Star Wars: The Force is magic

"There is no emotion, there is Peace." A voice said.

Serenity reigned inside the caves. A lone Unicorn sat in the center if the wide cavern, reciting an ancient text.

"There is no ignorance, there is knowledge." The Unicorn said. Several stones around the cave lifted into the air, hovering for a moment before swirling over to the Unicorn. A smile formed underneath the steel mask he wore. The stones moved in front of him and stacked into a small tower. "There is no passion, there is serenity."

The Unicorn's ears shot up as it heard a noise come from behind him. Reaching out with his senses, he tried to determine what it was. Small, about the same size as a Pony. There was an ominous air about it, as well as several conflicting emotions inside of it. The Unicorn figured it was a Changeling, but not a drone. It was much more powerful than a mere drone.

The Unicorn stood from his place and turned towards the Changeling. From slits in his mask, the Unicorn saw Queen Chrysalis, the leader of the Changelings as well as the terrorist that attempted to take over Equestria.

The Unicorn glared from under his mask.

"Hello there." Queen Chrysalis said, her tone polite. "I have something I must ask of you."

The Unicorn did not answer. Chrysalis laughed and began to walk towards him.

"Do not think I am unaware of who you are." She said. "I know full well. But I have a proposition for you." Chrysalis was engulfed in green fire, then it went out. In Chrysalis's place was a Beige Earth pony wearing a simple brown hooded tunic. His mane was shaved, but enough was left to tell it was black.

"I need you to find this pony..." Chrysalis said, her voice still the same despite her new appearance. "And kill him."

There was a pause. The Unicorn's glare intensified. He slowly raised to his hind legs, clumsily holding his hooves to his side.

"There is no death." He recited. The Unicorn then held his front hooves forward. The air rippled around his hooves, then Chrysalis was hefted into the air by an unseen force. Before she could say anything, she was thrown through the cavern she entered from. "There is the Force."

Chrysalis soared through the caves, landing with a loud crash as she hit a wall with enough force to knock some rocks loose. She dropped to the ground and her guise faded. Her green eyes snapped open and she glared in the direction she had been thrown from. Chrysalis growled as she shambled to her hooves.

"You shall regret this..." She hissed. Chrysalis began walking down the cave, rambling to herself. Two other Changeling drones appeared behind her and started following their queen.

"My queen," One of the two began. "Why are we hunting mere mercenaries? We need a warrior, not a retired magician!"

"What we need is power, Pupa." Chrysalis responded. "Our own has been waning since Cadence defeated us. We need someone, or something, powerful enough to fight for us."

"I may be able to help with that." A high-pitched voice said. The two drones quickly turned towards the source of the voice and shape-shifted into armored Minotaurs equipped with Battleaxes. The figure they faced was a black robed figure. His face was partly obscured by the thick hood over his face, but a grey beak poked from underneath the hood. Yellow eyes glowed from underneath the hood. "You need power, correct?"

He asked, using some form of psychokinesis to take the axes from the drones. "I may be able to help with that."

Chrysalis gave a sly smirk to the figure.

"Pupa, Ray," She called to the drones. "Withhold your hostilities."

"Yes, my queen." The drones said in unison as they reverted to their previous forms.

"Now, what was it you needed to say?" Chrysalis asked, turning back towards the figure.

"My name is Horus," The figure stated, grabbing his hood with a three-taloned hand. "And I couldn't help but overhear your...'Plight'." Horus pulled down his hood, revealing a Raven-like head. An ornate stone mask covered Horus's black feathers.

"Cut the shady act," Chrysalis stated. "Tell me what it is you want, avian."

"To the point, hmm? Good. I know what the Changelings need. You need power."

"Yes, we've established that."

"Well, I can aid you."

"How?"

"Simple. I can supply you with a warrior that has both power, and is very effective." Horus pulled a large green crystal shard from his robe's sleeve. It glowed a faint yellow coloring, illuminating the cave slightly more than it already was. "Do you know what this is?" Horus asked, waving the shard in Chrysalis's face. "This is a Soul Gem. Inside contains the warrior's soul. I will show you how this can be appropriately used."

