The Shooting Star She Saw
The princess of the night crossed her arms in contemplation of everything that had happened recently in the advent of the full moon, the silver light reflecting brilliantly off of her nearly porcelain skin and her indigo wings and hair blending in flawlessly with the night sky.
Her hand on her chin, she continued to wonder what her place would be in the world now since her sister's apprentice, the young unicorn mare known to all now as Princess Twilight Sparkle, had achieved something the night mistress had not bared witness to in a very, very long time: the ascension into an alicorn.
The cool gale of the night against her ancient face, she continued to have saddening musings concerning of what the future would entail for the princess of the night. Her eyes went half shut as she began to consider her thoughts aloud, kept company only by the shining night surrounding her.
"There was me and Tia," she began, standing stoic nearly half a mile in the night sky. "For over a thousand years, it was such, but then when I returned, there was Cadance, who now rules the north," she began to bite her left index finger, as was her custom when she felt uncertain of anything. "But there is another of us now. Four." She looked up to her prized moon, one of the few things always capable of consoling her. "Will she replace Tia? Or perhaps me someday?"
The moon's shepherd had no special love for where this train of thought was headed, but since Twilight Sparkle coronation nearly a fortnight ago, it was all that been on her mind as of late. She knew that such thoughts were what led her to become the dreaded Nightmare Night in the first place, and everyone, especially her, remembered how that turned out.
Yet, she had only just gotten back into this new Equestria and all it's unfamiliar wonders. To be unable to give it the gift of her night seemed like that of not only a personal betrayal, but one by her own...
"No!" she shook her head fiercely in defiance of these thoughts and whispers within her skull, finding the strength to fight against the doubtful musings of her royal mind. "There is no way they'd send me away so soon. They are my friends. They would never act in such a manner towards me."
She had thought the world of the young mare of lavender who she'd owed her life too. Cadance as well, but as the dark winds blew and howled against her long, lithe and slender body, she felt as if she'd slowly begin to lose her relevance once more as she had so many moons ago.
And with everything occurring since then, from Discord and the Changeling Queen to even the heinous shadows of the dark lord, King Sombra, she'd hardly been a boon to her nation, sister, or her friends. She quickly began to relive her greatest fear.
The fear of being forgotten once more and being hidden within the gentle darkness of her diamond studded night.
A single tear fell down the cheek of the blue and silver adorned princess when she bore witness to a new star. She smiled, spreading her magnificent blue wings so as to greet the new addition to her night.
Her bare feet leaving the soft, fleece like surface of the nimbus she'd been wondering upon for hours, she took flight, the gentle currents brushing softly under her wings, her skin reflecting the nearly pearl light as she flew higher and higher into the her painting of the night sky.
Finally satisfied with her distance, Luna halted, her mighty wings flapping elegantly in the peace of the very early morning. Staring right into the new mass of tiny light, she smiled softly. "And what shall I name you?" She asked no one in particular.
She then squinted her near sapphire eyes, noticing something a might peculiar about this newborn star. "What is this?"
It was getting bigger.
That is no star.
Her eyes widened as she flew in closer and closer to grasp a closer look at this faux star. Her horn glowing and her magic enhancing her speed, she flew to speeds that would make even Rainbow Dash take pause.
Finally, her body parallel to the falling wreckage, she began to notice strange markings and lines on the falling celestial body. The entirety of the thing was large, as well. Large enough to be a sizable home for any one of her subjects. She flew further ahead, calling even more upon her magic and wings to see the very front of the falling structure. That was when she saw something most peculiar through what appeared to be a window.
"A human?" Her eyes widened once more, struggling to intercept the falling star from it's path to destruction. Her magical aura ignited and two sonic booms followed in her wake as her ancient energies enveloped the cosmic debris.
Her brow began to sweat, her pearl skin now soaked with the fluid as she struggled to maintain both her speed and her control over the object in question.
Had I known what events this night would entail, she began to muse, still completely devoured by the task of bringing the alien man to Equestria safely. Then I may have asked dear Tia for assistance.
Having had to lift the moon only several hours prior had taken it's toll on the goddess mare, it's true. Being sealed away for one thousand years would do that to a pony, and while her skills had not atrophied in any serious degree since then, expending so much of her power so soon after performing her duty to shepherd the night was more than a slightly tiring experience.
But she sided such thoughts, for then was not the time for doubting herself. Seeing the shining city of Canterlot miles beneath her, she knew that for the truth that it was, so, giving a last, final push of her divine might, she made a final motion to steer the falling star out of the path of the royal city and into the eldritch greenery of the Ever-free.
