The Clone Wars: Friendship is Magic

Chapters

January 1st
January 8th
January 15th

January 1st

January 1st

I don’t even really know where to begin. I guess I should begin at the beginning of this whole ordeal. It all began this morning after one of the strangest wake-ups I’d had since drinking the Uuzbeer with that female Cathar dancer… But, I’m getting a little ahead of myself. I guess I should do this correctly and begin with an introduction.

My name is Volund Starfire. I am a Sentinel of the Jedi Order and a General of the Grand Army of the Republic. My first shock within the galaxy, which I thought was the greatest I would ever face, was during my first assignment as a Watchman of the Naboo system. Compared to what came after, I should never have made such assumptions. Especially not with what is happening now.

Because of my training as a Sentinel, I was placed outside of the normal status of Battalion Commander which most Knights and Masters found themselves in. Though I was still given the rank of Jedi General, I was assigned to a Special Commando Squad after the events of Geonosis. The four members of Equus Squad, all of them Geonosis survivors like myself, were the best people I have had the pleasure and honor to work with.

Our actual mission was to patrol the Dalonbian Sector and destroy any Insurgent Droid bases. But, that was before the distress call we received. I was in the cockpit as we came out of hyperspace, when Riffraff alerted me to a signal coming over the Antarian Ranger special frequency.

“This is Jedi Volund Starfire,” I said over the comm. “What is your emergency?”

“Thank the Force, a Jedi.” The young woman looked no older than a padawan, but was wearing the rank insignia of a full Ranger. “We have lost contact with a Ranger patrol on the planet Seline. They were responding to a call from Jedi Watchman, Master Kingros. They have missed three comm checks and we do not have any resources able to reach them at this time. I hate to ask, but is there any way you can assist?”

“I’ll look into it,” I told her. She smiled up at me from the hologram. “If you don’t hear from me in three hours, notify the Jedi Council.”

“Yes, Master Starfire,” she responded. Then she looked again. “My apologies. Yes, Padawan Starfire.”

“It’s Knight Starfire,” I said absently twirling my braid between my fingers with a smile at her. “I just keep this to remind me that I don’t know everything… yet.”

“Alex,” I said over my shoulder. R2-LX was plugged into the droid socket behind the pilot chair. “Plot a course for Seline.”

“Flirting over a distress call, boss?” Riffraff, the commander of Equus Squad was rolling his eyes behind me as he used his headset to warn the rest of the squad about the coming jump. I saw three green lights on my board a moment before the astronav computer went green. I pushed the lever for the hyperspace and watched the galaxy melt into a tunnel of blue and white.

“Dropping out of hyperspace in five, four,” I yelled to the squad, and pulled the lever back when I got to zero. The stars appeared and one of them quickly grew to the ball of Seline. I knew it was a former Gree planet, but that’s about it. Even from this distance, it looked barren. Alkaline seas, ruins covering it, and a wispy layer of acrid pollution in the mottled sky.

“We have incoming,” Rimshot said from the scanning station behind me. I didn’t even hear him come into the cockpit. “Three marks at two-ten.”

“Engines are prepped,” Gridsquare said over the comms. He was the engineer of the squad. Not to mention a true master with explosives. No, more than that; he was an artist with explosives.

“Try not to do too much of that twirly flying, boss,” Shortfuze said from the ventral turret. “It throws off my aim.”

“Theirs too, you collateral bastard.” Gridsquare quipped.

“Stow it,” Riffraff ordered. He was a good leader and didn’t mind telling me how much of a… what’s the word he used… mir’shebs, I can be.

I felt the thumps of the turret shake through the ship. The three red blips on the scanner slowly revealed themselves to be a pair of vulture droids and a droid tri-fighter. I pulled up to face them and began a roll to orient one of the vultures in my sights. I squeezed the trigger and was rewarded with it exploding a moment before Shortfuse took the second with the turret.

The tri-fighter was firing and blasted a good chuck of power out of the forward shields. Alex compensated immediately, equalizing the power between forward and rear shields. It blew past us close enough for me to see its red lit visual scanners, diving into the atmosphere.

I dove into the atmosphere behind it, but it was jumping around too much for lasers. So, I got a quick lock and launched a concussion missile up its exhaust pipe. It may have been maneuverable, but the atmosphere provided too much drag for sudden turns. That didn’t apply to the thin missile that impacted dead center, blowing the droid apart.

