Disclaimer: I don't own LucasFilm and Disney's Star Wars or Hasbro's MLP:FIM.
Chapter 3
This forest was certainly... something. Ren could not find the right word to describe it whilst he carefully marched on the dirt. In the time since he left his men and Padawan, Ren felt the ebb and flow of the Force echoed with every step he took. It permeated the air all around him and it came off of the various flora all around, so much it could have almost deafened anyone. Ren had felt similar, but nothing quite as potent, compared to what he felt right now.
Coming to a stop, Ren stretched out with the Force. Immediately, he caught onto the presences from before, the ones detected by the shuttle's machinery. They were up there, high above, but not too high for him to feel several minds. One mind stood out from the rest of the groggy and irritated, yet tempered, bunch. Curious, Ren creaked his head upwards.
Lo and behold, there they were, flying over the tree tops and their stretched wings flapping in the night sky. Ren quieted his mind and extended his touch to his auspicious target. He could feel the edges of the strange conscious, picking on some sounds and even an image of a fort. Steeling himself, Ren prepared to connect him mind with the other.
That was when he heard a slight growl from behind him.
Turbulence shook the Sith shuttle and everyone inside its dimly lit hull. As it did, Eliza held onto her seat and held in an irritated grumble. It did not go unnoticed for Rendar, who had his helmet in his lap, asked, "General, are you alright?"
Eliza glanced down to him and the ebon-armored soldiers lined up against the hull. "It's nothing sergeant," she said, more for everyone to hear than just Rendar.
Everyone went back to checking their rifles and power packs, wondering over the "nothing," but Eliza knew it was just "nothing." What she felt was not motion sickness, but the Force. It was all over. Wild and untamed. There was no polarization of either the Dark or the Light Side, but a mixture.
"How long will it be before we hit ground?" Eliza called out.
"Fifteen standard minutes, my lord," a distant voice spoke from the pilot's chair, much to Eliza's disappointment. "We're coming up on the surface. It appears to be some kind of forest. I'll look for a clearing to land and… wait…"
Her eyes darted to the cockpit's threshold. "What is it this time?"
The pilot spoke with a sudden uncertainty. "There's something on the radar. It's not a fighter or a ship. It might be some bird or something–"
THUMP!
A loud bang interrupted the pilot. The few Sith helmets rolled onto the floor when the entire team, including Eliza, went on their feet. "Did something hit us?" Rendar called out. "Pilot?!"
"The signal's gone off the radar, sir!"
While her crew prepped their blasters, Eliza closed her eyes and stretched out with the Force. A moment later, she opened her eyes. "Something's out there. It's closing in."
THUMP!
"There it is again!" yelled another soldier among the frantic group.
"Calm down!" Rendar bellowed.
Eliza glanced around, trying to pinpoint the source. The presence she felt was strong and nearby. Right, left, up, down–it buzzed around like a speeder. It was fast, very fast. Eventually, it would have to stop. Maybe in a few minutes…
"Uh, my lord? You should come see this."
Or right now.
Entering the cockpit, Eliza stood behind the pilot's chair. "Well," she asked, "what is it?"
"Well, um…" the pilot hesitated to find the right words, his pale face filled with surprise at what he stared at. Turning, Eliza's own face matched the pilot's.
Something hovered outside the viewport, a creature of sorts in front with four limbs and blue fur. Certainly not dumb beast because Eliza saw armor gleaming in the moonlight. Eliza also noticed another detail.
Wings. It had a pair of wings, one sticking out each side and flapping away.
A tongue stuck out mockingly before its owner left in a blur, buzzing around the shuttle once again. "Lower the ramp. I'll take care of this," Eliza ordered.
"Uh, y-yes," and the stammering pilot reached for the control switch.
The Sith soldiers curiously watched their general walk for the far end of the shuttle. "My lord, will you need help?" Rendar inquired.
"Only when I fall off, sergeant," Eliza smirked before the landing ramp opened with a slow creak.
Wind rushed into the hull and blew back Eliza's long cape and red hair. Her armored boots carefully clanked down the ramp, and stopping mid-way, she gripped onto an extended pole with her left hand.
