Chapters "MOTHER!"
Maul screamed as he was being pulled into the ship by two mandalorian soldiers from his now dead army. Not many beings in the galaxy knew he was the blood son of mother Talzin, who was being killed in front of his eyes by Grievous. He had lost his place alongside his master, his brother, his life, and now his mother. It was over for him, nothing was left for him to fight for, not even destroying Obi-Wan was tempting for him in that moment.
Maul was no longer feeling his body as he was being dragged inside the starship, everything felt numb, his sight no longer saw the enemy, as his heart was finally broken into pieces, pieces which could no longer be fixed, in was in that moment that he did something he thought he would never do... he was crying.
His whole life wasn´t a merry one, but his recent months since he returned to the now on war galaxy, were the darkest in his life. He was ruined, humiliated, and emotionally destroyed, not even his hatred would give him strength.
On his part, Sidious found himself smiling, a potential sith contender against his future rule was finally erased, everything could proceed as planned now that Maul was gone, but he couldn´t allow his former apprentice live, he had to be destroyed. Unknown to any of them, between Talzin´s last breaths, she would do what any mother would, she would send her son away, protecting him from the dark lord of the sith.
Everyone had little time to react as Talzin casted one last spell, the beginnings of a smile forming in her face, Sidious noticed this, but it was too late.
"NO! MOTHER!" That was the last thing Maul would say before being covered in a green light, blinding everyone within range. Palpatine tried to stop the spell, and inserted his blade into Talzin´s abdomen. The nightsister was laughing.
"Farewell my son." Doing her best to breath, Talzin turned to face the sith lord. "You loose, Sidious." With those words, Talzin dissipated from existence in a green light, her son would now be safe, in a planet far away from the outer rim.
Palpatine remained silent, doing his best to hide his frown. He had lost an opportunity, and he didn´t like that.
"Blast that ship off the sky!" Sidious ordered, getting a nod of confirmation from the general of the droid army, after that, he proceeded to leave, only to be stopped by his now apprentice, count Dooku.
"Master, what do we do about Maul?"
"Don´t worry about him, there are more important things to do." He could see the look of concern on his apprentice, making him cease his worries to avoid any further interruption. "I don´t sense him being a threat in the near future. Maul is finished, destroyed, he won´t attempt anything against us." Indeed, Maul was too weak to face them, and even though he was still alive, there were many more things at stake to focus on one loose end, Maul could wait.
Canterlot castle - Equestria
Far away from the galaxy at war, far away from the clone wars conflict, laid a planet oblivious to any external conflict, a planed that housed several pacific creatures, and although some of its inhabitants were dangerous, none of them compared to the violence seen by the galactic war, this planet is Equis, land of many unique creatures.
Inside Equis, one particular kingdom was having an annual party, this kingdom is Equestria, land of ponies. This would be a night everypony was going to remember, and not because of the greatness of the party.
Music, voices and many more noises could be heard coming out of the magnificent castle in Canterlot, a particular pink flash rushing from place to place, leaving smiles to everypony inside, it was a beautiful night, and nothing had gone wrong. The preparations for the party were a success and no accident would ruin this year´s gala, as such, it was time for a speech.
"Attention everypony! I would like to propose a toast for a successful Great Galloping Gala." Celestia, princess of the sun, said, getting the attention of everypony inside the great hall, then turned to her left and muttered silently. "... At last. Anyway, enjoy the night, we all deserve it."
Everypony inside the room clapped their hooves on the floor before proceeding with the Gala.
Amongst the several ponies inside, a group of equines were having a blast, enjoying everything the party had to offer. They were the Elements of Harmony, defenders of Equestria, and the ones who helped make the party... well it was mostly Pinkie Pie.
"Yeehaw! I was afraid this year´s gala would turn into a mess!" Applejack said, sipping her drink with a smile on her face.
"Indeed, it´s a good thing nothing can go bad now, right?" Twilight replied, instantly getting her mouth shot by Rainbow.
"Don´t tempt our luck Twi! Haven´t you noticed that everytime we say something like that, something happens?"
Twilight rolled her eyes as she pulled the pegasus´ hoof away from her mouth. "That´s just superstition Rainbow! I don´t think there´s a bad luck spirit waiting for us to say that!"
"Don´t tell me I didn´t warn you." Rainbow exclaimed, shrugging at the alicorn´s words. It wasn´t certainly the first time Twilight had been proved wrong with her assumptions, in fact, it was very true that everytime they said something like that, something bad would happen. Before Twilight could argue, Rarity entered the conversation.
"Oh! Come on darling, I´ll have to side with Rainbow on this one. Our luck isn´t the best one, it wouldn't really surprise me if a giant dragon suddenly breaks into the party."
"Oh! Oh! What about a red-faced monster with horns! That would be insidious!" Pinkie said excitedly, behind her, Fluttershy released a squeak, which wasn´t heard by the rest.
"Please Pinkie, don´t call it!" A shaken up Rainbow exclaimed, trying to avoid the pink pony from speaking any further.
On her part, Twilight was getting tired with the discussion, and decided to end it once and for all. "That´s just superstition! Come on, we finally have a successful gala, nothing bad has happened in nearly two hours, so what´s the worst thing that could happen? Let´s just enjoy the night!"
As soon as she finished her sentence, the rest of the group looked at her with uneasy eyes, which cause Twilight to roll her eyes.
"I agree with Twilight." Applejack said, getting a thank you as a response from the alicorn, but before anypony could speak, the cowpony turned to face Twilight. "But if anything bad happens tonight, it´s on you!"
"Argh!" That was the last thing Twilight said before separating from the group, heading towards the princesses, and leaving a silent group behind.
The silence lasted for a few seconds before Rainbow broke the ice. "So... umm, are you having a Pinkie sensation right now?"
"Nope." Replied Pinkie, looking at her body to perceive any anomaly. For a second everypony released a deep breath, relaxing themselves until the pink pony talked again. "Wait! I feel something on my belly!"
"Well, what does it mean?!" Asked an impatient Rainbow.
"It´s a dangerous warning! An important indication, it means..." As if she wanted to create suspense, Pinkie remained silent for a few seconds, causing the rest to expectantly stare at her, waiting for her response, finally, she spoke. "That I´m hungry! Where´s the cake!"
Everypony in the group (with the exception of Pinkie) Facehoofed, at the same time they re-released their breath. It would seem nothing bad was going to happen that night, making everypony relax.
With one last confirmation from Pinkie, the rest of the group resumed their own activities, enjoying the rest of the night. Pinkie was about to do her things, until she felt something, her entire body began to shake, it were her Pinkie senses working, telling her something dangerous was about to happen inside the place.
"Umm... g-g-girls?" Pinkie tried to call the rest of the group, but they were out of reach, and her voice wasn´t heard because of the several sounds inside the hall. The night would be totally memorable.
On her part, Twilight had started a conversation with princess Celestia, which involved information about recent events in Ponyville, how she felt about being a princess, and what she could do to be better. Twilight was Ceslestia´s pride, maybe she wasn´t her first protégée, but she was certainly the one with the purest heart, she had to be to have friends like the ones she has. A true master of magic, paying respect to her cutie mark.
The day Celestia made her an alicorn, she could feel happiness trying to burst out from her, Twilight deserved it.
"It´s been quite a few months since the castle was formed in Ponyville, I still miss my library, my home." Twilight released a sad sigh from the memories, but was quickly replaced with a thins smile. "At least Spike is enjoying our new home, even though he hates having to organize a library twice the size of my old tree house."
Celestia released a small chuckle, then cleared her throat to speak.
"You know? I´m very proud of you Twilight, you have exceeded every expectation, and you continue to grow." Her words made the purple alicorn release a wider smile. "I know being a princess isn´t an easy task, but I´m sure you´ll be able to..."
A few seconds passed as Twilight waited for Celestia to finish her sentence, she never did. With curiosity she looked up to face the princess, getting shocked by the sight. Her mentor lied completely frozen in place, staring blankly at the nothing.
"Princess? Princess! What´s wrong!" Out of desperation, Twilight poked Celestia´s arms with her hoof. "Come on, Princess! What´s wro..."
Before she could finish her sentence, a loud noise interrupted the party, followed by a bright green light emanating from the middle of the room, and causing everypony to panic.
"What is that?" Twilight asked to herself, then got into combat position.
The light remained for a few seconds, until it began to diminish.
"Twilight! Any idea on what the hay is that?!" Applejack asked as she approached the equally shocked alicorn.
"I don´t know, I just hope it´s not problems!"
"At least I can put the blame on ya!" Applejack smiled, getting the attention of Twilight.
"For the last time, it wasn´t..."
"Mother, no... mother!"
That was it. What came inside the light caught everypony off guard, chilling their entire bodies. For a moment, Twilight lowered her guard, as the voice that spoke, clearly screamed pain. It sounded like crying, as every sentence was followed by a sob. Somepony was clearly in pain, due to this, Twilight decided to get close, the rest of the group tried to follow, but the new princess placed a hoof in front of them, motioning for them to cease their advance.
"Excuse me, sir?" The alicorn spoke, trying to get a look on who was amongst the light. "Are you alright? We can help you if you´re hurt."
The voice didn´t answer, focusing instead in sobbing.
"Please, come out, we can´t help you if you don´t..." Before she could finish her sentence, Twilight released a loud gasp. Between the dissipating green light, didn´t lay a pony, but something else. A tall creature with red face, and several horns on his head, laid kneeled down on the floor, simply watching at the ground, and not even bothering in looking around him.
It wasn´t long before everypony in the hall released a collective gasp, but nopony ran around in panic, they were terrified, though. Twilight however, had defeated her fear, which was replace by sadness and pity, as the creature in front was clearly at the brink of complete sadness, and from the words he was speaking, it was clear he had just lost his mother.
"I don´t know what you are, but I can see you´re in pain, please! Let me help you."
Once again, the figure didn´t answer.
Getting all of her courage, Twilight finally decided to get closer to the creature, once in front of him, she placed a hoof on his shoulder, trying to gain his attention.
"What is it? Why are you... UGH!" Out of nowhere, and for the horror of everypony, Twilight was being lifted from the floor, as if an invisible force had taken hold of her throat.
"Leave... me... ALONE!" Maul screamed in anger, as he stood up, and got closer to the alicorn to have direct eye contact with her.
"Hey! I don´t care what kind of freak you are, but you´re going to release my friend!" Rainbow replied, followed by the rest of the group, who were in combat position. However, Maul wasn´t scared, on the contrary, he was pissed, and broken, but mainly pissed.
To the horror of everypony, he seemed to tighten his grip on the young alicorn.
"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!"
"Then release Twilight!" Applejack screamed, her teeth clenching.
Maul was about to answer, when a powerful blast hit him, forcing him to release his grasp on Twilight.
"Twilight!" Celestia said, as she approached to the young alicorn, who was struggling to breath. "Are you alright?"
"yes, prin- cough! princess, I´m cough! cough! Alright."
"Elements! Get Twilight to safety while I deal with the creature!" Celestia ordered, and immediately, the group complied and proceeded to help Twilight to her hooves. Celestia then ordered the rest at the gala to head outside.
Once the princess was alone with the creature, she continued her approach, until she felt something. Rocks, candles, dishes and many more things around the enormous hall began to float in the air, then the floor began to shake, after a few seconds a loud scream came from under a pile of debris.
Rocks flew everywhere, as the creature from before roared in the air, before stretching both of his arms in front of him. Celestia had little time to react before an invisible force pushed her towards the other side of the hall, making her violently crash against a wall.
Pulling herself on her hooves, Celestia teleported behind the creature and released another blast, which was dodged by the raging Maul. Celestia blasted again, this time successfully striking the creature, who wasn´t entirely focused.
The princess slowly approached Maul, her horn glowing against him. Once in front of him, she prepared to strike, until he spoke again.
"What are you waiting for? End me!"
Instantly, Celestia turned off her horn, and wide opened her eyes. In all of her years of existence, she had never found a villain wishing to be dealt with, but maybe this creature was something else, her thoughts were soon cut short.
"Please! Just finish with this!"
"... No!" Celestia answered.
"You... will... end me... NOW!" Maul screamed, as he pushed the princess once again, this time Celestia managed to avoid hitting the wall, and teleported in front of the creature, who was now kneeling down on the floor.
"Who are you?" Celestia asked, her voice softening up.
Maul didn´t answer.
"Do you remember who you are?" She asked again.
"Always remember I am fear, always remember I am hunter, always remember I am filth, always remember... I am nothing!"
Celestia sighed at the response, and tried once again. "I know you´re in pain, but you have attacked two princesses, I´m sure you´ll understand if we take you to a cell, but we´ll talk in the morning, and I hope you are more cooperative by then."
Even though it was a threat, her voice was oddly soft.
"Do whatever you want."
With that, Celestia nodded, and proceeded to call a couple of guards. In the next half an hour, Maul was being taken to a cell for the rest of the night. This year, the gala has been ruined, but something bigger was about to begin.
The rest of the attendants left the palace and headed to their respective houses. Meanwhile the Elements decided to stay in Canterlot, there was much to do the next morning.
"Tough night, uh? Tia." Luna, princess of the night, said.
Celestia, who was sitting in a desk next to her bed, placed her hooves under her chin, and sighed before speaking. "Oh! You have no idea, I even dare to say it was one of the weirdest nights of my life, and that´s saying something."
Luna walked towards the balcony, bathing herself with the bright stars of the night, then cleared her throat to speak. "Has he spoken? Did he tell you his name? What do we know about him?"
Celestia sighed once more. "He hasn´t opened his mouth, he only remains sitting on the floor, as if he was meditating. Every soldier I send him can´t resist two hours with him, they say they feel uneasy, like if there was some kind of negative energy emanating from him."
"And?" Luna asked, making Celestia turn to face her, her face holding a grim expression.
"They are right. There is something strange about him, like some kind of magic that makes my skin crawl."
"Has Twilight said something?" Luna asked, and waited for a few seconds for the answer, which never came. "Tia? Did you listen to me?"
"Those eyes... those unsettling yellow eyes..."
"Tia?" Luna asked again, this time getting a response from her sister.
"I have faced many emotions from the stares of my enemies, but never in my life, have I come across a pair of eyes such as his." Celestia stared blankly into the sky. "So much hatred, insanity, greed... sadness, pain."
"I suppose I should head down to meet our guest." Lune decided, heading towards the door, until she was stopped by her sister.
"You sure you want to do it? You don´t exactly have the patience for that."
"Relax sister, the worst thing that could happen is me blowing up the cell blocks." Luna smirked before heading out of her sister´s room, leaving Celestia with a deadpan expression.
Maul had wasted at least one day inside his cell, enough time for him to relax and use his brain, as much as he could, of course, considering the great amount of noises coming from the other prisoners.
The loss of both his brother and mother still weighted heavily on his heart, but this was no time to grief. First, where was he? His appearance in this place was clearly done by his mother´s hand, but why? Why this place? Next, he would need to escape if he doesn´t succeed in reaching a solution with the leaders of this planet.
The cell he was in would never be able to contain the former sith lord, as he noticed the rusty bars, clearly not the brightest idea, but he couldn´t allow himself to attract any unwanted attention, it was in moments like this, that he thanked his old master for his teachings. Patience, he had to be patient and wait for his opportunity.
While meditating on the floor, Maul opened his eyes, his sight getting a good look on the guards of his cell... pathetic. The Equine creatures in front of him were doing their best to hide the fact they were shaking, Maul´s presence was unsettling.
Next, he looked around him, trying to get a look at the rest of the ponies imprisoned with him, none of them presenting a real threat, although he could feel power coming from some of them, especially the guards assigned to him. It was strange, it wasn´t light nor dark, it was something else, plus not everypony seemed to share the same amount, no, some of them were more powerful than the others, especially the large white equine, who introduced herself as Celestia, princess of the kingdom of Equestria. He would have to learn more about this later.
Soon enough his thoughts were cut short, as the door from the entrance of the cell blocks opened. Maul had expected Celestia with a new set of questions for him, and although his assumption about a new barrage of questions was true, the one who would ask them was not. Instead of Celestia, another equine came down. this one was very similar to the princess, with the exception of her dark blue coat and mane, and the different mark on her flank, this one representing the moon. Does this have some kind of connection? Another thing he would have to find out later.
Maul closed his eyes once again, pretending to continue his meditation, it was a relief he was pretending, as the huge amounts of noise coming from the prisoners after Luna´s entrance were enough to anger the former sith lord.
He heard hooves approaching him, followed by ´I need to speak with the prisoner´and a ´Very well your majesty´. Majesty? Another princess? The queen?
"Good night creature." Luna spoke, her voice trying to be calmed. Maul didn´t answer. "It has come to my understanding that you negate to speak." Again, no answer, Luna was getting impatient. "It has also been of my understanding that you lost somepony recently." At last she got the former sith lord´s attention.
Maul opened his eyes, his gaze meeting with Luna´s, who was taken aback by his sight. Just as Celestia said, his eyes were unsettling, let alone the strange energy coming from him. Luna found herself sweating.
A few seconds passed before Luna decided to talk. "I just need to know your..."
"What is that image on your side?" At last he had spoken, his voice being calmed and low, but creepy enough to send chills down the princess of the night´s spine.
Luna took a few seconds to answer, after a shake from her head, of course. "T-this is my cutie mark, everypony has one, it tells you what you are good for."
"I see." Maul replied, his voice still calmed. He had one answer, but it was hard for him to know the meaning of her ´cutie mark´ as she called it, what was her connection to the moon? The former sith lord continued speaking. "That guard called you ´majesty´, are you the queen?"
"N-no, I´m the princess of Equestria." Luna answered, making Maul look at her with confusion.
"I thought Celestia was the princess."
"My sister and I share a co-rule." Luna answered again, on his part, Maul had his eyes wide open, was there any king or queen in this place?
"So, she´s your sister? Humm. I had a brother once."
"Once?" At first, Luna didn´t seem to get the meaning of Maul´s words, until he lowered his head in regret, an expression of anger, mixed with sadness was visible on his face, that´s when it hit her. "...I´m sorry."
"Don´t be." Maul answered, his eyes still shut off.
Luna took a few seconds to ask a question. "Could you at least tell me your name?"
The former sith lord opened his eyes again, and looked directly into Luna. Not long had passed before he spoke. "...Maul."
"Luna." The princess of the night said.
"A pleasure meeting you Princess Luna." Maul replied, standing up from his meditation pose.
Luna was getting more and more comfortable around Maul. "Where do you come from?"
"Far away from this planet, far away from the galactic war, that is IF this planet is in the outskirts of the outer rim."
Maul´s words stroke hard against the princess of the night, who found herself blinking more than usual. Their ´guest´ was from the outer space, from another planet. It was the first time in the history of Equis, were they had contact with an alien, truly an incredible discovery. Luna opened her mouth to speak, when suddenly...
"Hey Luna! Why don´t you come here and suck this!" One of the prisoners screamed while pointing with his hoof at his crotch. It wasn´t long before another joined, then another, then another. Luna tried to continue her talk with Maul, but was unable due to the recent circumstances, Maul however, had a furious look on his face.
Finally after a few seconds, the former sith lord exploded, and in a moment, every prisoner inside were levitated, each one of them grabbing their throats. Luna tried to think what to make out of this, until she spotted Maul, that power was clearly coming from him.
"Maul stop!" The former sith lord was too lost to listen. "MAUL!" Finally, every prisoner was released, all of them falling to the ground, and leaving a wide opened eyes Luna looking at him. "How? You channel your magic from your hands, but not from your... horns."
"Magic?" Maul was found dumbfounded, he knew magic pretty well, his mother being an expert at it, but this kind of power was unknown to him.
"You mean to tell me you don´t know about magic?" Luna asked.
"With all due respect, I would prefer to answer any questions you have with both you and your sister." Maul finally found his opportunity.
Luna took a few seconds to think of this offer, after that, she finally found the answer, but first she had to know something. "You could have spoken with my sister when she came before, you know? Why did you speak with me?"
"I´ve just returned from a loss." Luna cringed once she heard those words, of course, nopony would feel comfortable to speak after an event like that.
"Very well." Luna finally spoke. "You will be out of your cell tomorrow morning, I hope you will answer our questions by then." Was she serious? The creature had attacked both Twilight and Celestia, and she had just agreed to release him. Luna felt bad for him, so much in fact that she agreed to release him, the princess of the night knew very well what it is to loose family.
"Thank you, your majesty." Maul made a reverence as Luna turned around to leave the cell blocks but she went out, Luna turned to face the former sith lord,
"Good night Maul." He simply nodded as the princess of the night went outside.
It was done, he succeeded in reaching a pacific solution, it was only a matter of time before he would discover more about this world, and how it would all benefit him, he could certainly use everything this planet had to offer, there was a lot of potential, especially in that little purple mare. Then it stroke him, was she a princess as well? Another question he would ask later, for now, it was time to rest.
Maul walked towards the small bed behind him, and proceeded to rest, until...
"Hey! Freak! Once I get out of here, I will cut you in half!" One of the prisoners, the one who had spoken against Luna in fact, was threatening him, bad mistake.
Maul stood up from his bed, and walked towards one side of his cell, and looked directly at the pony.
"Hey! What´s wrong with you? Are you retarded or somethin... ugh!" ´Cut you in half´ not a pleasant thing to say to the former sith lord, this scum had hit a low point.
CRACK!
