."

"So what do we put in the message."

"Instructions to send the message to Canterlot, along with the word Jedi, my identification code and our star position." She typed away, trying to make the message as easy to understand as possible whilst using as little data as possible. "There. We're ready to send the message."

"Transmitter's up and running," Sunset replied. "You're right. It won't last forever. But it should last long enough to sent a message. And hopefully, whoever picks it up will be able to track it back to the source." Heather knelt down and Sunset began to attach the transmitter to her gauntlet.

After several small adjustments, Sunset was ready to send the message.

"May The Force carry this message far," Heather whispered before they activated the transmitter and sent the signal. Sunset pulled Heather's gauntlet to her and typed away at it, Heather obviously having no idea what she was doing.

"Okay," Sunset finally nodded, "the message has left the atmosphere and is heading in the direction of Canterlot. But like I said, I had to lower the range in order to get it working. So it's not gonna reach the planet. Let's just hope a ship picks it up before it grows too weak to decipher."

They nodded, wondering how long they would be allowed to stay there. If they wanted to remain safe, they had to show the shrub people they were worth keeping around.

Just then, a bunch of them walked out of the cave carrying a bunch of stone axes and other tools. "Hey," Applejack waved, "where you guys headin'?" One turned to them, obviously unable to understand her words. But it seemed to get the gist of what she was saying as he raised the axe and turned to another one.

He motioned swinging the axe towards that one's feet, the plant alien mimicking a tree that was beginning to fall down.

"They must be off to get some wood," Heather realised. "But with those tiny axes, chopping down these large trees must take forever."

"Then let's give them a hand," Applejack removed her axe from her back and showed it to the shrubs. They all stared at it and Applejack did what the wood guy did, the motions making them all smile and nod. "Looks like I can join."

"I'll help," Heather removed her gauntlet from her arm. "Just in case those creatures from before decide to attack. You'll need all the help you can get." Applejack nodded, as the pair joined the shrubs in heading down the side of the cliff.

This left Sunset and Twilight, who just sat there keeping the transmitter safe.

Sunset continued to work on making the device stable, her new mechanical knowledge clearly something she hoped to keep using in hopes of reawakening her lost memories. "There's only so much you can do on one device," Twilight told her. "Maybe you should relax and not try to force more memories out."

"I guess," Sunset sighed. "But I finally remembered something. I can't just ignore it."

"Then don't." Twilight sat in a meditative pose. "Come over here. Sit with me." Sunset stepped over and sat in the same pose, facing one another. "Close your eyes and return to the memory you saw." Sunset closed her eyes, trying to remember the details more clearly. "Take deep breathes and let your mind drift into the subconscious."

"I'm trying," Sunset whispered.

"Do or do not. There is no try." Twilight expected Sunset to ask what that meant, but she didn't. She actually seemed to appreciate this advice, the girl drifting into some kind of trance. "Are you there? In the memory you saw?"

"Yes."

"What do you see?"

"I'm in a room, working on some kind of machine."

"Okay. Anything in the room that might strike a memory? Some kind of picture, or an object that holds some kind of attachment to you?" She patiently waited for Sunset to answer, the girl clearly going through her memories in a hope of finding something.

"No," she finally replied. "The room's completely bare."

"Then try and leave. Head for the door. Maybe you'll be able to remember where you live." Once again, she waited as Sunset tried to do that. But once, she shook her head. "I can't. When I try to open the door, the memory gets fuzzy."

"Okay," Twilight nodded. "Don't try and force it. I'm sure more memories will appear in time. Seeing the inside of the transmitter sparked one of your memories. I'm sure there's something that'll cause you to remember everything about who you were."

Sunset smiled at her, "thanks."

"No problem. I promise, we'll help you find out who you are. And until we do, the Jedi will protect you." Sunset nodded and opened her eyes, the pair turning to look out at the forest in front of them. Despite the dangers, this was actually a very nice planet to land on. If they had to be trapped somewhere for a while, they were glad it was this place.

Applejack and Heather followed their new friends through the woods, wondering where they were heading for the wood they needed.

As they walked, they noticed the shrub people looking around nervously. Clearly, they were familiar with the dangers of this forest. No doubt many of their people had run a foul of the armored claw beasts that had attacked them.

Eventually, they came across an area of the forest where a bunch of tree stumps could be found. Some appeared to be freshly cut, whilst others were covered in sprouts and on the path to eventually grow into another tree.

Then, they arrived at a clearing where there were no trees at all. Instead, there was a village. Or what used to be a village, full of half destroyed houses and other buildings. It was clear that nobody had lived there for a long time and when the shrub people saw it, they all frowned.

