Star Wars: Power of the Dark Side
Chapter XIII: Paths of Discipline

"...We have to do something, this is a princess, Sapphire, we just can't leave her in the Everfree Forest."

"You're right, she is a princess, the princess of magic in fact. She can very well help herself out of the forest."

"Her horn is bucking gone! How can she be the princess of magic if she can't even lift something off the ground!"

"Hmmh....." Vesper groaned from the back of her throat. She tried to break the haze of her eyes and lift open her eyelids but there was no use, her eye lids were heavy and she could not lift them on her own volition. Her head stung with a numbing pain, she lifted a hoof and touched her head where her horn used to be. She touched it and felt a spot of dry blood. Her anger churned within her, stewing while she laid there with her eyes closed.

How could she ever forgive her master for doing this? How could she bring herself to ever accept a life without any magic? She can never go back now, and she blamed it all on Venator. There could have been a better way to rid herself of her magic but he withheld that information because he wanted to see how far she would go with this. Now she proved her loyalty, at least for now.

She felt a hoof nudge her shoulder and it was almost as if her eyelids revived from the sensation. They burst open with her heart beating rapidly. The royal guard who nudged her rested it calmly on her shoulder and gently soothed, "It is okay your majesty. You are safe for now."

The royal guard helped her stand on her legs. Vesper had the strength to do it herself, but she was not about to dismiss their kindness and protection. She did however feel somewhat humble from him calling her your majesty. She did not like being put in a position higher up than anypony else. She was just a librarian. At least, she used to be. Vesper had a feeling that humility was not a tenet of the dark side.

The one on the right had a suspicious look and asked, "What happened to you?"

Vesper fell silent for a moment. She could not outright tell them that she did this to herself. How could she? This was an act of heresy, to relinquish somepony's magic from them was the only crime she knew of that was punishable by execution. She had to come up with something that would staff their suspicions elsewhere. Vesper mused, "I...I was jumped, by a group of changelings. There were so many of them..."

Vesper stared off into noting as if remembering the horrible event, she remembered what Rarity had taught her if she would ever find herself in a situation like this. From the looks on their faces, they were starting to believe her. To add some authenticity, she worked up some tears and sniffled, "...they were so fast I...I did not have enough time to react and they...they cut off my horn..."

Horror bled and wept from her face as she tried to give the fein notion of being jumped by changelings. She cried and watched as the guard on her right changed his face to remorse and sympathy. From her connection to the dark side she could feel them. The eerie ebb and flow of the Force through them. It was silent and distant, but it was there lying dormant within them.

The one to her left rested a hoof on her shoulder, grave sympathy on his face as he said, "I am...sorry...princess. But, are you feeling okay? Does it hurt at all?"

Vesper wiped away her tears and sniffled, "No. I think the pain went away after I fell unconscious."

They played right into her hooves as the suspicious one broke his wall and he quickly added, his head high and his chest out, "How might we help you, your majesty?"

For once she felt her muscles calm in the air of normalcy, however she did not like it was irrelevant. They both appeared as stone, waiting for their next orders as their directives were to aid and protect the princesses of Equestria, and their families. The safety of Equestria's ponies coming second. Their golden barding ever familiar and their helmets setting nicely atop their heads. The fan of feathers on top of their helmets bringing happiness to her as she would ponder their use as a filly. Their spears sheathed away and out of sight, though barely, and her eye uncomfortably on them. She could not trust anypony, not even those that would protect her.

She answered, "I need...I need to see something from the library of the old castle."

The one she could only assume was named Sapphire replied, "I am sorry ma'am but we can't do that. If I have permission to do so, might I ask why?"

Vesper needed to be careful with how she phrased these next sentences as Royal Guards usually took their orders to a 'T'. She could not openly say, 'Hey, I need entrance into the ruins so that I can learn different combat forms for the dark side.' This required an air of cunning and subtly Vesper breathed calmly, drawing a breath out to descend from her fake stupor of sadness, that appeared to be working. Being a princess did have its perks, Vesper had to admit that, but she could not shake the growing feeling of fear that silently prodded in the back of her head. What were two Royal Guards doing in the Everfree Forest? Likely not on an evening stroll, but on a patrol for something.

Vesper inquired, "Why are you not permitting me entrance?"

Sapphire answered, "We were given orders that a ward broke in the ruins of the old castle and to keep the site cleared from all activity. Direct orders from Princess Celestia herself."

A ward broke? Could it be possible that she broke a ward subconsciously when she had gotten the holocron? She was uncertain and she could not make the risk of asking. They peered at her with steely eyes that made Vesper uncomfortable. The ruins were near, she cold tell through the familiar vegetation and the paths that they were on. From her memory she knew exactly where the ruined castle lied. The cicadas were loud and they announced themselves to the world, their buzzing loud and proud. She glanced over both of the guards and claimed, "But I am a princess of Equestria? Don't I resist the normal boundaries of ponies?"