In the blink of an eye, the pony´s neck snapped, and seconds later, his body fell to the floor. Maul couldn´t help but to release a small smirk. Once again in his bed, the former sith lord stared at the ceiling, lost in thought; aside from the purple mare, Luna emanated a strange magic, a somewhat evil magic, almost resembling the dark side, although in small quantities. Many questions for him, luckily, the next day everything would be answered.
Finally, it was time to properly know the guest named Maul. It was a terrifying noon for Twilight, as she was the one who had direct contact with him, and that didn´t turn out pretty well. Her neck still had the sensation, not a pleasant thing.
Contrary to how Twilight was feeling, the rest of the group were somewhat furious, nopony would ever dare to attack any of their friends. Some say there´s only one first impression, and Maul´s wasn´t a good one.
Everypony was waiting inside the dining room until Luna came back from the cell blocks.
Tick, tock, tick, tock...
The clock gave the perfect plus to an already silent and awkward moment, none of the ponies present were talking, each one thinking about the new guest, and how it would all play out.
Rarity was furious, as well as Applejack, and especially Rainbow; Pinkie and Fluttershy were too, although less. Twilight was terrified, she was scared of Maul, and the mysteries he carried; Celestia was only nervous, clearly visible by the sweat running down her face.
Tick, tock, tick, tock...
"Agh! How long is it going to take to bring that freak here?!" Rainbow screamed in desperation, her head bumping against the table. "It´s been like five hours already!"
"It has only been half an hour." Twilight said with a deadpan expression.
"But it feels like five!" Rainbow replied, followed by a small roar.
"Stop it Rainbow! You ain´t making it better." Applejack exclaimed, giving her friend a hard look, Rainbow roared once again.
"I mean, come on! That guy attacked Twilight AND the princess, shouldn´t we be kicking that freak´s buck?"
"I agree with her," Rarity entered the conversation, "that brute clearly isn´t one to be trusted."
"What if he only wants a hug and a party!" Pinkie´s words made Rainbow facehoof.
"You can´t be serious Pinkie..."
"Why not, didn´t you hear he lost his mommy?" Pinkie replied, hugging herself with her hooves in an exaggerated manner.
As the small discussion continued, Celestia was simply watching the whole thing unfold. A small smirk appeared on her face once it was all resolved, they had come to the conclusion to let Maul explain his actions, and give him a second chance, the same way everypony deserves one. It was in times like this that Celestia remembered why they were chosen to be the elements, pure heart amongst the rest of the ponies. Finally Celestia´s thought were cut short.
"What do you think princess?" Twilight asked.
"I believe we should be patient and wait, we should also avoid antagonizing Maul before knowing him." Celestia answered, later noticing how much time had passed. "Although my sister has taken a little too long, I wonder what might have happened."
Luna had eagerly accepted being the one to bring Maul to the dining room, she had taken a lot of interest in him. Something about the former sith lord felt familiar.
Luna´s smiling face came down into the cell blocks, until she noticed the dead corpse and the hysteric guards surrounding Maul´s cell, which contained a smiling Zabrak sitting at the edge of his bed, and with his hands under his chin. His smile was certainly an evil one.
"Would you care to tell me why you killed this prisoner?"
"He lost his life because of a mistake he made." Maul answered, his voice calmed as ever.
"I presume that ´mistake´ involves you." Luna said, her face holding a slight frown.
"That scum had insulted you, a princess, which in my book should be enough for acquiring a dead sentence." Maul answered, his small grin disappearing from his face.
Luna sighed before talking. "I don´t know how things worked where you come from, but know that here we try to be as pacific as possible, even with our enemies, I suggest you follow that rule if you wish to be treated with justice."
Maul didn´t like being treated like that, being told what to do like a mere child, but he was alone in this world, with no form of escaping, and with a powerful sith lord waiting for his return. Maul wouldn´t risk himself as foolishly as he did last time.
There was a lot of opportunity in this planet, that much was true, but he would have to play his cards carefully if he was to discover what this place had to offer, from there, he would craft a plan. There really wasn´t much point in starting a battle in this new place, he had to discover everything it had and how it could serve him, then maybe get his revenge against SIdious or simply let himself be carried by the will of the force. Right now one thing was for sure, he would never forget Luna´s words...
Maul clenched his fist before speaking, and doing his best to hide his anger. "Very well princess, I apologize for this."
"Even though your apology won´t bring this pony back, you should know that he was to be encased in stone, his fate would have been sealed regardless of your actions, AND contrary to my sister, I do agree that we should use more severe punishments with scum like him." Luna pointed with her hoof towards the corpse of the pony. She didn´t notice it, but Maul had released a small smirk after hearing her words. "We should head out now Maul, the rest are waiting for you." Finally, the frown on Luna´s face had disappeared from her face, being replaced with a smile.
Maul followed behind, placing his hands behind him. Luna instructed one of the guards to get rid of the body before heading out of the cell blocks.
Luna nor Maul noticed, that once they left, everypony inside released the breaths they were holding, peace at last.
Princess and sith were walking across the several hallways of the castle, heading towards the dining room. Maul was looking the whole time at his surroundings, but not because of the beautiful architecture, but because it would serve him to know the layout of the place. Very few things surprised him anymore.
Moments later, Maul found himself lost in thought. The magic in this place was strange, and the ponies (especially Celestia, Twilight and Luna) were powerful wielders. He himself knew his fare share of magic, although not on the same level as his mother´s, that´s when he remembered something.
"Excuse me princess Luna, if I could ask you something?"
"What is it Maul?" Luna asked, never taking her sight off the path.
"I feel the energy emanating from every pony in Equestria, and although each one´s power levels are different, they are all of the same kind, but yours..." Luna was taken aback by this, it wasn´t the fact that he could sense magic users, but that he was able to sense her small quantity of dark magic, her other side. Luna was sweating, her heart was racing, as it wasn´t a pleasant memory to remember.
Luna gulped before asking. "What´s wrong with mine?" She asked as softly as she could, trying to hide the fact that she was suffering, unknown to her, Maul sensed it, he released a thin smile as a result.
"Why does yours feel... evil?"
Suddenly Luna stopped on her tracks, then turned to face Maul, her head hanging lightly. "I´m sorry Maul, it is not a thing I like to talk about." Maul looked at her with a face of confusion, doing his best to hide his satisfaction, he had finally found remnants of the dark side inside the princess of the night, remnants that could serve him in the future if the chance was presented. Luna noticed the ´confused´look Maul had on his face, and decided to let things clear. "I was a terrible beast in my past, a side of me I try to forget, as it brought so much pain."
Maul was a master in faking feelings, this time it was no different. Placing his hand on Luna´s shoulder, he spoke. "I understand princess Luna, if you ever need to talk with someone, I would gladly hear you."
Luna released a small smile, and lifted her face to face Maul. "Thank you. Now we should hurry, the rest should be getting impatient by now."
With that, Luna turned around and continued walking, followed by a smirking Maul, so far, everything was going fine.
Along the way, Luna got curious and slightly turned to face Maul. "I´ve been wanting to ask you, what is that thing you carry on one side of your torso?"
Maul blinked for a few seconds, trying to figure out what she meant by that, when he suddenly remembered. The former sith lord proceeded to grab the small object, his trophy, his darksaber. He suddenly felt satisfaction in knowing he still had his weapon, but how would Luna react, in all honesty, lying would only make things worse, it was better to come clean about that subject.
"This is my darksaber, an elegant weapon for a civilized age."
That definitely got Luna´s attention, who turned around to face him once more. "A weapon? May you give a demonstration?"
Maul complied, and proceeded to turn the saber on. From the handle a beam of black energy came out, surrounded by a white light. Maul went to grab a jar on his right, before facing Luna. "May I?"
With a nod from her head, Maul went to levitate the jar before striking it with his saber, cutting the object in half. Luna had her eyes wide open.
"What kind of energy is that?"
"It´s plasma." Maul answered, the princess of the night nodded slightly as a response before continuing their walk. She began to wonder whether if it would be a good idea to relinquish this weapon or not, but she figured it wasn´t necessary, Maul would have already done something by now.
After a few minutes, the pair had finally arrived at the dinning room. Inside were the Elements, alongside Celestia. All of them felt their hearts racing once they heard the door opening.
From the entrance came Luna, followed by Maul, who got a good look at the ponies present. On the right a blue pegasus, an orange earth pony and a slightly scared Twilight were sitting. To his left he could spot a white unicorn, a yellow pegasus, and strangely happy pink pony. Finally at the head of the table, laid Celestia.
All eyes were staring directly at him, some held angry looks, others curiosity, and only two... fear. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Celestia broke the ice.
"I see the cat finally decided to give your tongue back." She smiled.
Maul chuckled. "It appears to be the case princess Celestia, I apologize for my rude behavior."
"As long as it doesn´t happen again, there is no problem." Celestia replied. "Now, I believe is time for a proper introduction." The alicorn stood up. "I am princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria alongside my sister Luna." She pointed at the rest present. "These six are the Elements of harmony." Elements of harmony? Now it was getting interesting. "this is Pinkie pie, Element of laughter; Fluttershy, kindness; Rarirty, generosity; Rainbow Dash, loyalty; Applejack, honesty, and my precious student, Twilight Sparkle, the element of magic, and most recent princess."
The last one, who Celestia introduced as Twilight, was shaking heavily. Maul instantly recognized her, she was the first pony he met, the one he used his force choke with.
If he was to carry on with his plan, he would have to be accepted inside the circle. The princesses were incredibly powerful, even more than him, and there was no chance for him to win in a fight against the two... for now at least. With this in mind, Maul cleared his throat to speak.
"I remember you." The sith got Twilight´s attention, who was trying to keep eye contact with him. "I am sorry for having treated you like that, I know you were only trying to help, please accept my apologies."
Twilight was about to answer when Rainbow interrupted.
"And why should Twi accept your apology?" In Maul´s face the beginning of a frown was appearing. "You attacked her, and Princess Celestia as well, not mentioning that you´re red and ugly!"
If he didn´t had the experience to deal with these kind of scumbags, Maul would have probably already used his dark saber to gut her, but she was tenting him, and her luck was going to run out sooner or later. Luckily for the pegasus, and to the surprise of everypony, Twilight interrupted before she or Maul could speak.
"Rainbow please, Princess Celestia said we shouldn´t antagonize Maul before knowing him, and he already apologized, there is no need to be rude with him."
"But he did that thing and... and he hurt you, and..." Rainbow tried to continue, until she saw Twilight staring at her with a hard expression, making the pegasus roar in desperation, Maul however, was smiling in victory, these ponies were really easy to fool...
"I don´t know Twi, his apology looks kind of genuine, but something about him doesn´t add up." Maul never expected Applejack to look under his mask, thankfully the suspicion wouldn´t last.
"If you are done gossiping unjustly about me, I would like to proceed with this meeting reunion." Maul interrupted, a frown visible on his face. "I know I hurt your friend, I already apologize, and I would like to have the respect I deserve."
"He is right girls, we should let Maul talk." Celestia added.
Applejack nor Rainbow trusted in him, they could certainly feel something VERY bad about him, as such, they wouldn´t let their guard down around him... Maul would do the same.
The former sith lord had found the ones he would have to be careful with. Applejack really lived up to her title, she would be hard to fool, Rainbow as well, but not for the same reasons. The pegasus wasn´t the brightest bulb around, but she wasn´t a complete idiot either, Maul would have to up his game and use his brain. Aside from those two, the rest should be easy.
"Maul, please have a seat." Luna instructed, and proceeded to take her sit next to him. The two of them being at the other end of the large table, once all settled, the talk began.
"So, Maul, what exactly happened before yesterday?" Celestia asked.
"As you are all aware of, I..." Maul lowered his gaze. "I went through a terrible loss."
"We know it was your mother, if I may ask, what was her name?" Luna asked.
Maul took a few seconds to answer "...Talzin."
Celestia felt something strange, the name was familiar to her, although she couldn´t remember where she heard it before. Maul continued speaking.
"Mother and I were defending our lives against those who betrayed us, those who used us as puppets, my mother fell in the battle. I believe she was the one who send me here, but I don´t know the reason for that."
"Battle? Sent you here? Does she know magic?" Twilight asked, her curiosity for Maul growing.
"My mother was a powerful witch, she helped me and my brother many times."
"And this brother of yours?" Celestia asked, noticing the sad look on both Maul and Luna.
The princess of the night was the one who answered. "He died."
Everypony at the table suddenly had a change of heart towards Maul, they saw him as a mere victim of evil, and suddenly they felt empathy for the former sith lord, causing them to lower their guards, especially Applejack and Rainbow... fools.
Rainbow would be the next one to ask a question. "What was your brother´s name?"
Maul looked at her, he hadn´t forgotten about her little episode, but at least they weren´t antagonizing him. "His name was Savage Opress."
Without Maul expecting it, a Pink flash came rushing towards him, instantly wrapping itself around the sith´s torso, later revealing herself as a crying Pinkie.
"So sad... so, so... SAD!" Maul didn´t know what to make out of this, he wasn´t used to affection, his whole life had been full of torture, this was the first time someone hugged him. The sith looked from Pinkie to the rest sitting at the table.
Everypony couldn´t help but to smile when they noticed the look he had on his face, it was a face of desperation mixed with confusion.
"Come on sugarcube, not everypony likes being hugged, and by the look on Maul´s face its obvious he isn´t used to affection." Applejack said, then turned to face Maul. "No offence partner."
"None taken." The sith replied, his face still holding confusion.
Luna chuckled before talking. "Pinkie tends to be very emotional, she can´t stand watching somepony suffer. None of we do..."
Maul didn´t answer, he was on a loss for words.
The talk continued with less personal questions, like Rarity asking what was he thinking when he decided to wear those hideous clothes, or Pinkie asking if she could paint his horns pink. All in all it was a pleasant talk... until Twilight asked something.
"What did you do before coming here?"
Maul was taken by surprise, sure he had expected them to ask him that question, but after clearing suspicions about him, he thought it wouldn´t be a topic in the conversation anymore. Luckily he had already formed an answer.
"I was the apprentice of the most powerful being in the galaxy, until I was robbed of my destiny. Long story short, my master betrayed me, whereas I fought to achieve peace, he used me as a puppet to achieve his goals, at least until I served him no more... he is the one who killed my brother, the one who attacked me and my mother."
Silence prevailed for a few seconds in the room, until Rarity spoke.
"Was he the one who ruined you?"
"From a point of view, yes. You see, the are two factions connected to a power known as the force, the Jedi and the Sith." Maul answered, once again getting everypony´s attention. It wasn´t long before Luna asked.
"What is the force?"
"It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together."Maul answered, noticing the amazed looks on everypony.
"What do you mean with ´created by all living things´" Celestia asked, her confused expressions matching the rest present at the table.
Maul decided to give a demonstration, and soon almost everything inside the dining room was floating. "The force is inside all of us, even if you don´t know it, It´s what connects us as living beings, what gives us strength if we desire so. Although that depends in the capacities of each individual. True, we are all connected to the force, but not everyone is able to use it."
"You say there are two factions, and usually one of those two tends to be evil, so which one is, Jedi or Sith?" Twilight asked.
"There is no good or evil, we simply do what we think is best from our point of view." The former sith lord´s answer left most of the ponies present at the table, scratching their heads, with the obvious exception of Luna, Celestia and Twilight.
"Very well, I think is time that we let Maul rest from all these questions." Twilight released a sad look, and proceeded to hide her pencil and notebook. Celestia continued speaking. "I have some important things to attend to, and I´m sure the Elements want to spare the day as they wish. I understand now that we thought wrong about you Maul, you are free to get a tour of Canterlot, I will send a guard to guide you." Celestia ended the meeting with those words, but before everypony could stand up, Luna interrupted.
"Don´t call any guard sister, I will gladly give Maul a tour around the kingdom."
"Very well Luna." Celestia smiled, then turned to face the rest. "Very well, the meeting is over, enjoy this day, for tomorrow you head back to ponyville."
"Excuse me princess, what about Maul?" Twilight asked.
"That should be his decision." With that, she turned to face the former sith lord. "Maul?"
"I have taken inteterest in knowing this place you call ´Ponyville´, maybe that should be my next stop, at least until I decide what to do in this planet."
"Very well Maul, you shall head to Ponyville with the rest of the Elements tomorrow." Celestia answered with a thin smile.
Once all settled, Luna approached the former sith lord. "Come on Maul, we have much to see."
"And I have much to ask, thank you for this princess Luna." Maul answered, at last he would have the opportunity to know more about the planet and it´s living beings, as well as the kind of magic they use. He wondered what use this kind of knowledge could have, soon his thoughts were cut short.
"Maul, please just call me Luna." The princess of the night smiled, before turning to face the door to head out.
"As you wish... Luna." Before Maul could head outside, he stopped in cold, as a familiar feeling stroke him.
"Anything wrong?" Luna asked the Zabrak, who looked around him trying to find the source, finally he faced the princess of the night.
"It´s nothing, just a little explosion of power, but it happens all the time."
Luna simply smiled in confirmation before heading outside the dining room. Maul had sensed the dark side, no, it certainly wasn´t Sidious or the sith pretender Dooku, but whoever it was, it was strong (Not as strong as his, though). The disturbance wasn´t near, in fact it was a few kilometers away from Canterlot, but it was approaching the kingdom. Finding the source could have some benefits for him, this place wasn´t aware of the force, that meant there could not be sith in the planet, and that could also mean he could have a new apprentice soon, if the being was seduced.
Luna and Maul found themselves walking across the gardens, the princess of the night had chosen that place to start, as it was one of the things which was admired the most in Canterlot. The walk wasn´t silent nor awkward, on the contrary, it was full of talk, mainly Luna explaining its history, and Maul was surely listening to every words she said.
There were small times where the duo stopped, thanks to a question coming from Maul, or a citizen greeting Luna... and later running away from fear of the Zabrak. All in all it was a pleasant walk.
"You told me about those Cutie Marks, but what does yours and Celestia´s represent?" Maul asked, as they both passed in front of a mountain. The sith lord traveled the whole way with both hands on his back, rarely making any move with them.
Luna stopped in front of the fountain, and faced Maul. "Me and my sister are in charge in bringing forth both the sun and the moon, the fact of who does what, is pretty obvious."
"Obvious it is, Luna, although I can´t quite catch the meaning of ´bringing forth both the moon and the sun´." Maul replied, placing himself alongside the princess of the night, who was staring at her reflection on the water of the fountain.
"We control those celestial bodies, Maul, we are in charge of raising them." Now that was interesting. Maul found himself once again on a loss for words, if these princesses could control celestial bodies, that meant their magical prowess was a high level one, he had to be careful around them.
Before Maul could ask another question, Luna took the silence to release one of her own. "You talked about those two factions, Jedi and Sith." Maul turned to face her. "Which one are you?"
That question... Maul could no longer feel the right to call himself a sith, not after his pathetic performance against Sidious, but he was still one, and that would never change.
"I´m a sith."
Luna turned to face him. "You know? Jedi sounds rather peaceful, whereas sith... it surely sends chills down my spine." Maul had expected this, after all, sith caused fear in the hearts of others, however he would never expect what came next. Luna smirked before talking. "I like it."
Maul was for the third time on a loss for words, and soon enough it would not surprise him, this place was stranger than he could have thought.
Maul could spot the princess staring directly at him, her eyes penetrating the Zabrak, at least until he broke the contact, this time it was him who was watching his reflection.
Luna decided to break the awkward moment. "I believe we should continue with the tour."
Maul simply nodded before following her.
As the duo went out of the gardens, the silence was surely incommoding them. Maul was doing his best to look around him, Luna on the other hand was pursuing her lips, thinking on what to say next. They passed through the tables, just a few meters away from the entrance door.
Maul began to think about how Canterlot reminded him of Naboo: The clear blues skies, the monumental buildings, the enormous castle, the green grass fields; it was a sense of Déjà vu.
Upon making this connection with the planet, Maul felt a tingling sensation on the midsection of his body, making him place a hand in his torso, the place were the start of his organic legs were.
Luna took notice of this, but decided to let it pass.
They continued walking in silence, until they reached the entrance to the castle, that´s when Maul decided to ask.
"Where are we going now?"
Luna took a deep breath, trying to relax herself, then turned to face the Zabrak, who was just opening the door and waiting for her to get inside first. "I´m thinking we should visit the royal library, then head to the throne room, so I can tell you a bit more about the history of the kingdom." She smiled. "Sound good?"
"Should be interesting." Maul answered, making a little nod with his head, then motioned for the princess to get inside. "After you."
Luna smiled as she entered the castle, Maul followed behind.
Some of the subjects inside ran away upon taking sight of the sith, he however did not care, as Celestia had said she would take care of that, and keep up to date the kingdom about Maul´s presence, this did not stop them from running away after seeing a big red demon walking around.
After a few moments of walking in silence, the Zabrak asked something he wanted to know earlier.
"I must ask Luna, why did you trust me with granting me freedom from my cell, especially after you only met me for such a short time?"
Luna smiled, and answered without turning to face him.
"I must admit you don´t look like a charm at the first sight, however we shouldn´t antagonize anypony without knowing him, but why do you ask?" She turned slightly to face him, and grinned playfully. "Are you a danger to us, Maul?"
The Zabrak released a smirk, and ´mocked´"Indeed I am, Luna."
"Then I suppose I should have my eye on you at all times." Luna joked back, Maul chuckled.
"I thought it was supposed to be a punishment." Luna blushed upon hearing his words and released a small nervous laugh.