"You think this is where they used ta live?" Applejack asked, Heather nodding in reply.

"I think so. They must have discovered the cave and realised it was a better place to live. A place those shredder beasts couldn't get to."

"Yeah. It wouldn't take much for those things to find and destroy this place. It's a miracle these houses are standin' at all."

One of the shrub people moved over to a tree on the edge of the town and checked it, nodding as it seemed to like this tree. "I get it," Heather nodded. "If they cut trees down near where they live now, those creatures might notice." Applejack nodded, remembering the creature that sniffed the stump the previous day. If that stump had been cut by one of these guys, it might have had its scent on it.

They watched the scrub guy begin to hack at the tree, but the stone axe barely even chipped it. Cutting with that axe could take forever.

"Here," Applejack stepped forward. "Let me." The shrub heard this despite not understanding her, stepped aside so Applejack could step up to the tree. She then took out her Light-weapon and powered it up, the shrubs staring at the device in amazement. "Stand back." She pulled the axe back before swinging it around with all her might.

The laser cut into the wood and burned through it in seconds, allowing Applejack to slice through it in a single swing.

The tree began to topple over, the shrubs staring at it in amazement as it crashed towards the ground. They continued to stare at it, then turned to Applejack and stared at her in amazement.

Applejack smiled, as she looked over the tree. "A'h wonder how much wood ya'll can make from this thing?"

"Well they're not that big," Heather pointed out. "A tree this large is probably big enough to make an entire house for them, so long as the house was small." Applejack nodded, as the shrubs got to work processing the tree

They began to cut through the branches, though their stone axes are still ineffective.

As such, Heather and Applejack help and after a while, the tree was reduced to nothing but a large log. One the shrubs start tying rope around to pull along the ground. This was something Applejack helped with, the cow girl being able to pull it all on her own whilst the others led the way back towards the mountain.

"Wonder what they're gonna use this wood for?"

"Probably to make repairs," Heather guessed. "Those wooden houses must occasionally need a board replaced. In a cave like that, moisture must collect and cause them to rot. Too bad they don't have a way to make the wood water resistant." Applejack nodded and was about to say something else. But then, her ears pricked at a sound.

"Ya'h hear that?" She turned towards a rustling, Heather and the shrubs doing the same.

They stayed on guard and checked every part of their surroundings, the Jedi not letting themselves be taken by surprise again.

Then, suddenly, something shot out of the bushes and flew towards them. "Look out!" Heather cried, as Applejack barely managed to lean out of the way.

A spinning ball of death shot through the air and slammed into the log, shattering it to pieces. "Hey!" Applejack ignited her weapon, "we worked hard on that log!" The ball uncurled itself and revealed the claws beast, which hissed at them whilst the shrubs looked horrified. "There's only one of them. We can handle it."

The creature rolled up and charged towards them, with Applejack pulling her axe back like a baseball bat.

"Fore!" She swung the weapon like a golf club and hit the creature, the laser doing nothing against its hard shell. All it did was send the creature flying until it smashed into a tree.

"Let's get out of here!" Heather cried, the shrubs appearing to understand this. They ran, as Applejack cut down several more trees to block the path between them and the creature. Hopefully, it would lose track of them by the time it got through the blockage.

Twilight and Sunset continued to meditate on the side of the cliff, Sunset occasionally checking the transmitter to make sure it didn't break down.

At the moment, Sunset once again focused on the memory she had regained and tried to use it as a path to unlock another memory.

She took a deep breath and as she stood in the room, she walked over to the exit. If that room belonged to her, she must have hundreds of memories of doing the exact same thing. She tried to remember what was on the other side and slowly, she hit the button to open the door.

Instead of forcing it, she just let the door open and when she looked through it, there was nothing except a white void.

She sighed, but tried to walk through it. And to her surprise, this seemed to trigger something in her mind. The next thing she knew, she was inside some kind of hallway. And as she looked around, she saw a bunch more doors leading to other rooms. Was this her home? Was that were her family was?

But before she could try and open one of the doors, a bunch of sounds made her open her eyes and the memory was broken.

She and Twilight moved over to the edge of the cliff, where they saw Applejack, Heather and the shrubs from earlier run up to it and call for the ropes. "What's going on?" Sunset asked Twilight, as the Jedi started climbing up the rocks without waiting to be lifted up.

"Where's the wood?" Twilight inquired, as the pair reached the top along with several shrubs.

"Cut to ribbons," Applejack cried. "We ran into one of those armored creatures and it almost got us."