It was a far cry but it was at least something. She did not want this to go the wrong way. The two guards glanced at each other, not with looks of trepidation but with concerned looks as if their positions might be put in jeopardy. Sapphire rubbed the back of his neck underneath his helmet, "What do you think Cuirass?"

Cuirass moved his glance briefly over to the injured princess and replied, "She isn't in good shape she needs to see a doctor."

"I am fine, I assure you." Twilight blurted, interrupting their conversation. While she had to watch it and make sure that the wound would not get infected she still had a small ounce of pain but it was insignificant enough that she could ignore it. She subconsciously tried to cast a small mending spell on the wound but then remembered that her horn was gone. A void feeling rising within her as she remembered what she had done to herself. A macabre scene of self harm to an outsider looking in, but it was more than just that wasn't it?

Twilight, the studious protege of Princess Celestia and Princess of Magic, was long gone. Mirrored and twisted by this Vesper that now took hold of the body outside. A pegasus, that was all that she was now. Something that she needed to come to grips to, probably not ever doing this. And if Venator's suspicions were true, how could Celestia or Luna for that matter keep their horns and not her?

Vesper could understand the loyalty aspect of the test but any other rationale for the test was faulty. She had more questions for her master the next time that they would meet, and she hoped that she did not require to knock herself unconscious.

Vesper shook her head briefly, expelling the pain from her mind and focusing back on the guards. They gave her a knowing look and Vesper initiated in a powerful tone, "I will seek medical attention when I am done. As partial ruler of Equestria, I demand that I be given leeway to this quarantine to allow myself the library. I also order that this does not come to the ears of Celestia."

She imitated Celestia's orderly tone and the guards shared a glance. Clearly they were not going to refuse the direct order of a princess, it was their directive. Vesper hated going against the words of her former mentor but there was nothing else she could do. She had to do this. Undermining authority was not what she done-no, that was something that Twilight would not do, Vesper was willing to do anything to gain what she required.

The guards inclined their heads respectively, eyes suspicious, but their voices boomed as one, "Yes, my princess."

They wandered off and Vesper did not falter from her stern and royal stance, her wings fanned out. When they walked out of earshot Vesper dropped her stance and sighed heavily and breathed, "That was close."

Vesper looked over the ground and noticed that her cloak was in the mud, she went to use her telekinesis spell to levitate it over to her but she stopped herself and simply snatched it up with her hoof. If there was one thing that was certain, she needed adjustment to this new life of wielding the Force. Twilight pulled the cloak over her forehooves and pulled the hood over her head. The cloth was slightly damp and muddy from its time on the ground. The clothing darkening because of it.

She pulled up the hood and recited, "Through victory my chains are broken, the Force shall free me."

Vesper snapped a tree limp and it vibrated back into its place. One thing was for sure as she trudged her way to the ruins, this autumn was a very damp one. It had begun to sprinkle, the small drops of rain falling onto her cloak. The shadows of the forest leeched upon her ebony colored cloak. Her gaze fixated on two things.

One, on the path ahead of her and what she would face in the ruins. Vesper had a sneaking suspicion that it would not be as easy as simply walking in and taking the pages and reciting them. No, it likely required a quick position and some small amount of combat training. To get her used to her life without magic and her new reliance on the dark side. It had been a few minutes with her new connection with the dark side and already her thoughts were flooded with knowledge, mostly incoherent thought, but they were thoughts none the less.

Two, the environment around her. The Everfree Forest was not a friendly place and the creatures that resided inside of the Everfree Forest was not any friendlier. She needed to keep an open eye out on the area around her and be careful that she was not being stalked as prey. The Sith Code reminded her that she would be granted power, power over all things. This made her the predator, not some other creature. The code made her abel to hunt and protect her goal and to shape victory into her hooves. This caused Vesper to remember words she had read titled The Art of War, 'Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows;
the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing'.

She broke through the vegetation and the landscape opened up before her and nestled next to the mountain in the middle of the Everfree Forest was the castle ruins. Vesper then remembered its proper name, the Celestial Citadel. It's familiar sight becoming a welcoming one. She had pondered the idea of refurbishing it and using it as a fort once more. Using as another protective position against invaders should they invade from the Everfree Forest. Again it was just a thought, but she had never voiced it.

She once more found herself within the dark chilling halls of the castle. But where Twilight had silently feared the shadows, Vesper embraced them and saw it in a new light. This place was seeping in the dark side. She never noticed this before, but it bled through its collapsed halls. She felt great surging power calling out to her. Warranting her gaze to find different paths of where she felt the ebb and flow of the Force.

