As the morning sun rose over Equestria, a sense of peacefulness filled the land. Hunter was in his room, cleaning his blaster. He had found the shower earlier in the morning and cleaned himself. His uniform was able to clean itself, thanks to very great technology. The body still needed to be attended to. It’s the Grand Army of the Republic, not the Putrid Army of the Republic. As he finished cleaning his blaster, he set it down on his already made bed and put on his armor. He was ready for the day.

“Hunter!” Spike burst through the door holding two pieces of paper. “I have a letter from Princess Celestia!” Hunter’s eyes widened as he took the papers. It must be something serious. He read the letter aloud.

Dear Hunter,

After the night we were graced by your landing, me and my sister went through the records of our explorers to see if anything relating to the Republic could be found. As fortune would have it, we did find something of interest.

Included, is a map of a region not too far from Ponyville in the Badlands. Explorers called it, “-a temple of steel.” We’re not sure what it means, but thanks to complications at the time, we were never fully able to investigate it. And explorers were never able to make it inside. We are tasking you with finding more information about this temple while Twilight and her friends join us for the Summer Sun Celebration. You needn’t worry for her safety, as an entire legion of my guards will be here protecting us.

Keep in mind, while we do call it, “Badlands”, the area has been abandoned by civilization and wildlife alike. You only have to fear the terrain, which from what Twilight has told me, you have found a way to circumnavigate with your vehicle.

Hunter nodded. The Speeder could avoid any bad terrain for the most part. Hunter rolled up the letter and walked upstairs with Spike. In the main room, Twilight was reading a book and drinking a cup of coffee. Twilight smiled at Hunter.

“Hunter! All set for the trip to Canterlot?” Twilight set down her cup.

“I just received a letter from Princess Celestia. She has found the location of what sounds like an old base.” Hunter placed the map on the table Twilight was sitting at. She nodded her head.

“Oh, the Badlands. Nopony goes out there. Nothing’s out there.” Twilight used her magic to pull a book from the shelf. It was a book on the Badlands. “Legend says it was a very deadly place for ponies, but in the last thousand years it has been quiet.” Hunter picked up the book and flipped through it. All it had was details on flat land and small canyons with some illustrations. He closed the book and set it back on the shelf it belonged to.

“In any case, I better check it out. I’ll use my speeder. That’ll get me to Canterlot on time.” Hunter knew that Princess Celestia would address the population on the Republic’s arrival, and that someone from the Republic would address them as well. Luckily, it wasn’t him.

“Hunter, who will the Republic use to address everyone?” Twilight asked. Hunter grabbed a backpack and filled it with some provisions that survived from the crash.

“If I were to guess, either Master Yoda, or Chancellor Palpatine.” Hunter put his backpack on and looked at Twilight.

“What’s Chancellor Palpatine like?” Hunter thought how to answer that.

“He’s a kind, elderly man. A really great leader that strives to make the right choices.” Twilight smiled.

“You must really like him.” Hunter nodded.

“He’s a good man. Plus, clones have to be absolutely loyal to the Chancellor. He’s the highest authority.” Hunter made his way out the door, followed by Twilight and Spike.

“How long do you think you’ll be gone? The ceremony isn’t for a few days, but nopony would like to leave anything to chance.” Outside, Hunter had his bike parked near the library. He checked his equipment and found everything was in place and ready in case of any trouble.

“No more than a day and half. If trouble comes to you, I’ll come speeding back.” Hunter said as he mounted his bike.

“And if trouble finds you?” Twilight asked.

“Handling, ‘trouble’, is my specialty.” Hunter said with confidence. Albeit, false confidence. He was worried, not having much practice in combat recently. The Timber Wolf incident was a fluke at best. I hope I can do this.

“Hunter!” Hunter and Twilight looked towards town and saw Dinky galloping towards them, with Ditsy fluttering right behind her. Speaking of trouble. Hunter got up from his speeder to greet his new friends. “It’s the weekend!” Dinky shouted.

“So it is. What brings you two here?”

“I was wondering if we could hang out.” Dinky said with a smile on her face. Ditsy placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“And I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.” Ditsy exclaimed. Hunter shook his head.

“I’m afraid we can’t do anything today. I have a recon mission that I need to get done.” Dinky looked down in disappointment. Ditsy flinched at Dinky’s sad behavior.

“We understand.” Ditsy said with a hint of melancholy. “Where are you performing recon?”

“The Badlands.” Hunter said with cold shudder. Disty smiled right up.

“The Badlands?! I’ve always wanted to see it!” Hunter looked at Twilight. Both were confused. “I heard about the excellent views of the canyons there! It’s on my list!” Hunter tilted his head.

“Your list?”

“Yeah! It’s at home, but my list is all the places I want to visit! The Badlands is tricky because it’s far away enough for me to need to fly, but also too far for me to carry Dinky or Sparkler.” Ditsy slumped. “You’re so lucky.”

Twilight poked Hunter’s legged and motioned her head towards the two and then back to the speeder. Hunter groaned. He kneeled down and whispered to Twilight.“It’s a recon mission, not a tourist ride.”

Twilight frowned. “It’s not dangerous Hunter. You can take them.”