"We managed to get away," Heather replied. "But we're not sure if it was able to track us down." But as she said that, a rustling sound caused them all to look down and see the trees shaking violently. Something was moving them and when that something leapt out, they saw a bunch of the creatures standing at the base of the mountain.

"Great," Applejack sighed. "Well at least they can't get up here."

"Yeah," Twilight nodded. "Instead, they can just wait us out until we starve to death. I doubt whatever these guys eat, is something they can easily get on a mountain." But then they realised the situation was worse than they thought.

One of the creatures ran up towards the mountain and leapt into the air, hitting the rock and slamming its claws into it. And thanks to the L-shaped curve of its claws, the instrument dug right into the rock and allowed the creature to remain where it was. And soon enough, it was pulling itself up the side of the rock face.

"No way!" Applejack cried. "They can climb rocks?"

"Looks like it," Heather frowned. "And that's not good." She focused on the other ones and saw them all do the same, the beasts beginning to pull themselves up the side of the cliff. "They're all coming. If they get up here, they'll destroy the village and all the shrubs will be in danger."

"Then we don't let them up here," Sunset stated.

"That's easier said than done," Twilight explained. "Our Lightsabers don't work on their shells and the shrubs probably don't have anything they can use to throw down at them. And even if they did, these things might be strong enough to survive the fall. They can just keep coming."

"So what?" Sunset asked. "We just give up?"

"I didn't say that," Twilight frowned. "All I'm saying is we can't keep this up forever. Eventually, they're gonna get up here." And sure enough, the first creature had reached the top and was starting to pull itself up onto the side of the cliff.

The shrubs clicked in horror, whilst the Jedi got ready for a fight. "I don't think so!" Heather ran forward and swung her Lightsaber at the creature, who blocked it using the scales on its arm. But before it could counter, Twilight thrust her hand forward.

As the creature tried to swipe at Heather, it suddenly found itself being thrown backwards. It fell over the edge of the cliff and began to fall towards the ground, but managed to use its claws to dig into the rock and stop itself from falling all the way.

"Not good," Sunset frowned. More were coming their way and it wouldn't be long before they were overrun with these creatures. But then her mind happened to lock onto the sound of the water, that was rushing down the side of the mountain. When it did, she remembered the previous night and realised what they had to do. "The waterfall!"

"What?" Heather asked, as she swung her Lightsaber down at one of the creatures.

"Use the waterfall. Wash them off the side of the mountain." Twilight realised what Sunset was getting at and nodded, the Padawan turning to the waterfall and focusing on it. And as she held out her hand, the flow of the water began to change and shift.

Soon enough, it began to move over to them. A long line of water was flowing sideways above the creature, who looked up and saw the water raised above them. And before they could think of doing anything, Twilight released her hold and the water fell down the side of the mountain.

The creatures cried out, as the water slammed into them and they were knocked down off the rock. Many cried as they crashed into the ground, whilst a few more splashed into some of the lakes and rivers below.

The water wasn't that deep, so the creatures didn't sink too far. They were able to keep their heads above water, but had trouble getting out of the water. They couldn't spin themselves out and the banks' soil was too wet for their claws to get a good grip on them.

It took them a while to get out, needing to work together to push and pull each other out. As this was going on, Twilight covered the rock in more and more water.

Because of this, the creatures found it a lot more difficult to pull themselves up the mountain. The rock was so wet, their claws kept slipping and they fell back to the ground. The Jedi, Sunset and shrubs all cheered at this, seeing the creatures couldn't get up the mountain.

"You think they'll eventually give up?" Applejack asked, as another of the clawed beasts fell down.

"I don't know," Heather replied. "I'm hoping so. But these things might fight another way to get up here. We have to be careful."

"I hope they do give up," Twilight replied. "Like I said before, there's no way these guys are finding food in this mountain. Even if they've got some stored up, it'll run out eventually." The others realised she was right, which made them worry.

If they couldn't find a way to get more food, they were gonna be in serious trouble.

Hours past and over time, the creatures got less and less determined. Twilight continued to cover the cliff with water, keeping it from drying out so the beasts couldn't follow. And as time went on, the creatures began to leave.

Eventually, the sun moved behind the mountain and its light began to fade away. The shrubs kept a bunch of glowing moss torches around to help their new friends see in the shadows, whilst also handing them the planty food they had on hand.

Twilight was beginning to feel tired, moving so much water again and again taking its toll on the girl's strength. "Maybe you should get some rest," Heather suggested. "Those things aren't here right now, so you should take this chance to regain your strength."