As they kept walking, Luna explained some of Equestria´s history, such as celebrations and traditions. Maul had been listening the whole time, trying to take hold of any important information he could use in the future, and indeed there was. The sith´s ears perked as soon as he heard the story involving the Elements of Harmony; everything from their discovery to the latest battle against Tirek, and so far, Maul was amazed by such power. He certainly considered taking hold of these weapons, but the fact that they only responded to the ponies´ personalities, made their possible usage in the future out of the question.
Regardless of his inability to wear these Elements, the sith found the conversation very valuable, as it gave him an idea of what he would have to face if it really came to that, which most certainly would.
Maul couldn´t hide the fact that these creatures´ powers were out of even Sidious´ league, because of this, he felt vulnerable, and the Zabrak didn´t like that; he still had a big chance back in the galaxy, not here; however, there was one thing he is certain of...power is always obtainable.
The Zabrak began to wonder what effect the Elements of Harmony would have on him, aside from the whole ´being turned into stone´. If these weapons reacted against an evil soul, then he would most surely be the Elements´ favorite snack, he didn´t want that.
Another thing Maul found interesting, was the way Luna seemed to avoid talking about the Element´s first foe, he figured it was part of the princesses´ past she wouldn´t talk about, regardless, the Zabrak had an idea of this event.
The duo continued their chat until they reached the royal library, at this point Luna stopped walking and turned to face Maul.
"We have arrived at the library, however you are only going to see it quickly." Luna said, noticing the small disappointed grunt the sith gave. "I am sorry Maul, but the library is gigantic and there is still so much to see."
"Then I guess it´ll be another time." The sith answered.
Luna and Maul walked through the several gigantic shelves of the royal library. The sith did his best to take a good quick look of every interesting title he could find, then his sight was assaulted by something else.
At one corner of the place, laid an enormous triangle-shaped entrance, the steel bars covering the interesting book inside; Maul got closer, followed by Lunas´ gaze.
The book read ´The secrets of the Eclipse stone´ . Maul was immediately grabbed by it, as he was brimming with curiosity, then without turning around, he asked.
"What is the Eclipse stone, Luna?"
The princess of the night placed herself to his right side, and stared at the book. "It is one of Equestria´s most ancient stories." She began. "It was a powerful stone capable of granting any living being the ability to use powerful magic, regardless of them already having magic or not." Maul nodded. "But it had its consequences." The sith could instantly notice the discomfort on her face upon telling him about the stone, as if it was more than just an anonymous tale, he was almost sure it was a memory. It was surprising the fact that Luna, as well as her sister, had been alive for over a thousand years, even though, some ancient sith used to prolong their life span with their deep connection to the force, however, he was more interested in said book.
"Can we read its contents?" Maul asked, his eyes fixated on the book. He had certainly found interest in said stone, however, fate had deemed it wasn´t time for him to uncover its secrets, as Luna shook her head before speaking.
"I am sorry Maul, but we really don´t have much time." The Zabrak grunted, causing Luna to chuckle. "I promise next time we find ourselves with less work on our hooves, I will personally read any passage you want."
Maul did not answer, and soon Luna found herself in an awkward situation. The princess of the night coughed to get the sith´s attention. "Shall we be on our way towards the throne room? There is one more thing I would like to show you."
Maul took a few seconds before turning to face her, nodding as a response, to which Luna returned nervously. With that, the two went out of the library.
It wasn´t so easy for the Zabrak to simply forget about the stone, as he thought on the many opportunities available to him if said artifact was recovered. What effects would this stone have on him? Would he be able to surpass the overwhelming power of the princesses? There was a chance that the artifact would not be enough, but even the smallest opportunity was good for the sith. He suddenly had a new goal: Learn more about the Eclipse stone.
The way to the throne room was rather silent, with Maul thinking about a plan, and Luna trying to ignore the awkwardness. Even after having spent a few years on Equis, (after her banishment) she still had a few problems with any kind of interaction. Thankfully for the princess of the night, the duo had arrived to the throne room.
"Alas, we have arrived!" Luna said, a small on her face as she opened the door, however, Maul waited for her to enter first.
Whatever was inside this place, wasn´t as interesting for the Zabrak as the last information, but he still pretended to be interested.
Luna explained the ties these stained glass windows had with the events of Canterlot, without repeating the whole story a second time. Maul listened just to be polite, but his mind was racing through millions of thoughts, mainly regarding his future plans, he however still found the whole Elements of Harmony story interesting, just how powerful where this six? Especially Twilight, if her element was magic, was there a bottom to hit concerning her power?
"Maul?" Luna´s soft voice stopped Maul´s train of thought, making him snap back into reality and lift his face to stare at the princess. "Anything in your mind?
"Indeed, a galaxy of thoughts."
Luna chuckled. "I can relate to that, so... I guess the tour inside Canterlot is over, would you like to meet the city?"
"Princes Luna!" A voice in the form of a royal guard interrupted the sith´s answer. "I am sorry for the interruption, but it is of utmost importance that you hear the newly arrived news." The pony then turned to face Maul, a worried look on her face, Luna took notice of this and immediately understood the expression.
"Do not worry about our guest, tell me about these news." The princess spoke, and in response, the guard nodded nervously.
"It is concerning the Griffon king, Red Claw." Maul´s ears perked upon hearing the guard´s words. "Word has come that he is preparing to arrive here, his intentions unknown, my the guards are nervous."
"I understand your concern, soldier." Luna began. "But rest assured that we ended with the best of terms with the king, do not expect any attack." The soldier gave a worried look. Luna sighed. "I shall inform my sister about your concern, but nothing more."
"Thank you, your majesty." The guard lowered his head in respect before going out of the room.
Maul had taken notice of many interesting things in this world, this newly mentioned King Red Claw being one of them, is he the one he sensed before? The Zabrak´s thoughts were soon cut short by Luna.
"I am sorry for that, shall we be off?"
"Are you sure you don´t want to check on this Red Claw first?" Maul asked, trying to make a convincing look of concern.
"Do not worry about it, it was just a misunderstanding that we already managed to clear, there should be nothing to worry about." Luna explained, making Maul´s curiosity grow.
"What happened?" He asked.
"Ego stroke hard against the fair king, and he believed some of Equestria´s lands his, however, the griffon kingdom is one of our biggest market suppliers, as such a political inconvenience was out of the question." Luna answered, catching the sith´s attention.
Maul was rather good at politics, he found them rather... useful. It was in that moment that a plan began to form inside his head, but first he would need to know more about this stone, discover if it was this Red Claw the one he sensed, and lastly know the later´s intentions.
It seemed that he would be soon deep in work.
The Elements found themselves eating inside a small coffee shop located in the streets of Canterlot, chatting about the new guest. Although his story did seem genuine, they could not avoid the strange sensation they felt about him, a sensation shared by Celestia.
There was something about this sith that screamed alarm; from his unsettling calmness to his appearance. True, they were taught not to judge a book by its cover, but Maul was simply something else.
While ponies like Applejack and Rainbow were used to express this kind of feelings more openly, Twilight struggled with this, she had learned from her experience with Zecora and while she thought of herself as brave when the situation was presented, right now all she could feel towards Maul... was fear.
Her friends noticed it, the first time they saw her friend like that, complete and pure fear.
Suddenly, the young alicorn felt something landing on her shoulder, causing her to panic in reaction, however she calmed herself when she discovered it was just Applejack who had placed her hoof on her shoulder.
"Twi, calm down." She said. "Ah´ know you must feel terrified of Maul, but he hasn´t exactly done anything... not yet at least."
"So, you feel that too?" Twilight asked, her questions was answered by Rainbow.
"Twi, I don´t think there´s anypony who hasn´t felt something wrong about him." She proceeded to place both hoover on the table. "Dude´s evil I tell you!"
"What if he only wants a hug?" Pinkie asked innocently.
"Pinkie! You tried that before and he just simply backed away! Also, he killed a prisoner!" The rest in the table flinched at those words. "I don´t care what kind of sob-sob trauma he has, there is something wrong about him and you all feel the same way!"
Rarity spoke next. "I will not deny he sent shivers down my spine the first time I saw him, but still, life is full of surprises, is it not?" The rest turned to face her. "Maybe he just feels out of place."
"She´s got a point." Applejack said. "Still, Ah´m not going to take my eye off him." The farm pony turned to face Fluttershy, who was deep in thought. "What are you thinking about, sugarcube?"
Fluttershy lifted her head and stared at her companions, then released a sigh. "It´s just... when I stared into his eyes, an immense sense of dread invaded me, all I could see in him was hate." The group turned to face each other. "Huge, huge hate. Almost as if something had ripped humanity from him."
"you see!? Guy´s bad news!" Rainbow pushed and unlike previous times, they could not help but to agree with her, although Pinkie still had some hope.
"That still doesn´t answer our predicament," Twilight spoke, "what are we going to do with him?" The rest turned to face her, expecting her to come up with a plan, yes, she had asked the question, but it was normally her the one who came up with the ideas. The alicorn sighed. "Right now, we can do nothing, but that doesn´t mean we can´t keep an eye on him and as soon as something out of the ordinary happens, we´ll inform princess Celestia."
Everypony nodded, everypony was nervous, they just met Maul and the knew nothing about his intentions, yet he would be traveling with them back to Ponyville; nopony liked the idea.
Suddenly, just as if life was playing a prank on them, Maul and Luna showed up walking down the street and just a few meters away from the restaurant. Dash was the first to notice.
"Great, and there he is!" As soon as the words left her mouth, everypony turned to look at the Zabrak, who was indeed a few feet away.
Maul, on his part, could sense a disturbance, familiar sensations observing him and he wasn´t incorrect. The yellow gaze of the sith turned to stare at the mane six, with Fluttershy and Twilight being the only ones to avert the sight. The rest faked a smiling salute.
"How in tarnation did he hear us?" Applejack asked, her over exaggerated smile still in place.
"No idea!" Replied Rainbow.
Life played another joke on them, as they saw Maul turning to face Luna, seemingly telling her about the just found Elements, who in returns averted her gaze from the Zabrak to confirm his words and almost instantly uttered something with a smile on her face, followed by a sudden change of course from the duo.
"Oh no, here he comes." Rainbow muttered as silently as she could, getting nervous stares from the rest of the group.
"Be nice girls, be nice." Muttered Rarity, receiving a nod in return.
As Zabrak and alicorn came closer, Rainbow noticed the cold stare from Maul eating her, she gulped and averted her gaze.
"Kind of funny to find you here." Said Luna, who had now arrived to their place.
The Elements had no problems with the princess of the night joining them, but rather the devil looking creature alongside her, still, they noticed the unusual good mood of the princess.
"I take you are enjoying this place as much as I am." Said Maul, wanting to ease the mood that he clearly felt being bad. He noticed that even after his little show, some of them still did not trust him.
"Hi princess, hi Maul!" Said a cheerful Pinkie. "Why don´t you come and sit with us?" As fast as her usual reactions, the group gave a silent plead, wishing for them to say no.
On her part, Pinkie received a shoulder hit under the table. "Ouch! Why did you hit me with your elbow Rainbow?" Maul arched an eyebrow at this, while Rainbow facehoofed
The Zabrak turned to look at Luna. "It seems we have arrived at the wrong time, a shame really, I really wanted to know you a bit more with time." The Elements, nervously turned to look at each other. “Instead, It seems my past has alerted you, which was not my intention.”
Lowering her head, Rainbow muttered to avoid being heard by the Zabrak. “Creepy dude.”
“Dash!” Exclaimed the princess, her face holding a frown at the pegasus´ words. “You will treat our guest with respect as I´m sure he would treat you.”
On his part, Maul gritted his teeth, mentally preparing himself to let go of her insult. It wasn´t long before he swallowed his pride and let out a hearty laugh. “Don´t worry, Luna, I understand the appearance of a Zabrak can be unsettling, but at least we don´t try to hide it.”
Contrary to Rainbow´s sudden anger, Luna let out a chuckle. I was good for her to know that Maul was not easily provoked as she initially thought, however, she did notice the hard time he was getting when trying to get close to the Elements. The six friends were not known for being friendly and even if she could understand how they felt about Maul´s appearance, it did not justify the way they treated him. Taking this into consideration, Luna had an idea.
“Very well, girls.” She started. “I have some things to do right now and I can´t accompany Maul any further, maybe you could show him Canterlot on my behalf.”
“What!?” A collective reply ensued after Luna´s request, who couldn´t help but to frown at their response, even though she had expected them to answer like this.
“I thought you Elements were known for your kindness, do you really want to let down that title?” Luna asked.
The Elements once more turned to look at each other, clearly nervous about the princess´ decision. They had no trust in Maul, still, Luna was right, it was their duty to show that friendship could make the difference, besides, they could keep an eye on the Zabrak, while looking for anything suspicious about him.
After a few seconds of silence, which Luna took as an answer, the Elements prepared to greet the Zabrak, who had turned around towards Luna.
“I guess I´ll be seeing you later, Luna, after these six show me around.”
The princess grinned. “Don´t worry about the Elements, Maul, give them a chance, I´m sure they´ll come around sooner or later.”
“I hope so.” In reality, he did not. Maul cared little about the six, but he was not going to state that publicly.
With that, Luna turned to look at the Elements, giving them a nod with her head before parting ways with the Zabrak, who decided to take sit alongside them.
The ambience was rather awkward, with none of the beings present talking, or even making a move. Maul noticed it and it was exasperating him, there was simply no other thing he hated more than a speechless buffoon, less a community of them.
He looked from Pinkie to Rarity, trying to find a way to start a conversation, when suddenly he spotted the shaking Twilight.
“So, princess Twilight...” The poor alicorn couldn´t help but to give a small scream of surprise from Maul´s sudden call of her name. “It has come to my attention that princess Celestia is your former teacher.” Twilight carefully nodded. “Then that must mean you know plenty of magic, tell me, how good are you with it?”
Puzzled, Twilight simply replied with a ´hm?´, which caused Maul to roll his eyes before letting out a tired sigh.
“I said, how good are you with magic?”
“For you information, Twilight here is the best magic user in all of Equestria!” Suddenly, before the alicorn could even answer, Rainbow jumped in to speak for her friend, which caused Maul to look at her with an annoyed look. “She is so good that Celestia made her an alicorn!”
Maul looked from the proud pegasus to the shaking Twilight, thinking about Rainbow´s words. “So, you were not always an alicorn?” Twilight shook her head, making Maul place a hand under his chin. “Interesting.”
“What is interesting?” Finally, Twilight asked, slowly letting her fear of the Zabrak go.
“Its nothing.” Answered Maul. “Its just that I didn´t know magic could change one´s race.”
The Elements remained in silence for a few seconds, before Twilight decided to calm herself enough to speak again.
“What about you?” Maul turned to look at her. “You told us you were no strange to magic either.”
“It is true that I inherited some of my mother´s traits, however, I am not as advanced as your princesses or even you.” Twilight nodded in response. “It is the force the one that sustains me and gives me strength.”
“You sure sound like you have lots of faith in this force.” Applejack said, entering the conversation.
Maul turned to look at her. “Why wouldn´t I? It is the thing that give us everything, that maintains our lives as living things and bind us together.”
“Actually.” Said Twilight. “We´ve been talking about something regarding you.”
Maul grunted. “And you sure didn´t even try to make unnoticeable.” He said, letting know the young princess that he had heard them.
The princess gave him a sheepish smile, it was true, their were pretty terrible at speaking about somepony without said person noticing, however, this was the time when she could learn something important. “I´ve been meaning to ask you, why does your aura feels...”
“Dark?” Maul finished for her, making Twilight give him a nervous nod for response. “The planet where I come from, Is a place full of dark magic. My race learned throughout the ages how to control this kind of practice.”
“Are you part of a coven?” Asked Rarity.
“Normally, male Zabraks are not allowed to enter this... ´coven´, in my planet, females are the predominant race and they are the ones that conform this sisterhood: the nightsisters.”
“Then, how can you use magic?” Asked Twilight.
Maul clenched his fist upon the incoming memory, even if he was a sith, the loss of his blood was something that weighted on his shoulders. “My mother, she... She was the leader of the sisterhood, until the end of her days...”
The Elements turned to look at each other in the midst of the awkward situation, not exactly knowing what to do, until Twilight decided to break the silence. “I... Guess this would be a good time to show you around.”
Wanting to end the awkward conversation, Twilight started walking, the rest of the group following closely to their friend, while keeping an eye on the former lord, who in return, did his best to ignore them and keep his anger in check. "So, where are we going?" Maul asked, doing his best to avoid the others´ gaze.
"To the outskirts of the kingdom." Answered Twilight, as she kept walking, not taking her eyes off the road.
Concerned loos were shared amongst the rest of the Elements, who shared worried looks, then, without wasting any moment, Rainbow approached Twilight as close as she could to stop Maul from listening. "Hey!" She called the young princess, getting a ´hm?´as a response. "Don´t you think it would be a bit dangerous for us to be alone with this weirdo?"
On his part, Maul couldn´t help but to roll his eyes at the not so subtle whispering of the rainbow maned pegasus. Maul hated having to withstand a buffoon and not be able to kill it, but he had to remain patient, as such, he shrugged off the pegasus´ shenanigans to ask Twilight another question. "Why the outskirts?"
"Figure you would like to get a look at Ponyville," she answered,before casting a quick look towards the Zabrak, "considering, you know... you´re coming with us."
"Not too kin about the fact, are you?" Maul was certainly not a fool, he had noticed the expression Twilight had given him, a worried look that told the former sith to ease any negative thought on the alicorn. So far, and even though she had resented his attempt at killing her, Twilight seemed to be the most optimal option to ensure a calm stay in Ponyville. If he could convince her that he would not hurt them, she would most certainly convince the others of the same, if not just keep them at ease.
The Zabrak allowed himself an internal smirk, he just loved how easy someone could convince a crowd of your intentions just by fooling the head of the crowd, and Equestria was certainly no different, still, if what Luna told him was true (And it certainly seemed like it), it would take him quite some convincing and time to keep the rest of them away from him and give him enough time to at least complete his check list.
Noticing that her last sentence may have seemed quite hostile, she did her best to hide some of the fear she had left for the Zabrak and did her best to smile. "I didn´t mean that." Twilight had remembered back when the whole Zecora debacle happened and she didn´t want it to repeat itself with Maul. Looks could certainly be deceiving.
"I understand your concerns, Twilight, although, different from the master I used to serve, I do not seek the barbarity of a conquer." Maul´s words put an end to Twilight´s thoughts, as she gave one quick look at the Zabrak behind her. "And I thought I already made that more than clear."
Rainbow, who had gone back Maul and with the rest of the group, did her best to once more talk under her breath, this time with the intention of Maul listen to her. "It´s not like we´ve had plenty of other ugly psychos wanting to destroy town in the past." As a result, she received a scolding look from Twilight. "What?"
Rolling her eyes, Twilight looked from Rainbow to Maul, before placing her eyes on the outskirts laying ahead of them. "Don´t take that harshly, Maul, Equestria is not as peaceful as it may seem."
"It certainly is more than the galaxy I come from." Maul answered, dismissing his memory with a wave of his hand, as if the memories didn´t affect him, suddenly, a pink thing appeared over his head, forcing Maul to look at a pair of blue eyes staring at him.
"Why didn´t anypony in your galaxy made a big fun fun party for everypony?" Pinkie asked, before she felt an invisible force grab her and put her on the ground.
"I... don´t think a party would resolve an intergalactic war." Answered Maul, who much to his surprise, heard a chuckle from the orange mare he knew as Applejack. "You find find that amusing?" He asked, casting a side glance to the mare.
"Wha...? No, it´s just that Ah´m trying to picture that." Answered Applejack, giving one small jump at Maul´s questioning look and all of the power that came from that pair of yellow eyes.
"I´m with Applejack on this one." Said Twilight, noticing the nervous look of Applejack. "I have read of wars before, but I can´t simply imagine one that covers an entire galaxy." As she said this, Twilight took notice of the place she had intended to go, as they were just a few feet away from what Maul could call a sight to be remembered. The yellow sky signaling the approach of sundown, the gentle air of the outskirt´s height, the beauty of their town.
The young princess looked at the cold attitude of Maul, as he passed by her to see the town of Ponyville in the distance and with so much attention that it almost seemed like he was memorizing it. For Twilight, it surprised her more the fact that Maul seemed to be completely absent of the fact he had seen a war, as if it was a simple thing without importance. "How can you be so calmed about that?"
"You get used to it." The Zabrak answered, not taking his eyes from Ponyville. He would not say it, but Maul was analyzing the entirety of the town, trying to memorize the place as much as he could, just in case it could come in handy.
Twilight, noticing the Zabrak´s attention, gave a few steps to the front, followed by the rest of the group, who later found themselves alongside the former sith. "I don´t think you simply get used to it, I mean, you literally lost every-"
"War is something I have left behind." Maul interrupted, finally taking his eyes off Ponyville to look at Twilight. "Right now, I only find interest in what is up ahead for me."
Rainbow had noticed the Zabrak´s expression as he overlooked the town and gave him an uneasy look. "I´m not sure I feel good hearing you say that, and less when you look at Ponyville with an evil look."
Maul groaned in desperation, rolling his eyes as he gazed at the pegasus. "I was referring to my life." Taking one deep breath, the Zabrak returned his sight towards Ponyville. "The reason I chose to come with you to Ponyville, Is because I wanted to see if it was the place where I could settle down." Maul figured this decision would bring problems to these ponies and therefore give problems to him and he didn´t need a liability. The force had come to him with an interesting aura that emanated from Ponyville, which he felt for a moment before it dissipated, but Maul knew this wasn´t something unimportant, he needed to know what it was or rather who it was and how he or she could serve him.