Chrysalis smiled wide, showing a mouth full of fangs.

"Very well, Horus. You may come with us."

The streets of the Crystal Empire beamed visibly in the late-afternoon sun. Several Crystal Ponies went about their business. In the midst of this, a pony wearing a grey hooded tunic stood at a shop kiosk. He looked over the wares; jewels of varying shapes, sizes, and colors lay before him. The Pony's hazel eyes swept over the crystals. Two stood out to him. A vibrant violet gem, and a deep green one. They were small compared to the other crystals, both resonated with powerful magic.

"How much are these crystals?" The Pony asked, pointing his hoof at the two gems.

The Kiosk's owner, a grey crystal Unicorn with a Fleur-De-Lis cutie mark levitated the two crystals into the air.

"Hmm...Well, these are special Crystal Empire enchanting gems, pre-filled and ready to go. These together will cost you about...Two-hundred bits."

The robed Pony tossed a large pouch onto the kiosk stand. The merchant opened them up and let out a small chuckle as she saw the money.

"Wow...Alright, they're yours!" The merchant said joyously as she placed the crystals into the saddlebags fastened around the robed Pony's back. "Enjoy your visit to the Empire!"

The robed pony gave a thankful nod, then walked off.

Once he was a ways away, the robed pony began to speak in a hushed tone.

"Juno," He said. "I got what I need, meet me under the crystal Palace."

"Roger that, Starkiller." A female voice replied in Starkiller's head. The walk to the palace was uneventful. Starkiller glanced up to the massive crystal spire. The Force was strong inside of it. The power of the entire Empire radiated throughout the kingdom. It would be difficult to pinpoint the location of any Jedi here. Starkiller hoped to get his business here done and head back to the mountains with Juno. Speaking of whom, she was already there waiting under the tower, wearing a simple white shirt and black jacket.

Starkiller walked up to her and gave her a quick hug, then began to speak.

"Alright, I got what I came here for, let's get going." He said.

"The train should be here within the hour, Starkiller." Juno responded. "If we head out now, the train should arrive by the

time we get to the station."

"Good. The longer we stay here, the more likely we are of being discovered." With that, Starkiller and Juno began to move. Their hooves clopped quietly on the crystalline roads of the Empire.  Starkiller and Juno remained mostly silent for the walk, that is until Juno noticed a faint glow from Starkiller's saddlebags.

"What exactly did you need to get? You still haven't told me what." She asked, her gaze moving from the bag to Starkiller.

"Crystals." He responded simply. "I plan on using them like I did with my lightsaber crystals."

"For meditation, or are you planning on rebuilding your lightsaber?" Starkiller was silent. A small grin worked its way upon his face. "You're seriously planning on building a Lightsaber? Equestria doesn't have the technology required for that!"

"I know." Starkiller responded, his smile fading as he remembered. "But we need some form of weapons if we wish to stop the Sith from taking over. Right now, a Lightsaber seems reasonable."

"What about that sword you had? You killed a dragon with it, surely it would work for fighting Dark Jedi!"

Starkiller grunted in annoyance as Juno's arguing persisted.

"Juno, if I felt that the sword would work, I wouldn't be searching for the parts for a lightsaber." Starkiller responded. Juno was about to protest, but Starkiller held a hoof to her mouth. "Trust me, Juno. I know what I'm doing." Starkiller looked away from Juno and focused on the road ahead of them. Juno, on the other hand, smiled at Starkiller. She leaned closer to him and gave him a small peck on the cheek. Starkiller blushed slightly, while Juno chuckled.

"I know you do." She said. "You always have a plan." The rest of the walk was quiet. Neither of them spoke until they got to the train station, and even then, they only spoke to the ponies manning the ticket stand, and also the conductor when they boarded. Soon after, the train departed with them on it. Starkiller looked out the window. The light of the Empire faded away in the distance, giving way for a wasteland of snow and ice to take the stage.

