Chapters These aren't the ponies you were looking for
Prologue
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away . . .
Star Wars
Following the fall of the galactic empire and the death of it's tyrannical dictator, Emperor Palpatine, the rebel alliance and the free citizens of post imperial-occupied worlds have gathered on the streets to celebrate. Major worlds of commerce and those holding important seats of power like Coruscant and Dantooine have already ousted their oppressive rulers, inspiring many smaller worlds to follow in their actions.
The Imperial Garrison on Endor has been crushed, and their fleets have been scattered. Space ports belonging to the Empire, like the Kuat ship yards, have been destroyed leaving all but a select few Imperial star ships the fleeting chance of escape. The loss of valued leadership and communications has hit the Empire the hardest, leaving them blind in
A small rebel vessel, the Liberator , has been tasked with scouting a remote area of the outer rim in search of Imperial star ships that may be using the isolated area to regroup. All is quiet until an Imperial Star Destroyer, the Eradicator , enters the system from light speed and begins firing on the minuscule Alliance Frieghter.
With nowhere to run, the small corvette has only enough time to wait until it is bombarded into oblivion by the Imperial turbolasers . . .
"Rewire all power to the shield generators! We have to hold out!" Shouted the captain of the Liberator .
A blast from an Imperial turret slammed straight into the side of the corvette, rocking the main deck like a stampede of feral Banthas. The impact knocked most of the crew off balance and sent many protocol droids sprawling to the plexiglass floor.
"Sir, we just lost communications with deck three, and we have a breach in deck two near the mess hall!" Yelled a technician.
"Damn, we're not going to live much longer without support. Seal off deck two! What's the ETA on our reinforcements?" Asked the captain.
Another turbolaser hit the starship, shaking it violently.
"The nearest frigate is about twenty minutes out by way of hyperspace!"
"We'll never last that long," Said the captain, clenching his fists. "Can we make the jump to hyperspace?"
A Sullustan engineer typed away at his console. It's dark eyes scanned the dashboard and then turned to face the captain.
"Nee da-na vebb. Re'tusa-sa ba fo lah. " It spoke.
"Alright, we'll have to risk it. Sah-jo!" Shouted the captain, pointing to a Mon Calamari technician. "Reroute all power to the engines and initiate the jump to hyper space!"
"Yes sir." It said, not lifting it's head from the holographic dashboard.
The roar of the engines powering up coupled with the hyperdrive activating was heard over the sound of the Imperial deck guns pounding the small ship into dust. Rebel fleet troopers and engineers scattered about their posts, grabbing onto anything nearby that would pin them in place when the corvette went into hyperspace.
"Sir, we've lost our number two and six engines but we're still operational. We're ready to make the jump on your command." Said a Kaminoan technician in it's usual, tranquil voice.
"Do it!"
The night sky over Ponyville glowed beautifully as it's denizens left work for home, a hot meal and a cozy bed awaiting their aching hooves. Sugarcube corner and the surrounding shops had all been closed for the night, and the parks and avenues were long deserted. Everypony had already drifted off to their homes- save one group of excited Equestrians sitting in a field south of the town.
"Gee Twi, it sure is nice to have you visit us, despite the whole princess business." Said Applejack as she munched heartily on an apple fritter.
"It's no problem Applejack. I wouldn't want to spend the annual meteor shower over Ponyville with anypony but you girls." Said Twilight.
"Hey!"
"Don't worry Spike, I wouldn't miss a meteor shower with you for the world."
"Thanks Twilight." Said the purple dragon as he adjusted the zoom on the telescope lens.
"Yeah, I was starting to think that you figured we weren't regal enough for you to spend time with." Said Rainbow Dash, downing a mug of apple cider before laying down on the sleeping-cloud she had brought.
"Please darling, Twilight always has time for old friends. Relations come first after all, even though we aren't actually family." Chastised Rarity.