She gave herself a mental sigh as she began to relive the memories of nearly a year and a half ago, during her final tenure as the wicked abomination, Night Mare Moon. Even still, though, she steeled herself for what would no doubt be a colossally tiring experience, even for alicorn standards.
She teleported to the forest floor, watching as the behemoth she'd mistaken for a star began it's descent into the forest where she'd first been defeated over a year ago. The runes on her forehead glowed a deep and fiery blue, as did her hands and eyes, as her alicorn powers began to surge through her body.
As Princess Luna strengthened her stance and raised her arms, she flared out her wings as well, desiring nothing to get in the way of the crash, nor her body to be overly smothered by the heat of the entry of the craft. "So be it!" She shouted defiantly into the empty air separated her and the burning craft.
...
His fingers danced around the main console to his falling star ship, small explosions making themselves known through out the 300 year old freighter and the alarms wailing all over his ship. They illuminated the darkened hall ways of the illicitly stolen craft, the Ebon Hawk.
A surge of electricity surged through the keyboard, burning away the tips of his gloves and bringing a heated pain to his hands, but he ignored them. Now was not the time for something that petty to distract him from landing this thing.
He had been so close, too. After barely escaping a Sith strike force in a war droid factory he'd aptly dubbed 'the foundry', he'd escaped to find his personal freighter in the collection of some Sith Lord. Needless to say, the lord was easily dispatched.
Another surge of electricity flooded the console, this time actually rating on the once dark lords radar. "Damn it!" He cursed, his Jedi patience now running thin. "Come on, Girl!" He slammed his hands on the console and, much to both his surprise and his delight, certain parts of the cockpit began to light up as they should have.
With a small, satisfied smile on his face, he continued to struggle and stabilize his falling ship, although it was still a downhill battle. Everything since his departure from Republic space 300 years ago had gone south. From his defeat to at the hands of the Emperor to his loss at the foundry.
Even his loyal astromech droid, T3-M4, was nothing but scrap now.
But he sided those thoughts and his pain. He knew that, despite all of his set backs, he could make it back to Republic space and lead the charge against these resurgent Sith scum and destroy them, once and for all. But then wasn't the time for that he knew it.
He gritted his teeth and steeled himself as the one working monitor to his left began chiming the inevitable collision with this new world, it's lush green becoming more and more evident and even seeing a small, white dot on a mountain side.
He shook his head away from the distraction, though, for now was maybe the worst possible time to star admiring the scenery.
His fingers moved faster and faster as he let out a breath that he didn't even know that he was holding, his brown and black robes catching a few of the flying sparks and cinders all the while. Finally, with one last, desperate surge of machine gun typing, he finished what he'd set out to do.
"Yes!" He shouted in relief and joy. The whole time, he'd been struggling to make the escape pods work. Now it was simply a matter making it to them in time. As an after thought, the once Jedi grabbed his iconic mask and made a mad break for the pods. If there was even the slimmest chance he could get to one, then maybe, just maybe, he could open up a route back to Coruscant and-
...
She collapsed to her knees, dust and debris washing over the young goddess with all the tenacity of a raging waterfall, tearing at her fine, white, silken garments, but leaving them otherwise mostly intact, thanks no doubt to the several charms placed on them.
She forced a small smile.Tia always did say it was a foolish idea to charm my clothes like that. I suppose I shall be allowed to lord this over my dear sister later, after all.
As she wiped the blood from her nose, she gazed upon the new field of rubble, dead lumber, trees and vast puddles created in the wake of this structures crash. The cool fall air continued to send shivers all up and down her body, reflexively shielding herself with her magnificent wings from the chill of Autumn, as well as the mud and the muck stirred from the crash.
For several moments in the very early morning, still hours from her sister awakening from her slumber, she waited there, the dust passing over her wings and over her head, her eyes closed to prevent any such irritation to her cyan eyes. Finally, after several minutes of bowing before the might of the crash, she arose from the once now desolate part of the Ever-free, now seeing the falling star in full view.
It was as large as she'd first made it out to be, if not larger. As she's surmised earlier, it was at least the size of a respectable home in the more rural areas of her Equestria.
Flapping her mighty wings to take to the skies and catch a better view, she noticed it's shape. It was rounded at the end, but not near so much on the front, where it's shape resembled closely that of one half of a friendship necklace the young woman, Pinkie Pie, had gifted her with once upon a time.
As for the color, it was very difficult to tell. Though not a goddess, like many of her subjects would like to believe, she'd still had more then enough power for any spell Twilight Sparkle could utilize, tired though she may have been at the time.