“Rimshot, give me a location on that Ranger ship.”

“I’ve got two, boss.” He paused and uploaded a map to my primary HUD. They were about ten clicks from one-another, but both were pretty well destroyed. However, the one to the east looked to be a Consular-class scout ship. That would be the Jedi’s.

“Equus, take the west and look for survivors,” I said over the comms. “Alex, drop them off and then find me at the east ship.”

I got four acknowledgements as I unbuckled and passed with a pat to the astromech’s dome. The two commandos were already out of the hatch and grabbing their gear near the landing ramp. I passed them for the drop hatch.

“Must be good being a Jedi, able to drop at altitude into the ruckus,” Shortfuze said, giving me light punch to the shoulder as I passed.

“I could always show you how it feels,” I said back to him, using the Force to pull him off balance toward the closed hatch in the floor. He didn’t fall, his heavy armored boot slamming down to arrest his momentum.

“I ain’t a Jedi and couldn’t survive actually hitting the ground.”

“That’s the point,” Rimshot said, smacking Shortfuze on the back of the helmet.

I pressed the button, opening the hatch. The mottled gray and brown of the ground was shooting by with no signs of slowing. Then, there was a wall and the ship banked into a decelerating turn. I gave a bit of a salute to Riffraff and hopped into the nothing below the hatch.

“That looks like so much fun,” Gridsquare said before their short-range comms were too distant for my earpiece to pick them up.

I hit the ground, using the Force to slow me and absorbing the light impact with my knees. I activated my lightsaber and sent an unconscious burst of will into my combat sense. There was nothing around me, but I stayed sharp. Sith can shield themselves from detection.

It took me ten minutes to reach the wrecked Consular-class vessel. It wasn’t just blown up. The blast pattern and debris track looked like it was set to self-destruct. I moved one of the engine shrouds and found the Jedi, all six parts of him. They were all fairly charred from the explosion, but something told me he wasn’t exactly in one piece when the ship blew.

I waited a couple more minutes for Alex to land the ship and join me before we made our way to the nearest landmark. It gave me some time to ponder what the Jedi was doing here. I recognized him, but only in passing. Besides the watchman for the sector, he was also an archeologist. That might explain why he was here, but what could have taken him out in such a way. Surely not a droid.

When I reached the ancient structure, I was surprised. There were two cores about one hundred meters to the east and west of the central structure. That had a pair of large rings separated by about fifty meters. However, what was even more astonishing was that the entire structure was apparently active. It looked to be thousands of years old, but the dim lights were on.

There were a couple of cleared blocks of stone on either side of the massive architecture. Nearing, I saw the stone was lit from within. It was displaying Gree symbols in patterns that I was not familiar with.

“Alex, see what you can do with this,” I told the droid. He responded with an acknowledging beep and used his manipulator arm to toggle the symbols around. That’s when I felt it.

It was subtle; just the hairs standing on the back of my neck, but it made me activate my lightsaber over my head. I caught the red lance of energy just before it would have split me from skull to pelvis.

Jumping forward into a roll, I rose to face my attacker. She was dressed in black leather with strange gemmed bracelets. She was definitely Zabrak, the two small horns on the front of her head framing her pulled back black hair. Beyond that, I had never seen the form of clothing she was wearing.

“You shouldn’t be here, Jedi,” she spat at me, activating the other blade of her lightstaff. It glowed hot and angry, the light dancing across her features in fearful and scintillating ways.

“Of course I should,” I replied with a smirk. “You’re here.”

She let out a primal scream of rage and ran forward. Her attacks seemed random and wild, but were nowhere near weak. What was very surprising was her form. It was similar to Ataru, but seemed less refined. I was able to parry her attacks away, but knew I would not be able to hold against them.

I retreated back and saw her raise her right hand toward me. I intercepted the blast of red lightning into my lightsaber, but the raw power within in actually tinted my blue blade into a near purple. The bright serpent tongues of light licked at my vision, obscuring her next attack. Had I not rolled backward from the force of the electrical discharge, it would have taken my head.

That’s when I saw my chance. Her swing came low and I moved to parry it, but raise my blade at the last second, catching her lightstaff between her hands. One blade shorted a moment before it would have taken my leg, but the other was still blazing red.

“You will give your life for that affront,” she said, the clipped tones of a Coruscani accent dripping with anger and something else. I could sense the darkness wrapping its tendrils around her. But then I saw a small ray of surprise. Alex was carefully moving toward her from behind. His stunner primed.