A yellow trail blazed past, and Eliza's eyes trailed after. Its source no longer circled around the shuttle and flew through air with ease. It stopped every few moments to give a face under its helm; a raspberry here, an evil eye there. All of them mere child's play, and not worth Eliza's time to grab her lightsaber. Instead, Eliza stood firmly and waited.
Eventually, the creature stopped buzzing around and focused on Eliza, its face flickering with confusion and curiosity. Then, annoyance and anger flooded its gaze, and Eliza smirked inwardly. Her mere presence, her stance was a challenge to its 'might,' one that it would not ignore.
The creature dived in, just as Eliza expected, nose first to tackle her. She calmly stretched out with her right hand and with the Force. She yanked her target towards her, and its face fell into the Sith Lord's free hand with a muffled yelp.
The ramp closed behind Eliza, and she strode into the hull, the creature kicking out its limbs in a vain attempt to escape. The Sith soldiers moved aside for their general, whose free hand grabbed the helmet's crest.
The helmet tossed aside with an audible clunk, a pair of ears stuck out of a lush mane. The legs, armed with hooves, failed to free itself from the ebon gauntlet grasping the blue muzzle, and the face, though resembling an equine, twisted like an angry human.
Eliza stared at its cerulean eyes, dumbfounded. This was what attacked her shuttle? An equine barely half her size and weight? Sure, it was putting up a fight, and she noted its armor gave it away as some kind of soldier, but what was its reason to attack? What did it have to gain?
"My lord, what…" one soldier said only to stop and watch with the others when Eliza rested a finger on the equine's furry temple.
The rest of its body slightly froze and its eyes widen. Eliza closed her own and began probing with the Force. Neighs and whinnies met her, and she faced them with slight unease. "What are you?" she spoke clearly, imposing the question into the equine's mind with the Force.
The equine spoke in a muffled, yet masculine voice. The sounds shifted until a word came into her mind: 'Pony.'
Eliza pursed her lips, but continued sifting through the equine's mental cacophony for the language centers. The pony's voice came through again, only from its mind into Eliza's.
'Metal beast… Warning… Councilors...'
Finally, Eliza released her grip. The primitive armor clanked when the equine, a male, thudded on the floor. Once boastful, the cerulean eyes fearfully stared up at Elize, who gave him an indifferent gaze. The equine would speak but its "words" were an incoherent jumble, nothing to reply to, so Eliza did not. She had enough information. She knew what to do.
"Pilot, set a new course! We have some friends to meet!" Eliza ordered to the pilot, then to Rendar, "Sergeant, secure the prisoner, and make sure he remains unharmed."
The command was carried out, and the Sith soldiers surrounded the equine, who watched Eliza retreat into the cockpit.
With a flap of her wings, Pansy did her best to keep up. Flying was natural to her, but it was hard to fly at the same pace with the Pegasi of Storm Squadron. The said Pegasi who surround her, normally among the best flyers, did their own to keep in pace with the Councilor.
"Councilor, you must head back. We can take it from here!" she heard.
Pansy turned to Red Fire, who insisted to fly at her side. She could see the wind blowing in his impassive face. "No," Pansy insisted. "I'll be fine!"
If the captain had anything to say, it was cut off when one of the flyers announced, "Captain, there's something up ahead!"
The two of them turned, Pansy holding up a hoof to protect her eyes from the wind. The tree tops of the infamous Everfree Forest passed beneath them, as did several clearings. One clearing lied ahead, and looking down, Pansy saw there was something in it, a little brown blob running forward. It stopped in place, and Pansy swore she saw a pair of eyes staring up at her.
'Come down.'
Pansy blinked. What was that? It was certainly a voice, clear and masculine, and no louder than a whisper. However, the voice rang in her head, not in her ears. Was she going crazy?
'Come down,' the voice entered her mind once more. It was peaceful and calm, and it sounded more like an invitation than a command.
Again, Pansy blinked, this time to the obscured figure down below. Her mind connected the pieces, and soon, she turned to her side. "Captain! We have to go down there!"