Her aura now enveloping her soft hands, she passed her fingers over the downed space craft, cooling it as she drug her noting the burned metallic feel on the tips of her fingers and what may have been a once orange or goldenrod striping to the structure.
The fog of the Ever-free once more coating the area, she elected to find the man she thought she'd seen earlier.
Climbing from where she had been, she searched the top of the structure for a weak point, certain that any entry like that would have destroyed any normal route for retreating this great slab of burnt out steel.
Now atop the vessel, she once more ignited the aura in her left hand, then around the entirety of her slim body, dropping into the darkened and ugly steel halls of something she couldn't even describe, but chose to try anyway.
Lights flickered on an off as she wandered the hallow halls of the craft, sparks flying towards the princess of the night at every turn she'd made. She took time to explore every room she could, though. Being stuck on the moon in a waking stasis for one thousand years had left Princess Luna with an insatiable curiosity, after all and even if it had been against her better judgement and instinct, she simply couldn't help herself. Very few placed in the downed craft seemed to be of much interest, though, the two piquing her curiosity in any respectable measure having been a rather small table in the middle and what had obviously been some kind of medical chamber.
Shaking her head in disappointment, she moved onward through the craft, the novelty of the place now wearing somewhat thin, but still knowing what she'd come aboard to do and keeping herself on task.
That was when she'd heard the faint noise of breath.
Following the weak noise, she headed to the last placed she'd yet to investigate: the very front of the vessel. Moving faster than she new she ought to, she finally found the man she swore she'd seen earlier, knowing now why it had been so difficult to spot him.
As she bowed before his unconscious body, his hood covering his head at an off angle, she took note of how his robes of black and brown blended in with his surroundings as Luna's flowing locks and majestic wings had done with the night.
His robes were black and brown, like shadow and earth. Her hand steady, she moved to turn over the man on the floor of the craft, revealing what had appeared to be a light set of armor, the same colors as before, but with black being dominant as oppose to an earth tone. She then noted a small silver cylinder, hooked to his belt. Curious, the princess began to reach for it, only to be interrupted by the slightest stirring of her unwitting hosts countenance.
He had long brown hair for a male. Not nearly as long as her own, not even shoulder length, but still a small cry away from the standard length among the Equestrian male populous. His face was remarkably average as well, though in truth that was only taking into consideration the structure itself, not the skin on top of it.
He had high cheekbones that wore scars. Even more old wounds surrounded his jaw line and brow, as if a mask had been burnt into the top of his flesh. He sported only the smallest of goatees with a beard across the entirety of his lower face.
She looked around for any personal effects that he may have carried on his person, but found only a mask with a T-visor, coated in black and red.
She then saw him stir, his eyelids fluttering and smiled. "Sleep now," she whispered, passing her glowing left hand over his brown eyes. Even if his strange armor had protected him from the worst of the damage, he was in no shape to move anywhere and she new. And, as she lifted him up over her shoulder and began her sojourn home, she smiled once more.
It seemed as if her natural curiosity had finally paid off this time.
An Exchange of Memories and of Swords
She'd flown for hours from the darkness of the Everfree forest, her wings grew sore from the long flight, and the amount of magic expended in such a short amount of time. Normally, she would've had seven hours at the minimum between guiding the moon's rise and the moon's set, but she'd just stopped the destruction of Canterlot from a falling craft from a place far beyond anyone in all of Equestria's understanding.
She then smiled as she flew threw her palace window and into her room. "I just stopped the destruction of Canterlot." She indulged that thought as a guilty pleasure, now feeling all of her fears of irrelevance slip away if only for an instant.
Her bare feet made contact with the cold, alabaster floor, sending a small chill up her silk covered legs and body, her evening ground now torn and tattered from the crashing craft. A though rushed through her mind about a man in black, red, and brown, quickly remembering the forgotten mask, but then siding that thought as unimportant.
The man was light as a feather to the millennia old princess, though that was merely because she and her sister, Celestia, had borrowed traits from all three tribes, all of which had been a boon to her this night.
She set the man down on her bed, nearly wanting join him in slumber, but didn't, knowing she still had a small amount of business with this man, comatose though he might have been.
She pulled a small wooden stool from the corner of the room, one that she'd used in the past to stand upon for making decorations in room chambers but not feeling the need to use magic to execute them.
The princess of the night sat next to the mysterious stranger and brushed back the brown hair from his scared face. As she began to gather her thoughts for her next task, she couldn't help but feel the pain in this man's soul. It was almost as if his spirit radiated a deep hurt that he had to bury for the sake of duty, rather than confront it directly and be done with it.
"I suppose that may be something we share, Stranger," she mused aloud quietly, her left hand glowing with a faint blue aura as she closed her eyes and began to concentrate on her new given task.
