Star Wars: Power of the Dark Side
Chapter III: The Pursuit of Knowledge

Notes: The Idol in the Castle

Recently I have returned to the castle to find a mysterious idol, pyramid shaped. Archaic in design and emits light within it. While it carries no magic qualities my level of fear, hatred, dread, and passion to an unreasonable degree. If it runs off of not magic, than what? Nothing I read mentions anything about something that can provoke emotions when the pony in question does not feel like using it.

Note to self: It can turn the air cold around other ponies.

She stopped there taking a deep breath, a pile of books next to her indicating her maddening swift abandon to find out who or what could have made this. The book titles varied, in both what they were and length. From Religious Idols and Symbols, What is Magic?, Rhetoric and Logic, Symbols of the Pony Nationalities, Leylines, and Lost Artifacts of Various Peoples. Each one greater in detail and length than the last.

She took a deep breath as she sat back in her chair and stared ominously at the device in question, Twilight activated her magic once more and scribbled quickly, bringing the parchment up to her,

...Some manner of device. Use: Unknown. The Origins: Unknown. It's age: More than a thousand.

She stopped and dipped her quill back into the inkwell. She glanced over at the window and saw that the moon changed little its position in the sky. Doing quick calculations in her head, she determined that she had only been studying for an hour thirty three minutes and forty seven seconds.

Twilight shook her head, "All this time and still I cannot make heads or tails what this is..."

She had secretly hoped that she would have figured out at least its origins by now. Where it came from and what religious symbol it was. She has came close to neither, there was a religion in Saddle Arabia where the symbol is a triangle to indicate the earth, moon, and sun and their connections to each other, but other than that, no religions bore similarities between geometric shapes.

As far as what race it came from, considering the fact that it was a pyramid she as well assumed a Saddle Arabian culture. They have been known to bury their dead in massive tombs. Some parts of even Zecoria repeated this belief and buried their dead in pyramids, both believing that they were gateways to the heavens. And found nothing.

She peered closer to the surface of the device and narrowed her already singular gaze on it. Leaning against the table she stared at it for a few minutes. Doing nothing but breathing and thinking. This was an undertaking the likes of which she has never seen, all possibilities seemed hoaxes and incorrect as to what it is and where it came from. This was like some kind of ghost device, no history, no records, no letter speaking of something like this. Nothing.

Twilight spoke in a low tone to the small device, "What are your secrets?"

The idol sat and churned with light, a few minutes ago it stopped from pulsating and is now churning with that light. It offered no clear answer.

This might not have been a magical device but she could figure out where it came form with it. She cast a spell, calming her horn and calling out to the magic within her she used a History and Memory spell. It was able to read the traces of magic left upon the device and tell Twilight where it has been and who had held it before. After she calculated, she cast it and purple light enveloped the pyramid. She watched as it hovered a few centimeters into the air.

Hope bloomed within her as she realized that she would get answers from this device. When the light died and her magic failed, the device falling with a thud onto the desk.

Amazed and astonished at what happened she scrambled to her notes and wrote quickly,

...Resistant to magical spells except for telekinesis.

With ease she tested this and levitated the pyramid and set it back down on the table, dormant of the resilience it once showed. Puzzled by this, she ached to wonder how it glows. Over the past hour as her patience began to wear unreasonably thin, it thrummed with a deep red glow illuminating the otherwise light dimmed room. More questions piled on her already growing number, adding more to the fray of where it belongs, who made it, who hid it? But she had a good guess of who might have hid it, Princess Celestia.

As she began to stir on that thought she willed her magic once more and from the top of one of the shelves she levitated over a thick and large volume. Once it came into her view she stood up and glanced at the title before opening the book, Ledger of Artifacts. Leafing through the pages, she had forgotten that the old castle kept a descriptive ledger of the artifacts that were secreted away, seeing the artifacts that were taken out. One popping grandly, the stone book Rarity had stolen to improve her work. Smiling at the memory she found the page that held a picture of the artifact in question. A sliver of hope rose within her as she scanned the words on the page memorizing them line for line,

This artifact is an artifact of darkness, the likes of which have never been seen. Secreted inside is something that can destroy the entirety of Equestria when wielded by the wrong pony. Upon this page, there can be no mention of what it is or what lies within it. Lest, the dark side should rise again.

Twilight lifted an eyebrow at that last sentence, "Dark side? What in the hay is the dark side?"

Again, gaining more questions than answers she at least knows the nature of this artifact. It held inside of it a weapon the likes of which have never been seen before. Something that can bring about the destruction of everything she knows and loves. Such a thing must be investigated and documented. She put the book on the pile with the others and scratched on her notes,

...I was correct, in that, it is a device. It is a device that holds a weapon of great destruction on the planet and not just Equestria. Further discovery of the contents of this device. How can a weapon of that much destructive power been put into something so small? But on the off chance that it holds something like that, I must further investigate and open it. I am the Element Bearer of Magic and Princess of Magic, I must know what lies inside and-

Pausing her words as she grabbed a blank page and dipped the quill in the inkwell to get fresh amounts of ink on her pen,

-protect it with all my might. It cannot fall in the hooves of any other pony, I will protect it.