"What?" Confusion flashed across Red Fire's muzzle. "Whatever for?!"
"I think whatever's down there is related to what we saw earlier!"
"How do you know that?!"
"A gut feeling!"
The answer did not seem to do much for Red Fire, but Pansy was relieved when he called out to his squadron, "Flyers! Land at once! Surround the area, and be ready for any hostilities!"
As Storm Squadron's Pegasi began to dive down, Pansy hoped it would not come to that. She flew in sync with the others, slowly descending to the Everfree Forest. They past the canopy and in no short time, they already touched the ground. Red Fire was the first to land, Pansy second, and the rest followed after.
Upon landing, Pansy trotted past Red Fire and approached the figure with a smile. "Greetings," Pansy said, "I am Councilor Pansy of Equestria, and I greet you to..."
The words died when Pansy realized whom she was looking at. There was a large cloak draped around a tall body, but instead of a calm gaze, Pansy found herself staring into a pair of eyes as wide as hers and horns atop of a tattooed face that scrunched up into shock.
The moment the Republic shuttle descended down to land, Elara wanted to get off and explore was what out there. She wanted to know the reason why the Force was so strong on this world, and she was even more anxious to leave with her master and face any danger. Her master, ever the worrier as she thought he would be, ordered her to stay.
Elara would have if she actually listened to him. After her master was out of sight, Elara left the shuttle. What her master did not know would not hurt him. That what she told herself and her men whom she ordered to stay behind.
Her plans to follow, sadly, took a back turn when Elara found herself lost in a forest and her master beyond her reach. Which was why she was taken aback upon seeing a bunch of equine, with wings no less, landing right in front of her.
Their breast plates and war helms gave that sense to Elara, whose unease equaled the emotions she felt through the Force. Yet, she did not sense any hostility. They would not attack, unless if she did first, and vice versa, so, they stood there for many moment, staring at each other.
At last, the first equine to step forward, a female with its petite form and soft feature, managed to blink its wide eyes. The gaped mouth moved to speak. The only thing Elara could was nothing more than snorts and grumbles. "What?" was her response.
The equine mimicked Elara's reaction with a whinny of confusion. Elara glanced around, meeting more bewildered looks glancing at her. "Look, I'm lost," she said, with some hope of understanding these beings. "Maybe you could help me, and I'll..."
Elara stopped. Something was off, she could feel it in the Force, and it was coming closer. Quickly, she turned around to meet it.
A loud roar echoed, from neither equine nor her own, and Elara nearly yelped. Wind and stench breezed over her tunic and through her cloak, and she just gaped at what she saw, unaware of the fearful looks from the others.
The creature hunched over on its furry paws, its fangs baring, its nostrils flared, and its mane wild like a Cathar's. The reptilian wings fluttered on its back and... and was that a scorpion's tail? Whatever kind of Sith spawn this creature was, Elara's hand went for one of the hilts on her belt, ready to fend it off.
Then, the creature lowered its back, and a familiar robed figure riding atop it. Elara stopped herself from pressing the stud on the hilt and said, "Master?"
Ren slid off the creature's back and gave a small smile. "Elara! Good thing I found you!"
"Uh, master..." Elara's unsteady glare focused at her master's side.
"Don't worry, Elara. She won't do any harm." Ren patted a hand on the creature, to which he said, "Go."
The creature huffed, turned around, and carried its massive body back into the forest's darkness. Ren walked forwards, stopping short of Elara. "Nice to see you're making friends," he spoke, nodding his head to the equines.
Only then did Elara take time to notice those with her. The equines, some of them stalwart soldiers, had expression of disbelief at the Jedi Master. While Elara herself could barely believe what happened, she was just glad to be safe and alive.
Elara looked back at him. "Master, I-"
"We'll talk about it later. For now, we need to move before anything else happens," he said.
Ren noticed Elara flinch from his slight stern tone before she moved aside. Ren noted it and stepped forward to the equines, looking down at one specific female from the group. "I wondered when you would get my message," he said kindly.
Elara was taken aback by that. "Wait, you called them here?"