Within moments, Princess Luna found herself in a world far from any that she'd ever dreamed of, though it was one marred with war.
She stood atop the bridge of a ship, one that seemed to be crafted from steel and iron and soared threw a place beyond the night sky, very much unlike Equestria's own airships. She found herself falling to the floor, along with half of what she's assumed was the crew, adorned in red and orange.
Sparks flew across and around the large room as she tried once more to get her bearings straight, but to no avail. She seemed almost trapped in this man's mind as a battle waged around her, hearing the warbling of alarms all around her and a man in brown robes and a black and red mask shouting orders in an unknown language.
His voice bellowed with a deep strength of ferocity, like all of the Hell raging around him was simply another day. It then occurred to the night shepherd that this was the man she'd saved only an hour ago. She walked over to place her hand on his shoulder, but as she tried, the dream scape changed.
They were on a field of battle now, blue sun setting above a world, war being waged by tens of thousands of men in blue armor battling against others in lighter red and orange. She saw that man again, moving and ebbing against each attack made against him like a fierce waterfall of graceful destruction, a fiery blade of cyan firmly in his grip as he fell each blue helmed foe who dared to be fool enough to challenge him.
The night shepherd extended her wings ebon blue to try and get a better view of what was going on, but the battle seemed to go on for miles, hundreds of warriors armed and dressed in similar garbs and armor to this man in the front, and large beasts firing lightning towards the rear of the battle field.
It was a war, she'd seen learned as she watched lightning flash around the untold carnage of the campaign, taking in every minute detail she was forced to bear witness to as a result of her desire to venture in this one's owns dreams. A war fought on such a scale of death that was beyond even my own worst imaginings.
She tried to find that man with the mask once more, to try and free him from this nightmare wrought from bloodshed, but it was to late once gain. She was now aboard another ship, though one that was for more utilitarian in it's design with a silver bridge, a new sinister feeling creeping up down her spine.
Luna stood as she watched the man, now adorned in black and red with a cape, staring down several brown garbed warriors, their gazed steeled and each with a different colored blade seemingly wrought from fire and flames.
A young woman with braided hair spoke up. Luna by now had taken the time and borrowed the knowledge of this language from his head and giving him her own knowledge of Equestria's own noble dialect.
"You cannot win, Revan," an upper Canterlot sounding voice rung out from the woman wielding a blade of yellow fire, her stance firm, but flawed, and backed by several of her assumed comrades.
Revan? Luna thought to herself as she began to isolate that name with the face of the man she'd saved. A strong feeling of guilt appeared from the back ground of the man's mind as the one known as 'Revan' readied a blood scarlet sword to head level, pointing it directly at his adversaries. The show down seemed as if it would last an eternity.
An explosion then rocked the bridge, knocking Luna down and out of this man's dream and back into her darkened room, finding herself fallen from her seat.
She gasped at what she'd seen in this man's past and struggled to grasp more, but only bore witness to a few more memories. There were so many more flashes than those three, from a redemption to a painful loss of a friend, followed by a defeat at the hands of a darkness that seemed to eclipse even the Dread Lord Sombra. Each memory seemed to flash through her head and mind so fast, but one thing was certain.
As she left her room for her sister's aide, she quietly and sadly smiled at the thought of someone else who shared her pain.
...
It was dark as a faint sound, soft but regal, echoed through the man's skull. He'd only caught a short glimpse of her in... blue? That's right. She was adorned in blue and pale skin, though not from lack of sunlight. As he struggled to regain his memories from the last few minutes, or maybe hours.
He remembered a faint smile, followed by a request. "Sleep now," a beautiful voice had said from the darkness of the downed Ebon Hawk, just before passing a glowing hand over his brown eyes, his body immediately following his instructions, much to his chagrin.
He remembered something else, too. Like a memory long since past. Echoes of his friends and allies, of the twilek called Mission Vao, now a young woman no doubt and her wookie partner, Zaalbar, and the way they each complimented each other in almost every way.
He remembered his best friend, Carth Onasi, and all the betrayal he'd suffered through not only to get his justice, but to find his boy, Dustil.
He heard the battle cry of Canderous Ordo, now Mandalore to his people, as he claimed the helm for his own to lead his clans out of the abyss of extinction.
He then heard an echo that was no less than three hundred years old.
"Nothing in the world would make me feel safer than being loved by you."
His eyes flashed open at the sound of the Coruscanti accent, sincere and loving, waking him up instantly to see a starkly different set of surroundings around him, glistening like walls made from diamonds of a night sky and a new violet fabric upon his flesh. It was strong like a wool, minus the uncomfortable texture.