“Give me your best shot,” I quipped to keep her attention on me.

She let out a scream and fired a blast of her strange lightning into her own lightsaber. The blade crackled with the electricity as it swung at me. I caught it at the tip of my blade and parried it into the strange stone control panel. At the same time, Alex hit her in the thigh with his stunner.

I’m not sure what exactly happened after that. I heard the hum and grinding of an ancient machine. There was an explosion which blinded me and a spectrum of colors that deafened me at the same time. Then, there was a star hanging in a blue sky and I was surrounded by it. In the distance, I could see the shockwave of the multi-colored explosion traveling off and a rainbow starting from where I had begun my fall.

I could hear Alex screaming, but it sounded strange, not like his usual static chirping voice. I wasn’t screaming, though I knew I should be. I was disoriented and my arms and legs were not moving like they should. Tensing different muscles, trying to roll myself into a slowing position, I succeeded in only throwing myself to either side like an airspeeder with a loose panel.

“I’ve got you,” a voice cried out. I felt something grab me under my arms, but it was strange because they weren’t where my arms should have been. I felt slowing and then I was placed on the ground lightly.

“I’ve got his little friend,” I heard an almost whispered voice say above me.

I tried to say something, but felt my consciousness slipping from me. I pushed my blurry eyes open one last time and saw something that didn’t make sense. I was surrounded by what appeared to be six animals in various colors. Then, I blacked out completely.

January 8th

January 8th, 2014

I started to come around, but kept still with my eyes closed. I could smell the gentle odors of a wood fire and heard the cracking of the timber from the walls to confirm I was indoors. Mixed with those smells was the musty and comfortable odor of books. I was lying on my back on a bed, but felt what was probably my robe bunched under my shoulders. At least, I thought it was my shoulders. They felt like my shoulders, but were further down my back than my shoulders were. Not to mention, my arms seemed to be attached higher when I shifted slightly.

The movement caused a wave of pain to assault the inside of my head. I drew on the Living Force to control it and was almost successful. However, I definitely knew I wasn’t on Seline anymore. The fire made the room warm, but it was not the fire that was responsible for the warmth I was feeling… or the blanket that was covering me. The warmth wasn’t anything physical.

I was inside a nexus in the Force. It was place full of warm feelings and light, knowledge and peace. Pushing my senses out a little further, I could feel the unmistakable presence of others near me. There were seven, no eight, lives around me. One was strong in the Force, another was sensitive to the Force, and a third seemed to be… it’s hard to describe, but it was strong while also not quite being sensitive to that strength. The rest were just alive, but one seemed to be smaller than the others.

“I think he’s comin’ around, sugarcube.” It was a female voice to my right. It was slightly husky, but also full of confidence. Not the smug kind that comes from arrogance, but the kind that comes from a hard day’s work done right. I was very familiar with that, as most of the Rangers I had come across used similar tones. However, the accent was unfamiliar.

“Well, it is about time,” another said near to the first. This one seemed to have an arrogance and upper class Chandrillan accent, but it was different somehow. Though, the arrogance was spot on. “Some ponies just have no thought for the schedules of others.”

“I don’t think he was planning to mess up our picnic on purpose,” another voice said, high and to my left. Like the first, this one sounded husky, but of the same manner. There was also a strange sound from around her, like she was rustling clothing rhythmically. I couldn’t be certain, but I think it was the same voice I heard before I passed out.

“At least his little friend is…” a light voice said close to my left ear, but was almost immediately interrupted. It was light, delicate, like crystals chiming in the wind.

“What do you think he was doing up there. I mean he was flying, but I didn’t think that you could pass out from just flying. Is that possible?” The voice seemed to not only interrupt the previous, but also seemed to be constantly interrupting itself without even taking a breath. It was moving up and down to my right and made my head pound a little more than it had before trying to follow it. There was the sound of a sprint being snapped with each movement.

“Give him some air,” a sixth voice said. I heard a clopping sound, like wooden shoes on wooden floors. It stopped beside the bed and I felt the familiar tingle of simple telekinesis though the Force. A cold compress landed softly on my head and the tingle went away. So too did my headache.

The combination of Force and the gentle smell of the herbal liquid on the compress caught my attention. I reached up to grab it and brained myself. I could feel my hand touching my forehead, but it felt like it was wrapped in a rock or something. I let out a bit of a moan, wondering how injured I actually was. I didn’t feel any pain from my arm or hand, though.