"I called them," yet the answer left the Padawan more confused than satisfied. Did he know about her disobedience the entire time? Was this whole encounter meant to be a test?
Elara's left boggled, she just stared at her master, who kneeled before the female equine. He put a hand on his clothed chest and enunciated, "Ren... Ren."
The equine in the spotlight hesitated for a second. She copied the same action and returned, "Pansy."
Chapter 4
Smart Cookie could not sleep. It was hard to, after all that happened. Traveling the edge of the Everfree Forest was the quickest and safest route to their destination, supposedly anyway. That seemed to change when the two shadowy figures appeared in the sky, looming over like some predator. Rubbing tired blue eyes, Smart Cookie tried to lie back down on her make-shift bed.
Shouts from outside made her rest short-lived. Sitting up, the Earth Pony's hoof threw the covers off her cream-colored fur, and the other reached for her hat before leaving her tent. The flap fell behind, and Smart Cookie saw a group of guards crowding around something.
Finding her voice, Smart Cookie said, "What is going on here?"
One of the two guards at her tent, an Earth Pony, said, "The last of our scouts has just returned, councilor. He says he has found something. "
It took a moment for the words to reach Smart Cookie's addled brain, and she could only wonder. Then, a voice, posh with the tone of authority, cut through her addled brain. "Oh, put it on right!"
Smart Cookie saw Platinum, named after her coat's color, coming out of the only other tent in the camp. Her servant moved with her, finding it hard to fix the Unicorn's cape and crown as Platinum moved and demanded, "Smart Cookie, what is going on here?!"
"Our scout just came back. He might've found something," she replied, rubbing her tired eyes.
"A flyer out here? We must question him and–do be careful!" Platinum said, shortly chastising the servant fastening the purple cape.
Sarcasm clear on her face, Smart Cookie turned from the poor Unicorn to her fellow Councilor of Equestria. "Maybe you should sit this out. After all, you seem to be busy."
Just as the servant adjusted the crown, Platinum let out a huff. "I am more than capable to handle such an endeavor, Smart Cookie. And I must look the part while doing so, shan't I?" she said, brushing her mane's purple curls off her shoulder with a hoof.
Snorted, Smart Cookie followed Platinum. The crowd made way, and the two councilors saw a Pegasus with grey armor in the center. His blue muzzle sputtered as he bowed, "C-Councilor!"
Platinum composed herself and greeted the messenger, "Greetings flyer. We have heard you have discovered something of great interest."
"Y-yes, I'm Private Lightning Dash, ma'am." Raising his head, the Pegasus hesitated. "As for what I found… well, um..."
"Well, speak up! We've woke up at this hour. What have you found?"
Smart Cookie curiously studied the stallion, whose eyes darted back and forth. Such a reaction was not normal, and Smart Cookie knew a stallion of the Equestrian Guard was not easily frightened. So, what was scared this one so much?
"Councilors, there's something coming out of the forest! It's–AH!"
As Smart Cookie and Platinum turned, they ducked their heads. The pony who shouted was suddenly flung from group, straight over everypony and crashed on the other side of the camp. All eyes whirled to the source, its form hidden in the bordering trees and bushes of the Everfree Forest, and all were shocked to see what came out of its shadows.
It strode into the open on its two legs, bringing forth a figure that was akin to a mare's. The form-fitting ebon armor covered its almost petite body from top to bottom, save for a furless fair face and a fiery red mane that flourished as the dark cape.
Four guards closest to the strange female approached with raised shields and pointed spears. "Stay back!" one of them warned.
Turning, the creature raised one of it strange paws and gestured to the guard. Something grabbed the pony and yanked him off to the side. The others stood gaping, enough for the stranger to wave its other forelimb, and the one hit the other three, knocking all three guards aside.
Smart Cookie gawked. Was that magic? There was no colorful aura, no horn, or anything to suggest it was. The creature just motioned its 'paws,' and the guards were tossed around like rag dolls!
Smart Cookie was not the only one, but only Platinum's voiced her thoughts. "What is the meaning of this?!" Her glare focused on the new Pegasus, who cowered on the ground. "Explain yourself, flyer!"