"Rarity's right. No matter how many royal duties come my way, I'll always make sure I have time for you girls. You're all like sisters to me, and sisters always have time for each other." Spoke Twilight.
"WOW! It's starting!" Exclaimed Pinkie Pie.
A shower of meteors glinted in the night, then began raining down diagonally across the sky, leaving a marvelous trail of light in their wake. OOO's and AH's were exchanged around the small campfire as the elements of harmony and their half-secretary-half-close-friend gazed on in awe.
"It's so pretty . . ." Said Fluttershy, losing herself in wonder.
"You've got that right- hold on. What the hay is that?" Asked Rainbow Dash.
"What's what?" Asked Spike, trying to locate the source of Rainbow's concern.
"That."
The girls followed their friends hoof and sure enough, a distinct fireball-of-a-meteor was falling from the heavens, cruising through the night sky. The flaming giant careened toward the ground two miles from the girls and smashed into the dirt at breakneck speed, exploding in a fiery inferno.
Smack-dab in the middle of the Everfree Forest.
The ponies sitting on their picnic blanket stared in shock, none of them able to find the words capable of describing their current thoughts.
"Spike." Said Twilight, breaking the silence.
"Take a letter."
These aren't the ponies you were looking for
The light from the moon shone deep into the Everfree thanks to the large, gaping hole that had been ripped into the canopy. The smoldering debris from the crashed Corvette sizzled in the night, providing an eerie glow that illuminated it's surroundings. A hand shot out from underneath a shattered dura-steel plate and hauled itself over the wreckage. A small tuft of hair appeared, followed by an ashen face.
"Gah , Son-of-a-Mynock! Sound off!" Yelled Sergeant Wyrren Zerga.
The battered man could hear indistinct grunts and moans all around him, but it reassured him in the way that he knew he wasn't the only one alive.
"Well . . I've seen *cough* . . . better landings."
"Jag? Jag, is that you!? You alright?" Shouted Zerga.
"Yeah! Fit-as-a-Frozian! What about you?" Replied Sergeant Jag Bendal.
Zerga tilted his head and observed what little of his body he could see under the debris. He couldn't feel anything below his waistline, and his right arm was hurting more than the time he had sliced it open with a fusion cutter.
Other than that, he was alright.
"Yeah! D'ya think anyone else made it out?" He asked.
"Could be! Where are ya?" Yelled Jag.
"Over here!"
The sound of Jag shuffling over the destruction could be easily heard in the unusually silent night. For Zerga, the pain was subsiding for now, a clear sign that he was probably going into shock. Jag's head crested the wreckage and a faint smile could be seen on his bloodied face.
"Hey there buddy. Lets get you outta there."
These aren't the ponies you were looking for
"I found another one over here!"
Wyrren Zerga and his friend, Jag Bendal, had pulled out a total of four crewman. Three other humans and a Bothan scavenged the wreckage of the Alliance starship, finding nothing but charred bones and debris from the crash.
Until Aama Valhoun, a Rebel sniper, called out into the midnight air.
"It's the Sullustan!"
Ido Beelen, a Sullustan technician, squirmed from underneath one of the laser turrets that had been singed black from the ships re-entry into the atmospshere.
"Su tane bate-bate! Te rhana bus'a lekanaa! He chattered.
"Does anyone know what the hell this guy's saying?" Asked Cypher Graf, an Alliance Corporal, as he tugged on the trapped crewman's arm.
Ido Beelen had been picked up by the Rebels near the beginning of the galactic civil war to be used as a decoder against the Empire. The Sullustan, who had a reputation for being an expert hacker, joined up reluctantly, revealing much of the Empire's tactical maneuvers to the Rebels throughout the war.
"Almost . . . gotcha!" Said Wyrren Zerga as he fell back, Sullustan in tow.
Beelen landed face-first in the ground, then shot up and began pacing nervously around, chattering to himself in his own vernacular tongue.
"Sheesh . . you're welcome." Said Valhoun as she turned around and continued the sweep for more survivors.