He sat up, then, still reeling from the shock of his new clothes and surroundings, the fine silken sheets now feeling more like a prison then a bed. "Where am I?" he asked himself steadily, still not quite at the threshold of panic, having been in this type of situation before.
Then it dawned on him. "And why is it everywhere I go, I end up crashing?"
The humor of that particular redundancy of his life lost on the once Jedi, Revan rose from the king sized bed and began to take a closer look at his new... home, such as it was. He walked over to the window, his feet making contact with the cool, ruby floors, and, for the first time in over three hundred years, saw a skyline that rivaled Coruscant in it's majesty.
"By the Force..." he muttered in awe, the ex-Sith planting his hands on the balcony railing, his mouth agape as he bore witness to the sheer and unrefined beauty of Canterlot. The city shined so bright as he looked upon it, he briefly thought he'd become one with the Force, but the minute pain in his sides shot down that thought near instantly.
It was as if each building had been crafted in part by the crystals found on Ilium, then empowered purely by the light side. Not only that, but this place... "It feels... alive!" Revan smiled as he took in all the joy and love from this great new city. It was as if he'd come to a place without any hatred or darkness at all, as if it were a city crafted solely from the light side of the force. It was a feeling so overpowering, so sweet to the tongue, that the once conqueror and once savior couldn't help but shed a single tear from his brown eyes in appreciation for his new surroundings.
There was a screech from the door, but Revan was far to preoccupied admiring the view to care. If there was anything wrong, his instincts would alert him, Jedi, Sith or otherwise. He very much doubted that they would. This place seemed so devoid of evil that anything with ill intent to anybody would likely stick out like a sore thumb from a mile away.
"Um..." An official sounding but formal voice rung out from behind the warrior sage as he admired the skyline. "Sir?"
With a final smile, Revan turned around to see a human female standing in his door way, her skin, with the faintest shade of peach and hair as dark as the night sky he'd crashed into. "Yes?"
"Princess Luna sent these for you," he looked down from her blue eyes to see a brown tunic and a basket of breads and fruits. The man smiled at the clothes, appreciative of the color and style, but wary of how Jedi robes would have been known here. "Was there anything else you needed, Sir?" She asked, her voice stoic and confident. "Her royal highness did ask that I stand by to make sure all of your needs were accounted for."
He took a good look at the robes, noting the small accents of red and black on the tunic no doubt meant to replace the tattered robes he'd been wearing when he made land fall to this place. He gave a brief frown as he realized that his mask was nowhere to be found, but then set aside that thought for a later time to answer the young woman's question. "I see," he began, looking at his face in the mirror and noting a change he was none to be pleased with. "Well, perhaps I could use a tour of your castle?"
She gave him a nod. "Yes, Sir," she looked down at her clipboard as if there were something else she'd needed to ask him. "Was there anything else you needed before I left you to get ready for your day?"
The once Jedi thought for a long moment, searching for a good answer, but none came. "I believe that will be all, Ms..."
"Raven," she answered.
"I believe that will be all, Ms. Raven," he finished. As she left the room, he turned back to the mirror and inspected a face that was different from the last time he'd seen it, not particularly happy that it wasn't how he'd left it. "Alright," he began with a begrudging smile. "Who's the schutta that shaved my beard?"
...
"For one thousand years," the young woman continued explaining to her brown clad guest trailing several feet behind her beneath the outer arches of the royal gardens of the palace. "Canterlot has been the capital and cultural center of Equestria."
Revan took time to see everything on this strange new world, from the grass to the near completely human inhabitants of the place and even the alabaster and marble architecture, something almost unheard in the Republic. It would be an insult to say that he was anything less than in a state of awe. "I see," he threw out absent mindedly, then focusing once more. "What happened a thousand years ago that caused the move?"
She stopped her walk for a moment, the continued her way through the outer halls of the palace. "The sister of our princess, Celestia, turned into the dreadful Nightmare Moon and would not allow the sun to rise."
Revan, totally discounting the fact that his tour guide was talking down to him like a youngling, performed a mental double take. "I'm sorry, what?" She turned around to see him in all of his curiosity. "Your princess is how old, exactly?"
"That would depend heavily on which princess you're referring to," she began to explain, not losing a step. "Princess Cadance is only 27 years old, while the newest edition to the royal family, Princess Twilight is only 20, " she paused for a breath, then continued down the marble bricked pathway. "Then there's Princess Luna, the one who brought you here a few nights ago? She wasn't even out of her twenties when she became Nightmare Moon."
