Star Wars: Power of the Dark Side

Star Wars: Power of the Dark Side
Chapter XVI: Full Circle

The warm blanket of darkness and the dark side was very comforting and brought a certain level of peace, despite her hypocrisy in her thought. Vesper calmed her nerves and her eyes opened, no pain and no pull of her muscles just her. She gazed into the opening ceiling and it looked almost as if she had woken up only an hour later though she felt different. It's not that the lack of familiar weight on her head told her what time it was. Something just felt, off.

The infirmary a sight that she could never forget, and the sight of a certain Scorpan who sat patiently in a chair nearby. His robes dry and rustled in the cold wind of the Celestial Citadel

She stood up, the gauze wrapped around her chest and shoulder tightly embraced her, nurturing her wounds. She felt her strength return and the unfamiliar feeling of some muscles she has never felt before. She raised a hoof to her head as she thought back to her engagement with those ponies. One of them was Applejack, Applejack tried to harm her. No, not tried, she did. Twilight subconsciously ran a hoof over the gauze on her chest and continued to think back. She had no force sensitivity that she knows of, and she remained unphased when she saw her. What was going on?

Vesper shoved the thought aside as she looked over to the old gargoyle and asked, "How long was I asleep?"

There was a slight twinge of fear as Scorpan answered, "72 hours."

"Three days?" Vesper calculated, "Three days is not sleep, three days is a bucking coma!"

Scorpan nodded, keeping his gaze away from her, "Yes, you expended a lot of physical energy. Past the point a normal pony could. So you used the force to enhance your stamina and last longer. Impressive, but extremely dangerous. You towed the line of life and death, Sith'ari. Be careful you do not do so again."

Vesper remained silent as she turned her gaze towards her cloak that was draped on the side of the bed with the sword she had found. Vesper reached out with the force and she could feel dark side energy seeping from Scorpan. He was very powerful in it and Vesper could feel it. So that answered one question of many she had for Scorpan.

She started simple, "Do you know who attacked me?"

Scorpan finally looked at her and answered solemnly, "They were Mandalorian Bounty Hunters, the Crimson Water Syndicate to be more specific. Iconic with their red sashes tied around their waists."

Vesper choked, "And what did you do with the bodies?"

Scorpan gave a sickening chuckle, "The ones that I could find, I buried them somewhere outside. One remains alive and has said nothing except for her name and why she attacked you. Mandalorians are very hard to torture. Hard but not impossible."

Scorpan stood from his chair and said, "I am sorry that your studies were interrupted by these marauders, but I assure you that you need not worry about them for a long while."

He paused as he stood in front of her, "Now, seeing as how you are the Sith'ari you know that you have found Venator's holocron?"

Vesper nodded at the question, although it was more of a statement, "Then you must know that you cannot trust Darth Venator. He is using you."

Vesper could barely believe her ears, she blinked, "What?"

"Yes, believe me. He is trying to trick you into making you into the perfect vessel and then taking you over. He believes that he is the Sith'ari, but he is not. Allow me to explain.

"Magic and the Force have existed on this planet for many a millennia. More than a thousand years ago, Equestria was visited by travelers from a distant world. They had come to Equestria in search of a secret weapon that was somehow within the planet. These figures were strong and nearly killed us all, but they were halted by a pony named Master Remus Brightstar. Who was the first Jedi Master on Equestria. He trained many to protect Equestria and to safe guard it from evil forces.

"But Venator, a student of Remus, could not simply shut off his emotions. Venator grabbed followers and they tore themselves away form the order and after weeding out certain ponies in their rebellious group and became the Dark Blessing, a group of Dark Lords of the Sith, and raised a Dark Empire to oppose that of Equestria. This composed of Nightmare Moon, Sombra, Mortis, Venator, my brother Tirek, and myself. Our mission was to oppose the Jedi and to keep the Force in balance.

"However, the Jedi's misguided view of 'balance' meant the extermination of the Sith. We were not many but we were powerful and would never flee like cowards. For years we fought against the Jedi and even took up apprentices to never have the Sith teachings forgotten with time. However, some of us had our own agenda. Namely Sombra and Tirek. They both had visions that they could use magic and force at the same time.

"An unnamed stranger soon had come and given a prophecy that the Sith'ari will rise and change the Sith forever. And it was with this that things boiled over for the Dark Blessing. Sombra was captured and banished to a nameless dimension and Tirek was cast into the depths of Tartarus. This caused the rest of the Dark Blessing to freeze themselves, all but Nightmare Moon. Venator said that with his holocron it would find the Sith'ari and with it the return of the Dark Blessing. Venator did not survive the freezing process however. He died soon after he had frozen himself."

It was certainly a lot to take in, and Vesper had memorized it all as it came in. However, one detail was cleverly taken out and Vesper hoped she could correct that by asking, "What about the weapon that lies within the holocron?"

