Author's Note

Not gonna sugar coat this, it's been too long since the last chapter. But, I made a promise that I'd attempt to finish this thing.

I just got myself a brand new job which demands most of my time. I will try to get more and work on this. Especially since my muse is back for this story.

Chapter 23(Rough)

Dinky was tired. She meditated the night away, had a strange vision, and discovered she would be learning from a spirit who was once connected to the Force. Suffice to say, she had work to do.

“Fifth lap!” Dinky said. She had begun running a circuit around the palace gardens. Dinky had learned a lot in recent days. One of the lessons she had learned was that a she couldn’t rely on her powers alone. Not when she couldn’t use them. So, she had to begin a workout regiment. That meant training her body to be excellent.

“Good!” Dinky heard Discord in her ear. “Your body might be tired, but if you use the Force, you can keep going.”

Dinky frowned. “How do you know that?”

“Like I said, the more time I spend doing Jedi-like things, the more I remember.”

“And how come you’re not here?”

Discord laughed. “So I should be seen with you after being told to stay away from you?” Dinky rolled her eyes. Of course she was going to have trouble with these training sessions.

T9 was idling on the side, watching Dinky. He beeped every time Dinky finished a lap. Dinky came to a stop in front of T9.

“How did I do, T9?” Dinky asked.

T9 shook his head back and forth. “Beep boop werp doweep.”

“A tiny bit better than average is still better, T9.” Dinky patted T9’s head. “We’re going UP!”

T9 shook his head. Dinky had been getting better. However: “Beep boop woo too wee.”

“I don’t need to rest, T9. You heard what Yoda said. I need to train to even KNOW if I’m to become a Jedi.” Dinky sat down and looked at the sky. “I just want to know what I’m doing.”

Discord laughed. “See, that’s something young ponies worry about when they’re in college. Why are you worried about it now?”

Dinky sighed. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“I’m an ex-Force user turned into chaos incarnate. Try me.”

“Dinky!” Hunter was calling out to Dinky.

“It’s Hunter! Discord-”

“He can’t see me. I’m just a voice in your head. You should probably get that checked out.”

Dinky scoffed and looked towards Hunter. “Hey, Hunter! What’s up?”

Hunter pointed at T9. “I was looking for T9 actually.” Hunter walked over to T9. “Rendezvous with Bob. You’re going back to our ship to get some security updates.”

“Boop wee boo doop?” T9 asked.

“There should be some to get you compatible with. We should also get you cleaned up.”

“Woop bee roo too doo?”

“Dinky is going too last I checked.” Hunter looked over at Dinky, who nodded. “You can still monitor her there.”

T9 bounced around with excitement. Hunter never really saw such devotion from a droid. He’d have to check that as well.

“Dinky, you need to get your things together and meet with your mother. She should be waiting for you in the Throne room.” Hunter looked at Dinky’s exhausted form. “What have you been doing?”

Dinky puffed her chest out proudly. “Training! I gotta be in shape.”

Hunter chuckled. “I do appreciate the commitment to keeping in shape, but you’re a youngling. Don’t worry about it.”

Dinky sighed. “But I want to be ready for when Master Yoda gets here.”

“He won’t be coming around any time soon. Last I heard he was involved in an investigation at the Jedi Temple. That’ll take a long time.”

Dinky smiled. “What’s the Jedi Temple like?”

Hunter looked at the castle. “It’s about three times the size of the castle, with a large subsection underneath.”

Dinky looked at the castle, trying to imagine the size. “What’s it like? Is it really fancy?”

Hunter shrugged. “If I had to say, it’s more ancient than anything else. It’s been there for thousands of years. Rebuilt a few times over.” Hunter crossed his arms. “It’s like something out of time, and maintained to be that way, if that makes sense.”

Dinky frowned and stroked her chin. “Like a painting?”

Hunter nodded. “Right. It’s definitely a great place to train if you’re a Jedi.”

Dinky laughed. “Which I’m going to be.”

Hunter shook his head. “You’ve got some time to grow, kid.” Hunter walked over and grabbed Dinky’s cloak. “You gotta really make sure it’s something you really want.”

“But it is what I really want.”

Hunter gave Dinky her cloak and looked up at the sky. “There’s millions of lifeforms on this planet Dinky. And there’s so many different things someone can do.” Hunter patted Dinky on the head. “Keep an open mind. Maybe there’s something else you want to be.”

Dinky looked up at Hunter and frowned. “But this is something else! This is something great!”

Hunter ushered Dinky and T9 to follow him. “Do you want to be a Jedi? Or do you want to do something great? You have to make sure you know the difference there. The Jedi can see that.” Hunter looked down at Dinky. He could see that he had discouraged her a bit. “But… what you’re doing is just that. Learning. Seeing if you can do it.”

Dinky nodded. “That’s why I did the laps this morning. And meditated last night.”

“That Discord character really makes you think, huh.” Hunter pointed to the sky. “You know, there are a lot of worlds out there that think the Jedi don’t exist at all.”

“Really?” Dinky asked.

“They’re far away enough and disconnected enough to think of them as legends. And then when the war comes to a planet, they see the Jedi like heroes out of a story book.” Hunter laughed. “Or, at least, that’s what I’ve read.”

“I’ve heard that there were so many soldiers for the Republic. How many Jedi are there?”

Hunter furrowed his brow. “I’d say about 10,000 give or take.”

“But… that’s not a whole lot, considering they have to protect the galaxy.”

“Right. And because of the war-” Hunter stopped himself. Dinky was mature for her age, but he didn’t want her to know about how much death was happening. Especially with her heroes. “-their numbers are stretched really thin. They certainly have their hands full.”

“Is there more than just the one Jedi Temple?”

“There’s more, but they mostly serve as outposts nowadays, rather than dedicated academies.”

Hunter, Dinky, and T9 entered the castle. The walls rising well above them. Hunter looked back at T9. “You’ve probably seen your fair share of Jedi, T9. Got any stories for Dinky?”

“Beep, roop, doo wee noo weep.”

Dinky shook her head. “Wait, you traveled with a Jedi?”

“Too wee bee woo wo beep.”

Dinky laughed. “I guess that explains how you have those saber training things you have in you.”

“How did you go to traveling with a Jedi to becoming a maintenance droid?”

“Boop root rrrrap.”

“Donated, huh?” Hunter looked forward again. “Well, I guess this is pretty normal for you then.”

T9 gave an affirmative beep. Though deep in his memory banks, he still had fond memories of his old masters.

Hunter looked at the sword attached to his belt. I still have to learn how to use this. “T9?” Hunter asked. “When we have time, I need you to show me those training holos. I need to learn how to use this blade.”

“Beep boop beep beep.”

“That sounds good, T9.”