Hooves on his head, the pony cried out, "I'm sorry, councilor! They forced me to take them to you! I had no choice!"
They? Smart Cookie would have questioned the private, if Platinum had not shouted, "Guards, surround it!"
The guards snapped out of their daze and followed their councilor's orders. They surrounded the female in a ring, but Smart Cookie warned, "Platinum, be careful. We don't know how powerful this creature is!"
"Don't fret, Smart Cookie. I shall deal with this nuisance! If this creature is looking for a fight, then I shall be happy to oblige!" Platinum declared, lighting her horn and face with determination.
Smart Cookie kept her unease and looked to the strange female. Though the ponies kept their formation, she kept her stance and studied the group before her. Then, Smart Cookie saw her raise a paw, except there was no indivisible force yanking at the guards.
Red flashes surged from the shadows of the Everfree Forest and struck at the guards' hooves. Dirt exploded, and the ponies forming their ring coughed it up. For those fortunately far away, they watched the smoke clear away to reveal more two-legged figures coming out of the forest.
They all wore similar ebon armor, completed with helmets and faceplates shaped like skeletons of some creature. With long rod-like objects in their grasps, they marched closer, and the ponies break their ring formation and backed away. The armored monsters came to a stop, right behind the still two-legged, red-maned female.
The air fell eerily silent, and the light around Platinum's horn faded away. "Well…" she cleared her throat and gave a sheepish smile, "…perhaps we should do things more diplomatically."
The female did not answer Platinum's defeated look. Her two legs walked a couple of peace towards the councilors. Pointing a digit of her paw at them, the female moved thin lips, and a voice, strong as it was demeaning, commanded, "Come."
The two gave each other hesitant glances. Then, they trotted up to the presumable leader of the two-legs slowly, catching the uncertain eyes of their guards. Smart Cookie creaked up her neck, and meeting the other party's stare, she shivered. Dark pupils rested in the center of yellow and red irises that screamed of a hellish existence.
They were so unnatural that Smart Cookie barely noticed the female speak again. "Name?"
"I…" Smart Cookie began, but stopped. For some reason, she felt compounded to tell her. She tried to resist the urge but failed. "I'm Smart Cookie, and this here is Platinum. We are members of the council of Equestria."
To Smart Cookie's displeasure, the female stared down for another moment. At last, she said, "We must talk."
The two councilors shared another glance. Both of them knew there was no point in arguing, so Smart Cookie gestured a hoof. "This way," she offered, and she and Platinum led their new 'guest' to the camp.
Rendar flexed his finger, careful to not pull the trigger, as he pointed his blaster rifle. The strange equines, all in primitive armor and ranging from those with horns, wings, or neither, stood before sergeant and his men, eying them with suspicion as he did with them. For how long, he was no sure. It had felt like hours since then, but maybe it was his anxiety getting to him.
Every now and again, Rendar would glance over to General Jade and the only two equines who stood out from the rest. The three of them sat together, talking, he supposed. What about, he had no idea.
When he glanced over one more time, Rendar saw Jade finally approaching towards him. The ponies quickly backed away, some with fear in their eyes, while Eliza's eyes were dead set on the sergeant. "Call the shuttle," she immediately ordered.
"General?" said a surprised Rendar.
"Our friends here have been snooping around," Eliza explained, "Turns out, they've noticed another 'metal' beast flying around and landing somewhere in this forest."
Rendar caught on quickly. "The Republic?"
Eliza nodded, and Rendar's hand grabbed the bulky commlink on his belt. "Pilot," he ordered, "bring the shuttle around."
When Rendar returned his commlink to his belt, Jade added, "One more thing. We'll be having these two coming with us."
At that, Rendar looked past his general's shoulder. The two ponies, whom Eliza talked to, trailed behind her, their widen eyes gazing at Rendar's skull-shaped faceplate. Already, the sergeant had a good idea what was going on. "Hostages, general?"