Scorpan shivered in fear slightly at the thought and he answered, "Inside the holocron is an ancient and powerful relic called a Kaiburr crystal. What it does is it amplifies the force aptitude of a wielder if fashioned into a lightsaber, tenfold. It also makes it so that access to both sides of the force comes with ease. Very rare and very powerful. Only three exist in the world and each one was retrofitted to access utter destruction once all three are fitted into lightsabers. It is not a physical weapon but a spiritual weapon. With all three Kaiburr crystals found and fitted a force wielder can reshape an entire planet to their leisure. A last gift of the strange travelers. The one in the holocron is the only one that I know the location of."

Vesper choked back a lump of fear in her throat and closed her hooves on the edge of the bed. She clenched her hooves tight. Enough power with the force that they can just reshape an entire world as they see fit. Vesper felt her heart sink and break as she lost all trust with her master. Venator was nothing more than a liar and a cheat. If he wasn't already dead, Vesper would have killed him already. Scorpan was very forthcoming with information and Vesper asked, "What does this have to do with me?"

Scorpan combed a clawed hand through his dark brown lion's mane and answered, "The Sith'ari is prophesied to be the only one that can wield all the power of these crystals and not be torn to shreds or completely corrupted with power. Both the servants of the Light Side and the Dark Side will use it to eradicate the other."

Scorpan stood up from his seat and wandered in front of her and he rested a hand on her shoulder, and said, "Venator was going to use you to resurrect himself and take the Kaiburr crystals for himself and destroy the entire Jedi Order."

Vesper shrugged his hand away and snapped, "And why should I trust you? You were a student of Venator, were you not? You are a Sith Lord, how can I be certain that you won't turn on me?"

Scorpan sighed, "You don't and there is nothing that I can say that will convince you either. I can see it on your face. Before you make a definitive answer, what is the point of having allies if all you do is wallow in paranoia of who is going to kill you next? I assure you that I can teach you the ways of the Sith. I have fulfilled my destiny of breaking my mortal chains, the real question is. What are your chains Vesper?"

The question caught her off guard, especially when he used her name and not Sith'ari. What were the chains that tethered her from expanding her power? She averted her gaze from the powerful Lord of the Sith and thought about it. There was nopony that halted her training just yet. The Jedi were obvious but they have thus far not made a move against her. So she looked at anything she did that halted her learning of the dark side.

Scorpan drew her attention as he spoke coldly, "While our passion for our friends can give us strength, it can turn a Sith into the monster that the Jedi blame us to be. A Sith is not supposed to have ties to a family or to friends. A Sith is isolated. Your own survival is the only concern. Allies are nice to have, but ultimately the only pony that you can count on is yourself."

Vesper's heart sank at this comment. Besides her magic, her friends were what made up who she was. Hey were apart of them, and to learn the ways of the Sith she had to disregard them. Twilight would have walked out by now, but she was not Twilight anymore she was Vesper. She could not forget about them, and Applejack had proven that some do not value friendship as she had once thought. Two elements were in disharmony so any former ideas with the Elements of Harmony was gone. It was all up to her.

It pained her to say, but she spoke, "My chains are my friends, their bonds of loyalty halt me from my true power."

Scorpan nodded, exactly what he wanted to hear, "Excellent."

He stood up and gestures to the door, "Beyond this door, in chains, lies your friend Applejack. Interrogate her. And do not hold back, she has betrayed your friendship. Let her betrayal fuel you."

Vesper nodded and walked off into the other room. Pulling on her dark black cloak and strapping her Sith blade to a belt. She had read a few texts about Sith Blades. These archaic weapons were the precursor to the Lightsaber and through the dark side could improve its sharpness and could even stand against lightsaber blows and deflect projectiles. A good thing to have for a Sith apprentice if she was confronted by a force user.

Vesper rolled her injured shoulder and her gaze lingered on Scorpan. He held a wooden staff to support him. She noticed the finer details in those moments. His veins visible, and his eyes corrupted by the dark side of the force. It radiated within him like nothing Vesper has felt before, aside from Venator. His countenance was calm and yet held more ferocity than a manticore. His lean but well toned muscles underneath layers of lightly wrapped cloth and metal armor. Archaic and held the same sith design as her sword, the same could be said of his lightsaber.

Scorpan matched her inquisitive gaze and with shadows dancing away from his face he rustled his mane, "Go, and show me your power in the dark side."

Vesper left the room and joined the darkness around her. The hallowed ground of the Celestial Citadel reacted to her steps. They churned and boiled in centuries old hatreds that have since lost their meaning. The sects of a now bygone society all but irrelevant with the new Celestial Empire. Not as warmongering or dark as the previous, but all the more protection gained. She could sense them, the dead practitioners of both sides of the force. It would be hard not to, they want to be seen by all who can sense them.