"Settle down? You mean, like..." Another voice had put an end to his thoughts which he soon recognized as Applejack, who, as the rest of the group, held a worried expression.
Maul knew he had to solve this problem right now if he wanted to be close to the force call, bringing the topic now would ensure they would not bother him in the future, if he managed to keep them at ease of his intentions. The Zabrak had to admit he was not as convincing as his former master, but he wasn´t bad either. Leaving his sight from Ponyville, Maul turned his body towards the expecting group. "I am a free Zabrak, my life is not dominated by the orders of a madman anymore." Keeping his emotions in check, Maul softened his expression to one that could look more convincing than his permanent cold expression. "I just want a peaceful end, far away from the hatred of war and the pain it can bring." As soon as the words left his mouth, his expression turned back into the unreadable puzzle of a cold stare, then looked back at Ponyville. "When are we leaving Canterlot?"
Twilight shared a look with the rest of the group, as a collective worry was shared between them, then gazed back at the Zabrak. "Tomorrow morning."
"Terrific." Maul answered in half a groan. "Is there anything else to see?"
"Nothing too interesting." Responded Twilight, whose words made Maul react, as he turned his body and started walking towards the exit of the park, forcing the rest to follow him.
"Then I guess we head back to the castle." He said, sensing the anger coming from Applejack, Rainbow and Rarity for forcing them to follow him, but instead of bothering, it made Maul smile inwardly. "Is everyone in this planet a pony?"
Twilight, who was so far the only to actually bother answering questions, took the chance to sped up the chase and catch up with the Zabrak, who was now walking through Canterlot´s streets. "We have plenty of races like Griffons, horses, manticores, donkeys, cows, dragons-"
"Dragons?" Maul interrupted, showing surprise not by the mention of such a beast, but because of the numerous species that would normally be dangerous, then raising an eyebrow, he casted one glance towards the whole group behind him. "How have you managed to defend your land?"
Twilight allowed herself to give away a smile, remembering the past fights that had been freed with a certain power. "As you can see we have mastered a very powerful strength." She answered, giving one quick look to her friends who smiled at her in response.
"Magic?" Asked Maul, almost certain that was the answer, but the actual one would actually surprise him and more so because of the expression Twilight held.
"Friendship..." Maul had to admit it, it wouldn´t be hard for him to chuckle at that response, but considering he needed to be on their good side as much as he could, he only allowed himself to give Twilight an amused look, who answered back with an almost mocking grin, almost as if she had been expecting the Zabrak´s reaction. "What?"
"Nothing," answered Maul, "I´m just not sure how holding... hooves, and singing a song would help you from intruders."
Rolling her eyes, Twilight let a chuckle escape her her lips. "You are underestimating Friendship, Maul." She said. "Thanks to it, three different races of ponies came together to form an union."
"I see, strength by the numbers of you allies." Maul explained, noticing how close they were getting to the castle.
"And it has been kept like that for many generations." The young princess explained, gazing towards the numerous ponies walking through the streets.
This time, Maul didn´t bother to answer and simply kept walking in silence, silently thinking about Twilight´s words and the fact that Earth ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi where once rival races, which would actually allow him to have some fun and see how each of them reacted, especially Twilight whose magic prowess interested the Zabrak, however, both his smile and thoughts soon came to an end as a pink thing placed itself on top of his head, before its large blue eyes made contact with his. Maul wasn´t one to get scared so easily, especially when he was the one who scared the other, but he couldn´t avoid jumping in surprise at the sudden apparition of Pinkie, which surprised the Zabrak considering how he could not feel her. "And then we held hooves, sang a song and eat sweets forever!"
Maul, trying to shrug off the mystery that was that certain pink pony, simply ignored Pinkie and reached to her with his hand, before placing her on the floor. His eyes then gave a quick look at the ponies behind him, as he prepared himself to test their reactions to each other´s rivalries. He knew they held no strong presence of the force, but then again, one never knew what would happen. "So... which race is the stronger?"
"Ah beg your pardon?" Applejack was the first to react, cocking her head to the side in confusion.
"You heard me, I asked which race was the stronger." Maul repeated, this time getting the attention of Twilight, who stopped Applejack as she was about answer, almost sensing what would come from this question.
"There are no stronger or weaker races between us, Maul."
Maul gave Twilight an amused look as a response, before motioning towards her with his hand. "Well, you have magic." He said, before gazing at Applejack, who kept looking at him in confusion. "I bet your friend´s race has strength, and..." Then a moment he had waited for, to tick the thick headed Rainbow Dash, and how much he savored the moment that was building up. "She just flies."
Just as Maul had predicted, the pegasus´ pride stroke hard against her, something visible by the red coloration on her face and the killer look she was giving him. "Just fly? Dude, I´m not only stronger, I´m also the fastest flyer in all of Equestria!" Rainbow answered, flying close to the unamused Zabrak.
Maul stopped in his tracks, looking at Rainbow for a few seconds, before a smirk appeared on his face, then turned back to look at Applejack. "She just said she was stronger," noticing the changing expression of the farmpony, the Zabrak directed his sight towards FLuttershy, "and she didn´t even count you as a fast flyer."
"Oh, I don´t mind." The shy pegasus answered, half surprising Maul, who was beginning to wonder the thing that could tick Fluttershy off His thoughts would soon come to a stop, as Applejack finally reacted to Rainbow´s answer.
"Not trying to start anything, but aren´t Ah stronger than you?"
"That´s not what I meant, Applejack." Answered Rainbow, not noticing the smug on the Zabrak´s face.
"She totally did." Maul said before the farm pony could speak, then turned around once more and started walking, giving half hearted laugh as he extended his arms to his sides. "Aren´t differences wonderful?" He had not payed any mind that neither rarity or Pinkie had stepped into the discussion, but he did notice their expression, almost telling him that something similar had happened to them in the past.
Applejack, who as the rest had started walking, frowned s Maul´s words, his sudden need to point differences ticking her off, especially considering they were her friends. "We´re not so different," regardless of her loyalty to the group, Applejack had to admit she hated Rainbow´s ego regarding her abilities, something that reflected on the stare she gave the pegasus as she turned to look at her, "although earth ponies ARE stronger than pegasi."
Rainbow crossed her front hooves, as she kept flying alongside the farmpony, then gave her an unamused look. "Well, I´ve beaten you."
On her part Twilight had taken notice of Maul´s delight to the conflict that was forming between the farmpony and the pegasus and decided this was the time to step in before things went out of context, forcing her to step between the two mares. "Both of you are great in your own way, you shouldn´t be fighting for that." Noticing the two of them relaxing their muscles, Twilight sped up her pace, looking one last time to her two friends. "We´re all friends here, remember?" With that, the alicorn placed herself alongside the amused Zabrak, who even though, had taken notice of Twilight, chose to ignore her. "Maul, what the heck are you doing?" The Zabrak turned to look at her, and expression of fake confusion appeared on his face, only angering Twilight further. "That wasn´t nice, at all."
Maul, far from frowning, chuckled in response. "My apologies, I guess old habits die hard." He answered, continuing his walk as if nothing had happened. Along the way, he gave one quick look behind him and towards the ponies. They weren´t angry with each other, on the contrary, they looked like always, playing and chatting between them. "You friends are very united, something I have not seen in a long time."
Twilight gave him an angry look and even though, she understood where he was coming from, she couldn´t shake the feeling that Maul had done that out of his own sake. Sure, he had been friendly-ish, but that strange aura still haunted Twilight to her core. How much could she trust Maul?
Regardless, he had given them close to no reason for them not to trust him, which brought her back to a dilemma. Twilight couldn´t allow him to roam without supervision for the time being, but none of the girls were eager to take him to their home.
Suddenly, an idea crossed Twilight´s mind. She had found a place for Maul and in fact it was hers. The library, the home that was destroyed by Tirek.
She had spent some time trying to repair it and even though, it would never be the same again, Twilight could at least make it recognizable. True, it was impossible for her to create the tree, so she had to use what little she had to form a generic house. With this in mind, she wen´t to Maul´s side. "About Ponyville, I think I may know a place."
Maul gave her one side glance. He was expecting Twilight to send him to one of her friends´ houses, considering how little he believed they would leave him to his businesses. These ponies did not trust him yet, but he still had the opportunity to change that, at least to avoid the bothersome of having some of them keeping an eye on him all the time, especially if it was Rainbow. If this was the case, he could at least mentally torture her and disguise it as a friendly game... actually, It didn´t seem like such a bad idea to the Zabrak.
Setting those thoughts aside, Maul looked back at Twilight. "Really, and how would I pay you?"
"Don´t worry about that, Maul, as far as I´m concerned you are a war refugee." She answered, shaking her head in response. The answer was received by a nod from Maul, before he sped up his walk, leaving a worried alicorn behind. "I just hope this whole thing goes well."
Mauling Expectations
The next day had arrived and the group were heading towards Ponyville aboard a train. It had been quite a peaceful morning and even though, they still had Maul with them, the Zabrak was at least sleeping. It was kind of funny, Maul had entered the train with a lot of energy, but only a few minutes passed before he stretched his arms to welcome dreamland.
It had been a couple of hours already and town was soon on sight. As the group started to get ready. Pinkie went straight to the sleeping Zabrak and gently panted his shoulder, getting a couple of moans from the sith before he finally opened his eyes.
"Welcome ba..." Faster than the blink of an eye, Pinkie´s throat was grabbed by an invisible force, as a pair of fierce eyes looked right into her, a kill look on his face and an action that set the rest on guard.
Quickly enough, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow tried to bring Pinkie down; meanwhile Applejack and Twilight went for Maul. The Zabrak seemed to be on a strange trance.
"Um, Maul?" Called Applejack, as she tried to pull the sith´s arm, without success. "You have Pinkie´s throat in your... force thingy..."
Amongst the sounds and tries to get his attention, Maul finally reacted, wide opening his eyes as he gave one quick look around him, before setting his eyes on the pink pony, realizing what exactly was happening. "My apologies." He said as he pulled away his hand, while letting Pinkie free from his grasp, then looked at the ponies around him. "Force of habit."
"You sure had a rough past, uh?" She said, wrapping one hoof around the still coughing Pinkie.
Maul looked from the pink pony to Twilight, before letting out a sigh. "I would not change my past, Even though, most would choose to forget it."
"Hey... cough... Maul." This surprised Maul, seeing how after he nearly killed her, Pinkie was still as cheerful as ever. He did not know whether to call it stupidity or purity, however, her next question would answer the Zabrak´s interrogative. "Ready for your party?"
It was stupidity, no doubt about it. "You can´t be serious." Applejack´s sudden burst confirmed to Maul that he wasn´t alone with the thought.
Pinkie cocked her head to the side, genuinely confused by her friend´s reaction. "Why?"
Maul was on a complete loss for words and not just because of Pinkie´s reaction, but for the fact that none of the ponies seemed to give the recent occurrence any further thought. It was hard for the Zabrak to believe how innocent these beings seemed.
"Don´t you think this is going too fast for him?" Twilight´s voice stopped his train of thought, as he turned to look at the lavender alicorn. "Let him stomach everything that is happening."
Given the opportunity, Maul figured this would be the perfect time to further his tries to gain the ponies´ trust. "Besides, I almost killed you." He finally said, doing his best to show some concern, while swallowing his pride. "I´m not sure I deserve such praise."
Pinkie seemed to buy it, as her smile grew even wider, managing to surprise the Zabrak. "Aw, wipe that sad face away, it was just an accident!"
"Says you." The Zabrak wasted no time to give Rainbow a look, who simply pretended to be looking elsewhere.
"Besides," Maul said, averting his gaze from the cyan pegasus, as he let out a grunt. "I would actually like to take the time to familiarize with your town."
"Exactly my thoughts." Exclaimed Twilight. "We should probably go to the major, ask for a public meeting to ensure you don´t... um..."
It wasn´t hard for the Zabrak to figure out why the young princess had struggled with her words. He got the same reaction back at Canterlot, ponies either looking at him in awe or ran away from him. Their act only furthered the fact that these ponies had been so limited in regards to space knowledge. Even a Wookie wouldn´t have this much attention in a planet full of other species. "I understand you want to avoid panic." He finally answered, dismissing her would-be question with a wave from his hand, then something caught his attention. "Although, why the major? Aren´t you the princess?" He asked. "In fact, why do you even need a mayor?"
"I... I don´t know." The alicorn answered, truly struggling to find an answer. She may be a princess, but she also had her heart in what she believed was right, Twilight was no better than anypony and would never try to be, doing so would go against Celestia´s teachings, yet her obligations had transcended into Ponyville and she now had full control over town. Twilight guessed she simply didn´t want to subjugate anypony into a tyrannical rule, it was far fetched, but the alicorn knew she was doing right.
Twilight stepped out of her thoughts to remember Maul´s guess, coupled by the fact that some ponies were still watching the Zabrak in fear after his musing wake up call. "I´m sorry, Maul, but ponies around here can be a little jumpy, especially considering everything they have gone through."
Maul chuckled at this. "Which I assume you had a hand... Hoof, in protecting them."
"Duty always calls, uh?" The young princess answered, as she made her way to her sit, alongside the rest of the group, who were still eying Maul cautiously.
On his part, Maul took a couple of breaths. "You are sure about that one." He answered to himself, before setting his gaze on the train´s window beside him, looking at Ponyville getting closer in the distance. "No rest for the wicked, it seems."
It wasn´t long before the train arrived at its destination, with many of the ponies inside hurrying up to get out of the train and away from the Zabrak, due to this, the Elements and Maul were the last ones to get out.
The walk was silent, with most of the group looking eager to go home. It was unavoidable, they felt even more nervous after what Maul did to Pinkie, even if it was accidental. "What is it, Fluttershy?" Finally asked Twilight, as the yellow pegasus seemed to be the more shaken up.
Twilight had let her fear for Maul behind, something not shared by the other, who were walking behind.
Fluttershy nervously looked from the Zabrak to her friend, before lowering her gaze. "I should go home now, I have to... um..." with that and almost as if she had been thinking about an escape route beforehand, Fluttershy used as much strength as she could to fly away from the group and towards her home. On his part, Maul simply rolled his eyes at such pathetic escape from such a pathetic being.
Twilight let out a grunt as she answered sarcastically under her breath to herself. "I understand, don´t worry."
Noticing the rest of her friends looking the same was as Fluttershy, Twilight tried to get one of them to stick around and gave Applejack a hopeful look, to which the farmer pony replied in urgency. "Actually, Ah´ better go back, that farm ain´t gonna maintain itself." With that, she began to run towards her home. "Uh, see ya Maul." She said, before disappearing into the distance. Maul didn´t even turned to look at her.
Twilight turned around again and looked at Pinkie, who still had her usual smile. "So, what about you, Pin..." Before she finished her sentence, the walking pony began to dissipate in thin air, almost as if she had left a clone made of air. Twilight figured the party pony was long gone by then.
With a frown on her face and already knowing the answer, Twilight looked at Rarity and made a gesture with her head, almost silently telling her ´what are you waiting for´. Rarity gave her a sheepish smile and trotted her way towards her own home.
This left Twilight with the last of her friends left. "I guess you are going too?" She said, no longer trying to bother.
"Geez, yes, I´m sorry Twi, but I have lots of important things to do!" Rainbow answered, her tone exaggerated. With enough speed, she flew up to the sky, then returned once more to whisper into Twilight´s ear. "Don´t worry Twi, I will not leave you alone with red and ugly."
As she finished her sentence, Rainbow sailed into the sky and hid over a cloud. Maul resisted the urge to facepalm; Rainbow may have thought he was an idiot, as she didn´t even try to hide the fact that she was following them. It was both obvious by her exaggerated manner and by the fact that the Zabrak was still sensing her. Someone didn´t even bother to listen about the Force.
"Doesn´t seem like your friends like me much." He finally said not even bothering to look up as he continued his walked with both of his hands behind his back, while doing his best to avoid strangling the pegasus. He did not care what they could think of him, but it angered the Zabrak the fact that they acted like if he was an idiot.
"Trust tends to be destroyed when almost everything outside of Ponyville tries to kill you." Twilight answered, giving one side glance to the pegasus hiding in a cloud.
"And that is why I have not made an argument about their reactions." Maul exclaimed, facing Twilight, before setting his eyes on the road again. "I know what it is to live like that."
"Which reminds me." The young princess interjected. "You said earlier that you would not change your past." She said. "I´m sorry if the question upsets you, but..."
"That past has made me the Zabrak I am now." Maul answered as he placed a hand on his chest, cutting the alicorn´s sentence´s off "Through your history, you learn, you grow, experience marks your life and sets you on the path we walk right now." He explained, then turned his head to stare at Twilight. "Would you rather change who you are?"
Twilight placed one hoof under her chin, thinking about the answer for a few seconds before looking back at Maul. "Aren´t our personalities defined? We may change our attitudes, but deep down, we have a way of being."
"A tortured child does not tend to grow up the same as a loved one." The Zabrak answered.
"Still, they have the opportunity, the will to become who they want to be."
"And yet," stopping on his tracks, Maul turned to look at the young alicorn, pointing at her with one hand, "you take that choice because your surroundings changed you." Twilight lowered her head, her moth unknowingly half open as she thought about the Zabrak´s words. "The will is not always as strong as you think it is, It can be blend, you just have to pull the right strings, and the living being will never be the same."
Looking back at Maul, Twilight gave him a concerned and suspicious look. "I really don´t know how to take that."
The Zabrak simply chuckled in response, before motioning with his hand at Twilight. "How would you?" Noticing the almost quiet grunt, as Twilight averted the gaze of Maul with a sigh, the Zabrak instantly knew she didn´t want to answer. Rolling his eyes, Maul released a sigh of his own. "I am not a sensible Zabrak, I´m open to anyone´s thoughts."
A couple of seconds passed, as Twilight looked back at Maul, a concerned look still locked on her features. "It forces me to be careful around you."
Maul didn´t care if this sounded suspicious, he knew that if there was a good enough point to his thoughts, Twilight would simply concede. There was no reason of hiding his point of view, these where such trivial things to worry about and hiding his way of thinking and personality (some of it), would only bring problems in the future. "Do you see now?" He asked, as he resumed his walk. "You think of me what life has given you." Twilight answered by placing one hoof under her chin. "Would you think the same of me, before life changed you?"
Silence endured once again, with Maul returning his attention at ever getting closer town hall, when he heard a chuckle beside him. "I have to admit." Said Twilight, her smile returning to her features, followed by a smirk. "It is kind of nice to have somepony I can actually talk to, somepony that can actually keep up the pace with me."
Maul let out a genuine chuckle at this. What would normally be a showcase of ego and narcissism wen´t amiss by Twilight´s playful nature. In that time, the Zabrak allowed himself a smirk of his own. "How do we know you are not the one keeping up the pace with me?"
Letting out a chuckle, Twilight shook her head. "Nothing is certain, uh?"
"Nothing is certain."
The big doors of the town hall where finally before them. Maul wasn´t impressed by it, he had seen far larger monumental structures. His life may have changed on that cursed planet, but he had to admit that Naboo truly had such a beautiful architecture. "Okay, we´re here." Twilight said, cutting Maul´s chain of thoughts to focus on the young alicorn in front of him, who had just knocked on the door a few times. "Try not to make any sudden moves, alright?"
Maul snorted at this. He simply found ridiculous how ponies kept reacting to it, especially when they literally lived relatively close to some sort of an enchanted forest. He had made an effort all the way to avoid the looks of everypony they passed by, as it would only end up annoying him more. "I haven´t throughout our journey," he finally answered, before quickly snarling at a passing grey mare with funny crossed eyes, who simply decided to change her course, then gave Twilight a very annoyed look, "and the looks of your neighbors have been assaulting me ever since we arrived."
"Okay..." Was all Twilight could warily answer as she heard the door in front of them opening.
What Maul assumed to be an older mare, he couldn´t exactly tell, considering how these ponies seemed to eat up wrinkles, unless they were very old, which made Maul guess she was in her forties, that is if this race aged the same as his. His hypothesis was backed by the mare´s mane color, but then again, maybe that was just her mane´s color. These ponies looked more and more like a Jedi´s dream land. "Twilight, what brings you-" The mare asked, before cutting up abruptly at the sight of an enormous demon like entity in front of her.
Twilight, trying her best to maintain a straight face, motioned with her hoof towards Maul. "Mayor? I would like to introduce you to Maul." The mayor didn´t answer, her jaw hanging as she looked from the alicorn princess to this "Maul". Noticing this, Twilight silently pondered whether she would further on the matter or not, but ended up going with it. "He actually comes from outside the planet."
"You mean, an alien?" She finally asked, managing to regain composure.
"Yes, but he is not here to hurt anypony." Far from the sigh of relief Twilight had expected, the Mayor was still on edge. "Which brings me to the reason of this visit, would you mind helping us introduce Maul here to the rest of Ponyville? I don´t want them thinking he´s here to eat our brains, or anything like that."
This time, the Mayor cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Why me? With all due respect, but aren´t you the princess?"
"I told you so." Maul mockingly whispered, causing Twilight to roll her eyes, before giving the Mayor a deadpan.
"Right." Answered the mare, conceding at Twilight´s request, then looked around the Zabrak and the princess. "Nopony else came? It´s just the two of you?"
"The three of us..." Maul answered, lifting his right hand as he half closed his fist. At first the Mayor looked confused at this, until she heard grunting coming from above her. Looking into the sky, she noticed Rainbow Dash being dragged to the ground by an invisible force. She assumed this invisible force was called Maul.
