Dawn of the Force

Rebel base, Kashyyyk

06/14/2025

1003 hours

Twilight spent the better part of the previous evening, well into the night, reading up on everything she could possibly keep herself awake with. She was even given her own room so that she wouldn't be disturbed. Neo stopped by a couple of times to check up on her, trying to earn some trust and attempt to start a friendship. Every time he stopped in, Twilight had her face buried into yet another holobook. He didn't seem to mind, it only made sense for someone so far away from their home to wanna gain as much knowledge as possible. Also, he found it kind of cute when she had her serious focus face on.

Now, it was morning, and Twilight was passed out, half on, half off her bed, drool hanging from her mouth. Quite the unusual sight to walk in on. Neo could only shake his head and chuckle at the sight for the first minute or so before finally walking over to wake up the sleeping unicorn.

"Just five more minutes, Spike," Twilight mumbled.

Neo then tickled Twilight's nose, causing her to sneeze herself awake.

"Well, that's one way to wake up," Twilight said, rubbing her eyes.

"Well, good morning, princess," Neo said.

"How did you get in here?" Twilight asked, "And why are you upside down?"

"You didn't lock your door, and you're the one who's upside down," Neo said.

"What do you... oh," Twilight said, finding herself in a very awkward position, "Um... help?"

Neo did just that as he grabbed Twilight's back legs and pulled them forward, flipping her over.

"Now hurry up and get ready, it's breakfast time," Neo said before walking out of the room.

"So, Neo, why did you join the rebellion?" Twilight asked.

"For my family," Neo said, "A couple years back, the empire attacked my home world. They took my parents and conscripted them, but killed my baby brother and two younger sisters because of them just being too young to be effective at anything. I managed to get away, barely, and joined the rebellion a short time later".

"That's.. that's terrible," Twilight said, "I'm so sorry".

"Thanks, but don't be," Neo said.

"I had heard things here and there yesterday about the empire, but I never thought they could be THAT heartless," Twilight said softly.

"Just about everybody here is part of the rebellion because of something the empire did to their families," Neo said, "We fight, not just for freedom, but also because we don't want anybody else to have to suffer the loss that we once did".

The rest of breakfast was quiet between the two. Even after finishing her food, Twilight remained silent. He thoughts were plagued suddenly with scenarios of her own family being affected by the empire, though she knew how unlikely any of them to be. After Neo had returned from putting away the trays, Twilight had tears running down her face, though she didn't seem to be actually crying.

"Hey, you ok?" Neo asked, shaking Twilight slightly.

"Huh? Oh, yea... I'm fine," Twilight said as she wiped her eyes free of further tears, "Just... thinking of home".

"Homesick, huh?" Neo asked, wrapping his right arm around Twilight, "I guess that only makes sense. Don't worry, though, we'll get you back there".

Twilight said nothing as she shook herself free and climbed down, out of her seat.

"Tell ya what, let's go for another visit to the archives," Neo suggested.

Twilight perked up immediately at that, wanting desperately to distract herself with a good book.

Not long after arriving at the archives, Neo was called out on a mission, leaving Twilight to explore the knowledge bank however she wanted. She skipped out on the history and went right to the fiction section. Most of what she found were action filled books placed in war scenarios, something she eventually buckled on and decided to try out. Most of the really interesting stories took place during the Mandalorian wars. While most of what the pages contained were bloody and scary, Twilight found them oddly fascinating reads. One of her favorite stories was a tale of a Jedi by the name of Revan, finding a connection with the young Jedi knight due to his use of something known as the force, a set of psychic abilities akin to those used by unicorns in the royal guard.

Before long, it was time to pack up and head on out. After exiting the archive, she caught a glimpse of commander Gus talking to a pair of very important looking individuals. Out of curiosity, she walked over to say hello.

"Well, if it isn't little Twilight," Gus said, "I'd like to introduce you to two of our greatest leaders. This here is Luke Skywalker, a real hero of the rebellion. And right beside him is his sister, princess Leia Skywalker, or Leia Organa if you prefer as that was the name she first went by".

Without saying anything, Twilight just bowed after hearing that she was in the presence of a princess. The trio couldn't help but chuckle at the somewhat odd display, leaving Twilight somewhat confused.

"Not to sound rude, but what's so funny?" Twilight asked.

"Sorry, it's just... you're the first in some time to bow when meeting me," Leia said, "It's kind of unusual".

"Really?" Twilight asked, "That's... is that not considered disrespectful?"

"Not really, no," Leia said, "Though, I do appreciate the gesture".

"Is that a lightsaber?" Twilight asked after taking notice of something dangling from Luke's belt.

"What, this?" Luke said, pulling off his lightsaber, "Why yes, yes indeed it is".

"So... are you... are you a Jedi?" Twilight asked.

"The last one, unfortunately," Luke admitted.

"The last one?" Twilight asked, "But how?"

"Order sixty-six, otherwise known as the great Jedi massacre," Gus said, "Those were some dark days".

Twilight just stood there, stunned at the revelation.

"So, commander, now that I'm thinking about it, is she perhaps the one you mentioned earlier?" Leia asked.

"Yes, she is," Gus said, "As I mentioned before, her name is Twilight Sparkle, and she's a long way away from her home world. So far away that it's not on any known star charts".

"I didn't think there really was all that much beyond the outer rim," Luke said, "Now, it would seem we have a reason to explore the space beyond".

"We can worry about that at a later point," Twilight said, "I want to stay here for now and help fight".

"So, you've already decided, huh?" Gus asked.

"After hearing about what happened to Neo's family, I couldn't help but think of what would happen if the empire somehow managed to follow me back to Equestria," Twilight said, "I want to help ensure the empire is done away with first so I don't have to risk that".

"Well, what are your talents?" Luke asked, "What can you bring to the rebellion?"

"I may not be that good at real combat, but my skills in magic are similar to that of what you call the force," Twilight said, "Is that good enough for you?"

"It's a start," Luke said, ruffling Twilight's mane, "You'll have to show me this magic of yours so I can get a better grip on what you can bring to the table".

"I'd love to," Twilight said.