Princess Luna? He thought to himself as they walked past the topiary sculptures, and the bush walls of the gardens. The name fits, he mused. Blurry as his vision may have been from the blows to his head, he did remember the compelling, soft voice telling him to sleep having near pearl skin and dark hair. He'd have to remember that later on.
"As for Princess Celestia, whom I assume you referring too," she looked away and kept walking. "No one is exactly sure," she tried answering in a non-blunt manner. "She keeps it something of a secret, but it's generally assumed that she's in the early one-thousands."
"Uh huh..." he just nodded and kept walking with her, noting that it's not unheard of for a species to live so long, but never hearing of any near-human race with that kind of longevity. "What was that about not letting the moon rise? Does the moon have a degrading orbit?"
She lifted her right eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"
"A degrading orbit," he repeated. "Is your planet's gravitational pull not strong enough to support your moon?"
"Our princess of the night supports our moon, and when she couldn't, Princess Celestia took up the task,"she just looked at him as if he'd dropped off the face of the galaxy. "I'm... not sure I understand the question."
They continued to just awkwardly stared at one another for a few seconds before the assistant, Raven, decided to just move on with the tour. "At any rate, this great city was carved into the mountain after the fall of Princess Luna and her transformation into Nightmare Moon, and we have never looked back," she then turned around to look at the once Jedi, who was now looking across the greenery at the source of a metallic noise. "Now then, before we continue, was there anything else you needed to know? A refreshment or snack of some kind, perhaps?"
"Them," he pointed with his right index finger to several people off in the distance, some with wings and some others lacking them. "Over there. What are they doing?"
The young, black haired woman adjusted her glasses as she began an explanation. "That would be former Captain of the Canterlot Guard, Prince Shining Armor, trying to choose his successor for the job he left behind upon marrying Princess Cadance," she looked back down to her clipboard as she began to provide the royal guest with more exposition. "With all of his time up north in the Crystal Empire, he hasn't had the occasion to choose a new captain, so he's offering the position to whoever can-" she turned around to see her charge in brown, black and red walking off towards the sparring ring off in the distance. She frowned. "And he's gone."
...
"I very much appreciate you and your friends coming all the way over from Canterlot for this, Ms. Vinyl," Princess Luna began as she walked through the outer halls of her home, discussing her elder sisters party arrangements for the next few days.
"No prob, Princess." A young woman with blue hair and a musical note on her forehead followed close by next to her ruler. "I'm always looking for work in music anyhow," then she got a smug smile.
Over the past few days of planning Celestia's first birthday celebration in over 1,000 years, the two of them had actually become fairly good friends, as strange as it might have been for a DJ and a princess to become such.
"But you know what, L-Dawg?" she took on a tone that Luna had long since associated with her taunting. The blue haired girl moved in front of the night shepherd and lifted up her right index finger at the princess. "I'm more interested in this guy you brought home the other night that you told me about."
"Please," she waved off the implied accusation and moved past her friend that apparently had little knowledge of how to speak with nobility, actual enjoyment of her frankness aside. "I am a princess. I have been groomed to be above such obvious displays of affection."
"Uh huh," she wouldn't stop wearing that ear to ear grin. "That why you've been spending so much time next ta' him? Waitin' fer that stranger to wake up?"
"Vinyl, my friend," she placed her soft hands on the musician's shoulder and looked her dead in her sunglasses. "I am telling you now, truthfully, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that my feelings with that man do not extend past rescuing him from the Everfree."
"You know, L?" the red eyed young woman began, still wearing a taunting grin on her face. "I kind'a stopped paying attention after you said 'obvious' displays of affection," she punched her regent in the arm, useless as the gesture may have been against an alicorn. "I always knew you were the type to play 'hard to get'."
"Hard to get?" The blue haired maiden's voice raised indignantly. "I never said-"
"Relax, L," she threw right her arm around Luna, patting the one closest with her left hand. "I'm just messin' with ya. I know that..." That's when she noticed the princess beginning to turn the tables and now she was ignoring her, looking off into the distance at a few of the guards and wonder bolts that Vinyl herself had been guilty of spying on.
"Hello?" She waved her hand in front of her face. "Helloooo? Equestria to Luna?" She snapped her fingers twice. "Stop ignoring me!"
She then smiled. "Vinyl, per chance, might you have any of your 'rock and roll' handy, per chance?"
"Um, yeah," her right hand glowed as magical construct in the shape of a guitar appeared in her hands, looking off into the distance closer at what she was seeing. "But if you're thinkin' it'll help that guy over there against those three... I don't see it."
She began walking, her candid counterpart following closely, light guitar in both hands and the runic marks on her forehead glowing all the while. "Believe me," she began, an all knowing smile appearing on her royal face. "Nothing under the moon can help him."
