The young lavender unicorn with a star on her flank stepped with great trepidation down the dark corridor. The black metal floor echoed sharply in her ears with every step of her hoof. She had the strangest feeling that she had been here before, but she had no idea of how or why she had returned. Twilight’s feelings of déjà vu increased to uncomfortable levels and her stomach churned in dread.
“Vader.” Twilight whispered in recollection, “This is where I face Vader.”
Twilight had only the faintest memories of the sinister being known only as Darth Vader, the strongest being that she knew she was going to lose to him. He would sever her horn in the end. For some reason this event was repeating itself. Twilight frantically galloped away, her eyes darting all around, looking for a way to escape.
A faint, not quite mechanical breath echoed across the halls and filled Twilight’s ears, but it didn’t sound like the familiar rasp of Vader, at least, not quite.
“Twilight...Sparkle...” a reverberating voice announced, “We meet at last...”
Twilight cringed at the voice in the darkness. Her whole body shivered when she heard a the familiar ‘whirr’ of a light saber being activated and then saw a bright red beam of light. A light hum echoed from the beam as it floated toward her. The wielder was a figure in a black robe and mask. He looked vaguely similar to Vader, but without the cybernetics.
“You...who are you?” Twilight questioned, baring her teeth, “You’re not Vader...”
“I am Kylo Ren...” the figure announced, “I am Vader’s successor...”
Twilight’s horn glowed with unicorn magic as Ren lifted his free hand and began levitating large metal crates off the ground. He used the Force to shoot them across the hallway, right toward the unicorn. Twilight struggled at first to stop them, but soon managed to fling the crates back at Ren. The crates clattered harshly on the ground around Ren and he panted as if he was wearing down.
Ren raised his free hand and Twilight realized he was levitating her. He attempted to knock her back and forth across the walls. Sparks flew out as Twilight’s small body crashed into the electronics. She was a little bruised but concentrated all of her mental efforts and soon broke free from Ren’s grasp.
Blood ran from Twilight’s lips and she wiped her mouth with her hoof. Ren groaned in frustration and decided to strangle her instead.
Ren raised his hand again and Twilight struggled for air and clutched her throat with her hoof as her clavicle tightened inside her. Saliva ran down her jaw and her tongue protruded as fond memories of her friends filled her mind. Twilight started to regain consciousness as she decided she was not going to die here. Her horn glowed with a bright white light as Kylo Ren lost his grip and gasped as he himself was flung backward.
In frustration, Ren raised his cross-guarded lightsaber and ran toward Twilight. He flung it back and forth in front of him, sparks flying as the lightsaber cut burning gashes in the surrounding walls.
Twilight decided it was time to defend herself as she shot magical blasts of energy from her horn. Ren managed to reflect every one of them with his lightsaber as Twilight was forced to dart to and fro from her own magic. Ren screamed as he brought down his lightsaber to strike Twilight down only for her to emit a force field from her horn that made Kylo Ren’s saber bounce off and fall from his hand. Seeing her chance to attack, Twilight actually head-butted Ren’s torso, managing to make a fierce cut in his side with her horn.
Kylo Ren clutched his bleeding wound with one hand as he flung Twilight backward with his other hand. Twilight quickly regained her balance and charged at Ren with her horn. She made contact with Ren again, this time flinging him backward. The lavender unicorn jumped on top of the would-be Sith and brought her front hoofs down on his mask, damaging the face panel.
“Enough!!” Kylo Ren shouted in his quasi-mechanical voice as he lifted up the face panel himself and flung his mask on the floor.
Twilight gasped as she was almost taken aback to see a young if somber human face under the mask. She had half-expected him to be deformed.
“I will not succumb to such a pitiful creature as you!!” Kylo Ren screamed, all the robotic threat gone from his voice.
Ren’s discarded lightsaber lifted itself from the floor and flew back into his hand. Ren and Twilight dueled blow-for-blow, Twilight meeting every strike from Ren’s sabre with a guard-beam flowing from her horn.
As Ren’s concentration decreased from his anger, Twilight’s concentration increased as she felt herself becoming one with her magic, or perhaps the Force. Ren’s movements caused his small wound to open itself further and he soon collapsed to his knees from blood loss. He was forced to drop his sabre again as he tried to stop the bleeding with both of his hands. Twilight’s eyes sparkled with magic as she saw her enemy for what he truly was, a pathetic, rage-filled young man trying to follow in the footsteps of evil.
“You’re bleeding.” Twilight said softly, “You need help.”
“Keep away from me!!” Ren shouted, “This is far from over!”
Kylo Ren attempted to stand as he picked up his lightsaber. He straggled over to Twilight and raised his blade again, ready to decapitate her. He swung right toward Twilight’s neck but the blade bounced off another force field and right through Ren’s sword arm just above the elbow.
“NOOOO!!!” Ren screamed in agony as he clutched his burnt stump and his severed arm rolled to the floor.
“Now it’s over.” Twilight said serenely, “Please, leave this place.”
“Kylo Ren...” said a male voice from behind, “I’ve been instructed to retrieve you.”
An Imperial officer took the wounded Kylo Ren away as Twilight galloped in the opposite direction before she could be noticed. Twilight stopped at a broken window panel and felt the cold rush of wind from Cloud City across her fur. She peered off into the hazy orange sunlight and began to contemplate that she was only one little mare in an enormous galaxy, that was part of an even larger universe, that might have even been a part of an incomprehensible multiverse.
Twilight then gave a devious smirk as she realized that a man who was trying to be Darth Vader would have to live with the thought he’d been nearly killed by a little purple unicorn.