"Hey, let me go!" A struggling pegasus launched kicks and punches, trying to get free from her grasp. Nothing too hard for Maul, who maintained a firm grasp on her.
Not even minding the angry pegasus, Maul looked at the Mayor. "We came with a bodyguard." At this, Rainbow plucked out her tongue, causing the Zabrak to snort in annoyance. "And a rather annoying one, I might add."
A rather quick meeting was formed inside an office, with the mayor behind a rather generic table, and sitting on an equally generic brown armchair. Maul, Twilight and Rainbow sat in three more "completely original" brown armchair, in fact, almost the entire room was brown. It puzzled Maul how much of the town´s color scheme could serve as a Jedi´s flag, while this town hall has as much color variety as a Wookie and even more puzzling was the fact that he was actually concerned about this. Thankfully for the Zabrak, the voice of the Mayor would put an end to his silent misery.
"So, Maul, what are the intentions of your visit."
"None that I originally planned." He answered, noticing and sensing Rainbow´s discomfort and awareness, but decided to ignore her completely. He figured that since killing her would only make matter worse, Maul silently promised himself that he would simply hit her with anything he could find. Letting this thought slip by, the Zabrak went to answer the question. "I came to this planet rather unexpectedly, and as Twilight might have told you, I´m a war refugee." The Mayor silently hummed at this, placing a hoof under her chin. "I have no way to leave the planet, nor I have the intentions to do so, so I have decided to settle in here."
"If you don´t mind me asking about his war of yours?"
"It was great in scale and has taken many lives as every war has." Maul answered sarcastically, although, his sarcasm seemed to go unnoticed by the Mayor. He did hear Rainbow mutter ´Pff! Jerk...", so maybe his sarcasm didn´t go completely unnoticed by the rest present.
"Great scale?" The Mayor asked, actually dreading what this ´great scale´could mean.
"It was a galactic war." He answered plainly, getting a shook look from the Mayor, who looked at Twilight, almost as if she looked for some guidance, while silently telling her ´but you´re the princess´.
"How can we be certain that you wont endanger anypony in here or that your friends wont come to reclaim this planet?" The Mayor asked, talking more towards the young alicorn than the Zabrak, who had rolled his eyes at the mare´s reaction.
"Both the Trade Federation and the Republic are the most powerful forces in the galaxy, If I wanted and had the means, your planet wouldn´t stand a chance." A slight smirk appeared on his features as he saw the mare panicking, but decided to ease any thought that could cause problems to him. "I say that with the utmost respect, of course, I don´t mean to start a power contest."
"So, this whole story about you loosing contact with anything related to those factions..."
"Is the truth." Maul snorted, he felt like he was simply going in circles with this conversation and was getting nowhere. The Zabrak really hated that, things made harder when they could be easier and more simple. Also, WHY THE HELL GO TO THE MAYOR WHEN TWILIGHT WAS A PRINCESS!? Surely that could have gone smoother. "As I said before, I appeared in your planet by other means that could be considered magic, and I have no idea how far I am from my galaxy." Looking away from the mare, Maul tried too feel any familiar presence outside the planet, but simply came up with nothing, almost as if everything had vanished from existence. A grimace quickly appeared and disappeared from the Zabrak´s futures, catching the attention of the Mayor. "But I know I am too far away..."
"How would you..."
Maul finally got up from his chair, letting out a grunt of annoyance. "You wanted me to clarify my intentions and put you at ease on what my presence on this planet means for Equestria´s citizens." Both the Mayor and Twilight were taken aback by his reaction, while Rainbow was on guard. "I mean no harm, but the details of my life and my past are to remain my own." His words calmed the three mares a little, although Rainbow´s gaze remained fixated on the Zabrak. "I am not fond of going in circles in a conversation, if we can speed the process up, I would be most grateful." He finally said, doing his best to be as polite as possible, while trying to avoid calling the Mayor ´worthless Bantha´s crap´.
The mare looked from Maul to Twilight, before giving the princess a wary look. "Are you okay with this?" Letting out a sigh, Twilight nodded with her head. "Guess we can start introducing you to town, mister..."
"Just Maul." The Zabrak interjected, not willing to hear his name in company of a mister.
"Maul." The Mayor conceded. Getting up from her chair, the mare directed the the three to the door, which was opened by Maul, who let Rainbow and Twilight pass. "I will start to spread the word so that tomorrow on midday you let Ponyville know you."
Maul nodded in return, his cold stare in place as always. "Sounds like a plan." With that, the Zabrak and his two companions went out of the town hall. "If there is nothing more for me to do, then I would like to know this place of yours." Maul said, looking at Twilight. "The sooner I can settle, the better."
Rainbow let out a grunt at this. "Jerk... ouch!" Out of nowhere, a loose piece of wood from one of the pillars of the town hall, "magically" found its way to Rainbow´s head. The mare rubbed her temple before looking at the obvious perpetrator, who held a rather amused smirk.
"Guess the building doesn´t like you." Maul mocked the irate pegasus, whose anger was actually savoring the Zabrak and not because of any darkside related plan, but because she amused him.
Maul had to love these kind of sky-high ego beings and their easy to penetrate walls. ´The bigger they are, the harder they fall´he thought. Sadly before Rainbow could do anything, Twilight used her magic to move her away from a smirking Maul.
The young princess knew a conflict between the two could end up badly and decided to avoid it. Different from Rainbow, Maul seemed collected in decision making, but she did not want to tempt her luck.
As the walk continued, Rainbow was subsequently released from Twilight´s grasp and decided to fly over the princess and the Zabrak, making sure to keep an eye on the later. She had calmed down by then, but she was sure as Heck that she would have her come back against Maul.
The silence endured until a rather bizarre sight caught the Zabrak´s attention. At first he thought Twilight would go around it, but the straight direction she was taking, indicated that they were indeed going towards it... a burned tree. Maul cocked his head to the side, not really knowing the reason behind it, but soon enough the half ´reconstructed´ parts that looked like a half made house, answered the Zabrak´s questions.
Maul didn´t know whether to feel humiliated, angered, or amused. True, he wasn´t expecting Twilight to give him a crystal castle as residence, but he wasn´t expecting something as mundane as a burned out tree.
He would have spoken up if not for what he felt the closer he got to it. The doubtful expression of Maul soon changed into that of interest and amusement, as there he felt numerous sensations: Anger, sadness, rage, power, hatred...
Interestingly enough, some of this came from a rather peculiar place. Princess Twilight herself. The materials at the side of the residence, indicated that the young princess had attempted to reconstruct the place, which could only meant she had a deep bond with it. It became as clear as a crystal that the place in front of them had been Twilight´s old home.
Then he pondered if whether she lost it due to an accident or a battle. The presence he felt answered his question.
Maul allowed himself a smirk, as he felt these emotions flowing from Twilight with so much strength. Suddenly, the place became ideal for him, a nexus of the dark side and a welcoming home for the Zabrak.
"I´m sorry for the state of it, I tried to build it up again but..."
"It is good." Maul interrupted the princess with a wave of his hand, as he eagerly approached the place with a smile.
Contrary to what the princess was expecting, Maul seemed rather content, something that peeked Twilight´s interest. The princess approached Maul with an arched eyebrow. "Really? But it is half..."
Before she could finish, pieces of materials like wood, nails and a few other contraptions, flew into the air. Pieces started to attach themselves at the burned down place, finishing the door frame and part of the right wall. Twilight was taken aback, not because of the partially constructed home, but because of the Zabrak.
Maul laid there, his eyes closed and his arms behind his back. Any other pony would simply take this as a simple act of advanced telekinesis, but the princess noticed the Zabrak´s expression. He wasn´t only partially reconstructing the place, he was clearly sensing it, fact that made Twilight wonder about this ´Force´.
How right was the young princess, as indeed, Maul was literally looking at the history of the home. Two powerful forces colliding against each other, and one of them was Twilight.
It wasn´t long before Maul opened his eyes, letting the rest of the materials fall to the floor. In reality, the tree home was beyond full repair, but between the state Maul had found it and the moment he finished applying the Force to it, it became actually recognizable.
"Wow!" Was all Rainbow managed to utter, as she descended nest to a satisfied Maul.
"I´m glad I decided to let those materials there." Said Twilight, scratching her mane, as she looked at her old home.
"Okay... that was awesome." Exclaimed Rainbow, giving the Zabrak a look of awe, to which he responded with a smirk that made the pegasus roll her eyes. "Don´t let it go to your head."
Ignoring her, Maul turned to look at his handy work. "Now it is habitable." he exclaimed, before turning to look at Twilight. "Where is your market?"
"Follow me."
"Wait!" Rainbow exclaimed, placing herself alongside Maul, who continued following Twilight without even bothering to look at the pegasus. How are you going to pay for anything you buy!?"
"If there is work to be done, I suppose it would be more than fair." Maul answered, speeding up his pace as a clear sign that he didn´t want Rainbow close. The pegasus simply grunted before heading to the skies, keeping an eye on the Zabrak.
Twilight, having heard Maul´s idea, decided to intervene. "Only this time its on me, I can´t simply leave you here without initial support." She said, giving one side glance at the Zabrak. "What else will you be needing, Maul."
Maul pondered for a few seconds before gazing towards the young princess. "Only the necessary and maybe a few books that let me know more about Equestria."
Twilight nodded in understatement. "Which reminds me, can you eat fruits or vegetables?" Maul affirmed with the head. "How about meat?"
Maul suddenly stopped in his tracks, looking from his feet to the eyes of Twilight. The princess was clearly noticing something off, as the Zabrak´s expression had turned grim. "I... I cannot eat anything that´s hard to digest, nothing rough only soft."
The young princess was about to further in the matter, but ultimately decided against it. If there was anything hurting Maul, it would come out eventually. With that in mind, she simply nodded before continuing the walk.
It wasn´t long before the trio found themselves at the market, where several stands were spread across the area. From simple house artifacts, to food, Maul noticed the variety of products distributed around the market. As he had expected, several ponies decided to get away from the place, while others did their best to remain calm.
Carrying a small bag with several bits handed to him by Twilight, Maul made his way towards the first fruit stand he could find, Rainbow following close behind. His fatal injury had taken away many of the normal ´necessities´of any normal living being, however, he still needed to eat and drink. Where it all went was a story for another day.
The mare at the fruit stand was about to receive a new client with a smile, until she saw what was actually coming. She would have run away, if not for the cyan pegasus flying behind the Zabrak.
The mare remained silent as Maul lowered himself to take a closer look at the fruits. Some of them he recognized, but there were several others he didn´t. "Strange fruits..." He muttered, his voice, calm as it was still unnerved the mare. "Do you have Jogan?" He suddenly asked, making eye contact with the pony, who simply managed to give a shaky negative with her head, causing Maul to sigh. "A shame."
The Zabrak extended his right arm to grab a bag, then placed several fruits, including pears, apples and oranges, inside it. The mare summoned all of her courage to spit out the price with a weak "E... eight bi... bits... please."
Maul looked at her for a few seconds, finding her fear amusing, before reaching to his money bag before grabbing the right amount of bits. He was glad the economy in the planet wasn´t that hard to understand, but then again, there were many different ways of payment in the galaxy, so that was a plus for his fast learning methods.
Placing the bits on the counter, Maul grabbed his newly acquired bag of fruits, before turning around, behind him, Rainbow approached the stand. The cyan pegasus had her mouth watering at some of the fruits and eagerly searched inside her bag, but much to her disdain, it was nowhere to be be found.
"Shut! I forgot my bits..." She exclaimed, causing Maul to look at her. In a rather unexpected action, the Zabrak reached inside his bag and placed three bits on the counter for Rainbow to grab. The cyan pegasus looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Uh... Thanks." Maul nodded in return, his cold expression never leaving his face.
Maul Continued his way amidst the numerous stands, only stopping by in front of the things he found of interest. After half an hour of looking through the market, the Zabrak finally had what he needed: Food and water.
Using the Force to carry the objects, Maul made his way towards a bench, Rainbow following behind him while munching some of the fruits the Zabrak had bought her. Sitting in front of them was Twilight, who as soon as she took notice of Maul, got up from her seat to greet him and Rainbow.
"I guess that would be all, at least I have supplies for the first few days. Now," he finally said, "about those books?"
half an hour later
Soon, a large pointed structure loomed on the horizon, confusing the Zabrak, who pondered about it. It wasn´t long before something caught him by surprise ´That´s no mountain, that´s a castle´.
Surely enough, the trio soon found themselves at the gates of an enormous purple colored, crystal structure. Truth be told, Maul was actually a bit surprised by the sight, but he managed to remain as stoic as ever. "So, here we are." The voice of Twilight finally put an end to his thoughts.
The young princess turned around to face Maul and with a wave of her hoof, she presented her home to the Zabrak. "Welcome to the castle of friendship, Maul."
Maul found himself chuckling. "Quite the amusing sight, princess."
Twilight grinned at this. "Come on, Maul, you should be calling me... Oh!" Finally, the words of Maul had sunk in, making her deadpan at the Zabrak. "You were being sarcastic, weren´t you?"
"Would have never expected so much luxury from someone as you."
Twilight chuckled at Mual´s words. "Come on, I´m kind of ambitious, at least when regarding to magic."
"A little small, don´t you think?" Maul teased, letting out a quick smirk, before Twilight directed him inside the castle.
Twilight deadpanned at this. "It´s the biggest building in Ponyville..." Looking at Maul´s smirk made her release a sigh, rolling her eyes before she went to a stop. "A Canterlot height castle would take too much land and besides, this castle came from a chest."
The Zabrak cocked his head to the side, standing in a line between following in the seemingly madness of the situation or simply let it slip. "Such a pointless action to have a castle sized chest guarding a... castle, don´t you think?" He asked, resuming the walk.
"It was the size of a filly, maybe even smaller."
"Interesting..." Maul answered, placing one hand under his chin, deep in concentration about Twilight´s words about the apparent... filly sized castle.
Without another word, the trio went inside the castle. The enormous doors opening to reveal a massive hallway and yet no guard to be found. After moments of walking amongst halls and stairs, they finally made their way towards a pair of wooden doors and it was in that moment that Twilight turned around to face the Zabrak. "Welcome to my inner sanctum, where..."
"When eggheads are born, fed and trained to make even more eggheads!" Rainbow finished for her, interrupting Twilight´s rather proud introduction to her favorite place inside the massive castle.
Upon seeing the young princess´ reaction, Maul turned to look at Rainbow with an annoyed expression on his face. "I would ask you if you are fond of books, but I guess the answer can be seen from miles away."
The Zabrak´s acid words did their work, as Rainbow quickly flew in the air and placed herself in front of Maul´s face. "Hey! I do read some books!"
"Adventure novels and imaginary heroes?" The Zabrak mocked her.
With a grunt of her own, Rainbow backed away from the smirking Maul and crossed her hooves. "Daring Do is some quality book, you know!?"
"I am sure it is." Maul answered sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he turned around to enter the library. This whole time Twilight had decided to simply stay away from the conflict and only intervene if something bigger happened.
Once inside, Maul actually looked quite surprised at the castle´s library archaic architecture. The numerous books stretching towards the ceiling in large shelves eating up the space. Quite the selection for Maul to devour.
A rather eager Zabrak made his advance past Twilight and assaulted the shelves with his eyes, reading the titles of each book he passed on, then turned to give Twilight a quick look. "I am sorry in advance, knowing myself I will take some time to arrange everything I need."
Twilight couldn´t help but to chuckle at this, finding the company of somepony who liked all kinds of books, quite refreshing. "Take as much time as you need, Maul, a book is a book." After a nod from the Zabrak´s head, Twilight turned around to head towards the exit. "If you don´t mind, I have to do some things."
Maul didn´t answer and Twilight didn´t bother to confirm he had heard her, so he figured the agreement was silent. Finally, Twilight left the room, leaving Rainbow with the Zabrak. She gave him a few quick looks, before deciding to sit in front of a small table behind Maul. She wouldn´t let the Zabrak out of her view and figured the position was good for this reason.
Setting herself, Rainbow locked her sight on Maul, following his every movement. Half an hour passed, in which the pegasus felt her eyes heavy.
Being a mare that became bored rather easily, the simply task of staying still made her sleepy and as much as wanted to avoid loosing sight of the Zabrak, her eyes finally gave in and forced her to sleep, her head hanging as her hooves fell to the sides and a rather adorable snoring began to take hold of the room.
Maul didn´t even bother with this, as his concentration was focused on every book that could serve him in any way. Title after title caught the attention of the Zabrak, who´s curiosity grew even more as he passed his eyes through the books.
A couple of hours passed as Maul basically ravaged the library, taking as many books as he could, while still keeping level headed to actually notice the contents of the books. He didn´t want to take any "Awesome adventures of Daring something" to his new home and after the last title he read ´The awakening of the one eyed knight´, he was considering using his darksaber to cut through every book of this Yearling pony.
Setting the thought aside, as he was about to throw the book away, Maul noticed Rainbow sleeping behind him. He knew she wanted to keep an eye to him, but as he didn´t even care, the pegasus was quickly forgotten.
Releasing a mischievous grin, Maul looked from the Daring Do book and the sleeping Rainbow, then made his approach. Making sure he used enough force, the Zabrak threw the book at the table in front of Rainbow.
"Look at what I found for you!"
In an instant, Rainbow let out a scream as her eyes instantly opened. She swung her head left to right as if expecting something to pup up... Until she saw the smug on Maul´s face, then her scared expression instantly turned into one of anger. "Hey! That´s not funny, you could have given me a heart attack!"
Maul simply dismissed her with a wave of his hand and turned around to search for more books. "A shame I didn´t."
"Jerk." The pegasus muttered loud enough for the Zabrak to hear... and received a book to the face. "Ouch! You..." Seething with her teeth, Rainbow got up from her chair, ready to charge against Maul, but numerous books around her began to float dangerously close to her head, a clear statement of what could come should she attack. "Argh!"
"Hi, Rainbow! How are..." Another voice caught the two of them by surprised, as they turned around to spot an aghast Spike. His mouth hanged for a few seconds before he turned around towards the exit in an attempt to run. "Twilight!"
It was all he managed to scream, before his tail was grabbed by the enormous devil-like figure, who soon held him to his own eye level. "What do we have here?" Asked Maul rhetorically, his amused expression sending a chill down Spike´s back.
Suddenly a blue blur made it in front of him, which revealed itself to be a raging Rainbow, gritting her teeth at the Zabrak, who seemed unfazed by her expression. "Hey, put him down, Maul!"
Maul looked at her, straight into her eyes as an unspoken challenge had been declared. Contrary to Maul, Rainbow had a hard time maintaining eye contact with the former Sith lord, an invisible mist of fear taking hold of the moment. The dangerously silent moment came to an ending, as Maul let Spike down with a smirk. "It has been quite a while since I saw a dragon." He said. "You are quite small, don´t you?"
This surely infuriated Spike, who as soon as he heard those words, his fear was replaced by anger. A treat for Maul, who was surprised to have discovered a weakness in the dragon the moment they met. "That´s because I´m a baby dragon! Just wait until I´m older so I can..."
"Spike!" Before he could finish the sentence, Twilight had entered the room, her frown disappearing as she took a few breaths. Walking past Spike, the alicorn princess made her way towards the Zabrak. "Sorry for this, Maul, this is my friend Spike."
"You know him?" Spike asked.
"I wish I didn´t." A long tiresome sigh came out from Maul, as he heard Rainbow´s words, then an invisible force pulled a nearby book against the pegasus´ head. "Ouch! Could you stop that?"
"I will think about it." The Zabrak answered, releasing a frown of his own as he subconsciously started to reach for his darksaber.
"Could the two of you get along for just a few minutes!?" Twilight yelled, stopping an incoming battle, as she placed herself in the middle of the two.
Rainbow motioned with her hoof towards Maul, giving Twilight a desperate look. "But he´s the one who has been hitting me with anything he finds!" As if directed by a cruel fate, another book suddenly found its way to the pegasus´ head, who didin´t even bother to rub her own head and instead collected her senses to focus on Twilight. "See!?"
Giving a sigh, the young princess turned to look at the smirking Zabrak. "Maul..."
"I will stop." He answered, rolling his eyes at being scolded by Twilight. If he couldn´t just use force, then he would use his brain. "I just hope she stops antagonizing me."
Twilight tapped her chin with her hoof, then turned to look at Rainbow. "That´s also true."
"Come on, Twilight , you know that..."
"Just stop!" Finished the young princess, placing one hoof over her forehead. "Just try to get along, alright?" With that, she turned to faze Maul once more, frowning at the Zabrak who remained unfazed. "Maul, Celestia knows for how much you´ll stay here, so it would be better to make friends rather than enemies."
Twilight´s castle wasn´t a particularly cold place, but after these words left her mouth, the temperature of the room decreased. Spike, Rainbow and Twilight would have noticed, if not for the strong presence that took hold of the moment.
The young princess found herself staring into Maul´s eyes, her face looked like if she had seen a ghost. Maul was not amused anymore and even though, he did not show it, the Zabrak´s expression silently warned Twilight of the danger she was now in.
In that moment, she remembered once more the reason why she was so afraid of Maul. To her sides, Rainbow and Spike remained still, silently looking at the Zabrak while their hearts began to beat faster.
For Maul, he had felt his patience tempted and was in a state of controlled anger. After a few seconds of silence, the Zabrak began to advance towards Twilight, who began to walk backwards without even noticing. "Interesting choice of words." The smooth yet now dangerous tone of Maul made Twilight jump. Silence endured once more, until Maul retained his anger, making the tense sensation that had taken hold of the room to disappear. "Also rather wise, Twilight."