Cracking open my eyes, I saw that there was a brown hoof in front of my face. I’ve met some interesting tribal cultures in my travels, but none have ever fashioned plaster casts in the shape of animal limbs. Nor did they wrap them with a tan fur above the wrist. But that wasn’t the strangest part.

There was a blurry point in the top of my peripheral vision that I had to cross my eyes to see clearly. Sure enough, there was a conical shape, in the same tan color, coming out of my forehead. That was far stranger than any hoof-shaped cast. I mean, what medical purpose could such a thing perform?

I reached up and tapped it, the feeling translating down into my skull, but it also felt sensitive like it were actually part of my head. I was unsure what kind of medical herbs the locals had given me, but they must have been really good. Amazingly so, since I smelled mostly mint and asprilum root… headache herbs.

Looking toward the foot of the bed, I could see the unmistakable shapes of printed books on shelves. There were also piles of books around the floor. It was a library and seemed to be carved directly out of the inside of a rather large tree. There were windows showing a clear blue day, but a blanket of snow was built up on the sill outside the window.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath to clear what must have been confusion. I opened them and looked to my right where the majority of voices had come from. Standing beside me, staring right into my eyes was a purple pony with darker purple mane and conical horn on its forehead. How cute.

Behind it there were three other ponies. Two were just standing and looking at me, the third was bobbing its head back and forth to some strange rhythm. One was white with a purple mane that was rather well styled and a conical horn. The second was orange with a yellow mane and a tan wide-brimmed hat. The third was pink with a pinker mane that looked more fluffed than styled.

I shook my head and looked on the other side. There was a yellow one there with pink hair and a pair of wings folded on her sides. Beside it was a small purple reptile with a green ridge. Above them, hovering with constantly flapping wings was a blue pony with multi-colored hair.

It was adorable that the owner of this library med center thing allowed their pets inside. They were all rather cute, too. Then I saw a small wicker basket that had a squirrel on it. Well, the rodent was lying on a pillow with a blanket pulled up around its arms. There was also a small scrap of cloth on its forehead.

Great, so the veterinarian is also the doctor and lives in a library with a bunch of ponies. What next?

“How are you feeling?”

“My head hurts a little, but it is fading,” I answered out of reflex and then froze, my mouth agape. I looked over at the talker with my eyes wide. The voice came from the purple pony with the horn. No. Yes. No… it couldn’t have. Ponies can’t talk. There must be another explanation.

“Ooooo,” the pink one said while bouncing up and down. “That’s a silly face. I wonder if that’s how he communicates!” She started making strange faces at me until the orange one absent-mindedly put its hoof in the middle of her face to hold it still.

“You’re… talking… ponies…” It wasn’t really a question. Nor, for that matter, was it a statement. My mind was reeling and didn’t seem to want to stop. I knew I should control it and center myself, as a Jedi should. However, my mind was having too much fun spiraling into a deep pit of crazy with sprinkles of cuteness to remember anything of my Jedi training at the moment.

“Well, of course, darling,” the white one said, flipping her purple mane back a little. “What were you expecting?”

I was so very confused. Maybe, I should start with something closer than anyone around me. That should help me to calm down; make sure I am not injured. I looked again at my hand and followed it to my arm, past my elbow, to my shoulder. I reached down, slipped my hand… er, hoof… under the blanket and lifted it, glancing down. Yup, I seemed to be a pony, too. I think I took it better than I should have.

I leapt forward out of the bed with a bit of a cry of fright. I seemed to move a little faster and lighter than normal. This was a bit of a problem because I was aiming for the edge of the open landing. Instead, I found myself about five meters over the wooden floor.

I braced for the fall, but didn’t. I thought that was rather odd, but felt something behind me. It was strange, like I was shrugging, but wasn’t using my shoulders. Glancing back, I saw a pair of tan wings (the same color as the rest of my body, but feathered) flapping. Further back, past my legs… um, my hind legs… I saw a blue tail coming out of my… well, a blue tail. It had a small braid on the side that was yellow.