"It reminds me of Hoth." Juno said, looking out the window as well. "This planet seems to have little bits of well known planets mixed in with it. The Everfree is like Yavin four, the Badlands are like Tatooine, Canterlot is like Coruscant, the list goes on." Juno cast a glance to the sky. "Who need's space travel when you have a place as vast as this?"

"Yeah, this planet is amazing." Starkiller joined in. "That's why we can't let the Sith take over. They'll destroy all of it."

"I know..." Juno responded solemnly. There was another pause, all they heard was the sound of the train's wheels turning and the steam coming out of the locomotive. "Do you know where we should look for our Jedi?"

"Yes." Starkiller responded. "The night I regained my memories, I sensed a very strong presence in the Force. It was like it wanted me to find it."

"Do you think it could be a Sith?" Juno asked, turning away from the window. "They could be trying to trick you."

"No. It's not a Sith, but it's no Jedi either. I sensed both the Light and Dark sides of the force inside of it. I'm not sure if it is a trap, but we can't pass up this opportunity." Starkiller said. Juno gave a responsive nod, then silence reigned again.

Starkiller now thought to what this gray force could be. Neither Darth Vader or Rahm Kota taught him about any Jedi that were Dark-Sided, or any Sith that were Light-sided. There was a Jedi that used the Dark side in Combat, however. Starkiller remembered that Lord Vader attempted to teach him the Vapaad lightsaber style. The style fed of the user's anger in combat to enhance their capabilities, but it was created by a Jedi.

Master Mace Windu, the first Jedi that Lord Vader killed during the second Jedi Purge had created that saber style. Perhaps Starkiller was sensing his presence, but he couldn't be sure.

Starkiller's train of thought was interrupted when a horrible chill coursed through his body. Juno apparently noticed this and asked him what was wrong. Starkiller looked her in the eye, his own eyes wide in shock.

"I sense a great disturbance in the force."

Chrysalis stood next to Horus, who held the Soul Gem in his talons. Before them was an table with several Changeling husks strewn about. There was an empty space in the center for the Soul Gem to go, and Horus gently placed the Soul Gem inside this gap.

"Now," Horus said, his high-yet-gravelly voice grating on the Queen's ears. "You do the rest. Give power to the gem, and it will rebuild!"

A sadistic grin appeared on Chrysalis's face as the jagged protrusion from her forehead that she called a horn began to glow a sickly green. The green light projected itself into a beam that struck the Soul Gem and caused it to glow an intense neon-yellow. The Soul Gem levitated into the air, a black color formed inside of it and gave it the appearance of a crystalline eye. The husks rose into the air and shattered, the pieces of the husks then floated and formed a vaguely humanoid shape around the Soul Gem. Finally, the shards came together around some areas, giving the Warrior skeletal arms and digitigrade legs, yet some shards still remained and floated around the Warrior's body.

The Warrior slowly came to the ground, the remaining shards around its chest forming a streamlined exoskeleton around it. The Warrior stood tall, at least a head taller than Chrysalis did. Despite its form having a head, the Warrior saw through the Soul Gem.

"Who..." The Warrior began, his voice deep and gravelly with a heavy accent. "Are you?"

Queen Chrysalis's smile widened as her plan came together.

"I am Queen Chrysalis," She greeted, bowing her head to the Warrior. "I have given life anew to you after your death. You have been reborn as one of us, a Changeling."

The Warrior looked itself over. A sound similar to a grunt echoed through the room as the Warrior examined his new, fragmented form.

"You are needed for a task befitting of your stature, but we must first allow you time to recover yourself. Then, we shall give you your first assignment." Chrysalis turned to speak to Horus, but was surprised to see the bipedal avian had left without her knowing. It was of little matter to her though, she now had her warrior, as well as a new ally. Chrysalis turned back to the Warrior, who walked around the room in order to get used to his new form.