"You're sure it landed in the middle of the Everfree?" Asked Shining Armor.
"I swear I saw it crash west from here. I don't know what it was, but it certainly isn't from here." Said Twilight Sparkle.
Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor, and a detachment of Royal guards had arrived in Ponyville shortly after Twilight sent the urgent message. Wearing their respectable elements, the six bearers of the elements stood nearby, chatting amongst themselves.
"Well, my guards are in formation. We're ready to move out when you are Twily." Said Shining Armor.
"My personal guards shall fly above and search for this extra-terrestrial invader." Added Luna.
Celestia stood beside her sister, but remained quiet. A hush had fallen over the ponies grouped outside the intimidating forest. A large smoke column had begun to take shape deep in the forest, a fiery glow illuminating the bellowing blackness.
"Well Twilight, lead the way." Said Rainbow Dash.
On that note, the purple Alicorn stepped forward, and the others behind her followed.
Wyrren Zerga looked at the group gathered in front of him and sighed. He had managed to save five men from the crash, not including him and Jag. The rest were charred corpses who's identities were barely discernable.
"Jag, what'd we manage to salvage from the crash?" He asked.
Jag Bendal walked over to a burnt tarp they had laid on the ground and spoke.
"Well, we've got two rifles, five blasters, three thermal detonators and a concussion grenade. That, and a sac of spiced Mynock wings."
The resounding groans from the crew concurred with Zerga's feelings.
He hated Mynock.
"I don't know what's got you guys ass-deep in a Wampa cave, but I love spiced Mynock! Hell, this one time . . ." Exclaimed Corporal Cypher Graf.
"Oh jeez, here we go." Said Private Avin Crane.
Cypher Graf was born a poor child on the space port of Nar Shaddaa and grew up stealing off of the food vendors as a street urchin. He ran in a small, tight knit gang that tended to cause trouble at the worst of times, especially for the local Imperial Garrison. One day, a platoon of stormtroopers marched into the port and opened fire on the locals, intending to make an example out of unruly colonies. Leaving the only life he had behind, Graf joined up with the Alliance and fought at the battle of Corrdair under commander Limm Nix.
"Alright, alright! Tell me anymore about the time you downed twenty spiced Mynock wings and I'm gonna puke!" complained Avin Crane.
"Would you two both shut up? You're gonna get us all killed with your bickering." Chastised Aama Valhoun.
Aama Valhoun was raised on Tatooine and made her money off of a local sport.
The Boonta Eve pod races.
As a child, she had always wanted to place first in one of the events, just as the young slave boy Anakin had many years ago. With the hope and inspiration she naturally possessed, Valhoun built her first pod and entered in the race. After a humiliating loss, Valhoun dropped her childhood dream and pursued another profession.
Bounty hunting.
Proving to be an excellent shot with a scoped rifle, Valhoun became a skilled assassin and was hired by both the Alliance and the Empire in the outset of the war, doing jobs from sabotage to the murder of important figures. She joined the Rebels officially after walking through a village that had been frozen in solid carbonite. The inhabitants, including women and children, had all been killed.
All at the hands of the Empire.
She become closely affiliated with high ranking rebel officers, getting assignments from every corner of the galaxy. Ever since her enlistment, Valhoun became a well known figure, feared by the Empire and praised by the Rebels. When leading missions, her soldiers always trusted her in knowing where to go and what to do.
Only this time, Aama had no idea where she was or what she was doing.
"Huh, looks like the fire in the Corvette is dying down. We should bunk down there for the night and use whatever shelter we can get. We'll move out in the morning and gather our bearings." Spoke Zerga.
"Loh! Hanama-tusa! " Shouted Ido.
"What is it now?" Avin asked irritatingly.
"Uh, guys? Look." Said Graf, pointing into the air.
A silence overtook the group as they looked up into the sky.
"Oh no." Spoke Jag.
"Change of plans, we move now." Ordered Zerga.