"Okay," Twilight nodded. "I'll try. Keep your eyes peeled?"

"Obviously," Heather nodded. "Don't worry. We won't let those things sneak by us." Twilight sat against the back of the ledge, shutting her eyes to calm down and begin to sleep.

As this was happening, Sunset was continuing to keep the transmitter working. Unfortunately, this device didn't have any way of indicating if the signal had been picked up. For all they knew, a ship had intercepted it and was on its way there now. Either that, or it would die out before reaching anyone.

"You okay?" Applejack asked, not wanting Sunset to overwork herself whilst she was still injured.

"I'm fine," Sunset assured her. "I'll be fine so long as I don't overdo it." She knew that if somebody didn't find this transmission soon, they could spend a long time fighting these creatures off and eating soup that clearly wasn't meant for an alien's tongue.

Sunset was making sure nothing inside the transmitter was beginning to strain, when she suddenly felt something small and hard hit the back of her head.

"Ow." She looked around and saw a tiny rock on the ground, making her confused until she looked up. And there, she saw something that made her heart stop. "Guys!" Everyone turned to her, then looked up and saw what Sunset had seen.

It was one of the creatures, hanging onto the side of the mountain above them. And it wasn't alone.

More of those beasts were pulling themselves around the mountain, using the claws on their hands and feet to keep from falling. Everyone realised they must have climbed up around the other side of the mountain, then moved around until they were right above them.

Twilight had been awakened by Sunset's outburst and as soon as she saw the creatures, she jumped into action and grabbed the water from the waterfall. Since the water was coming from almost the very top of the mountain, she was able to fling it to the side and hit one of the creatures.

But the armored beast simply curled itself up and started spinning, flying down towards them ready to rip them to shreds. "MOVE!" Heather cried, everyone jumping out of the way.

The creatures smashed into the ledge, hitting it with such an impact that the whole thing shook and cracks appeared around the impact site. It shook so bad, that the transmitter was shaken close to the edge of the ledge. One more shake and the thing would fall over it.

Sunset saw this and gasped, trying to get to it. But the creature unfurled itself and hissed, its claws swinging through the air in an attempt to cut her. Sunset barely managed to dodge it, Twilight, Heather and Applejack running to try and save her.

But before they could, more of the creatures leapt down. Luckily, they didn't land with a crash like the first one. But soon, six of these creatures were on the ledge and ready to do some damage. The shrubs ran into the cave, but this just made them realise there was a cave. One that likely had a bunch of the delicious aliens inside.

"Oh no ya'h don't!" Applejack leapt over to the cave mouth and held her axe, ready to defend the creatures that had done nothing but help them.

The first creature charged with its claws slashing at her, but Applejack knocked them back with her axe and kicked it in the face. Another then attacked and Applejack fended it off, whilst Twilight and Heather fought the others off as well. That just left one, which attacked Sunset as she did her best to lead it away from the transmitter.

The beast didn't care about the machine, so that was easy. But Sunset soon found herself running out of ledge to run to.

She reached the end of the road and had to stop, as the creature curled itself up and began to spin. It picked up more and more speed, until it eventually shot forward and flew towards her. She gasped and with strength she didn't even know she had, leapt straight up and over the creature.

The Jedi saw this and were amazed, since no normal person would have the ability to jump as high as she did.

The beast rolled under her and by the time it realised what had happened, it shot off the edge of the mountain and fell down towards a lake at the base.

Sunset landed and rolled along the ledge, whilst the Jedi finally managed to grab the armored creatures in a Force Hold and throw them over the edge. One of them clips the transmitter with its tail, causing it to slide over the edge and fall.

"NOOO!" They all cried, as Sunset rushed over and leapt to try and grab it. But the machine fell from her reach and began to plummet towards the ground.

The Jedi braced themselves, expecting the sound of it hitting the forest floor to be a painful one. But the sound never came.

"Huh?" Twilight opened her eyes and saw Sunset looking shocked, the Equestrian Padawan stepping forward and looking down at the ground. And when she saw the transmitter, her eyes widened at the sight of it floating in the air.

The machine was shaking, but it was being held above the ground by an unknown force.

Twilight looked over at Heather and Applejack, neither of which appeared to be doing this. She then turned to Sunset, who had a hand out and appeared frozen in shock. Twilight realised it had to be her. Which meant only one thing.

"You're strong with The Force." Heather and Applejack were shocked by this. Both rushing over to see the device floating as well. Meanwhile, Sunset let this statement sink in. And as it did, she flinched.