"What would a creature such as yourself need me for, Equine?" The Warrior asked as he balanced himself after tripping. "You do not even know who I am, most likely."

"You are correct. I do not know anything about you." Chrysalis responded. "But I plan to change that. Will you inform me more on who you are?" She asked politely. There was a pause, then the warrior shook his head.

"No." He responded simply. "I will not tell you anything, or serve you until I acquire more on who I am fighting for."

"Very well. Come with me, I shall show you." Chrysalis signaled with a nod and left the room. The Warrior soon followed.

Chrysalis and the Warrior stepped into a large cavernous room, several green crystals and tunnels displayed themselves around the room. Changeling drones buzzed through these tunnels, giving the dead caves a rather lively feeling. Some Changelings stopped and stared at the Warrior as they came into the cave.

The eye-like shape inside the Warrior's Soul Gem shifted into an unnatural glare. The Changelings quickly went back to their business with an air of fear. The Warrior scoffed internally. These pitiful bugs feared him already and they would no doubt follow his orders if he accepted the Queen's offer.

The Warrior grimaced, thankfully unnoticed, as the Queen spoke again. He mentally noted to find a way to shut her up.

"This is our hive. We Changelings were forced to live in these Godforsaken caves after we suffered a crippling defeat from our oppressors -" Chrysalis engulfed herself in a green fire that quickly extinguished and revealed a Pink Alicorn with bright blue eyes.

You can't be saying what I think you are... The Warrior thought to himself.

"-The Ponies of Equestria." Chrysalis finished.

The Warrior stood silent, his loud raspy breathing being the only sound he made. The breathing quickened, then a wheezing came with it before it turned into an all-on laugh. The Warrior's detached shoulders moved up and down with each guttural laugh the Warrior gave.

"If you are oppressed by that," The Warrior pointed a fragmented finger at Chrysalis's form. "Then you deserve to live down here." The Warrior continued to laugh before it devolved into a painful cough. The Warrior quickly regained himself, then corrected his posture and stood fully upright. He took note of Chrysalis's angered face. He honestly found her cute when she scowled in that form.

"It was not our fault that they were able to gain the upper hoof in this matter!" Chrysalis defended, reverting to her original form. "We Changelings feed upon emotions, Love being the most bountiful!"

"You are beginning to sound like a cliche villain from a children's Holovid." The Warrior crossed his arms as he spoke. If he had a face, he would be glaring at Chrysalis. "Let me guess, being pink ponies, they gave plenty of love?" The Warrior walked over to Chrysalis and looked her in the eye. Chrysalis shrunk slightly in the Warrior's gaze, a detail that that he noticed.

Good, even she fears me. The Warrior said internally. "They somehow managed to cut you off, then you became weak?"

Chrysalis paused a moment, her words had been stolen straight out of her mouth.

"Yes..." She said. "And we seek to regain our strength. We have called upon you so that you may help us regain our rightful place as rulers of Equestria!"

The Warrior held his figurative tongue. His suspicions were confirmed, these bugs were crawling to him in a moment of weakness, a position he had sadly been in before. He wondered if he should comply with them, as it was a humiliating experience for him and he felt that no one should live through what he lived through. He thought a moment more, then came to his final conclusion for this creature.

"Fine." The Warrior responded. Chrysalis smiled wide at the figure, as did many Changelings that were listening in. "But," The Warrior interjected as her raised one of his eight fingers. "I have several conditions you must follow."

"Whatever you need." Chrysalis responded with a nod. "Now, what do you wish for us to call you? You look as if your name should be, Charade."

The Warrior stood tall, then he was engulfed in green fire. The fire faded, and in the Warrior's place stood a monstrosity that sent fear into any onlooker's hearts. A mechanical, skeletal beast stood in the Warrior's stead. Silver metal plates covered sections of his body, and two white metal plates covered a green sack that held what appeared to be two lungs, a heart, and a stomach inside of it. But the feature that stood out the most was its 'face'. A white mask that resembled an insectoid skull covered red flesh encompassing golden reptile-like eyes. Two antennas stood out from the skull and shifted about as they picked up various sounds from inside the caves.