But while she felt this overwhelming feeling of darkness she felt another warmer feeling. She could only describe this feeling as the light side. This clash of feelings was gyrating and very off putting to say the least. She felt torn and conflicted, she felt as though nothing had been centered or corrected. Something within the ruined halls was unresolved, the two different forces fixated on one another. It was...liberating to say the least. She had never felt such power and greatness ever present in one location before. She had sensed the magical energies of this place but it was never more prevalent than it was now.

She sensed many, many things. This new connection opened her eyes to places and possibilities she had never once thought possible. She felt the slight influence on her guide her. She left the collapsed and crumbling foyer and left for where the force guided her. She was not devoted to this yet, but it was a test to see its capabilities and if this Force could be trusted. The difference between Magic and the Force, at least that Vesper noticed, was the Force thrummed. It felt as though it was living and breathing. It had opened her eyes to ways she had never thought possible with magic. Everything, every extant of magic was doubled with the Force.

Thoughts flooded through her mind, quicker than before, and she pressed a hoof against her head. She continue don her way, she would have to transfer this knowledge onto paper if she is to continue. The nooks and crannies left and abandoned by the missing magic was replaced with the Force. Her world reformed and the colors around her became more vibrant than she had ever seen before.

Bats fluttered and traveled over head as she opened the door to the library. The large double doors squeaking on their rusted hinges as it opened. Everything was as she had previously left it.

Books and volumes littered the tables all around the room, incoherent and chaotic to say the least but she knew where every volume was and their title. The one closest to the door was scripts pertaining to the economics of Old Equestrian times. The farthest one was one that held volumes about politics and government structure of not only Equestria but Griffonia and Saddle Arabia, volumes that Vesper would have a request for the Royal Library for weeks if not months just to find a copy.

This place was a nice escape from her home in Ponyville. Her crystal castle could be a bit overwhelming at times and here, here it retained much of her former home. Again, the thought of asking the princesses to rebuild the castle came across her brain but she merely stored it away and out of sight.

She took in a breath before she pulled her hood down and crossed the room. Taking the holocron out of a pocket in her cloak and placing it on a table. As it rested upon the table she saw it rise brightly in light and the familiar blue hued monster of a pony stand before her. His profile to her and Vesper knelt before her master and Venator bade, "I cannot express my pride for how you handled that situation. You kept your mind clear and you manipulated those beneath you to remain silent. Already you are becoming quick to master the ways of the Sith. Excellent."

Vesper inclined her head, equal in pride, "Thank you my master."

He turned to her and said, "Now, these texts lie within the chambers of this library. Let the dark side guide you and it will guide you where the light cannot."

Vesper looked up and repeated, "I understand my master."

"I shall return when you have completed this test. When next we meet, you will show me what you have learned. Spend days studying the form that speaks to you, the form that most signifies who you are as a pony. It might even be a combination of a hoof full, but when you return, you must show journeyman-ship in it. To know basic knowledge of this form of combat. I wish you luck my apprentice."

Vesper nodded. The image of her master retreated back into the holocron, her lip curling in anger and hatred of her master. It took her every fibre of her being not to lash out at him. But she reminded herself that he was just a hologram of what he really is. She had nothing to fear, but while she thought that she did not believe it. Not one bit.

She stood promptly and resubmverged herself in the feeling of the two sides of the force and allowed it to guide her where she needed to go. It was almost a euphoric feeling, bringing her to a new level of thinking and rationale that had never been known to her before. Her hoof falls calm and falling in perfect placement where the force had guided her. Feeling the ebb and flow of it deep within her.

She soon nudged something in front of her and opened her eyes to find a bookshelf she had never seen before. Upon it dark volumes and scrolls so ancient that they must have dated back before a thousand years ago. She lifted a hoof carefully to the parchment on the shelves and glancing over them briefly she noticed that they were written in an obscure dialect of Equestrian. She ran through the dialects one by one in her head before she knew it and found the title of most of the scrolls. Lightsaber form I: Shii-Cho, Form VI: Niman. She nodded knowing that the Force had guided her to the right place. She then moved the scrolls underneath her forehoof and went to grab the black volume on the shelf when she heard a sudden shuffle of hooves distantly in the halls.

She burst her head around and shouted, "Who is there?"

It was not in fear but in cruelty and in a demanding tone. She stood, looking blankly at the shadows that leeched onto the walls of the distant hallways above the first floor. She saw nothing against the rail or shift in the light piercing through the broken stained glass. No silhouette. Nothing.

The dark apprentice calmed herself, "Must have been the wind."

Vesper leafed through the dark volume briefly and stopped at the start of the volume, inscribed upon the beginning pages were the hoofwritten words that sang loudly within her:

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.
If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle...

Author's Note

The Force Awakens is almost upon us! I am so excited!

I won't be able to see it opening night, I will see it very soon. So please do not post any spoilers on this fic until I announce that I have seen it. At least give me this much.