With that, Maul turned around and walked towards the books he had selected. The rest of the group let out a sigh of relief.
Cleaning the sweat that came down from her face, Twilight walked towards the former Sith lord, doing her best to regain composure. "So, have you found everything you where looking for?"
"I believe this will suffice." Maul answered, looking as if nothing had happened. In reality, the Zabrak knew he had told these ponies a silent warning, he also knew they most surely took it to heart.
"That´s quite a bunch." Twilight said, stopping Maul´s thoughts.
Levitating the books, Maul directed his steps towards the entrance to the library. "A bunch that shall not be wasted." He said. "I will take care of them and returned them to you once I´m finished reading them."
"You think you will read them on one life time?" Twilight joked, trying to ease her fear.
"Only one way to find out." The Zabrak answered. "Mind the head."
The warning fell on deaf ears, as one of the books found its way to Rainbow´s head. "Why!?"
"I told you to duck." The Zabrak said, before exiting the library, leaving a slightly shaking group behind.
"I Don´t think he wants another tour, so I´ll take him home."
"Here we go..." Rainbow said, as she flapped her wings, ready to follow the due, but was stopped by a purple barrier.
"Actually, stay here, alright?" At this, Rainbow´s expression showed concern, silently pleading Twilight not to go alone with him, but the young princess gave her a reassuring smile. "I´ll be fine Rainbow." With that, she left the room and followed behind Maul, leaving a concerned Rainbow to silently look at the door her friend had just stepped out.
Spike made his way alongside Rainbow, who shared the same concerned expression as the pegasus. "What´s wrong with this dude?"
"Evil, that is what´s wrong." Rainbow answered, flapping her wings as she flew towards the nearest window in time to spot Twilight and Maul head out of the castle. "We should keep an eye on him." She said, before noticing Spike standing behind her, a scared expession on his features. "What happened, Spike?"
"Its just that... he creeps me out." The dragon answered, rubbing his fore arms with his hands, as a chill went down his spine.
Rainbow knew what he was referring to, she as well as the many ponies that had come close into contact with Maul, had felt a weird sensation emanating from him. "The more reason we should be on the lookout!" She exclaimed, setting her gaze back on the window. "I have the feeling the dude´s gonna be a whole lot of problem."
Twilight walked alongside the former Sith, as they neared their destination. On the way, the young princess silently thought of a topic to speak to. In her experience, there were silent walks, awkward silence... and whatever was happening with Maul. It wasn´t just akward, it was uncomfortable and unsettling. Clearing her throat, Twilight got the attention of the Zabrak. "So... what do you think of Ponyville?"
"Quite the town." Maul answered, not taking his eyes off the road. Contrary to Twilight, he did not mind the silence, in fact, he enjoyed it, helped him think. "It is rather peaceful."
"It has been a while since you had a day like this, right?"
"Indeed," he answered, giving a low grunt as he thought about Twilight´s words. The Clone wars were really taking a toll on everyone, "quite a while."
Maul´s simple response told Twilight he didn´t want to talk, but good enough for the young princess, they had just arrived at the tree house. "So, we´re here." She said, as Maul went ahead and opened the crudely made door. "Are you ready for tomorrow, Maul?"
The Zabrak turned around, his eyes set on the frame of the door, as he began to plan how he would repair the place. "It will definitely be an interesting experience." After a few moments of seemingly admiring the frame, Maul finally fazed Twilight. "I thank you for the assistance you have provided for me, Twilight."
"It is nothing, Maul." She answered, rubbing the back of her head. "Are you sure you want to spend the rest of the day reading? Its still early."
She was right, the sun was still up and there were a few hours left before the night, but the Zabrak had other plans. "Today I learn, tomorrow I act."
"Experience talking?" Twilight smirked, getting a grunt as a response from Maul.
"Not as much as I would like."
"Well, in case I don´t see you later, have a good night, Maul."
"Likewise, princess." He answered, looking as Twilight turned around to return towards her castle, finally giving Maul so much needed time to focus.
With a final wave, Maul closed the half charred door, as he placed the books on the floor, then grabbed a blanket before placing it on the ground. Without wasting another moment, the Zabrak sat on the floor and placed his fist under his chin, thinking where he could start.
He had to admit, it was so much to take in so little time; this new world, the new set of rules, his own predicament and further exile from the universe he knew. Suddenly, his world became smaller, from a galaxy to a planet, from war to peace, from power to nothingness.
Then something rather curious happened to him, Maul noticed that even if he was outclassed in this world, it did not bother him, not in the way it would before, at least. The Zabrak had went through so much, and life had given him something that grounded him to reality once more.
First of all he faced the facts, he was not all-powerful, not by a long shot and his fight against Sidious, Grievous and Dooku had taught him that; couple by the fact that he was in the world of beings capable of moving planets. It had humbled him, set his pride in check, still, he craved for power.
Power gained control and victory, but to get there was the important part; question was, why would he? In fact, why did he continue to fight?
Letting this question on his mind, Maul reached for a book at random, without even reading the titles. His hand soon caught the grasp of one, before placing it in front of his face.
The pair of yellow eyes went from the empty space to the cover that read the title "The history of magic, a walk through Equestria´s past." Without a second thought he opened it. This was the start of several hours of gained knowledge, as Maul sped through the least important parts, then going from book to book; he had hoped he had some kind of marker and he didn´t want to tear the pages, it would just make a mess, instead, he opted to fold any page of interest to him.
Book after book went by the Zabrak´s eyes, as he started to connect dots and familiarize with many things. The Elements, the princesses, Equestria´s ancient history, species and nations withing the planet, factions; all this he began to learn, however, he did notice something very interesting, as the Eclipse stone he had learned from back at Canterlot, wasn´t mentioned at all, with just a few lines of references in the History of the Elements and the princesses.
There were a few mentions of some "Fallen king", but nothing more. Maul couldn´t help but to grunt, all he knew was what Luna had told him. Setting the thoughts aside, his hand reached for yet another book that talked about Celestia, Luna and their lineage.
The book made brief mention of a war thousands of years ago against an unknown faction, a war that had killed their parents. Maul skipped through the next pages, where a quick glossary of the princesses´enemies was shown, with a mention of a certain Discord and a... there it was again, the "fallen king and the Eclipse stone".
Maul would have let this one pass, if not for one new piece of information, as the passage read that the aforementioned stone came from something called "Tartarus". Maul placed his hand under his chin, deep in thought, deciding weather to let this pass or know more about the matter.
It was in this moment that his allegiance to the Sith was questioned, for one moment he did not desire problems, this land was peaceful as it was, yet... yet something was wrong. He went to the book again, reading once more about these past enemies, especially the one called Discord and payed attention to what it said.
Reality bending entities, planet controllers, weather changers, masters in magic... and then there was a fool Zabrak with nothing more than a lightsaber. Was he this pathetic? Ever since he was a child he had been a tool, a toy to play with and use without remorse, weak and stupid.
How could he not be? He was used by Sidious, he had lost both his mother and his brother, his army, his pride, his home; how could he name himself a Sith if he had nothing? No power, nor passion... but if he had?
Whatever path he would take, things would never bee completely good, so where was the risk? He had lived under the shadow of many for far too long, yet, he was unsure.
Setting the book aside, Maul thought for a moment, silently thinking about what other book to read next. His eyes passed through a title called "The Tartarus and its secrets" a few times, but he simply let it go.
Minutes passed as Maul felt his heart beating faster, as sweat ran down his forehead, trying to betray his coolness in favor of the satisfaction of knowing. So many plans made that had already failed, so many moments of hope lost and now, the Force had presented him with yet another spark of "light" in the form of what would be considered forbidden knowledge.
He hated himself, hated the literal half Zabrak sitting inside a tree house provided by an equine, he hated his weakness and those who set him below.
Be it out of sheer curiosity or fear, Maul reached for the book and searched for the Eclipse stone. What he would find would scare him greatly.
The book, while it gave nothing about the stone, it did made mention of the place, in fact, a quite detailed mention. Perishing souls under torture on a red inferno, omnipotence and power; he knew this place, it was the realm that some beings in the galaxy liked to call Hell. Maul did not think of it as real, only superstition by non force users that craved to believe in something bigger than themselves, just to have a pretext for their own actions; the next paragraph, however, would set his nerves a top.
According to the book, the entrance to Tartarus existed... inside the Everfree forest. It existed, a place with that kind of power.
Maul breathed heavily for a few seconds, thinking about this new information, trying to uncover what he would do next. Was it real? Then, in that moment, Maul did something he did not truly had the chance. Meditate, really meditate and connect with this place.
Closing his eyes, the Zabrak calmed his nerves and amplified his senses, giving himself to the force for it to carry and guide him. He sensed so much, the immense power of the citizens of Equestria, especially the unicorns and alicorns; the Force surrounding the same planet.
Focusing more, Maul eventually reached the Everfree, an unmistakable sensation of energy, the dark side of the force itself. He concentrated deeper, until he felt a spark, then a thunder, then the fire raging.
There, at the middle of the forest, was a sensation like no other, the entrance of Tartarus, the gates of Hell. Inside, the Zabrak felt a hurricane of power, bigger than anything else he had ever felt; its beings, whatever that resided in there, exploding in might, then something caught his attention. Another presence was felt, a lone, single spark of omnipotence, a wild hurricane of power, but what set his nerves a float was a single fact... the being was sensing him back.
Pulling away quickly, Maul opened his eyes to recollect his thoughts. He had seen enough, he understood he was Jar Jar in a world of Rancors. His meditation had stopped, as he struggled to breath, he could feel his heart trying to get out of his chest; then Maul noticed he had been grabbing his midsection with his hand, feeling the pain he had not felt in years.
Most would take a metal appendage as a trophy of war, he saw it as show of weakness and stupidity, all caused by his own dumbness and his inability to see how much he had been a tool. It pained him and dragged him to the dirt.
Once more, setting his breathing in check, Maul got up and walked to the nearest window, glancing at the streets of Ponyville. Several minutes of silence passed, until a roar of fury shook the entirety of the charred house, as Maul sent the books flying in all directions with one wave of his hand.
It was very ironic, he had been taught that his anger would make him stronger, yet, as angry as he was in that moment, no help would come from it; there was simply nothing that could help him... unless.
"The Eclipse stone." He said,calming his anger to focus on the object for a few moments. He could learn more from it, gained its power, then... "No." Then history would repeat itself, him gaining power, only to be taken away while sinking him in misery even further.
The last shines of the sun soon disappeared in the distance, as Maul lifted his right hand to place the books in order. This was reality, not the fake merchandise that Sidious had fed him since he was a kid.
Grabbing a pillow, Maul set it over the blanket, then laid on his back, as he stared into the stars through a hole in the ceiling. He was confused, lost; this was the moment that something hit him greatly.
The dark side was no longer with him and he sure as Hell would not give in to the light... but the Force was on his side nonetheless, as it had always been, and it would guide him.
It was in this moment that Maul stopped to search for the ways of the dark side and simply let the Force itself carry him through its will. Whatever would come, whatever would happen next, it would be for something; be it good or bad.
Setting the thoughts of the Eclipse stone apart, Maul closed his eyes and prepared to sleep.
The morning strings of light hit against the crudely rebuilt tree-house, however, as in sight as Maul was from the sun, its rays did not hit him. A shadow loomed over the Zabrak, a shadow that had her eyes fixed on the former sith assassin.
Luna had came at noon to Ponyville to check on Maul, but had stopped her attempt at waking him up. Something about him captivated her, maybe his aura which Luna wasn´t sure if it was similar to her or to something she had felt before, regardless, it felt hugely familiar.
Her train of thoughts was soon cut short by the grunts coming from the Zabrak, who set himself face up in an attempt at waking up. As his eyes adjusted to morning light, Maul could spot Lune over him and released an almost inaudible grunt.
Luna saw his reaction, the one she had after a bad sleep. "You had quite a night, didn´t you?"
"Luna..." Maul finally acknowledged her, while rubbing his eyes. "Kind of early for a morning visit, don´t you think?"
"Early?" Luna asked. "It´s almost mid day, Maul."
Sitting on the floor, Maul set his eyes on the window to notice the position of the sun, then rubbed his eyes in frustration.
A few awkward moments passed as Luna waited for Maul to fully wake up. She had imagined the Zabrak would be the kind of being that hated wasting precious morning hours, but then again, he could also enjoy the night, which in her book, it gave him more points. "So, how was your first night in Ponyville?"
"Quite the experience." Maul answered, finally being able to fully open his ayes so he could look at Luna. "So, what are you doing here?"
"Just came to give you the good morning and... ´good morning´." The moon princess said, giving the Zabrak a warm smile, that wasn´t returned by the former sith. Luna noticed something, as Maul kept his gaze on the tower of books in front of him, deep in thought. It wasn´t the rough attempt at waking up, but rather something that seemed more personal. "Is something wrong, Maul?"
"Don´t worry about it, its just things getting in order." He answered, keeping his gaze at the books. Suddenly he turned to look at the moon princess as his gaze softened, then stood up from the floor, his cool demeanor coming back. "So, what are the plans for today, princess?"
"Actually, if you were looking for action, you are going to be disappointed." Luna replied with a smile, then walked towards the closest endow and looked at the life outside, a mix of disdain and interest in her face. "You see, Ponyville must be one of the most peaceful places I know and life here is as simple as it gets."
Turning back, she noticed Maul getting on his feet, placing one hand behind his back while making a low bow with the other. "Then a simple breakfast it is?"
Luna noded in return. "A simple breakfast it is."
Maul turned his back, accommodating the rest of the books spread through the floor, before locking eyes with the night princess. "Although, I doubt today will be quite peaceful." He said, annoyance clear on his expression. "I have a presentation in a few hours."
"That should be interesting..." Luna replied, giving the Zabrak a smirk. "If anypony comes."
The former with grunted in return, walking towards the door past Luna. "I have the feeling many will come." With that, he placed a hand on the knob and opened the entrance, motioning with his arm to the outside as he looked back at Luna. "Shall we be out then?"
Luna smiled warmly at him before nodding with her head, as she walked out of the half destroyed home. Behind her, Maul closed the door before placing herself alongside Luna.
Both of them walked in silence for a few minutes, as the night princess gave quick glances towards the Zabrak. Regardless of his less than civil first meeting and his brutish look, Maul so far seemed to be a being with class, clevere and calculative, something that Luna didn't know whether to feel afraid of or find interesting. She did both. "You know?" She finally said, breaking the silence. "I would have never guessed that the first extraterrestrial being to come here would not try to kill us right away."
Maul let out a chuckle. "It´s too early to say that, don´t you think?" He said, giving her a look that could only be described as him being half-serious, half-joking. Luna, though, found it amusing. "Twilight has told me you have the usual overlord twice a week." Setting his gaze back on the road, Maul's expression turned serious. "It surprises me you haven´t used more... harsh methods."
Luna wrinkled her nose in disdain, something the Zabrak had been expecting and something Maul and found interest since he saw had. She was simply too easy to read for an all powerful princess, regardless, he did like what he saw.
The anger, the hidden hatred covered by the high tolerance she must've had all these years for her sister.
Letting out a knowing smirk, Maul gave her a side glance as he waited for her response. "Equestria has little tolerance for murder, even though some actually deserve it."
Maul chuckled. "You are not very fond of Equestria´s way, are you?"
Luna released a long deep sigh, closing her eyes for a few seconds before looking at the ground. "I understand the reason, but sometimes I feel what we do is not enough." She locked sight with the Zabrak against . "Most of the evil we face are known ones, dating from thousands of years back."
"And I´m sure you look as young now than how you did a thousand years old." Luna was taken a back by Maul's words.
For the Zabrak though, he was simply experimenting, pushing different buttons to we Luna's various reactions and the one he had expected in that time was the one he got.
A red coloration appeared on Luna's cheeks, as she gave Maul a sheepish green. "Kinda off the topic." Maul smirked for a few moments before setting his gaze back on the road. The night princess remained silent, her smile being replaced with a confused expression, as she cocked her head to the side. She felt... Something, not in the aspect of a love feeling, but rather something she couldn't describe, almost like a connection between them, deeper than what a normal pony think of the matter and due to this, she could almost literally see something bothering him.
Behind those short lived smiles, flirts and jokes, the Zabrak was in pain and as much as she tried to understand how she knew,the answer alluded her greatly
Silently she wondered if it was this 'Force'. "It is weird..." She said, catching the attention of Maul who gave her a quick glance.
"What is weird?"
She remained silent for a few seconds, debating whether to inform him or not, in the end, she averted his gaze. "Nothing..."
He simply noded in return. Not wanting to reveal what she felt, the night princess decided to take the normal approach. "Maul, are you sure you are alright?"
A few moments of silence passed before Maul let out a sigh. "It has been a change of pace, many things have been happening too quickly." He answered, with Luna somehow knowing he was telling the truth. "And I´ve just realized that things may have not been as I thought they were." She cocked her head to the side, to which Maul grunted. "This shouldn´t ruin this day."
Luna smiled. "It will not."
Suddenly, the Zabrak came to a full stop, catching the attention of Luna who was wondering what may have happened. "Maul?"
"How certain are you that entering this place will end good?" Luna felt confused for a few seconds, then looked past Maul to we what he was referring. Her eyes widened in surprise as she spotted the Sugarcube corner just in front of them.
Luna figured she had been so caught up with Maul that the night princess never noticed they had arrived at their destination and what's more, she was surprised about how Maul was in the end the one that guided her to the place.
Coming to the quick and rather accurate conclusion that it was the force,Luna though about his words. She figured he was referring to a certain pink pony. Letting out a chuckle, the night princess walked towards the door of the bakery and placed her hoof on the knob. "Come on, Pinkie´s not that dangerous, she´s just weird."
Maul jokingly grimaced. "Weird can be dangerous."
"Wouldn´t you know that?" She replied, rolling her eyes as a smirk appeared on her features, something that Maul answered back with a deadpan. With a sigh, she opened the door. "Let us get inside."
It wasn't long before Maul took notice of the several ponies sitting around a table, some rolling their eyes and others granting under their breaths with the exception of Twilight who instantly shot a toothy grin towards him and Pinkie, who wasn't even with them. The Zabrak sensed her nearby and mentally shuddered. "Good morning, Maul!"
"Twilight." He acknowledged the princess, before looking at the rest. He could sense their annoyance and fear and he could care less... About their annoyance. "Good morning to all."
Out of them, he felt Rainbow being the most conflicted and pretended to hide it with a mocking smirk as she lifted her face from the cupcake she took on her hoof. "Morning freak face." Just as soon as the words left her mouth, the pastry in front of her suddenly decided to collide against her face and spray its contents all over her. A look of sadness for the los other cupcake accompanied a slight snarl as her eyes narrowed at Maul. "Hey! I was going to eat that!"
"Now you can lick it out of your face." He retorted, waving his hand to dismiss her. This action caused Luna and Twilight to give him a look, to which Maul simply acted innocent. "She started it."
Instantly, with a grunt, Applejack stood up, placing both of her hooves over the table. "Yeah, but that was rude!"
"And brutish!" Added Rarity, frowning at the Zabrak.
On her part, Luna could we Maul's expression growing colder as the ambiance began to feel a little bit colder, causing her to intervene. "Girls, we should not let this moment turn sour!" She started, getting the attention of everyone present. "Rainbow here did start it, but maybe Maul should have used other methods."
"Princess Luna´s right." Twilight added. "Come on! Its the morning, do we really have to ruin this day starting now?" There were grunts of disagreement, even from Fluttershy who had opted to remain silent. "And besides, we´ve kinda been antagonizing Maul the whole time."
Rainbow reacted to that and considered how much she distrusted Maul, it seemed like Twilight was unjustifiably defending him, however, before she could say anything, Maul turned to look at the closest door and moments later, Pinky stood out.
"Come on! What´s with the long faces? Isn't eating with an alien fun?" She asked, getting looks from everypony except Twilight and Luna.
"Is that a question for me or for them?" Maul suddenly asked, deciding to make the ambiance lighter. He figured the more they distrusted him, the less he would be able to be at peace to resolve his circumstance.
Pinkie, on her part,let out a chuckle as she extended her hooves to her sides. "Both silly!"
His action did its job amongst most of the antagonising crew, whose expressions began to get soft. "Yeah, sorry ´bout that, Maul." Applejack was the first to speak.
On his part, regardless of how much he was actually gritting his teeth, Maul did his best to Gabe her the most sincire smile he could make. "Don´t worry about it."
With that put of the way and noticing the rest loosening up, Maul and Luna took their sits as everypony continued eating their pastries. Rainbow casted quick glances towards Maul occasionally.
On her part, Twilight had been dealing with a subject she had trouble knowing how she would approach and figured that was the perfect time to do it, now that things were a little calmer.. "So, Maul." She called the Zabrak out, who turned to look at her. "I haven´t gotten the time these past few days, but since you are the first extraterrestrial being to visit Equestria, I was thinking that maybe..." Maul silently sighed, knowing where the conversation was going. Suddenly, Twilight's expression became blank, as a demented expression formed on her face while her upper body go over the table, incoming itself towards Maul and causing the rest of the group to share worried expressions. "I need to study you!"
"What do you mean by study me?" He asked, already wary of the answer.
"I mean, your biology, anything I can get out of your species!" Twilight explained, her expression going back to normal as she sat back in place. "I knew about a similar species called humans, so, considering the similarities between them and the... um..."
"Zabrak." Maul stated.