Procuring the quill back to the well, she leaned against her hoof and felt her eyes get heavy as she stared at the pyramid. Opening her mouth her drowsiness became fact when she released a yawn, her blinks becoming slower. Now struggling to keep them open she felt herself fall into a deep sleep, using her forehoof as a pillow. She cuddled close to the pyramid, her forehoof brushing against its surface. She smiled as she felt warmth spread from her forehoof across her body, sending her deeper into sleep.

Rarity closed her bedroom door, her hoofsteps calm and collected despite the situation. She could understand that the next Sith Lord would have come sooner or later, she just did not expect it to be her own friend. Twilight is such a nice and kind pony, Rarity could not imagine her holding such destructive powers. She shook her mind and assumed the worst, 'She likely would just study it and find nothing.' While this thought was comforting she very well knows the seductive powers of the dark side.

She turned and faced her bed, looking at the well made queen sized beauty with silks and quilts of great creation. The posts made of an expensive wood, ornate and very well designed. She wanted to sleep, so badly, she had lost so much of it over the past few months. With having to make a wedding dress, fix another wedding dress, and create costumes for another one of Sweetie Belle's plays. While these were stressful memories, they were considerably warmer than the ones that were to come.

Rarity crossed the room and went looking for something that she had hid long ago, repeating what she had committed to memory so many years ago,

"There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force."

As she spoke these lines slowly and carefully she closed her eyes, her horn not lighting indicating she was using telekinesis. But something else, she felt a cool feeling wash over her and the familiar magic shrink away to allow her connection to the Force to return and all her teachings and abilities returned. A box underneath the bed came out.

She lifted it with the Force and it sat on the bed, it was large and with two resounding clicks it opened. As she finished the last line of the Code she knew by heart she opened it. In it she found a few things. She found her plain Jedi robes, her silken tunic of a soft fabric with her ornate white colored belt. Clipped upon the belt was her one and only possession she kept near and dear to her heart. Her lightsaber. It was nothing special, more plain than it was ornate. It's glossy metal glistened even in the dim light, inlays of gold were etched along the edges of the metal. While it was grey, in certain lightings it could have been mistaken as whit with how much it glistened.

Her eyes remained on these belongings, she took the tunic and pulled it over herself. The soft silk felt cool and refreshing against her skin, it was cold and send quick shivers through her as many memories flashed through her mind of times long past. Next came the belt, taking it she strapped it around her tunic, above the waist, she pulled it tight and let out a breath of both relief and remembrance. She forgot the comforts of these clothing, the open and thick sleeves of the tunic hindered none of her movements as it was designed. Her belt tight but not loose enough to allow her to breath and not let it fall down. She especially like the feeling of her lightsaber clipped next to her. She then put on the Jedi robes to complete her ensamble. She felt one and peaceful once again.

However, she let out a sigh of contempt as she remembered back to so many years ago. She opened her eyes and said to herself, "I must inform them of what has transpired thus far. They likely will know soon and take action against her. I must inform them of our mission."

She turned towards the door and remembered the place she would go if such a thing like this would arise, muttering to herself, "Then I will talk with Twilight and see what she knows. Hopefully, this might end with no bloodshed and peace between both parties."

The Jedi Master then left the room, procuring the trunk back under the bed as she left. Her robes lightly waving as she strode out the room. She wound her way through her house in the dead hours of the night, finding the right room.

She found the door and entered, it was her inspiration room exactly the way she left it. Left in such a chaotic state Discord himself would have loved to visit her home and be there. She pushed the thought away idly and scanned the room, searching for what she would need to communicate. She kept this away from her other belongings in case somepony would find it and use them for bad deeds. After much effort she remembered where it was and pulled it out of a chaotic pile of scraps and half finished clothes.

It was her holocom, she pressed the button and it connected to the only other device that could transmit a signal. She closed her eyes as she waited for them to pick up, taking deep breaths as she searched through the Force for answers as to why now. Rarity had a feeling that it had to be nothing pleasant.

Author's Note

To down any other sort of doubt as to the Sith on this planet. Who's on who side and who is truly the bad guy. Something o consider with this story's continuance. An excerpt from one of the most powerful Sith Lords to ever live,
As servants of the dark side we revel in the vanquishing of our enemies. We draw power from their suffering, but we must balance this against greater gains. We must recognize that killing for sadistic pleasure-killing without reason, need, or purpose-is the act of a fool.