I knew there had to be something interesting behind the fact that the wings were moving by themselves, but I decided to not invest too much thought in them because the idea of a five meter fall wasn’t really strongly appetizing at that particular moment. I willed myself to turn and found that the wings seemed to respond rather well. It was shaky, and I overcompensated, but I made my way back to the landing. When I got my feet under me… well, my hooves under me, the wings folded themselves up on my back. It was easier to keep my balance on all four legs than I thought it would be, but I took a couple of awkward steps away from the edge just to be safe.

“Can someone please tell me what’s going on?” I let my… um, flank… slump down into what was surprisingly a comfortable sitting position, even on the hard wooden floor.

“Y’all fell out of the sky when Rainbow Dash over there did one of her sonic rainbooms.” the orange one said. I noticed, from this angle, that she had three symbols on her flank that looked like red-colored Corellian apples.

“What’s your name?” the yellow one said. Her voice was so light that I had to almost strain to hear it. She had three winged insects on her flank with blue bodies and pink wings.

“It’s obvious what happened,” the white one said. She had three bluish gems on her flank. “Rainbow Dash wasn’t paying attention, as usual, and knocked this gorgeous alicorn out of the sky.”

“I did nothing of the sort. There weren’t even any clouds around, let alone anypony else.” The blue one said. Her butt… err, flank… had a white cloud and multi-colored jagged line coming from the bottom.

A bit of an argument began between them all with their voices seeming to overlap one another, except for the yellow one who shrunk back from the conflict. I could pick up accusations, counter accusations, and a strange whistling noise coming from the pink one.

“Um,” I said, trying to interject in their raised voices. “What’s an alicorn?”

All at once, everyone stopped and stared at me. Everything was silent and I was about to ask again, but the pink one used her mouth to pull out a small silver pin from I have no idea where and dropped it. She had three balloons on her rump in blue and yellow. The gentle sound of it hitting the ground made her giggle uncontrollably.

“What do you mean, what’s an alicorn?” The purple lizard was looking at me.

“Of course, the lizard talks…” I sighed and let my front legs slump forward, my head resting on my crossed forearms… um… whatever.

“I’m not a lizard. I’m a ferocious, fire-breathing dragon,” the little purple dragon-lizard thing said. The purple pony, on the other hand, looked at him and he deflated slightly. “Okay, I’m a baby dragon.”

“Well, my name is Twilight Sparkle,” the purple one said, taking a step forward. Her flank had a pink star with white ones around it and I could see she also had wings. “This is Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Spike.”

“Pleased to meet you,” I said. “My name is Volund Starfire.”

“Psht,” Pinkie Pie snorted. “That’s a silly name.”

“Pinkie Pie,” Rarity chided her. “Be polite.”

“It’s okay. My friends call me Starfire.” I stood up on all fours again and inclined my head in an abbreviated bow. It was rather odd, but I felt it was a better position than lying down while… oh, whatever. It felt more comfortable than lying on the cold, hard floor.

“Then Starfire it is,” Rainbow Dash said, taking flight again and hovering over the edge of the landing. “What’s your cutie mark mean?”

“My whatie mark?” I looked at her and saw her staring rather intently at my butt… er, flank. I felt a little uncomfortable. I mean, sure she was cute (for a pony), but not even I was that forward with my flirting. That’s when I noticed that I had something on both sides of my rear, too. It was the symbol of the Jedi Order in blue inside a yellow circle.

For the next couple of hours, I explained to them what the Jedi were, what I was, and the events that lead me to fight the Sith on Seline. I went over the entire encounter with the Zebra… no, that’s Zebrak… no, Z-A-B-R-A-K. How the machine was activated and then the rainboom happened… to which Rainbow Dash corrected me, “sonic rainboom.”

Everyone was sitting around, listening to me talk, when I heard a familiar series of chirps and clicks. They were chiding and ended with a raspberry. I knew I forgot to mention something and was told about it.

“Oh, sorry. Alex also used his stunner on her just before the explosion.”

Fluttershy, who had been sitting quietly in the back of the group, seemed to bantha-rush right through Rainbow Dash, knocking her onto the bed, before stopping right in front of me. Her eyes were as wide as her grin and she practically screamed out, “you can understand him? I thought I was the only one who could talk to animals.”

“Animals?” It was a little more uncomfortable being nose-to-nose with one of them than it was having one staring at my butt. “No, I’ve been working with this little droid for years. I’ve been able to learn binary a little.”

“What’s a droid,” Applejack asked, looking over at the basket for some reason.