Vinyl Scratch only raised an eyebrow, getting the idea, but doubting Luna's faith in the man.
...
He hefted a long sword, balanced and with only a small hand guard, its handle long and meant to have the option of handed use. It was plain steel, a rarity back in Republic. Still, though, it was of quality. That much was clear by the very few scratches on the blade and the way it reflected the sun.
Revan swung it once to test it's balance for certain and he was pleasantly unsurprised. "Excuse me? Sir?" The once dark lord turned around to see a young woman with wings a few yards away from him her hair orange and yellow and her wings matched her color and her eyes covered up by a pair of sunglasses. "Would you mind telling me what you're doing here?"
He continued to inspect the sword. "Yes," he began, his voice now fairly amused. "You guys are holding try outs for captain of the guard, right?"
"Yeah," another blue winged near human, this one male with blue wings and blue eyes. "But it's for Equestria military only. Not old guys who get lost in the sparring ring."
Revan raised an irritated eye brow at that accusation. I'm only 37, he thought to himself, then beginning to wear a confident smirk, laced with nostalgia from his brief stint at the Korriban Sith monastery. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that day care let out this early."
The blue winged man just glared at him, Revan stared back and relished in the trash talk. It had been so long since he'd had the chance to do this. "Alright, easy there, Soarin'," a new male appeared, not wearing wings but with markings on his forehead and blue, two toned hair falling down his neck. He walked over to Revan, extending his hand to shake. "Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire, nice to meet you," he then sighed. "Look, Sir, you're free to participate, but just don't get in the way," he ran his hand through his vibrant hair. "So who do you want to challenge?"
The once Jedi faked consideration for several moments, placing his finger on his lip. "How about all three?"
"You sure, Old Man?" Soarin' began to mouth off with a cocky smile on his face. "We wouldn't want you to break a hip or anything."
With that last remark, Revan reflexively flourished the blade, heavier than a lightsaber but nothing he couldn't handle, in preparation for the sparring match between these three soldiers. He let loose an arrogant smile. "I promise I won't take to much advantage of all of your collective inexperience."
That earned a deadpan expression from the prince and leader, Shining Armor. "Spitfire? Soarin'?" He looked at each of his compatriots. "Three on one it is."
Revan only smiled. Oh this will be fun!
Man in brown's lookin' real tough!
Watch out guys, he knows his stuff!
Two Wonderbolts and a captain of the guard!
All this spankings gotta get real hard!
A pommel to the head and a blade to the throat!
If you can't tell it now, I'm gettin' real stoked!
Shining's magic won't be much help!
They all gotta deal with the hand they were dealt!
You can mess with Soarin', You can beat on Flash!
Screw with Spitfire 'til she's a pile of ash!
You can leave Shining running straight for the door!
But if you buck with Rev', you'll be beggin' 'please, no more'!
Mothah Buckah!
Look's like Revan's got this down!
Makin' them three look just like clowns!
They got wings, but he's got the Force!
And it look like Shining's coming back for more!
They look pretty pissed, but he's got zen!
It won't be long before they're all spent!
Dude's got moxy, anybody can tell!
And I think the Princess is under his spell!
Flash Sentry beat down
Sea Swirl, down and out
Snowflake’s pain is sated
Braeburn is defenestrated
Lemon Drops gets no props
Raindrops, rain dropped?
Silverwing just got clipped
Spike the dragon is now sick
Donut Joe is on his knees
Fancy Pants? Filly....please
Doc Whooves need a paramedic
Scootaloo’s the one who said it
Spitfire is turned to ash
Thunderlane’s missing his ass
Caramel is now in Hell
Flim and Flam, same as well
Prince Blueblood gave up his crown
Trixie’s running back to town
Rapidfire’s been now retreating
LT. Soarin’s been defeated
Royal Guard is now his toy
Ditto that for Hoity Toity
Sunset Shimmer no longer glimmers
Neon Lights is looking dimmer
Big Macintosh is callin’ hax!
Jet Set needs a pair of slacks!
Rainbow Dash got Rainbow Crashed!
All the apples are really jacked!
Vigilance and Sunshine Smiles!
Heard their screams over a mile!
Fleetfoot is now goin’ down!
And Pinkie Pie’s got a frown!
Silver Lining’s really bucked!
Ms. Rose Luck life kind’a sucks!
Ace Serve, this is not tennis!
Flash Sentry –didn’t we get him?
Pummel down on Princess Cadenza!
Rarity you're SUCH a whiner!
Lightning can eat his dust!
Shining Armor’s got some rust!