"You will call me by the name I have given myself." The Warrior stated, taking a few steps towards Chrysalis on his long, skeletal legs. Each step embedded his clawed toes into the rocky ground. "You shall call me Grievous."

"Very well." Chrysalis said, trying to mask her fear from seeing Grievous' mechanical form. Grievous could tell from her eyes. She was no different than the Huk; a pathetic insect that ran to those more powerful during a time of war.

"Now," Grievous knelt down on one of his mechanized legs and gazed coldly at Chrysalis. "What is thy bidding, My master?" Grievous finished, his voice dripping with contempt with the last two words.

Chrysalis quickly shifted to the form of a Unicorn wearing a heavy brown tunic, as well as a steel mask that covered his face. Golden eyes shined from under the mask, as well as what appeared to be a beard that poked out around the edges.

"I want you to find this Unicorn," Chrysalis commanded, her voice more calmed and controlled. "And I want you to bring him to me. He refused our call for aid, and we must teach him what it means to deny us aid."

Grievous nodded, then walked out of the caves.

"Wait!" Chrysalis called after Grievous. "You don't know where he is!"

"You're correct." Grievous responded, still walking towards the exit.

"Don't you wish to know where he is?"

"I will manage by myself." Grievous stood in front of the exit and turned towards Chrysalis, his form being darkened from the light being behind him. "I have hunted many more secluded than him. I have spanned an entire Galaxy searching for prey! I can tell that your planet lacks Spaceflight technology, so I doubt he can be far. This will be a much less expansive search than usual." With that, Grievous turned back around and stepped outside the caves.

The world of Equestria stretched out before him. He could fell something somewhere, something powerful. Grievous wondered what this could be, then he realized something. These Changelings were Force-sensitive, and he was now one of them. He was sensing the Force on this planet, and this force stood out. It was neutral, an oddity that Grievous hadn't seen before. It reminded him of Master Windu, one of the few Jedi he considered a worthy opponent.

Grievous let out a chuckle, then he took the form of a white Pegasus. Grievous looked himself over, and personally felt disgusted by his form. It was weak, something that the warlord loathed. Thankfully, it was only temporary. The revived general stretched his wings, then flew off. His first destination, the one he was certain was where the Unicorn Chrysalis was sending him to find, was underneath a great mountain city.

Knowledge flowed from the Changeling Hive he was now connected to. This was the town of Canterlot, capital city of Equestria. Grievous scoffed at the ridiculous name, but his goal was undeterred. He was now hunting again, and from how things looked, he was hunting Jedi, his favorite prey. Grievous smiled, an act he had not done for years. He would wait, give his prey plenty of time to run and hide before searching.

His destination was in sight, and he now cleared his mind to prepare for the upcoming hunt.

The train Starkiller and Juno rode on slowed to a halt as it pulled into Canterlot's train station. The Earth Pony and Unicorn got off the trained and scrambled through the streets. The two weaved through the bustling city, bumping into a few ponies, but they continued forward despite the rather vulgar responses.

"Why are we running?" Juno called after Starkiller. "Galen, I know this is important, but what is going on?"

Starkiller turned his head so he could see Juno.

"Something is heading to Canterlot! We need to get to the Jedi here before it does!"

"What makes you sure it's after the Jedi?"

"Juno, we don't have time to argue about this, just follow me!" Starkiller yelled back in response. The rest of the trek was silent, despite the high tensions Starkiller felt.

He sensed the disturbance in the Force drawing nearer and nearer, thankfully not too quick, but they had no time to delay. The Jedi was under the city in the caves, and if was said about it was true, the caves were like a maze. Starkiller might be able to lose whatever was coming inside the caves if he used that to his advantage, but for now he didn't focus too much on it.