The transmitter fell and Twilight barely managed to catch it in time, lifting it up to the cliff whilst Sunset moaned. "Are you okay?" Applejack asked, as Sunset clutched her head. "Are you remembering something?"

"I...I...I..." She stopped, the three looking worried as Twilight placed the transmitter down. She then sighed and opened her eyes. "I don't remember anything. My head just really hurt for a moment." They frowned, wishing there was more they could do for her.

But before they could think of anything, hissing caused them to look down and see the creatures once again trying to pull themselves up the side of the mountain. "Oh, come on!" Applejack got ready for another fight. "Can't we catch a break?" The others thought the same thing, wishing they could send these things far away.

Then, a sound filled the air. An engine sound.

They all looked up and to their shock, a ship came flying down from out of the clouds. A Delta-X.

"YES!" Applejack cheered, as the ship flew down and came to a hover next to the mountain. There, they saw a familiar robotic dog's head in the droid compartment. And that meant only one thing.

"Flash!" Twilight cried, as Applejack and Heather's gauntlets beeped.

"Hey," Flash called out over the coms. "You girls okay?"

"Better now that you're here," Twilight told him. "I can't believe you found us so quickly."

"We were already out here looking for you," Flash explained. "Thank Springer. He's the one that picked up your transmission and tracked it to this planet." They smiled at this, before the hissing of the creatures made them remember the situation they were in.

"Flash," Heather spoke up. "Is there any way you can get rid of these things. Doesn't the Delta-X have a tractor beam function?"

"I think so. What do you want me to do with them?"

"Just get them out of here. Take them as far away as possible and make sure they can't find their way back here." The Delta-X began to move, flying around and unleashing a light from the bottom of the ship. Whenever this light hit one of the creatures, it was suddenly pulled up from off the side of the mountain or the ground. "Don't let them too close to your ship. Their claws will tear it to pieces."

"Got it." Once the ship picked up all the creatures, it carried them into the air and flew off at incredible speed.

The beasts tried to escape, but they couldn't. All they could do was hiss, as they were pulled away and disappeared from sight.

The four girls all sighed in relief, finally getting the chance to relax. They stayed there for a while. as the shrubs arrived holding their stone weapons. When they saw the creatures were gone, Heather gave them a thumbs up and they realised they were safe.

Half an hour later, Flash returned after dropping the beasts off. And he wasn't the only one, as a few more Delta-X ships arrived along with the Shooting Star.

The shrubs were scared by these ships, but the girls assured them they didn't have to worry. And when the Shooting Star extended its loading ramp, the girls stepped on board. They said goodbye to the creatures and thanked them for everything, the shrubs waving goodbye as they disappeared into the ships.

Once aboard, the Medical Jedi began to examine them as they told them what had happened.

"How's that feel?" Pinkie asked, as she finished spraying something on Sunset's head wound. The girl's injury was gone, along with the pain. Sunset touched the injury, not feeling anything at all.

"It's great. Thanks."

"So you don't remember anything?" Cadance asked, clearly worried about that. "Anything at all?"

Sunset shook her head. "No, sorry. I can't remember a thing."

"But Sunset's strong with The Force," Twilight announced. "Maybe she was part of the Jedi order."

"I don't think so," Cadance replied. "She's about your age, so there's no way you wouldn't have known her. This is curious. Hopefully, Celestia will be able to figure out where she came from. For now, you should all get some rest until we return to Canterlot."

"That sounds like a plan," Heather nodded. "Come on girls. I'm gonna sleep for a week after the last two days." They nodded and all headed towards the sleeping quarters.

Pinkie showed Sunset where she would be sleeping, the amnesiac girl thanking her as she sat on the bed. "If there's anything you need. Something to eat, drink or whatever. Just let us know."

"Thank you," Sunset nodded. "I'm good. Just need some rest." Pinkie nodded and left, the door closing as she did.

As soon as the room was sealed, Sunset's attitude suddenly changed. She reached for her boot and opened a compartment that ran along the side, allowing her to pull out a small tube-like device. One she had only just remembered she had.

She made sure it wasn't damaged and as soon as she was sure it was fine, she activated it. "This is Solara, sending a message to Master Sombra. I've successfully infiltrated the Jedi. Though I had a few issues, I'm now on track to gaining their trust and finding the relic key. I will send more info when I get the chance." As soon as the message was sent, she returned the device and laid on the bed.

She couldn't believe she had forgotten who she really was. To think, she actually liked those Jedi. But now her memories were back and she could continue with her mission. The Jedi wouldn't know what hit them until it was too late.

Star Wars EQG: Episode 1, Harmony of the Force

by Banshee531

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26