"Yeah, the Zabrak, maybe it should be easier for me to catalogue yours."
As soon as Maul realized this planet didn't really have knowledge of the outer space political structures, he had feared some of the planet's beings would like to have a scientific peek on him. This conflicted him, as 1: Maul lacked the patience for that and 2: He did not want his... Half problem to be widely known. With this in mind, Maul began to craft the best way to approach the situation without rising suspicion.
He knew they would know eventually, but he needed to cement himself as trustworthy before letting out such things. As such, he faked a jokingly amused look. "Should I be worried about a mad scientist, Twilight?"
Applejack chuckled at this. "You should, partner."
No more words were needed to cause the rest of the group to share a laugh, something Maul didn't. On her part, Twilight frowned at the cowpony. "Come on, I´m not that obsessive!"
"You disturb the force." Maul answered with a joke-afraid expression to which the young princess answered with a grunt.
Suddenly, pit of nowhere a pink blur appeared, something not even someone like Maul sensed, he remained calm nonetheless. "Here´s more!" Pinkie said, letting another plate of various pastries on the table.
Pinkie disappeared under the table and reappeared alongside Twilight from the ceiling. Maul had to be honest, he was amused as she motioned with his head towards Pinkie. "No, she disturbs it more."
"So..." Twilight called, wanting to bring back the topic Maul had changed. "Can I study you?" She asked, getting a frown from the Zabrak and causing Twilight to give him a smile. Normally, one would find it too hard to avoid saying no to such an adorable expression,Maul though, he found it annoying. "Please? I´ve never gotten the chance to examine a being of another world."
"How about humans?" He asked back in a low growl.
Twilight rolled her eyes as her expression became exalted. "They were from another reality, you come from actual space!"
Maul couldn't help but to narrow his eyes at this. "Another reality?" He shouldn't be so surprised considering what he heard about Discord, but considering even Equestrian's citizens could seemingly warp reality was something that got him weary. Trying to leave that for another moment, Maul returned to the topic. "My apologies, but I don´t want to be analyzed."
Twilight gave frustrated sigh as she tried once more. "Please?"
"I said no!" Suddenly, chairs around Maul were violently sent flying in all directions, effectively shutting Twilight up and managing to scare everypony present, with the exception of Luna who looked at him with concerned eyes.
On his part, Maul was breathing heavier, closing his eyes as he tried to get in control his emotions. After seconds of silence, Maul let out a sigh and looked back at the wary ponies. "I... Apologize."
As the group watched him go, Luna turned to look at Twilight. "I'm sorry if he started you, Maul hasn't been feeling well this morning."
Twilight did her best to calm herself as she locked eyes with the night princess. "Did he tell you something?"
She shook her head, lowering it as she released a sigh. "I haven't managed to get anything out of whatever is troubling him." Twilight cocked her head to the side at this.
She could say anything about the subject, Luna stood up. "As I hear he has a presentation in a few hours." She stated, getting a no from Twilight. "I will talk to him before the event, we do not want anything to get out of hoof." Another silent no from Twilight. "Come now, let us go."
"Yes princess." Replied Twilight as she turned to look at the still wary ponies. "Better get prepared, so I guess I'll be seeing you girls at the ceremony." With that, she left, before any of her friends could say something.
Once both princesses were gone, Rainbow turned to look at the rest of the group, a crown on her face. "Did you see how he reacted when Twilight asked to study him?"
"Everypony noticed, Dash." Stated Applejack, placing a hoof under her chin . "It was pretty suspicious."
"He´s obviously hiding something." Added Rarity.
"Maybe something painful like a scar." Said Fluttershy, looking at the door with a worried expression, until she was surprised by Pinkie, who placed herself atop the pink haired pegasus.
"Or maybe he was cut in half and is using a pair of robotic legs!"
Rainbow snorted at this and rolled her eyes. "Come on, Pinkie, that´s nuts!" She exclaimed. "How can anypony survive being cut in half?" Her expression turned serious, as her frow burrowed once more, then she hit the table with the left hoof. "No, I say he has something up his sleeve, something evil!"
Outside the bakery shop, Maul found himself walking across the street, his mood a bit more under control and with both Luna and Twilight walking at his sides. He was more than sure his little outburst caught the attention of everypony present with him and only hoped to the Force they would not question him on the subject.
In the end, he figured being worried about this matter would only bring even more attention, so he decided to let it go for the time being.
Giving Twilight a quick side glance, he asked. "Nervous, princess?"
The young alicorn found herself surprised at Maul's seemingly quick chance of mood, but swallowed it in order to address him. She couldn't, though, as her mind still raced about what had happened back at sugarcube corner. Luna took notice of this and decided to answer for her. "Indeed, if anything, Maul should be."
Twilight looked back at Luna's warm smile, which caused the young alicorn to feel more at ease. "I just don´t know how Ponyville is going to react."
"Heven´t they reacted these two days?" Asked Maul, looking at the numerous ponies they passed by who gave him scared looks while some didn't even bother to stare at him. The Zabrak grunted. "They are even reacting now."
"Well, you haven´t been fully presented yet." Twilight stated, locking sight with Maul.
"Something that will get fixed in a moment."
The continued to walk in silence as they approached the meeting place outside the town hall and much to Twilight's surprise and Maul's dismay, way too many ponies were gathered, waiting to know the alien that was amongst them. "Alright, looks like almost everypony came." She said, hearing the Zabrak grunt. Looking back at him, she said. "I´ll speak to the mayor." With that, she gave him a smile as she waved with her hoof. "See you on stage."
Maul simply noded at her as he placed his hands behind his back and stood behind a nearby house. Luna had followed him, looking at him intently, something the Zabrak had felt but decided to remain silent.
It wasn't long before Luna decided to address him. "So, uh... back at the Sugarcube Corner..."
"There is nothing to talk, Luna." He replied, his voice holding no anger but... Something else. Fear? Pain? Luna tried to deduce which one of not both.
"I did not want to disturb you." She finally said, getting a look from Maul, which caused her to lower her head with a sigh. "Sorry."
Maul gave one deep breath, before addressing the night princess. "No reason to be." He said, locking eyes with Luna once more.
And there it was again, a sensation, a change in Maul's mood. Luna had been trying all day to decide what to do with what she was feeling, what she could perceive about Maul, but something... More prevented her from doing so.
It was faint, but Luna felt familiarity with Maul, as if it was but a memory lost on her subconscious. She tried to pinpoint what exactly it was and as soon as an answer came, her eyes narrowed. For some strange reason, she wanted to go to her and her sister's old castle back at the Everfree forest and she had to do it with Maul.
"Do... you have time after your introduction?" She finally managed to ask, causing Maul to raise an eyebrow. "I want to show you a place, it is... It is kind of an especial place, in the Everfree and since the Force in you appears to be..."
"Appears to be what?" He asked, suspicion on his face.
Luna gulped. "Dark?" Now she got the Zabrak's full attention, causing Luna to act quickly. "Look, I do not want to force you, but normally I would not want to visit this place."
Maul smirked. "And yet you told me it was especial."
"It is, but..." Luna sigh, looking away from the amused Zabrak. "Nevermind."
Things had started to get a little bit more interesting. Maul had been having suspicions all day, noticing how Luna reacted to his mood change. Could it be that she was sending him with the force? He wanted to discard it, as it wouldn't be that easy for a non practisioner to feel emotions with no training. He figured there was more than he realized.
Looking away from her as well, Maul sensed the presence of Twilight and mentally decided to approach Luna about the matter after the ceremony.
"Everything´s ready, you should probably get on the the stage."
With no other word and a simple no, Maul walked towards the back podium, mentally preparing himself for the incoming torture.
The ceremony went just as Maul was expecting, a cringe fest full of awkwardness, mainly directed at the ponies' reaction to him and where he came from, not mentioning the dumb struck faces of the equines upon mentioning anything with the word galactic to them.
Maul really wanted nothing more than to force choke every single one of them and used all the patience he could muster to keep in control the entire time. How most of the ponies in ponyville were so imbecile while Twilight and Luna weren't was so thing he tried to warp his head around. Maybe that was the reason they held higher hirearchy and the rest didn't.
The topics also went through the expected, mainly how he got there and what was happening on the outside, even some of them were worried about a potential attack, to which Maul calmed them by stating how far their planet seemed to be from the clone wars.
The ceremony lasted at least an hour an a half and much to the Zabrak's relief, it came to an end. Ponies parted ways, some with calmer expressions while others still held some signs of paranoia, especially considering Maul's devil like features.
As soon as everyone was gone, Maul made his way towards Luna and Twilight, giving the later a smug.
"That went better than I thought." Twilight stated.
"Where you worried?" Cockily asked Maul. In reality he had half expected something to go horribly wrong and thanked the Force it didn't.
"Of panic taking the streets? Yes, I was." The young alicorn answered truthfully.
Maul couldn't help but to roll his eyes at this. True, he had noticed since the beginning, but it was entering the realm of the ridiculous. "Citizens of Ponyville tend to be that sensitive?"
"Maybe I´m just exaggerating, I mean, usually some kind of crazy overlord comes to conquer us twice a week." Twilight answered, getting a deadpan look from Maul as soon as she said the word 'exaggerating'. She rolled her eyes on response before changing the subject. "So, I guess you´ll be returning home, Maul?"
Another time he would have said yes, but there was something bugging him. Earlier the moon princess had shown signs of a force sensitive and now she seemed to wanting him go to a certain place. Giving Luna a quick glance, Mau? Locked sight with Twilight. "Maybe that´s something Luna should answer."
"Where are you two going?" Asked the young alicorn to the surprised moon princess, who struggle with her words for a moment.
"Indeed, I wanted to show Maul me and my sister's old castle." She answered. In reality, Luna had not expected the Zabrak to even remember the whole conversation after the meeting, but the fact that he did, caused her to give a very small pleased grin.
On her part, though, Twilight cocked her head to the side as she found it weird that the moon princess would take someone like Maul to that place no less. In the end, she shrugged it off.
"Then I guess this is where we part." She said, before looking at the Zabrak. "I'll bee seeing you tomorrow Maul."
The Zabrak faked a smile and bowed lightly with his head.
Before going, Twilight gave the Zabrak one last look. "And be careful... with the forest I mean." She chuckled. "I wouldn´t be surprised if the forest itself was afraid of you."
Maul chuckled back. "Amusing." With that, the young alicorn left, leaving Maul as he looked back at Luna and held out his hand. "Shall we be off?"
"Yes." Answered the still surprised moon princess.
And so they began their journey to a place Luna was half dreading while Maul was savoring. He was imagining how in touch with the dark side of the force the old castle may be.
He had felt it before when he searched the entrance to Hell and before he felt... Him. He mentally shuddered. The Zabrak had felt first hand the almost omnipotence of Sidious, his darkness and the void around him that shadowed any light, but what... Who he felt... It was a bigger beast. Not evil, not good, a perfect standing between the two, but still...
"Brutal..." Muttered Maul, getting the attention of the moon princess who turned to look at him with a curious expression.
She was about to ask, but ultimately let it go.
The rest of the journey went rather quietly and even though they remained silent, the more never truly felt awkward, which was something Luna tried to deduce if it was related to what was happening to her.
It had been at least two hours before they made it to their destination and Maul couldn't be more pleased. A monumental architecture laid there in ruins, dust left and right and pillars to the brink of falling. There was also the expected welcoming warmness of the dark side. He was smiling.
"So, here we are." Said Luna, putting Maul's thoughts to a rest, as he looked back the the moon princess with an amused look on his features.
"Quite impressive." He said.
Regardless of his truthful reaction, Luna couldn't help but to release a chuckle. "You mean, the pair of walls that remain."
"It´s more than that." Luna remained silent, curiously looking at Maul as he raised his hand and placed it on the castle's wall. Closing his eyes, the Zabrak remained silent for a few seconds, before looking back at Luna. "The Force is strong with this place." He finally said, aparting his hand from the wall. "Should I assume many things happened in here and its abandonment wasn´t just out of tiresome?" Regardless of his friendly grin, Luna lowered her head and the Zabrak didn't need the force to tell him he had touched a nerve. "I´m sorry."
"Do not be." Answered Luna, giving Maul a warm smile before aparting her gaze from his and looking at the castle. "It has been so long since I came here." With a long deep breath, she walked towards the doors and pushed them with her hoof. "Let me give you a tour."
And so it begins, history of the castle while leaving many details out, mainly about her immediate family, was given to the Zabrak, who paid attention to everything Luna said.
He was surprised, as regardless of her reaction to it and the dark sensation it gave, Maul listened to happy stories. "There´s still something I don´t understand, Luna." He said, gently interrupting Luna as they entered a wide opened hall with many half destroyed paintings with several ponies. "All these stories and not a single reason to abandon the castle."
Suddenly, Luna's walk came to a stop, her head hanged as she closed her eyes. "As I told you before, I was a monster..." She said, her voice low. Her eyes met Maul, who simply stood there, looking at her. "Let us leave like that."
Maul simply noded in return, thinking about her own words. Looking to change the subject, he spotted a painting of a stallion with a crown atop his head. He had a black word and equally black man.
Placing both hands behind his back, Maul stood in front of said painting causing Luna to look back at him. "So, there was a fair prince in Equestria´s history!" He said, a smirk on his face as he locked sight with the moon princess. "Tell me, did he belong to your sister? Or should should I start feeling jealous?"
Luna's cheeks brined red in an instant t as a sheepish smile appeared on her features. "It seems you are in luck, Maul." She answered. "This was king Sombra, he... used to date my sister."
Maul was hit with recognition, sensing the conflict within her and turned to look at the painting once more with a curious look. "Did he..."
Knowing what he was about to ask, the moon princess rushed to answer. "In a certain point of view, yes."
Maul was suddenly hit with recognition, gazing with interest upon the painting. "So this is the fallen king." With that, he looked back at Luna. "What happened?"
The moon princess walked towards the Zabrak and placed herself alongside him. "Thousands of years ago a dark presence fell of Equestria..."
Maul chuckled at this. "Shouldn´t this be considered cliché by now?"
She returned the expression. "This one was different..." Luna said. "That was a time of darkness and cruelty that not even the likes of Tirek could have ever brought." The moon princess sighed. "To make the story short, Sombra used an... artifact to help him overcome this threat, but it changed him... consumed him."
"This threat, what was it?" Maul asked, not taking away his eyes from the painting and silently wondering if it was the being he had felt in Hell, while wishing it wasn't.
Luna looked conflicted at this. "I... I don´t know, it was so ominous." It was here that something caught his attention. Something changed in Luna as he felt her eyes looking at him with a strange passion he couldn't decide whether it was anger or fear. "The only thing I remember as clear as day is its presence." She paused. "It actually felt similar to yours..."
Maul's eyes widened. It seemed that being wasn't the one that had befallen on Equestria thousands of years ago, but her answer didn't make him feel better. Suddenly something else popped on his mind, as he remembered the artifact that had caused his attention on her whole history to arise. "Luna." He began. "This artifact Sombra used... Should I assume it was the Eclipse stone?"
Luna found herself surprised at this, but then again he must have investigated it in book give by Twilight, to which he had many back "home", still, why the interest? "The Eclipse stone is one of the few artifacts that Equestria´s law forbids to acknowledge, the reason for it is..."
"It was found in Hell..."
"Excuse me?" Luna asked, confused about Maul's choice of words.
"Tartarus." He corrected, looking back at her.
Luna nodded at this as her expression turned serious. "Tartarus is a forbidden place as it is, a place of darkness and hatred." He could feel it, her fear when concerning Hell. "Demonic contact has been avoided for thousands of years and even the most treacherous creatures fear its malevolence."
Trying to lighten the mood, but the objective of discovering more about demonic nature, Maul gave her a smirk. "Kind of hard to believe such a powerful force would not seek conquer."
Luna did not bright up however and her face remained serious. "Something keeps them there... or rather somepony." Suddenly, her heart began to race faster. "There are legends, tales of a force that keeps Tartarus´ influence in check, a Slayer of sorts that prevents DOOM."
"A Doomslayer then?" Maul asked, half jokingly and half serious.
Luna noticed Maul's attempt and gave him a heart chuckle. "Something like that, although there is no real proof of this entity which has lead to believe many that they are a neutral force." She explained, until something came to her mind. "Why the sudden interest in the Eclipse stone, Maul?" Looking back at the Zabrak, Luna saw the sudden change. "Maul?"
Many thoughts raced his mind, actually fearing this 'Doomslayer' entity the more he learned about it and pondered whether he would come out of hell due to his own interest on the Eclipse stone. In the end, he used his will power to keep those thoughts aside and let the topic go. "Have you ever considered to rebuild this castle?"
Luna gave him a concerned look. "Maul, do not change the subject."
"Those are things I would rather not talk about, Luna." He replied, not angry but wary.
Luna figured the best thing she could do at the moment was to comply. "So... the Sith..."
"Why the sudden interest in the Sith, Luna?" He asked, a smirk appearing on his features as he tried to lock his thoughts away.
"Those are things I would rather not talk about." She answered, trying to play along. Maul's wasn't amused, though. "I just find the lore quite fascinating, for example, are there more Sith? I mean, you mentioned your former... master, but no talk of other apprentices."
"That is a classic Sith rule." He stated. "There can only be two, no more, no less."
"Why?"
"To maintain peace." Maul was careful not to reveal more of the nature of the Sith, while giving her enough truth to keep her from asking any more questions. "For how long did you live here?"
"A couple thousand of years, give or take." She answered, seemingly satisfied with the Zabrak's answer.
Suddenly a playful smug appeared on Maul's expression. "I still find it hard to believe you are thousands of years old." He said. "You are not bad looking, Luna."
The red coloration the Zabrak had expected once more, appeared on the moon princess' features, as she lowered her head slightly with a sheepish grin. "Okay, that was a direct flirt."
"It did its work."
Luna rolled her eyes at this, trying to regain composure. "How would you be so sure."
"Last time I checked you were blue, not red." The last thing she heard was the Zabrak's chuckle, before her gazesat upon an incoming pair of doors she knew all too well. The princess stopped dead on her tracks, as a sad expression appeared on her features, something Maul was quick to pick on. "Luna?"
"I still don´t feel like going in there, Maul." She said, looking at the entrance for a few seconds before looking back at Maul. "Can we go back to Ponyille?" Lu a saw the disappointed expression on his face. "I am sorry for this, I thought I may have been ready to face that room but..."
"Do it in your own time." He replied. In reality, he was a little annoyed as high concentration of the dark side laid before those doors and it didn't take a genius to come up to the conclusion that inside that room there had been a monster Luna once. Regardless, he complied,making sure not to push Luna too much if he was going to learn more. "Lets change the subject, what else do you want to know about the Sith?"
Her expression brightened too quickly as they backpedaled and began walking towards the exit. Her thoughts now focused on subject she wanted to know. "How about abilities? I have seen you use telekinesis, but are there any other abilities?"
"Sith are capable of things many would consider unnatural" he answered. "Planetary movement, immortality, premonitions, creation of life, force lightning..."
"Uh, force lightning!?" Lune chimed in, getting an amused look from the Zabrak.
He raised an eyebrow. "I mentioned immortality and creation of life and you feel more excited to hear about lightning?"
"Well, I do have immortality and I could create life if I had a stallion, so..." With an eager smile, she turned to look at the Zabrak. "Can you do that?"
He shook his head. "I could if I..."
Before he could even finish, the next words went through his mind and suddenly, there was pain on his midsection, causing Maul to slow his walk as he placed a hand on her thorax, gaining the attention of Luna, who got closer to the Zabrak. "Maul, are you alright, are you in pain?"
"Let´s change the topic." It was all he answered, thinking about his mortal injury, about the Jedi who had caused, the master who had betrayed him and the thought of the failure he seemed to always be. His fists began to clench as he gritted his teeth, all the while objects around both of them began to float.
'Obi Wan' was the name that cursed through his mind, the name he hated uttering and the name belonging to the man who had ruined his life.
"Are you sure, if you feel bad, maybe we could..." Suddenly, his anger overflowed and in sudden unnatural roar that could be described as coming from a monster rather than a being like him, the walls of the hallway they were currently in, gave out in a horrific explosion that resulted in the creation of a complete new roof . For Luna though, she was taken aback, the power Maul had just let out was something that scared her momentarily as she silently wondered how powerful he was in reality. "And I thought I was scary."
Maul grabbed both of his knees, taking deep breaths as he tried to calm himself and lock the name of the Jedi away. Several seconds passed before he looked at Luna with an apologetic look. "Forgive me, Luna." He said.
The Zabrak could feel the princess' hoof over his shoulder as he went back to his full height, noticing how Luna was at least a head shorter. Once more, he decided to change the subject about a topic that had caught his interest earlier. "The force has been acting strange, there are surges of power approaching." He began, starting to walk again towards the exit of the old place. "Back in the castle, a soldier mentioned the arrival of this... Red Claw."
"You think it could be him?" She asked, still concerned about Maul's recent outburst. "Are you implying he could be a force user?"
"It wouldn´t seem so strange." He answered.
"You think we should be worried?"
"If none of you has ever heard of the force, then I imagine he would lack the knowledge, still, nothing is certain." The whole time he had felt her hoof over his shoulder and while he didn't find it particularly annoying, Maul wanted it away from him. "I feel better now." He said.
Luna took the gentle hint and remover her hoof from his shoulder, giving the Zabrak a nod. She figured he didn't want any other kind of conversation for that day.
The incoming hours were spend in almost silence, with the occasional surging topic, but Luna had realized maybe it was for the best to leave Maul back at his 'home'.
