Princess Celestia's golden sun shines down on the land of Equestria. Its rays expel the lingering night shadows, revealing the vibrant colors of the vast landscape hidden beneath them. A light breeze blows across the green, grassy fields where the flower begin to blossom. The trees shake rhythmically with each gust. Birds commence their daytime melodies as owls conclude their night watch. Yes, morning has arrived, awakening Equestria from a well-earned night of slumber. Princess Luna's ivory moon has retreated from the heavens, returning to its dormant state until the time for nightfall comes once again.
From the United Dimensions outpost, a single Jedi watches the town of Ponyville in the distance. He can see the industrious merchant ponies opening up their markets in the town, ready to take on a new day. Looking to the sky, he spots the weather pegasi racing through the air, bearing clouds to be delivered to other parts of the kingdom. Darwin then shifts his focus to the mountainside capital of Canterlot. The pointed towers of the castle stand high and mighty as they overlook their vast kingdom below.
Darwin takes a deep breath of Equestrian fresh air. It has been a while since he was here, yet he can remember that day as if it were only yesterday.
"One move and I'll blow her damn head off!"
It was a real Mexican standoff in Ponyville now. Darwin and his team were in the street standing almost fifteen feet away from the badly beaten Celestia, princess of Equestria. She was knelt down, covered in scratches, bruises, and grime; her horn had been rendered useless by Dark Energy. She was surrounded by a squad of human Dominion troopers with AK-47s aimed at Darwin's force. Their commander, a Shadow Wraith, had the palm of his hand next to the princess's face, poised to fire a deadly energy beam that will end her life. However, Celestia was surprisingly calm, contradicting the look of uneasiness on her face.
More Dominion soldiers rushed into the scene and pointed their weapons at Darwin's men. The Galactic Republic infantry accompanying Darwin's team responded immediately, pointing their blasters back at the enemy. Neither they nor Darwin's team dared to act as long as the princess was held captive and dozens of automatic weapons were trained on them. The atmosphere was growing more intense by the second for there was much at stake. One wrong move and not only would Equestria lose a leader, but The Team could be wiped out in an instant.
"What do we do now?" Spongebob whispered to Darwin.
"We listen to his demands first, then think of a plan." The Jedi replied calmly.
The commander started talking again. "How about I make you a deal? You Republic scumbags drop your weapons and maybe I'll consider letting this b**** live. Your choice. You got five seconds."
Darwin looked to the roof of a nearby house and nodded at a semi-concealed figure.
"Time's up!" called the Shadow Wraith.
Darwin's comrades gasped as the enemy commander began powering up, but before he had a chance to release his attack, a shot rang out. The commander collapsed seconds after, blood gushing out of the sizeable hole in his chest made by a .50 caliber bullet. Several more gunshots followed as rounds started whizzing through the air. Each one tore through two to three Dominion troopers surrounding the princess, who was gradually recovering.
"Counter-attack!" shouted Darwin, seizing the opportunity.
Instantly, his troops sprang into action, swiftly engaging the surprised enemy soldiers. Guns discharged and blades clashed in a scene that was immersed in silence minutes ago. Darwin looked toward the princess to see if she was alright. Her life would have been over if it wasn't for the marksmanship of Private Carter.
Darwin mustered up the Force and shattered the magic-inhibiting seal on Celestia's horn. The Equestrian princess, her white coat stained but her strength regained, shot the Jedi a look of gratitude before galloping into the fray. Darwin turned forward and made a great leap at the Dominion platoon.
"Sir? Sir!" The voice of Lieutenant Kaminsky interrupts Darwin's thoughts.
Man, I've got to stop doing that, Darwin thinks to himself after exiting the reverie. "Yes, Kaminsky?"
"I would like to introduce you to our guide."
A white-coated, golden-maned Equestrian unicorn slightly shorter than Darwin stands next to the lieutenant wearing a variation of the UDSC soldier uniform designed for his people. He salutes. "Corporal Sun Dancer at your service, Sir."
"At ease, Corporal," Darwin replies, "Nice to meet you."
The unicorn lowers his right hoof. "I have been assigned to guide you to Canterlot," he explains, "We are ready to depart at your command."
"Excellent," says Darwin, "Do you know the—
Before Darwin can finish, a loud thump followed by metallic clanging is heard behind him. Whipping around, he spots two soldiers fumbling with the spilled contents of the large black box he saw before entering the portal. He walks over to get a closer look.
Picking up one of the objects, Darwin inspects it closely and sees that it is a pair of handcuffs of some sort. However, it seems too big to fit on any wrist belonging to a normal human. Is it for a pony's hoof? He examines the rest of the spilled items, which the two soldiers start putting back in the box with haste. After coming across multiples sets of chains and odd metal braces, Darwin is suddenly overcome with apprehension.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's all this for?" he asks the men, stopping them from their repacking.
"Those are to be used for Princess Celestia's arrest," Kaminsky replies as he walks over with Sun Dancer behind him.
"Wait. Arrest?" asks Darwin, surprised, "I thought this was just an escort job."
