Starlight

After a short yelling match Night managed to get his belt and watch back. The guards thought he was hiding more weapons in his shoes and robes so he remained bare foot, and bare-chested. He was led to a small room, not dissimilar to an office. He scanned the book titles but found he could read none of them. The door closed and he was left alone with the princess and the other tall pony. He stared at the sun through a window. He checked his watch. He tapped it a couple of times.

“Might I ask a question before we begin?”

“Of course, what would you like to know?”

“How fast does your planet rotate on its axis?”

“About 1070 miles per hour, why?”

“My watch tells me it’s four o’clock and it feels like summer outside, so why is your sun setting so quickly? It shouldn’t set for four hours at least.”

“I thought we could set the sun early today. If you haven’t noticed it has been a long day.”

“You act like you set the sun.”

“I do.”

Night just stared at her, but then shook his head. He wasn’t about muck up their beliefs.

“I wanted to ask if we could delay for a few minutes. I always love to watch the constellations come out on a different planet. It’s exciting to see them from a different view.”

She just nodded.

“I was going to wait for my student anyway.”

He walked to the door leading to the balcony and opened it. He leaned against the balustrade and looked out over the city below. He heard the two speaking in hushed whispers behind him, but decided to tune them out. It had always been a tradition to watch the sunset and wait for the stars. He had shared it with John since they met.

He heard the doors behind him open again. The blue pony walked onto the balcony. He chuckled under his breath and shook his head.

“What’s so funny?” the blue pony asked

“Oh nothing special, just the awkwardness of all of this.”

“What do you mean?”

He faced her.

“Well, if you haven’t noticed, you are standing on a balcony with a half naked man, over looking a city.  The very same man, who has no doubt caused all sorts of problems, has asked to wait for the beginning of the night, and you agreed with no questions whatsoever. It feels a bit odd to me.”

She faced back towards the sunset.

“It’s always nice to find someone that enjoys the night.”

Night sighed.

“It’s hard not to enjoy the thing your parents named you after.”

“What do you mean?”

He waved her off.

“I’m sure we’ll get to formal introductions in a few minutes. Right now we have to wait for just the right moment.”

The sun descended over the hills. Night jumped up onto the rail and cracked his knuckles.

“What are you doing?”

He looked towards the top of the tower.

“Looking for a good view point for when the stars come out.”

“Trust me when I say that this is the best view for the sky.”

He jumped down from the railing.

“Alright, if you say so.”

Darkness slowly cast itself over the balcony. Night smiled as he caught sight of the first stars.  Night noticed a pulsing blue glow. He turned to find the light being cast out from the ponies’ horn.

“Might I ask what you are doing?”

The glow faded and the pony faced him.

“I was raising the moon for the night.”

Night held back a smile. He turned towards the door.

“Well I guess we’d better head inside. The best part is over for now.”

He opened the door for her and then strode into the room himself.

A small table was set in the center of the room. Surrounding it were four pillows, two of which were occupied. At the head of the table sat the princess. To his left sat a purple pony that stared at him with its jaw agape.  He sat crossed legged on the pillow and levitated himself to be even with the table. This seemed to surprise her more.

“H-how are you doing that? You don’t have a-a horn or anything.”

“I don’t require anything to channel the Force, as padawans we learn that size doesn’t matter in the Force. It’s one of the first things taught at the Jedi temple. Levitation is very basic and requires almost no effort.”

The pony stammered.

“W-w-what does most of that mean?”

Night tried to look friendly.

“We can get to the history lesson later; I think your princess would like to speak.”

Night nodded to the princess.

“Yes, thank you. I suppose we should start by introducing ourselves. I’m Princess Celestia; I share my rule with my sister Princess Luna.”

She nodded at the blue pony when she said this.

“And across from you is my personal student Twilight Sparkle.”

Celestia turned towards him.

“So what is your name? And how did you get here?”

“You didn’t ask what I am. I would assume you already you know?”

“Yes, I know you are human.”

“Actually that is only half true. I am a half- human, half-tusken. My mother was human; my father was a Tusken raider. My brother is the same way, except for the fact that he has more of our dad in him.”

Night sighed

“I miss him already. But that isn’t important right now. My name is Night Drakthuul, Jedi protector of the Galactic Republic. I have fought in Thirty-two separate wars and lost more friends than I can count.”

“As for getting here, my ship was ambushed by a small Sith armada in the Outer Rim near Corellia. Our hyperdrive was damaged so I managed to push us to hyperspace using the Force. I blacked out, and when I woke up I was on your planet.”

“And this… ship of yours. Is it intact?”

Night leaned forward a little.

“Don’t play dumb. You’ve been following me almost constantly since we crashed. I would assume it was one of yours by the stream yesterday morning?”

Celestia nodded

“Yes, that was I. Our past contacts with your species have generally been peaceful, or very violent, frequently ending in death. We couldn’t have you running around unsupervised.”

“So what did these humans usually arrive in?”