"For a lack of a better term, yes," Eliza admitted,
A feeling sunk to his stomach, and though he wore a helmet, Rendar tried to keep a still face to hide any doubts. If the general noticed, she did not bother with them. "See if you can spare a helmet for them," Eliza said, "we can't have them unwell from motion sickness."
"But what if they don't agree?" Rendar wondered aloud.
A loud groan echoed and the wind picked all around him. The sergeant glanced up, as did his men, to see the dull grey form of the Sith shuttle hover over the tree tops, the thrusters roaring under the inverted wings. The shuttle descended, followed by the lowering ramp, and Rendar turned back around to the jaw-dropping expressions of the ponies.
Ah, he realized and chastised himself for it. These were a primitive race, which had no experience with anything like the Sith. Of course, they would be in awe of such advanced technology and perhaps, if told to, follow the orders of those who possessed it.
Wordlessly, Rendar followed General Jade up the ramp. Soon, he heard the hooves of two new passengers cautiously follow them up the ramp.
"How much longer are you going to sit there?"
The white alicorn did not answer the question. She sat on the balcony, eyes closed as they had been for the past ten or so minutes. Her soft breaths dissipated into the cool breeze that ruffled her long mane slightly. The physical world around her seemed so distant, as she looked past her ponies, past the homes that lied below, and even past the furthest of her kindgom's borders. She could feel them, even now, but it was just a glimpse, just barely touching the surface of whatever they were…
"Aura?"
Giving in, she opened her eyes and the physical world returned to her. Aura looked over her shoulder to her darker husband at the doorway. "I'm fine," she told him.
The concerned look on the ebon-like muzzle did not change. "Aura, please come inside."
"I said I'm fine, Lumen."
"Aura," her husband persisted, "staying outside like this won't do you any good. You have to rest. At least eat something."
"I can't," she admitted, staring up at the two unmovable figures in the sky. "How can I when we have that to worry about?"
The question was not spoken out of anger or frustration, but the fear in Aura's tone was obvious. Lumen trotted up beside his wife and looked upon her. The hours after detecting that strange presence gave Aura the rest she needed, but it did not hide her worry.
Lumen looked to the sky and said assuredly, "It shouldn't be anything to worry about. I bet this is just one of Starswirl's experiments gone wrong."
Aura shot a glance to him, her golden eyes sparked with worry. "Aren't you afraid?"
To that, he chuckled, "Honestly, I'm terrified."
"And yet, you're laughing." She could only sigh. "I sometimes why I married you."
"Because you're attracted to my eccentric charm," was the reply, complete with a goofy grin.
Her spirits lifted, if only slightly, Aura smiled before closing her eyes once more. "I can still feel them," she said. "There are two forces at work. One light and one dark. But they're beyond my reach. I can't pinpoint where they are."
"The guards reported they didn't see anything within our borders," her husband said nonchalantly.
"No. It's not here," Aura told him. "I think they might be in Equestria."
Now, Lumen's face grew pensive, gears turning and plans formulating in his head. Aura recognized it, and immediately said, "No."
Lumen turned to his wife, whose eyes were open and on him. "I didn't say anything."
"But you were thinking it," she retorted Lumen's oh-so innocent statement.
Lumen had to hold in his own sigh. "Aura, don't worry. I won't do anything rash."
"You won't do anything! Not without my help."
"I'm afraid I have to this time. I don't know how long I'll be gone, and somepony needs to look out for our kingdom in the meantime. Besides," he gently rubbed a hoof on his wife's large belly, "I don't think the baby will like all the fuss."
For a long moment, Aura glared at her husband. Then, her glare slowly softened, until she told him, "Come back when there's trouble, alright?"
"Understood," Lumen said with a playful salute.
Aura just smiled as she watched her husband phased down into the floor of the balcony, spiriting himself away. Alone, she stared out into the distance. Not at the shadowy forms above, but at the walls that surrounded her domain. There, the soft fuzz of first light came over the horizon, shining softly on the pearly mountains of Dream Valley and on Aura's worries.
AN: And there's part 2 to that SW/MLP crossover I had given up on years ago. Until next time, take care.
Raika out.