"You mean you didn't know? The warrant clearly ordered her arrest." Kaminsky takes out a copy of the warrant from his vest pocket and shows it to Darwin.
Shocked, the Jedi drops the cuffs before pulling the envelope containing the warrant out of his robe pocket. He had been too busy racking his brain over the UD's incrimination of Celestia last night that he had forgotten to look over the warrant. Unfolding the document, he begins to read. His mind fills with reluctance to believe that the words written on it were the same as the words on Kaminsky's warrant:
Celestia, Princess of Equestria is to be brought before the United Dimensions Law Tribunal for the perpetration of an act of treason against the United Dimensions, with which the subject is affiliated.
Darwin was flustered. It didn't make any sense. "B-but there's no proof that she did it! Waters and Spector told me that they wanted us to bring her to the UD for questioning! There's no reason to convict her now!"
"I apologize, Mr. Kwan," Kaminsky replies respectfully, "but we have our orders."
"Those bastards." Darwin mutters.
Exasperated, Darwin crumples up the warrant into a ball before jamming it back in his pocket. He storms over to the outpost's chain-link fence, grasps it with both hands, and proceeds to bang his head on it.
"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" he scolds himself, "I knew I should have read it first!"
Realizing what now needed to be done, he collects himself as he backs away from the fence, hyperventilating. It's okay… It's ooooookay, Darwin reassures himself. Nothing changes. I can still get to the bottom of this, arrest or no arrest.
Kaminsky and his men watch the Jedi with curiosity.
"Right," Darwin says after instantly regaining his composure. He walks back towards the confused UD troops. "Men, we have a job to do and we will get it done."
"You heard him, prepare to move out!" orders Kaminsky.
"Sir, yes Sir!" the men all shout simultaneously before gathering their equipment.
Darwin looks to the Sun Dancer. "Lead the way, Corporal."
"Before I do this, I'd just like to know why you're here."
"Well, I can't give you the full story, Ma'am, but I can tell you that we're here to catch a dangerous criminal at large."
"Really?"
"Yeah, he's armed, powerful, and a threat that needs to be stopped."
"I should probably get the word out."
"That won't be necessary, Ma'am. We can get this done very quickly."
"Okay, then. Who is this criminal, anyway?"
"Darwin Kwan."
"What?! That can't be! He would never—
"Our sources say he's after Princess Celestia."
"Why would he do that?"
"We believe someone paid him to do it. He is a mercenary, after all."
"This doesn't sound right… I don't know about this."
"Are you serious? We're talking about a ruler and a nation at stake here! If Kwan gets his way, there's no telling what'll happen next! Look, we even got the warrant right here. Read it."
"I… No, I'm not going to believe this! Darwin saved Princess Celestia. He saved Equestria and all the other dimensions. I know that he'd never do what you say he'll do."
"He was after the glory and made everyone think he did it out of kindness of his goddamn heart. All bulls***! Those Jedi can mess with your mind! They'll do anything to help themselves."
"You're wrong!"
"Am I now? Let me tell you something: the Jedi have taken kids from unwilling parents to make them into soldiers. They've got this whole 'Force' and balance crap that no one understands. They've used it to make everyone think they're fighting for the greater good when they're not! They're using it to justify murdering people! They pretend to help the government to build up their 'good' reputation! They're helping themselves, waiting for the day they'll be strong enough to rule over us all! And they just won't stop calling themselves guardians of peace. Guardians, my ass! They put themselves on pedestals because they see themselves as gods! The bastards think they're better than everyone else! And don't get me started on the hoax about the Sith!"
"If you just came here to talk, you can leave right now!"
"Fine, but let me ask you this: what if all the princesses disappeared? Can the kingdom handle itself in their absence?"
"They won't disappear, and the kingdom will be fine."
"What about your friends? What if they just vanished like 'Poof!' from your life?"
"My friends aren't going anywhere! Neither are the princesses! Everything will be just fine!"
"Not when Kwan's around."
"Stop talking about him like that! The door is behind you. Just leave!"
"But you'll never know, will you? How long have you known him? Oh, right, only for that one day he 'saved' your world. Did you really get to know him? Did you have a nice, long chat with him? What's his favorite food? What's his favorite TV show?"
"I… but…"
"I thought so. Now, I'm sure you know this, but it's not just the life of a ruler at stake, it's also your mentor's. Powerful as she may be, she won't be able to stand up to Kwan. No one will. Even with this power of friendship you've got here, Kwan won't go down easily. Do you want to lose the very person who helped guide you through your life? Do you want to lose the people who matter the most in your life?"
"I said that's not going to—
"Let's review, shall we? There's a mercenary running around in your country. You have no clue who he really is or what he's capable of. The longer he stays here, the more he endangers the lives of folks you care about. But you can be the one responsible for making that risk disappear. Unless… you care about him more than your closest friends."
"I… No, but—
"Then please, Senator, let us do our job. Let us save Celestia, your friends, and your kingdom. Don't let Kwan stick around long enough to fool anyone else."
A long pause precedes the response.
"Okay. I'll sign it."
"You're making the right decision, Miss Sparkle."