Within a short amount of time, Starkiller and Juno ran through the gates of the pearly town and down the path to the Caves. They both stopped as they came to the cave's entrance.

"Juno," Starkiller began. "Go get the guards."

"Alright. I'll be back." Juno said as she ran back inside the city. Starkiller watched her as she ran until he couldn't see her anymore. Starkiller silently wished her safety, then he ran inside the caves. The twisting and winding cavers eventually lead to a forked pathway. Three tunnels were in front of Starkiller, each one leading to an alternate path.

Starkiller glanced at the different pathways, then he heard a voice. The voice of the Jedi spirit he encountered in the Graveyard all those years ago.

Reach out with the Force, Galen. Find him with your senses. The voice called.

Starkiller nodded, then closed his eyes. A monochrome image of the tunnels appeared in his head, the pathway on the left having a bright aura emitting from it. Starkiller opened his eyes and ran through the path. The tunnel was straightforward compared to the rest of the cavern, but another forking pathway presented himself again. Starkiller reached out with the Force once more, then followed the pathway once again. This repeated several times until Starkiller came to a large circular room.

Starkiller walked into the cavern. The Force was strong inside this room. The Jedi was definitely here, but Starkiller could not see where. Starkiller tensed up as he heard the sound of some rocks being moved. His vision snapped to where the sound came from, a Unicorn wearing a hooded tunic similar to the ones he wore only brown instead of grey stood, his face obscured by the steel mask he wore, as well as the hood covering his head.

The Unicorn leaped from where he stood, using the Force to propel himself from the ground. Starkiller's instincts kicked in and he moved right as the Unicorn brought his hoof down where Starkiller previously stood. Starkiller retaliated with a powerful force blast.

The Unicorn was blown from his spot, getting sent flying across the cavern and into the wall. The Unicorn fell to the ground, but quickly regained himself. Starkiller smiled internally. A good fight after all these years seemed like a lake of gold for the Sith-turned-Jedi.

"I've been waiting for you, Child." The Unicorn spoke with a deep voice and a light accent. "Come, test your might against a master of both the Light and the Darkness."

Starkiller smirked in response. He stood clumsily on his hind hooves and levitated a large rock with the Force. Starkiller hurled the rock at the mysterious Jedi, who caught it with the Force and threw it back at him.

Starkiller's eyes widened as the boulder hurled towards him. He jumped out of the way and shot a blast of Force Lightning at the Jedi, who easily deflected that as well. A slight irritation began to form inside Starkiller.

"Come now," The Unicorn said. "You're powerful in the Force, don't tell me you've forgotten how to use it!"

The Jedi leaped over Starkiller, doing a flip mid-air and landing behind him. The Jedi let out a Force Push that struck Starkiller head on, but the Human-turned-pony held his ground, and retaliated with a Force Push of his own. This garnered the same result, as the Unicorn was unfazed by the attack. Clearly this Jedi was no push over, but still was a mere Jedi.

Starkiller began to become frustrated at the Unicorn, who let out a small chuckle.

"Remember, control your emotions, do not let them control you!" The Jedi said, then lifted Starkiller into the air. "You were able to find me in this maze, but now you must show me what you can do!"

Starkiller's frustration turned into rage. This Unicorn's toying and teasing was becoming annoying, and he needed to beat him if he wanted his aid, apparently. Starkiller reached out with the Force, gathering in energy and building it up inside of himself. Then, he began to charge Force Lightning, the beams of blue electricity danced around his hooves. The Unicorn chuckled again as he saw the display.

"Don't take too long when building your energy! It gives the enemy an opportune time to strike-" The Jedi was interrupted when Starkiller released the energy. A large Force Repulse rocked the cavern, as well as expelling the Force Lightning. The massive energy blast caused the ground to shake, the Jedi was thrown about like a ragdoll in the energy field. Several rocks began to fall from the cave's ceiling, dropping onto the ground below and narrowly missing the Jedi on a few occasions.