She drew her gaze to the pony braced against debris on the far side of the hall. Walls torn and other boundarie lost to the corruption of time. Applejack, the friend who betrayed her. It was surprising above all else. To change face so fast, it was too much. Applejack was given ample enough time to stop and really analyze who she was fighting. But instead she wanted to make a quick bit.

Vesper stopped in front of the badly injured and bruised Mandalorian, her helmet cast aside revealing a large whelt on her cheek and a few srapes across her face. There was no emotion on her face as Vesper wandered close to her. No recognition, no familiarity, just a stone cold stare. Her brow deepened in anger as she saw this.

Vesper mountained over her hunched form and said nothing but the whispered name, "Applejack..."

Her words were venom as she responded, "Don't expect an apology, sugarcube. Cuz' you aint getting one."

Her gaze tightening like iron on her, a death promising gaze, one that Twilight has onlygiven one pony that gaze. And that pony was her one and only true enemy. Vesper raised her injured betrayer's chin and growled, "Years of friendship...of becoming so close, we were almost like family...and you throw it all away, just for a bounty."

The farm pony's stubborn gaze remained on Vesper as she spat, "I ain't doing this just for the money."

She thrust her hoof closer to her throat and tightened her grip on her windpipe. She choked as Vesper snapped harshly, "What then? What other reason could you have that you would kill one of your closest friends?"

"Protecting...my family..."

"From whom? Me? You know very well that I would never harm your family Applejack. I thought you had sense enough to know that."

"Not from you..." Applejack said through near unconsciousness.

Vesper released her hold on Applejack's soft furred throat. She coughed up spit and blood and added, "I did this...because I wanted to protect my family from the one thing that all Mandalorians fear the most."

There was a pause in her next words as she drew in a long breath, in hopes to ease the racking pain that rose within her. She said, "Mandalore. Our leader."

Vesper looked upon the weakened pony in chains. She saw not fear but sympathy in her eyes. Vesper scoffed inwardly and could not understand her feelings. The dark apprentice returned to a normal stance and demanded, "Explain."

"Mandalore is our war leader and each clan has to do their part. Otherwise...otherwise we risk our own lives. To disregard the order of Mandalore would be the death of not only me...but my family as well."

Her harsh gaze returned with renewed vindication, "So yes Twi, I tried to kill you to protect my family. It ain't mah fault that you crossed the wrong pony and now they want you dead. Don't expect an apology."

Vesper curled her lip in anger and slapped her hoof across Applejack's face and a loud smack sounded above the silence of the Celestial Citadel. Her emotions had fueled her actions before she had thought about what she did. She never felt such anger, such hatred before. It fueled her, boiling inside of her. She needed to release it somehow. And this was the better way to release it, the only way.

She felt no remorse, no emotional pain in what she had done. She felt stronger than before. And she loved it. What was happening to her? Why was she doing this? Was she set on a path of destruction, that would harm those she cared about most? This frightened her. This small taste of power was enough, she could not bare to harm her friend again.

The blow had done its number on the strong Mandalorian, she remained limp and somewhat lifeless in her iron chains. She was still alive, Vesper could sense her lifeforce flowing through her. Though it was a mere fraction of what it used to be, it was there.

Vesper breathed and heard Scorpan behind her enter the room, padding across the cracked stone floor, "Marvelous work, Sith'ari. You have done all that I had expected. I can sense the dark side in you growing, stronger than any other I have sensed before. Stronger than even Venator himself."

Vesper turned to Scorpan who had his hood pulled up and his staff close to his face. His grovel voice spoke once more, "Well done. Be officially recognized as my new apprentice. Through my tutelage you will learn everything that there is to know about being the Sith'ari."

Vesper humbled herself before Scorpan, "How might I serve you, my master."

Scorpan judged her with silent eyes and answered, "Normal Sith protocol would be that I order you to kill the Mandalorian. But you are not Sith, you are Sith'ari. Something that Venator has failed to realize. He has set you on a path of self destruction."

She looked up to her new master and he gestured above her head, "He had you sever your link to magic so that you could not oppose him in battle. Magic or otherwise. This is because he sensed your ability with the force.

"You hold a unique ability to manipulate magical energies and mold them with force abilities. A rare ability that is known as Djinn-Ko, this ancient form of molded force and magic energy is known as Arkane. A rare edge indeed. But he was one step ahead and had you sever any possibility of you using it."

Vesper felt hatred for the dead pony rise and Scorpan must have sensed it as he responded, "Steel yourself, Sith'ari. Your ability is not completely lost. There exists inside of you a small glimmer of magic remaining. You might have removed your horn but not all of it left. Through my teachings and the force, you can learn to turn this spark into a roaring bonfire of power. And you will use this against Venator."

Vesper absorbed what he had told her and she said, bowing her head, "What would you have me do, my master?"