You can mess with Soarin’ and beat on Flash
Screw with Spitfire 'til she's a pile of ASH!
You can leave Shining Armor running straight for the door!
But if you buck with Rev’!
But if you buck with Rev’!
But if you buck with Revan you’ll be begging ‘please, no more!’
They both just watched as the brown clad man finished his work of not only defeating the former captain of the guard, the captain of the wonder-bolts and her lieutenant, a long with a very long list of maybe half of the royal guard nearby, whilst Revan only having broken a single sweat that he'd abruptly wiped from his tan brow.
"You guys did alright, all things considered," he began to falsely praise them. "Soarin' specifically did fairly well. He almost made me skip a beat," he let out a laugh upon saying that, happy that he'd been able to have a simple sparing match for the first time in over 300 years.
As he walked passed the ring of sand littered with downed soldiers, some wearing armor and some not, he lifted his sword one more time to place it upon the arms rack, happy for the chance to enjoy himself but finished for the moment.
That was, until, he saw her. The woman that had saved his life.
She strode across the grass with the grace of a midnight wind, her great wings of indigo folded atop a more casual satin dress, violet with golden accents, than what would have been expected of royalty, though still more than a little elegant in it's design. Her hair was nearly midnight blue with the appearance of stars running through it like a cosmic river of diamonds. Her eyes were cyan, like clear blue water and, as she walked, her pearl feet bare, towards him with such alien grace, he new what his next move should have been.
He bowed before her. "You're the woman who saved my life?"
A small smile crept upon her face. "I am Princess Luna of Equestria, yes."
On one knee, he continued. "My name is Revan, formerly of the Galactic Republic," he sighed. "I guess I owe you one."
She acknowledged his gratitude and then moved on to the sword rack, carefully selecting the right sword from the small armory, inspecting each blade visually. Her cyan eyes skimmed over each edge and pommel and hilt, searching for an ideal weapon worthy of a princess.
Finally, she chose one. It was a zweihander, one with a wide cruciform hilt meant especially for the earth tribe guards, built heavy to the point of being nearly impractical for even that mighty race, but for an alicorn princess? Even with a blade matching her own height of six feet, it was still no heavier than a feather. "Rise, Revan," she threw him the sword he'd only just put away and shot him a competitive grin. "And let us see how you fair against someone who has long since graduated from 'day care'."
A sword now at his feet, he accepted the blade and took a more defensive stance against the smiling, blue adorned princess who held her own sword wide and her wings flared as if to use her own biology against her personal guest.
Both his hands on his sabre, he rushed in first, narrowly avoiding a strike from the princess to his neck, but he doubt she really meant him any harm.
She returned the favor further by unleashing a large gust of wing from her magnificent wingspan, the gales forcing the man she'd rescued only a few days ago, sanding from the ring now encircling him.
He closed his eyes as he tried to concentrate, but was cut short soon enough, her presence just before him. There was something strange about this woman. The way she moves, he thought. It's like this isn't a fight to her.
True enough, the way each fighter blocked and parried the others strikes and blows, the way one watched the other move and ebb with the elegance of a silken river past the moves of the other made it clearer and clearer. By the time he realized why the princess was smiling, he discovered that he'd been smiling as well.
This isn't any practice bout, the truth rung between his ears. This is a dance.
It wasn't for several minutes of being lost in the others movements when the princess called an end to the duel. "Enough," she uttered as Revan stood across from her, his blade still drawn but the very tip resting on the course ground and sweat pervading his body. "I believe that would be all, Sir Revan."
"'Sir' Revan?" he parroted, not sure of what she'd just said. "I'm sorry, your Highness, but I'm no knight," anymore, he wanted to add, but didn't. His old friend's words still rung true within him. He belonged to neither the Jedi, nor the Sith.
"Is that so?" She inquired, an all knowing smile now replacing the one of sheer delight she wore only moments ago. "Well then, I shall remember to keep that in mind, Revan, formerly of the Galactic Republic." she turned to her apparent friend with blue hair. "Ms. Scratch?"
"Yo!" A blue haired girl with blue markings on her forehead answered.
"Come then," she directed, wearing a sly smile on her ageless and flawless face. "We still have finish the preparations for my elder sister's birthday party."
And so the two women left, leaving everyone still in the practice ring dumb founded at what had just happened, beginning with the mysterious stranger's eerily proficient skill set with swords to the dance of blades between him and the princess.
Revan only watched as they did so, his own mind trying to process what had just happened, but was interrupted by a sharp jab to his side by the man with blue wings, Soarin'. "You dog," he called out to the personal guest of the princess, totally unaware of the smile we wore upon his scarred face