Starkiller's energy expelled forth, then stopped. The cave still shook long after the Force Lightning-charged Repulse ended. Starkiller stayed in the air, still held in place by the Force, but his own, not the Jedi's. He finally calmed down after several minutes, then he levitated softly to the ground. He surveyed the damage.

[End music now]

The cavern had been decimated by the blast, rocks of varying size had fallen from the roof and walls of the great cavern. The Jedi was nowhere to be seen, but Starkiller still sensed his presence. Despite the destruction the cavern had suffered, the Jedi was relatively unfazed by the attack.

"Very good." The Jedi said as he stepped over the rubble. "You have the power, but you still lack control. I see that spending seventeen years without your memories has lessened your Force abilities, but I can help you with that."

Starkiller panted heavily, the Force blast had taken its toll on himself. He attempted to regain himself, but his breaths were still short.

"You...Are the Jedi I've been searching for..." Starkiller said between breaths. The Unicorn nodded, then stepped towards Starkiller and propped him up on his shoulder.

"Yes, I am." He responded simply. "You must rest, you've overexerted yourself." The Unicorn walked out of the caves with Starkiller slung over his shoulder. Halfway through the walk, Starkiller managed to regain himself and walked alongside the Jedi. The trek through the caverns was uneventful, until Starkiller decided to ask the Jedi some questions.

"Who are you, exactly?" He asked.

"A Jedi." The Unicorn responded. Though Starkiller couldn't tell, he was sure that the Jedi was smirking under the mask.

"I mean, what's your name?" Starkiller asked, his tone taking a slightly irritated tone.

"Pony or Human name?" The Jedi once again asked in nonsense. Starkiller hoped that the Jedi wouldn't be like this the whole way back.

"Either one is fine."

The Jedi stopped and looked at Starkiller. The Jedi let out a soft laugh, he was starting to reminisce on the past, Starkiller could tell.

"Well, I'll tell you what my human name is in a moment, but you might know the Pony name." The Jedi said, his tone softening. "As a pony, I was born as Starswirl. Most Ponies know me as the Court Mage, Starswirl the Bearded, and trusted adviser to the Princess." The Jedi let out a small sigh.

Starkiller stared incredulously at the Jedi. The famous Starswirl the Bearded was standing before him. Oddly enough, his beard seemed to be absent.

"If you wish to know my human name, history knew me as-"

"Starswirl?" A voice called. Starkiller's blood ran cold as he recognized the soothing voice of the mare it belonged to. They had arrived at the exit to the cave, and there was Juno with a squad of Royal Guards, as well as Princess Celestia. "It has been some time." She said, giving Starswirl a respectful nod.

"Princess." Starswirl greeted with a nod as well. "What's going on here? What's with all the guards?"

"Well, this young mare here," -Celestia gestured towards Juno- "Came to the royal guards with an urgent request. She said that a possible threat to Equestria was on its way here, and I overheard the conversation. I came along in case she was correct." Celestia stated. Her gaze went from Starswirl to Starkiller. She pursed her lips as she saw him. "Have we met before?" She asked him.

Starkiller didn't respond. He stood silent, thankful that the hood of his tunic covered his face. If it hadn't, she would have surely recognized him.

"Sir?" Celestia asked.

"Pardon my friend," Starswirl said. "He's been ill for a while, I thought he'd need some fresh air."

"Do not worry." Celestia responded. "I hope he gets better." She then turned her attention to Juno. "Now, what was it you were speaking about?" She asked.

Juno looked to the sky. She wasn't Force-sensitive like a Jedi, but her Unicorn magic allowed her to sense some things. She could feel a faint presence. It was unnatural. A sense of fear began to build up within Juno as the presence slowly drew closer.

Celestia seemed to sense this too, and she turned back to Starswirl and Starkiller.

"You two need to go." Celestia turned towards Juno. "You too."