“Well, usually they came through…”

Night tuned her out. A small glint had caught his eye through the window. He stood.

“Is something wrong?”

Night walked to the window. The shape was closer now and Night could see a faint ion trail.

“Tell me something princess, you act like you have never seen a ship like mine before.”

“I haven’t. It’s the first ever to land here.”

A bright light detached from the object. Night’s eyes widened.

“Clear the room.”

“What? Why would we ne…”

“GET DOWN!”

Night hurled the table towards the missile. He pulled two bookcases in front of the window. The blast eradicated the shelves and blew Night backward through the rooms’ door. He hit the stone wall with a resounding crack and slumped to the floor.

The three ponies gaped at the burning hole in the wall. A half dozen beings dropped through and began shouting in their foreign tongue. One took of his mask and began shouting and pointing towards the door.

“W-what are they saying?” Twilight asked.

“It’s the same language Night had been shouting earlier. I think they want something.” Luna pointed out.

They heard a crack as Night flung the door from its hinges. His entire body was covered in cuts and his bandages were soaked in blood.

“They’re Sith and they are here to take over your planet. The best way to do that is to find the current rulers and execute them. This is the way they deal with everything. There is no negotiating.”

Night stepped in front of the three ponies.

“I’ll deal with this. You need to find somewhere safe and I’ll come find you when this is done, okay?”

“We are not just going to hide like cowards!”

“I’m the only one who can save your asses right now, so GO!”

“Twlight, find a safe place, we’ll find you in a…”

Night faced the princess down.

“Do NOT question my orders. Right now the only thing these bastards are going to understand is displays of power. You questioning me will not help. So take your student and Go!

The ponies filed through the door and Night turned to face the captain of the scout party. He switched to Basic and asked,

“What are you doing here? This land isn’t in your jurisdiction.”

The man pulled out a datapad and flashed it in front of Night’s face.

“This planet has not been claimed by any formal deeds, and now will belong to the Sith empire! The rulers of this planet will meet the Grand Master.”

Night grabbed the datapad and crushed it in his hand.

“You haven’t noticed who you are talking to yet have you?”

He flicked on his lightsaber and held it to the man’s neck.

“This planet is under the protection of the intergalactic Republic and the Jedi council. Your actions today will be met with swift justice unless you leave this place and never return.”

The man laughed in his face.

“And you don’t know who you’re messing with. Prepare to meet the full power of the Wraiths.”

The men shed their flight armor and blasters. Night backed up a step. In front of him now stood six Sith knights. He was out-gunned. Night had heard of the infamous Wraith squadron before. They had a track record for most Jedi killed in a single attack. Night grinned to himself, the Sith had numbers sure, but he had raw power and his fighting style was an art. And he was a master of his art.

He sought out the loose stones in the floor using the Force. He pulled them up from the floor and summoned a blaster to his empty hand. He let his grin show.

“You’ve just made the biggest mistake of your life.”

Night launched the stones at three of the Sith. He threw his lightsaber and shot the blaster at two others. Then he launched a kick towards the leader’s chest.

The man dodged to the left and Night rolled to his feet. He called his saber to hand and took stock of what his initial assault had done. One of them walked with a slight limp and another’s cape was smoking. Otherwise the group remained unharmed.

Night leapt forward towards the limping Sith. Their lightsabers scraped against each other.  Out of the corner of his eye Night watched as a lightsaber was raised for the killing blow. He pushed out of the gridlock and under the swing. Night plunged his lightsaber underhanded into the man’s stomach, then spun him around and stuck it into his heart. The man fell to the ground and Night took his lightsaber and ignited its crimson blade.

He threw both at the lead Sith, then scooped up a large wood splinter and speared it towards him as well. The man blocked both lightsabers but fell to the ground when the splinter entered his eye and blew out the back of his head.

Night felt a burning sensation in his shoulder. He grabbed the culprit by the throat and twisted his neck. Night tossed the man into the wall and he hit with a crack. Night turned to face the remaining three Sith to find only two.

He shot forward and pushed the first into the wall. Night ducked under a lightsaber swing and located the cornerstone of the wall. He wrenched it from place and watched with satisfaction as the wall collapsed on top of the Sith.  He brought his own saber up into a block. Only one to go.

Night’s saber was knocked from his hand. He dodged another swing and punched his opponents face. The Sith stumbled backwards and Night used the precious moments to search for his lightsaber.

He frowned when he noticed that the other man was holding it. Night noticed a thermal detonator on the man’s belt. Night flicked the switch down and stepped back.

“You know, you probably shouldn’t keep those out in the open.”

The man scrambled at his belt and Night pulled his lightsaber to his hand. He Force shoved the man out the window. Night walked over to the collapsed wall. There he looked down on the face of one of the remaining Sith. The man spat in Night’s face.

“I’m not telling you anything!”

Night put his foot on the man’s throat and applied pressure.

“That’s okay. I’m not asking.”

He felt the bones crack. Night turned to the door. He still had one more to track.