A week had passed since Maul arrived in Equestria and all was starting to go back to normal. The citizens of ponyville felt more at ease around the Zabrak and panic had almost ceased entirely, quite an achievement considering Maul's characteristics, still, for the alien himself there was a strange mistery going around him.
Luna had felt him and regardless of how much he wanted to hide his discontent, the night princess knew this sensation existed.
She was almost sure it was the Force Maul was always talking about and regardless of how much she wanted to tell him, there was something stopping her from doing so,something she still couldn't identify, as such,she did her best to let it past until the moon princess felt it was the right time, in the end, Maul wasn't going anywhere.
This thought prevented her from visiting him the last two days of the week, that and the Zabrak's insistence on reading the rest of the books Twilight had lent him. Luna thought it was funny, an egghead with horns.
However, not everyday would go as peacefully as the rest of the week, for in that day, both she and her sister were expecting a certain mad Griffon king to visit and possibly wage war.
Luna walked through the spacious hallway of the castle and towards the throne room where her sister was expecting her. The night princess hoped the exchange would go smooth and fast so she could go to Ponyville and visit her Zabrak friend.
With that thought helping her smile a bit, Luna placed a hoof over the enormous door and pushed. "Morning sis." She greeted Celestial, who was sitting on her throne, clearly deep in though.
"Luna." The sun princess replied, coldness in her voice and not due to anger but of concern.
It was weird to see Celestial like that, so much that when it was the case, it was usually troublesome. Walking right to her, Luna placed a hoof over her sister's shoulder. "Celly, what´s wrong?"
The sun princess made a 'hmm?' as a response, noticing Luna's expecting expression. Her trance had been broken and reacted almost instantly at the moon princess' presence. Releasing a sigh, she locked eyes with her sister. "I´m just worried about Twilight and her friends."
That was all she needed to hear. Regardless of the newcomer's calmness, she could understand her sister's concern. "Because of Maul?" She asked already knowing the answer. Shaking her head, Luna removed her hoof from Celestina's shoulder. "Well, he hasn´t exactly given us a reason to doubt him."
Celestia deadpanned at this. "Aside from his amusing introduction."
Luna rolled her eyes as an answer. "Yes, aside from that." True, first impressions had been definitely hostile, but then again, one should expect a reaction like that after such a loss. "He had a reason though."
"I know, but there is something about him..." This comment set Luna on edge. "I really don´t know how to put it."
Wanting to divert attention until she discovered why she was feeling that connection to Maul, Luna used the most obvious answer. "Its called the Force, sis."
It did it's work, as Luna's smug made Celestia chuckle at the moon princess' words.
Her interest soon shifted towards the whole mythology surrounding Maul, especially the two factions he had spoken about before. "His speech left me thinking." Celestia finally said. "Jedi, Sith." She began, taking into account the nature of Maul's affiliation and his rather devious personality. "He said evil and good were just mere points of view, but there are social laws that can´t be broken by what could be considered... evil."
"You incline more to evil?" Asked Luna.
With clear confusion on her face, Celestia shook her head. She had this sort of feeling whenever someone rubs her the wrong way, plus a rather calurous and thin veil of hatred following the Zabrak. "I don´t know, its just that this 'Force' of his feels... hot."
Luna chuckled at this, a smirk appearing on her features. "Getting exited so soon?"
Her worried expression was fast to vanish as it was replaced with a deadpan. "You know what I´m referring to, Luna."
Luna chuckled. "I know."
Releasing a sigh, Celestia knew Luna wasn't simply taking her seriously and wondered if it had anything to do with familiarity, a sensation the sun princess herself, had felt before. Regardless of how calurous Maul was towards Luna and vice versa, the sun princess needed to be on her hooves as well as her sister. "I will have to keep an eye on him, and you should too."
Luna simply shook her head with a roll from her eyes. For her, Celestia was simply exaggerating and maybe was afraid of the mist of danger surrounding the Zabrak, that if she had to be honest, found quite exciting. "Already thinking on it." She said, trying to please her sister.
This action did not convince Celestia, as she grew annoyed at her sister's lack of seriousness. Suddenly the main doors opened, interrupting whatever Celestia was about to tell her.
From the entrance, a royal guard made haste towards the sister's, his face showing urgency which got the attention of the princesses.
"Your majesty!" Finally said the guard, after a respectful bow. "Red Claw has just arrived."
A sigh and a grunt were suddenly heard coming from the royal sisters, with Celestia placing a hoof over her forehead. It was an understatement to say she was worried about Maul being in Ponyville and having a potential enemy with strong military power just made things worse.
With an annoyed look, Ce!estia looked at her sister. "This can´t end good."
Luna tried to calm Celestia by giving her the warmest of smiles. "When has it always."
She had a point, Ponyville was very known for its battles and constant overlords trying to take over, still, it did little to ease the situation. Giving a deep breath, the sun princess looked at the guard. "Let him pass."
The guard gave her a cordial bow before disappearing behind the door. Suddenly, a grunt caught Celestia's attention, as she looked at her sister. "This Griffon is stepping out of line." Luna said.
"I know, but we need to maintain peace with them, we cannot allow Equestria go to war for such a trivial misunderstanding."
Luna rolled her eyes as a response. "There would not be if Red Claw wasn´t the one at the Griffon throne." The whole thing was pretty recent, a few days before Maul arrived at most. Both sister's figured the sudden need for land was more due to a personal vendetta from the mad king than anything else. Sadly, the Griffon had an entire army at his disposal. "He just feeds lies to his followers."
"Still, he is the king of his people, and the one we have to maintain friendship with." Celestia replied, noticing the displeased look on Luna's face. She couldn't blame her sister, after all, Red Claw wasn't really loved both inside and outside his kingdom.
Soon enough, Celestia heard the familiar sound of claws against marmol, causing her to release a sigh. "He´s coming." She said, both sister's turning to face the entrance as they waited for the Griffin. With that, Celestia gave Luna a quick glance. "I have the feeling this meeting will be unpleasant."
Moments after, the main door was opened by a royal guard, who gave way to an old Griffon, his fur black and his hair red. His eyes looked tired and his expression held an air of grandeur. Both Celestia and Luna wondered is somepony had ever called the king a petulant little griffon on his life, because that seemed to be the most accurate description for him.
A smile appeared on his face, more acted up than the king himself intended, not that he cared. "Princess Celestia, and princess Luna."
Releasing a more experienced fake smile from her own, Celestia gave her sister one last quick glance. "Friendly face, Luna." She didn't hear.
"It has been a while since I saw you." Greeted the king, eyeing the castle as he didn't even bother to look at the princesses.
"By a while you mean a week, Rec Claw?" Replied Celestia, half-wanting to break the ice and half-annoyed.
Her passive-agressive nature didn't go unnoticed by the king, whose smile disappeared, as a serious expression made it to his face. "How´s the kingdom?"
"Same as the last time you saw it." Answered Luna, giving a step up front as a sign of authority.
Red Claw noticed this as well and gave the night princess a frown. "Well, things tend to change." He replied, looking back at Celestia. "Like the seize of my land."
Noticing Luna's rapid change of mood and anger, Celestia quickly interjected. "Would you prefer to discuss this at the table?"
"As long as you don´t waste my time, Celestia, remember I could cut off communications with Equestria."
"We certainly do not need that," replied the sun princess, her expression serious as well. "for both of us."
With that, Celestia motioned with her wing towards the entrance, where a royal guard was soon to open the doors, letting the three of them to go out, with Celestia and Luna going up front.
The silence was uncomfortable to say the least and Celestia was silently wishing things wouldn't get out of hoof, but considering Red Claw's... Condition and Luna's temperament, the sun princess had hunch that a peaceful solution wouldn't be possible.
It wasn't long until they arrived at the royal dinning room, where royal chiefs were already working hard to place food on the table. Fruit, cake and hay for the princesses, plus a plate of meat for the griffon.
In a few minutes, everypony and griffon was sitting in place, ready to eat before the incoming storm took them.
Silence took hold of the room as both parties warily eated, until Red Claw took the opportunity to watch his surroundings, before his gaze met Celestia's. "Quite the sight." Said the griffon. "And I thought dragons were greedy." The obvious venenous statement caught the ire of Luna, who instantly frowend at the mad king. "Do I amuse you, princess Luna?"
She gave a faint snarl in return. "I assure you, only those things that matter amuse me."
After those words left her mouth, Celestia could already see the confrontation from mile away, for Red Claw, though, he had an amused expression, almost as if he was enjoying whatever his next sentence was.
"Somepony´s not happy to receive my presence, right Luna?" Finally said the mad king, a sadistic smile appeared on his fetures. The sun princess wondered if the bastard had been thinking his next words for the past minutes. "Why is an exiled nutjob that doesn´t even know how to maintain a kingdom, bothering me?" He exclaimed. "I thought your sister taught you better."
Upon his words, Luna stood up, her horn ready to shoot before Celestia lifted her hoof to stop her sister. "We should probably sit, I have a few delicacies I know you will find of your liking."
That seemed to get the attention of the king, who instantly looked from Luna to Celestia as sallyba poured from his mouth. "A Griffon eating meat in front of an alicorn," Red Claw licked his beak, giving Celestia a dirty look. "would that amuse you?" Soon enough and much to the sun princess' relief, the royal chef came to Red Claw and placed a tray in front of him, which had a big piece of meat underneath. Almost instantly, the mad king stopped mentally savoring Celestia to focus on the plate. "Well, how would I say no to this delicious food?"
As the griffon devoured the meat, Luna and Celestia exchanged a quick glance. Her sister had an frown on her face and figured that would be the best time for Celestia to ease things up. "So, how are things at Griffonstone?"
Liking his claws, Red Claw looked back at Celestia. "Things are well, princess Celestia, things are well." Picking up a natpkin, the griffon cleaned up his beak from any left trace of blood. "Just a few minor inconveniences regarding a certain land that belongs to us." Celestia had mentally facehoofed so hard that the mad king could have heard it. "But I told my people they should not worry, I told them Equestria´s princesses were wise." With that, Red Claw gave Celestia an inquisitive look. "Are you wise, Celestia?"
Once more trying to break the ice, Celestia smiled. "Well, I have a few thousand years behind me."
The griffon looked at her for a few seconds in silence, his expression unchaching, before he locked eyes with Luna again. "And what about you?" Celestia mentally sighed. "Are you wise, or you just pretend to be?" The night princess didn't answer and simply looked back at her plate.
On his part, Red Claw chuckled. "A shadow will always be a shadow."
From her place, Celestia could see a vein popping up on her sister's forehad. The king would not stop playing and she figured the best course of action is to get the main topic on track and hope for the best. "With all due respect, king Red Claw, but I believe there are a few things we have to sort out."
Looking back at the sun princess, Red Claw smiled. "Of course, of course." He said, placing both of his claws over the table. "So... regarding my lands?" He asked. "You have not forgotten that after the Griffon wars, you ponies seized most of our territories on this side of the globe, have you?"
"I remember, but I also remember most if not every of those territories were already given back to your kingdom after the peace treaty."
Instantly, Red Claw took the glass of wine alongside him and threw it away towards the nearest wall, shattering in the process. "Ah! And here we go again with the lies." He exclaimed, pointing with his finger towards the sun princess. "No wonder almost every race has a bone to pick up with Equestria." He said. "Both the leaders and their subjects are the lowest of the low! No honor, no justice."
"With all due respect-"
"Respect there is not!" Interrupted Red Claw before Celestia could even finish.
The sun princess however, did her best to remain calm, regardless of the serious expression that had alpeared on her face. "With all due respect, I would like you to check a map, and see for yourself the once former Griffon territories are back under the control of your kingdom."
"Check a map..." He snarled. "Then tell me, how is it that I haven´t seen any Griffon in the surrounding areas of Ponyville and Canterlot?"
"We have a few colonies, Red Claw, it´s not our fault the rest decide to live in other places." Celestia replied, her body erguing towards the griffon as she placed both hooves over the table, her wings spreading dangerously. "As I said before, check a map."
There was a faint glint of fear on the mad king after Celestia's intimidation, which seemed to have shut him up... Sadly, she was mistaken. "Grew too frustrated with your sister, did you?" He said, maintaining eye contact with Celestia, who was now snarling at the king. She knew exactly what he was about to do. "I don´t blame you, any animal would take too long to learn after being abandoned."
Before Luna could react, Celestia crashed her hoof against the table, shattering it while dangerously looking at the mad king. "That is enough, Red Claw! I thought you came here to set a peaceful solution to our problem, but I will have to take this matter on my hooves if you do not stop with this foolish ego showcase!"
Red Claw, different from before, was now calm. His voice, however, gave away a threatening poison. "Careful, Celestia, you are asking for a war."
"I am only asking for the rage of Griffonstone´s foul king!" She spatted out, already tired with the griffon. "You think your subjects would follow the steps of a royal failure? We are not unprotected, Red Claw, we ponies know how to defend ourselves."
She finished, giving deep breaths as Luna looked at her with wide open eyes. Red Claw, however, was playing with a knive that was still on the table.
A few moments of silence e passed before the griffon looked from the knive to Celestia, his voice low and calm. "It has come to my attention you have received a rather... special guest."
Both Luna and Celestia were instantly shaken up by that statement. The sun princess did her best to fake innocence. "How is that relevant?"
"I have heard he is not from this planet." Replied the mad king, managing to get Celestia on a loss for words. "Careful with the kind of guests you receive, Celestia, one would think you are forming an alliance with something we do not understand." He said. "Keep my land, there will be problems; conquer our lands, there will be blood." With that threat, Red claw stood from his place. "I will be back once you are not feeling so high and mighty, by then I expect you to take the wise choice." Turning around, he dismissed both sisters with his claw. "Good meat."
Celestia watched as the mad king pushed the royal guard waiting by the door and out of the way, before getting out and slamming the heavy wooden entrance. Now that they were alone, the sun princess released a deep sigh. "Well, that went smooth." She said, but got no answer in response. Looking alongside her, Celestia spotted Luna looking at her plate with a pained expression. "Luna..."
Upon the gentle call of her sister, Luna looked up and locked eyes with Celestia, trying to give her a smile, but failing miserably. "I´m okay, sis." She said, a frown taking hold of her features as she eyes the door before looking back at the sun princess. "It was hard for me not to disintegrate him."
Smiling, Celestia placed a hoof over Luna's shoulder. "Well, I admit you controlled yourself pretty well, although if you had actually done it, I would not blame you."
Luna ruturned the gesture, although less excitedly, before a worried expression appeared on her face. "You think he´ll proceed?"
Removing her hoof from Luna's shoulder, Celestia's expression turned serious, concern clearly visible on her features. "I hope not."
If having a mad king seeking to create conflict was bad enough, him knowing about a certain Zabrak was worse. "Sis..." Lu a called out, getting the attention of Celestia. "He knew about Maul, how did he know?"
"I don´t know, Luna, maybe there were a few Griffon spies keeping an eye." She said, however, the alien wasn't of much concern right then for the princess. "I´m more worried about an attack."
An attack was very likely and the safety of Ponyville as a frontline was at risk, however, interestingly enough, Luna felt something else. Standing up, she locked eyes with her sister. "I should tell Maul about this." She told Celestia, before turning around and spreading her wings to fly away. "Better to leave everything clear, before we have a chance to regret anything."
Celestia chuckled at these, before giving Luna a teasing smile. "You really spend time with him."
Luna rolled her eyes, ascending into the air as she got ready to depart. "I´ll be back." With that, Luna flew out of the castle, making haste to meet with the Zabrak and let him know of the possible danger of Red Claw, strangely enough, she wasn't worried.
Maybe Maul was worse.
A week had passed for Maul, a week since he arrived at Equestria, at the unknown planet outside the Outer Rim and far away from the intergalactic conflict and Sidious. He had not seen Luna for three days and none of the other ponies had approached him since they went to deal with some 'equality' bantha crap at a camp away from Ponyville.
Thinking back at his own Galaxy, the Clone wars must be continuing in his absence for sure, as the Force felt the same way, regardless of the thin veil of darkness as if something dark was approaching, maybe the end of the war, who knows?
As of that moment, Maul was preoccupied with other things, mainly his position and place in the undiscovered planet. He was no longer a sith, that much was true, but he didn't serve the light either.
The only good thing of his predicament was Eqiestria's quiet nature, where even it's inhabitants, for as pathetic and easy to scare as they were, didn't bother him in the slightest, making it easier for the Zabrak to find himself in the position where he was at the moment.
Sitting a top an enormous rock, alongside a waterfall, laid the former sith assassin, meditating as the relaxing sound of nature made his concentration all the more accessible, even for the place he was in.
Maul had chosen the Everfree forest as meditation spot for it's welcoming nature of the dark side, an ideal place where he could feel truly at home, none to bother him.
He had to admit his surprise on how respectful ponies where, case in point Fluttershy had made it to his location and while the pegasus may have thought Maul never noticed her, the Zabrak had felt her from miles away. He knew the shy pony had most likely recognized that he was meditating and opted not to interrupt his trance. And in such a trance he was.
The power of the Force cursed through him, almost feeling as if he was under the waterfall instead of the rock as it's welcoming nature was something Maul welcomed with open arms.
This connection allowed him to sense Equestria itself and in that moment, the power surge he had felt a few days ago, was once more occurring. It was darkened to the point where the Zabrak couldn't find it's exact location, but it was close by, in Equestria, that much was true.
He had no plan, but to simply meet this Force sensitive and let the will of the Force dictate what would happen next, be it the griffon king Red Claw or someone else, he would follow the lead of the Force, even if it told the Zabrak to kill the mad king...
Shifting his attention from this matter, Maul sensed an incoming presence, a presence he was getting familiar with and it felt... Angry, sour, in pain.
Without opening his eyes or moving an inch, the Zabrak already knew who was behind. "Morning Luna." He said. "To what do I owe your presence?"
"Just checking up on you." Answered the night princess, walking closer to the Zabrak. "So, how are you liking it here?" She asked, noticing the odd place for Maul to meditate.
The Zabrak gave a deep breath. "It is a change of pace and way more peaceful than at the center of the clone wars." He answered, still in lotus position. "It had been long before I could relax enough to meditate."
"Some kind of yoga, or something?"
"It is the way in which I deeply connect with the force." With that, the Zabrak opened his eyes, then stood up to greet the princess with a cordial bow that made Luna smile as she rolled her eyes. "Enough of me, how about you?"
"What about me?"
"I sense something is bothering you." He stated, noticing the fast change of humor from the princess.
Luna's face fell, her expression holding a frown as anger and pain was flowing through her like crazy. Maul figured something had happened, most likely directed at her ego. "The Griffon king, Red Claw, paid us a visit yesterday." Said and done. "We fear he may not be open to discussion."
Maul felt more curious, this Red Claw was indeed at Canterlot, meaning he could be the Force sensitive the Zabrak was sensing. Trying to do his best to hide a smile, Maul gave Luna a fake concerned look. "I take it he still is in Canterlot?"
Luna chuckled at this. "I take it this force isn´t always on your side, uh?" She said, noticing the deadpan look on Maul's features, making her roll her own eyes. "He only came for a few minutes, before leaving."
Maul wide opened his eyes, clearly taken aback by the response. Maybe Red Claw wasn't the Force sensitive he had felt. "That is... interesting."
His sudden change of mood went completely past Luna, who shook her head. "Well, I wouldn´t exactly call it interesting." She said, releasing a sigh as she looked at Maul with a worried expression. "Look, I just want to tell you to be careful, as Red Claw has learned of your presence."
Luna knew Maul would not be scared so easily, but she wasn't expecting the Zabrak to chuckle at this. "Just a week on a new planet, and I´m already on the sights of a mad king." He joked, managing to get a smile from the night princess. "Don´t worry about me, Luna, the Force will guide me."
Luna couldn't help but to roll he eyes at the statement. And she thought she was stubborn...
"Well, it did fail you with Red Claw remember?" She teased, rubbing the Zabrak's nose with her hoof and making Maul release a snarl Luna did not even notice until she felt the discomfort.
Thinking about that, the night princess recalled what had happened back at the old castle and Maul's outburst, as well as their talk of different powers, which made Luna think back at the Zabrak's past. "I'm sorry to bring this up, but your mother was a magic user, wasn't she?"
Maul on his part, did his best to let his anger slip. In the end, Luna wasn't particularly annoying. "Indeed she was, why?"
"Have you ever though about learning actual magic?"
Maul shook his head. "I serve the Force, Luna, regardless of my heritage, besides, night sister magic is refrained to exactly that... The sisters of the clan."
Luna couldn't help but to release a chuckle at Maul's words. He truly seemed rather loyal to this superior force. "Learning magic will not make you an heretic, Maul, it's just knowledge that at the end of the day will only help you if you ever have the need."
The Zabrak placed a hand under his chin, thinking about her words. True, he could be more proficient considering he was the son of the night sisters' leader and learning wouldn't exactly mean he was going to abandon the ways of the Force, plus his clan had been erradicated by Grievous and the Separatists' army, so maybe family customs didn't really matter any more, heck! Even Sidious and neither ancient Sith were strangers on the subject.
Maul had to admit, he had lived all his life chained to rules that this could be an opportunity for him to start doing things for his own benefits outside the war, a pass time without life or death consecuences.
With a long deep sigh, Maul agreed. "Very well Luna, what do I need to know?"
A devious smile appeared on her face as Maul was starting to become wary of this change. She was planning something and the Zabrak was most likely going to regret it.
"Let go to Twilight's." Luna said.