"Very well." Starswirl gave a nod to her, then motioned for Juno to come to her. "I'll take you home." Starswirl's horn lit up with a golden glow, then there was a bright flash. Starswirl, Juno, and Starkiller were gone.

Celestia turned her attention to the ever-growing presence. To her surprise, a Pegasus came into view. Something wasn't right. This Pegasus couldn't be what they were all sensing, yet it definitely was what she felt.

The Pegasus landed near the guards. Celestia and the guards cast a weary glance at the Pegasus, who trotted over to them.

"Excuse me," He said. "But I was wondering if I was able to enter the...caves..." The Pegasus trailed off as if he had realized something. He turned around and flew off before anypony could say anything. Celestia turned towards her guards as the Pegasus faded into the distance.

"Keep a close eye on him...Something is certainly not right." She said.

"Yes, my lady!" The guards said in unison with a salute. Then, they all returned to the castle. But something was bothering Celestia. That pony with Starswirl...Something was frighteningly familiar about him. Celestia pushed these thoughts away as she walked through the halls. She had more pressing matters to attend.

Starkiller, Juno, and Starswirl all appeared in the mountain cave that Starkiller and Juno called home. Juno seemed disoriented, as did Starkiller, but to a lesser extent. Starswirl moved further into the cave, stopping at the workbenches. He looked over the pieces of scrap metal that lay about. He knew what these were for...

"It seems you've been working on a lightsaber." Starswirl said as he looked at the bench. "Very impressive, given Equestria's technological state. How has your search gone?" He added, turning towards Starkiller, who was walking towards him.

"You're the first Jedi we've found." Starkiller responded. "You were the strongest I could sense, so we went for you first."

"Well, you made a good choice, but I'm not the strongest." Starswirl responded. "There's four others." Starswirl walked over to Starkiller and looked him in the eye. Starkiller would too if it weren't for the mask Starswirl wore. "We need to find them before we can fight the Sith."

"So you know about them?"

"Yes. All the Jedi sensed them. We went into hiding until the time was right, meditating and honing our force abilities. Now it seems we are needed to defend this planet." Starswirl walked back over to the incomplete lightsaber. "We haven't found the proper components for our lightsabers yet. It seems you have, though. How is the construction coming along?"

"I'm missing a power cell. I've found and constructed all the other materials." Starkiller responded as he walked over to the table. "By the way, you still haven't told me who you are."

Starswirl chuckled again as he remembered.

"You're right, I haven't yet." Starswirl laughed again as he faced Starkiller. "I'm not sure if you know my name, but I was known as the Sith Lord; Darth Revan." He said. "The only Jedi known to have mastered the Light and Dark side of the force. You've made a good choice by finding me first, we'll have an easier time finding the remaining Jedi." Revan said, heading to the cave's mouth, Starkiller followed. The two stopped, once again looking at the view of Equestria.

"So, when do we set out to find the remaining Jedi?" Starkiller asked. Revan paused before answering.

"I say we split up." Revan said. "I will go to Cloudsdale, I sense a familiar presence there. Where you go is your choice, but I'd recommend going to Ponyville."

"Very well." Starkiller responded. "I'll set out tomorrow."

"Alright then." Revan said. "But for now, let's get some rest." Starkiller nodded, and he, Revan, and Juno all went to the beds of hay. Revan cast a glance out at the faint image of Cloudsdale over the horizon. "We will meet soon, my friend." Revan said to himself. Then, he retired for the night, a sleep well deserved.

General Grievous stood far on the outskirts of Canterlot. Thanks to his new-found abilities as a Changeling, he could sense a powerful Force in a small village over the hills. Grievous decided that this would be his first stop on the hunt after losing the Jedi in Canterlot. With a flash of green fire, Grievous shifted to his Cyborg form he had during the Clone Wars, then he moved towards Ponyville. He could already feel the rush of the hunt with each step.

"Be prepared, Jedi." He said to himself. "Now, the hunt begins..."