“Oh, I know, I know!” Pinkie Pie was lying down, but now she jumped to her feet with one leg straight in the air. “A droid is a mechanical being with a self-aware consciousness, as distinguished from a computer by having a self-contained method of locomotion!” Her smile seemed to take up most of her face and she made a bit of a squeaking noise.

“Pinkie,” Rarity said with an eye roll. “Let Starfire answer.”

“Actually, she’s right.” It was a little unnerving, but Pinkie was now blowing a small puff of dust between her hooves as if she hadn’t even said anything. She still felt slightly off in the Force, and I was starting to understand why.

There were another set of clicks and whistles from the other side of the bed. I looked over at him, but he wasn’t standing there. I looked down and saw the little squirrel lying in the basket. Then, putting two-and-two together, I realized that R2-LX was now a squirrel. Sure, why not. He noticed me regarding him and let out a raspberry.

“Really? You think you are the only one who has a bit of a problem? I’m a pony.” He laughed and laid back down, curling up under the small blanket.

“I don’t really see that as a problem, sugarcube,” Applejack said.

Twilight stood up and walked to one of the book cases, looking at the various titles. “Well, I’ll do some research about what happened to you, but I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to turn up. Though, since you are another alicorn, I think we should go see Princess Celestia.”

“Princess who?”

“She’s only the ruler of all of Equestria!” Rainbow Dash spread her arms wide as if I should have known.

“That means a trip to Canterlot!” Rarity about swooned with happiness.

“Will she be able to help me get home? Or, at least…” I looked down and thought better than to say get better. “…explain what happened?”

“If anyone would know, it would be the Princess,” Fluttershy said, blushing as she realized that she was still right in my face, less than a hoof-span from my nose. Hey, I got that one right! Her cheeks turned as bright pink as her hair and she made a bit of a gurgling noise. She melted back and turned to fuss with the blankets over Alex.

“You can stay here in the library, if you’d like, until we can figure out what’s going on,” Twilight offered as she walked down the stairs to the main floor. I followed, unsure of four legs on the steps, but it didn’t take me long to figure out the whole walking thing.

“Um,” I didn’t really know how to ask, but I had to anyway. “Is there some way that I could borrow a datapad or something to journal what’s happening. If and when I get home, the Council will want to know.”

“I can help, I think,” Spike said. He had a piece of parchment in one hand and a pen in the other. “But, what’s a datapad?”

This was going to take a while.

January 15th

It’s been a week since I woke up. While I am getting used to the whole walking thing, and a little of the flying thing thanks to Rainbow Dash, I am still confused about how I came to Equestria. That’s the name of that the locals use, but I am unsure if it references the province, the planet, or the system.

The eight of us spent practically the entire week looking through every book in the library about anything similar to what happened to me. Twilight spoke of a magical mirror and another world with people, but it wasn’t quite the same thing. Though, she wanted to be thorough with going through the books. She is quite studious, more so than even the best Jedi Librarians of the temple on Coruscant.

As for the library, it has an extensive collection of books. They are all printed, though some are nothing more than scrolls. However, they are not written in Aurebesh, but I can still read them as easily as if they were. Testing this fact, I wrote the Jedi Code for Twilight in Aurebesh, and she said that she could read it perfectly. Her comment was it was part of the magic of Equestria, but I do not wish to simply chock everything up to magic and ignore it.

The books themselves are of an odd design. I’ve seen leather bound books during some of my travels with Master Men-Tor, but these are nothing like them. They are parchment bound in a cloth cover that is made with plant matter, specifically bark and leaves. The spines are waterproofed because almost all ponies use their mouths to grab and carry them. Additionally, the parchment is made with a rougher edge and margin due to the use of hooves and noses to turn them. It is quite ingenious, if you ask me.

Ultimately, we could find nothing in the library. Even a couple of books located in previously hidden holes were of no use, though one had an archaic mixture of the Jedi and Sith Code scrawled in a strange script. That’s when Twilight suggested that we take the train to Canterlot, the capital.

She wrote a quick letter, using her telekinesis to move the pen. I had never seen such a fine use of telekinesis before. Her penmanship was perfect and very calligraphic in its elegance. She rolled the paper and placed a small seal on it before handing it to Spike. Then, the dragon incinerated it!

A short time later, Spike belched and a letter came out of his mouth. It was from the Princess, though I decided to not dwell on the fact that a dragon’s gastrointestinal tract was their main form of communication. The letter itself said that we should make our way to the capital.