Hunter had to make sure to hide his emotions in his voice, as they can reveal certain things. At that moment, he was annoyed. “I can’t take them.”

“Now you can. I’m ordering you to take them.”

Hunter laughed a little. “You order me?”

Twilight smiled and grabbed a tablet and scrolled through a rule book. “During a mission, Republic Officials or allies of an official government may give orders to military, so long as they don’t conflict with Republic views.” Twilight placed the tablet back and smiled.

Hunter was angry. He was overruled. He got up and looked at Ditsy and Dinky. His bad mood recovered, seeing them. He smiled. “Would you two like to come along?” He asked. The two gave large smiles.

“Would we?!” They trotted over to the speeder, waiting for Hunter. Hunter turned to Twilight.

“You should take Bob with you. He can answer any questions anyone might have. I’ll report back to Canterlot as soon as the mission is finished, your highness.” Twilight scowled at that.

“I told you not to address me as royalty.” Hunter sat on the bike.

“That changed when you pulled the chain of command on me, princess.” Hunter placed Dinky in front of him and motioned for Ditsy to sit behind him. Ditsy fluttered up and grabbed Hunter’s torso. He went into his pack and pulled out two masks. “Put these on. They’ll keep the bugs out of your mouth.” The two cringed and placed their masks on. The masks were stretchable pieces of plastic that could cover any face, given the fact the galaxy was teeming with many different kinds of species. He nodded and waved to Twilight. He revved up the engine and went speeding away to the Badlands, leaving Twilight ticked off.

!!!!!

The land passed by quickly for Dinky. She had never gone this fast before. She’d ride with her mother, who wasn’t the greatest flyer, but they’d never get this fast. Few pegasi could even get to this speed. She was also amazed by the mask she was wearing. Every bug that hit the mask would immediately disappear. She looked up at Hunter. He was very hard to read. It was probably how he was trained. Clones were trained to be cold and direct, not showing any emotion. If any force user were able to feel those emotions, they may use them to their advantage.

The terrain itself was very bare. Save for the random holes in the ground. From what Hunter could tell, the holes ran very deep into the ground. He’d have to set up markers for explorers to see them. There’s probably a cave system that runs deep into the planet. Geologists would probably have a field day. Hunter concentrated on the path before him. From what he could tell from the map Princess Celestia gave him, he wasn’t too far away. Still, he had to stay on guard. Expect the unexpected.

“HEY HUNTER!” Ditsy screamed. Hunter, who had everyone on a communication channel tied to the masks, and Dinky, just got an earful.

“Why are you screaming?” Hunter carefully replied. Ditsy looked surprised.

“How can I hear you so perfectly? It’s pretty loud out there."

“The masks and my helmet are connected with a communication channel. We don’t have to shout.”

Ditsy replied with a: “Oooooooh. Oops.” Ditsy smiled sheepishly. Hunter shook his head and concentrated. “But seriously, what do you think of the Badlands so far?” Hunter looked around at the landscape.

“To be honest, a first look at it would make it seem boring. But there’s more to it.” Hunter thought about how it would be perfect for a battlefield. Lots of cover, good places for ambushes, and flat enough for a base. But that’s not what he appreciated.

He liked the mystery the tunnels presented, the chance sighting of a plant that survived out here, and the general warm feeling in the air. It really is a nice place.

“That’s what I thought! It looks so peaceful.” Ditsy said with excitement. Dinky was excited as well, but not because of the land. She didn’t feel anything out there. Nothing strongly connected with the Force. But she did feel the place they were going to. It was mysterious. Clouded. This got her excited. Hunter looked ahead. They had found it. Out of the flat land, was a metal base that looked as though it was protruding from the land.

“I think we found our, ‘steel temple.’” Dinky smiled. Ditsy looked nervous. Hunter kept his nerve. He slowed down the bike to a stop and lifted Dinky off. Ditsy flew off and landed next to Dinky and Hunter. The ponies removed their masks and breathed in the fresh air. Hunter walked toward the base. Ditsy fluttered next to Hunter.

“What do you think is in there?” Ditsy asked. Hunter shrugged.

“I don’t know. From what I can tell, the base has been here for quite a while.” He looked around the base, which was covered in dirt. He still had to be careful, there may have been traps. “Stay still for a second. I’m going to check for traps.” He clicked at the communicator on his wrist and motioned it around the land in front of him.

The technology he was using was made to detect any kind of trap. From a simple steel trap to a nuclear weapon. From what he could tell, there was no sign of any traps, active or otherwise. He deactivated the tech and stepped forward. The fact that he was still okay was a good sign. He continued forward until he got face to face with the base. Hunter noticed something painted onto the base. He rubbed the dirt away and gasped.

“What’s wrong?” Ditsy asked. Hunter pulled out his gun. Dinky and Ditsy looked at the image before them. A skull with horns that had a menacing vibe was on the base. Hunter gripped his gun tightly. Dinky didn’t usually feel anything from Hunter. But she did feel the anxiety coming from him now.

“This wasn’t any old base,” Hunter calmly said. “This base belonged to the Mandalorians.”

Author's Note

What were Mandalorians doing there?! Stay tuned to find out!

Also, please welcome playnwin! Newest editor!