“So, how is this thing powered, again?” I asked. I was still a little amazed that they had such a powerful sense of the Force, but used very simple technology. There was electricity, but I didn’t know how it was generated and they couldn’t tell me much, either. Something about Pegasus lightning.

“It’s pulled by the engine, silly.” Pinkie Pie said. She was currently playing a game involving four lines that separated the play area into nine squares. The goal was to get three marks in a row while preventing your opponent from doing the same thing. Pinkie Pie had won three games, but Applejack kept saying that she wanted one more.

“The engine uses coal to heat the boiler and power the pistons to pull the cars on the track,” Twilight said. She was reading a book that she packed in a set of saddlebags that she wore on her back. They had her cutie mark on them, but seemed to pin her wings under them when she wore them. I thought it must have been a style.

[NOPE, IT’S BECAUSE SHE GOT THE WINGS JUST A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO]

Yes, well, thank you, Spike.

Alex was lying on my back and let out a string of chirps and squeaks.

“I know, buddy,” I told him. “But I don’t think they have airspeeders here.”

I saw the movement too late to do anything more than duck my head in a flinch. A carrot flew through the air and hit Alex where he was stretched out between my wings. The impact propelled him flat against the opposite wall. It took a moment before he slowly slid to the floor beside the carrot. The physics were very much different in this world than I was used to.

“Now, Angel,” Fluttershy said in a whispered admonishment. “I said that you should give him the carrot to be friends, not throw it at him.”

The little white rabbit turned his nose up at the pony and hopped off under one of the benches in response. When he was first introduced to Alex a couple of days ago, there was a fight. After a few minutes of being separated, Angel hopped back over and started it again. It didn’t take a Jedi to understand the rabbit had a bad attitude.

Alex shook his head and stood up, dragging the carrot behind himself. Even though he was a droid, I still understood the look in his eyes. I didn’t stop him, though. That would have been wrong. Unless he asked, I wouldn’t get involved except to stop actual injury. But, the little white fluffball was asking for it.

I lost sight of him under the bench, but then heard the unmistakable crack of a carrot breaking. He walked out a moment later with a smile, and sure enough the carrot was broken in half, holding together by a small part of the skin. He climbed back between my wings and began to munch on the produce. Angel, on the other hand, stumbled out from under the bench and fell flat on his face, a pink lump rising out of the fur on his head.

“Now, now, you two shouldn’t fi…” Fluttershy began to say. But the door behind her opened, cutting her off with a squeal of fright. She jumped out of the way, hiding behind the seat Angel had just exited from.

“Canterlot Station, three minutes,” the conductor said. He gave Fluttershy a queer look to which she shrank under her hair. Rolling his eyes, he continued through to the next car. He had a long moustache that went back along his jawline and an archaic chronometer as his mark. Was it still a cutie mark if it was on a male?

The city was beautiful. It was walled in and built near to a cliff. From Ponyville, all I could see was the palace, but there was much more. We walked through the snow-covered streets and I was amazed at the number of greetings we were receiving. It was like Ponyville, but there was something different. Then again, I realized the alicorns were something special in this land, so Twilight and I were probably more of a spectacle. Nothing I wasn’t used to as a Jedi.

We dropped Alex, Angel, and Rarity’s feline off at a grooming shop in town and made our way to the outskirts and palace proper. From this close, it was one of the grandest structures I had ever seen. It eclipsed even the grand palace complex in Theed and those of the Alderaani royal families. Its walls and towers were colored in whites, purples, and golds. Even the blanket of snow enhanced the beauty of it. Seeing it in the distance was nothing compared to actually walking through the gate.

“Why are the guards bowing?” I asked. The various ponies in golden armor were lowering their heads and bending their knees toward us as we passed.

“They’re bowing to Twilight, dear,” Rarity said. “She’s a princess.”

Twilight, on the other hand only blushed. She was trying to ignore the attention and we were speeding up to keep up with her. It wasn’t a full run, but close enough. I stumbled a little and she slowed down again. It seems that when I actually stopped and analyzed my various limbs, they decided to stop doing what they were supposed to do. Best way I can describe it is breathing. When you actually focus on it, it doesn’t work the way it should.

We were in a grand hallway, stained glass windows on either side showing strange images. I couldn’t put my finger on it… um, hoof on it, but some of the figures looked like the Twilight and the gang. It was probably just the simplistic and stylized look of the glass.

The door in front of us opened to reveal a grand throne room beyond. The guards on either side of the door didn’t bow, but I saw them tense. They were both Pegasus, and they eyed each of us with a look that I was used to seeing in the clones; assessing us for danger. Their eyes stuck on me until we passed.

The room was huge. It was ringed with more stained glass windows, illuminating it in mystifying ways. The red carpet continued down the center, the gold accent from the sides lining the regal path. The floors looked to be polished marble and the ceiling had the grandest painting I have ever seen on it. There was a three tiered dais at the far end of the room with a throne at the top. It even included a small fountain of water running down in a peaceful trickle on the lowest tier.

Seated on the throne was a sight I have only dreamed of through my meditations. She was beautiful. Her hair seemed to blow in an unseen wind along with her tail. She had wings and a long horn, and she was taller than any two ponies put together. She wore a crown and mantle of gold and shoes that crept up her forelegs, but that was not the more glaring thing about her.

Her presence was blinding. It was like looking at the sun without being able to look away. Burning heat, but at the same time, a soothing kindness shined from her. She wasn’t just strong in the Force, she was the Force. I can’t even describe it. It was like looking at the crystal of a lightsaber while standing engulfed within the blade. It was that amazing, that beautiful, and that powerful.

I shook my head and realized that the others were bowing, so I did the best I could to mimic their move. For my efforts, I almost went tail over horn, but my wings extended at the last second in an out-sweeping motion. I don’t really know how they work, but they seem like me.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia exclaimed and walked down the ramp of the throne to press her neck against Twilight’s, wrapping a hooves around each other’s shoulder. I guess that was how they hug here.

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight took a step back and turned to look at me. “This is the pony I wrote you about.”

“I am Starfire, Jedi Knight, your majesty.” I inclined my head.

She looked me over and I realized that she was not just using her eyes. I just stood there, waiting. The one time I stood before the Jedi Council on Coruscant, I received the same kind of inspection. I knew she was reading not just my expression, but my essence within the Force.

“You are not supposed to be here,” a voice said from behind me. Then, the presence hit me like a stun blast. I spun and my wings shot out in a defensive gesture to shield Celestia and Twilight. Then I froze.

What I felt was of the dark side, but it was not evil. It was strong in the dark side like Celestia in the light, but it was not dark. It made no sense to my mind. It felt like the glow of a flame upon the shadows. As with the other princess, it was just as indescribable; the pony that stood in the doorway was just as indescribable.

She was shorter than Celestia, but still taller than the other ponies. Her mane and tail blew in the same unfelt breeze as Celestia’s, but shimmered like a night sky. She was dark gray and wore an onyx crown and mantle.

“No, he is not, sister,” Celestia said, walking around me to stand beside the new alicorn. Sister? “So, tell us what you are doing here, Starfire. Twilight informed us that you would explain when you arrived and I am very interested to hear?”

I went over the full story again; every detail. We stopped for lunch, at which point formal introductions were made with Princess Luna, younger sister of Celestia and ruler of Equestria at night. I didn’t understand that, but decided not to ask. I don’t think I would have understood the explanation, or it would have simply written things off to magic which was becoming increasingly annoying.

“This story sounds familiar,” Princess Luna said after I had finished. “I believe I have read of it in the lunar library in my castle.”

“There’s a library on the moon,” Twilight’s eyes were huge.

“It contains forbidden knowledge, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, pain etching her features for just a moment. “It is my charge, but I shall study on it.”

“As I will have the scholars at the castle go through our libraries,” Celestia said. She looked at Twilight with a playful glint in her eyes, “Even the ones in the secret sections.”

Twilight plotzed. She was obsessive with her library in Ponyville and I think she was the same way whenever she came to the capital. Not that it was a problem, I enjoyed a good book, but I got more of an obsession vibe from Twilight.

“Until then,” Celestia said, walking back to the throne with Luna at her side. “Twilight, I wish you to teach Starfire of our world, our ways, and friendship.”

I lowered me head. “I do not understand this magic that you use, but it is against the Jedi code to form attachments; even friendships.”

“It is decided,” she said. She stomped her hoof and the room reverberated with the echo and an unseen power. “Twilight Sparkle, you will teach the magic of friendship to Starfire. You might be surprised what you will learn, Volund Starfire, Jedi Sentinel of the Galactic Republic.”

I never told her my title, so how did she know that…