Grey side of the Force (Edited)
Pain was all that Darth Vader felt in that moment. Although he has by now completely got used to it by now, the amount of both psychical and physical pain was too much, even for a powerful Sithlord like him.
Just a few moments ago, he had killed his master, Darth Sidious but his Force lightning had hit him, pushing him to the brink of death. His son, Luke, was trying to drag him aboard an Imperial shuttle, but Vader knew his time had come. He slipped and fell on the stairs on the shuttle.
“Luke... help me... take this mask off.” Vader asked his son.
“But you’ll die,” said Luke, sounding worried.
“Nothing... can stop that now. Just for once... let me... look at you... with my own eyes.“ Vader pleaded. Luke hesitated, but decided to fulfil his father's final wish. He removed his helmet and his mask. Luke wasn't prepared for what he saw. Under the mask that struck terror in the hearts of enemies to the Galactic Empire, lay the damaged face of an old man. His skin was grayish and his eyes were bright blue, like his. He had a large scar on the top of his head as well as one under his left eye.
“Now... go, my son. Leave me.“ Vader said, but without his mask, his voice sounded weak.
“No, you're coming with me. I'm not gonna leave you here, I gotta save you.“ Luke said, refusing to leave his father.
“You... already have, Luke. You were right. You were right about me. Tell your sister... you were right.“ For the first time in many years, Vader smiled. He blinked few times and then, he let out his last breath. The last thing he heard was Luke, begging him not to die.
Vader groggily opened his eyes. He found himself lying on a jet black floor, surrounded by seemingly infinite whiteness. He was stark naked, his burnt flesh exposed and he had his mechanical limbs no more.
"So, this is where a monster such as myself is condemned? Strange.”, Vader mused. Like all deep practitioners of the Force, Vader knew there was no such thing as an afterlife, only the Force. However, what he had in mind was just an eternal state of peace and rest, a nirvana. He did not expect to be lying in the middle of nothingness, plus all alone. He had truly hoped he could see his beloved Padme just one more time, but it seems it's not an option.
Maybe this place was truly meant for him. A never-ending loneliness, only the whiteness and his near-insane mind to keep him company for the rest of existence.
"Anakin...", a voice, the most beautiful voice Vader has ever heard, rang from all sides. Vader weakly raised his head up, trying to locate the user of such a divine voice. What met Vader's ruined eyes was, dare he say, the most beautiful human woman he has ever laid his eyes upon.
Straigth raven hair was falling behind her back, her warming blue eyes were holding endless amount of kindness and her smooth and glistening skin looked like it has been made by that famous inhabitant of the planet Olympus, Aphrodite, herself. Vader noticed she had had a pair of majestic wings sprouting from her back and a gold weighing scale in her hand.
“Who... who are you?“ Vader asked raspily. The woman's featured softened even more and graced him with a smile full of compassion.
“I am known by many names, although you call me the Force.“, the woman gently answered, never once breaking an eye-contact with Vader. As for the former Sithlord, he could only gape at the physical image of the Almighty Force.
“Why do you come to me?“ Vader dared to sound commanding, even though he knew he couldn't fight versus the Force even if he was at his peak. Old habits die hard, apparently.
The All-Mother merely smiled again at Vader, not looking like his tone offended her at all.
“Why, what kind of mother would I be if I have never even spoke directly to my own offspring.“ Force answered his question. Even though Vader had known of his true origins even before he had become the Dark Lord of the Sith, the fact that he was talking to the supreme being of the universe, as well as his own mother, made Vader feel slightly awkward, but he did not show it and instead pressed on.
"If you truly cared, you would have talked to me sooner, not leave me to rot in my mechanical prison.", he calously remarked, watching as the radiant smile quickly fell from the Omnipotent's face and was replaced with melacholy.
“It may seem like that, but do not think for even a second that I have left you in complete darkness. I have always been watching over you, even when you could not muster power to look at your own self in a mirror.“, the Force sadly stated, her eyes becoming misty. For the first time after almost 30 years, Vader felt a pang of guilt within himself.
The Force, however, shifted her mood for 180 degrees almost instantly and her heavenly smile appeared yet again on her lips.
“But now is not the time for regret, we already had more than enough time to wallow in our self-loathing.”, the Force sighed and snapped her fingers. Vader found himself getting raised from the ground, now floating in front of the Force, being actually a head higher than her. The Force raised her right arm and placed her delicate index finger on Vader's forehead.
The sensation which followed was unlike anything Vader has ever felt, being of both pain and satisfaction. He felt the remaining lumps of his limbs extending and repairing, his once scorched skin slowly turning back to its original glory. The feeling of his own body which he hasn't felt for decades was slowly returning to him.
Few minutes later, Vader stood looking like the whole Order 66 deal has never happened. He wiggled his fingers and his toes, trying to flex every muscle in his body, like it's going to disappear if he did not give it enough attention. His eyes roamed every milimeter of his flesh, not caring even slightly for being completely naked, rather enjoying it, as now he finally felt whole again
"Your job is not finished yet, my son.", the Force's voice snapped Vader out of his self-admiration and made him look her in the eyes.
"What are you saying? What job?", Vader spoke, more to hear his true voice again than caring about an explanation.
"I purpousely mated with Shmi Skywalker to create a child who would bring peace to the galaxy, but not by only defeating Sith.", the Force explained nevertheless. "Your death on the Deathstar is only the trigger to the rest of the prophecy, where the son of the Life would defend the galaxy from the constant danger of the Chaos Gods within the Immaterium and finally, after 10,000 years of battle, obliterate them.", the Life Entity's hightened dose of crypticism brought Vader to the edge of uneasiness. He was right now being told that he had to fight some evil deities for 10 millenias and apparently destroy them and as it seemed, he had no consent in it.
"It sounds indeed selfish, I know, but I have no choice. No one but you is powerful enough to challenge the Chaos Gods and I cannot manifest in Materium, much less in Immaterium.", Vader saw the parts of his fearsome armor floating around him. Before he could even blink, they lached on his body and covered him whole, save for his head, for his helmet was in his arms.
"You will also need this.", the Force opened her hand before him. A lightsaber appeared in it and she handed it to Vader, who took it curiously. One press on the button and purple plasma erupted from the hilt, suprising Vader abit, since his lightsaber color used to be red. Nevertheless, he deactivated it and put it on his belt.
“Goodbye, Anakin… my son.”, the Force whispered distantly, snapping her fingers, which caused Vader to fade away into nothingness.
Vader opened his eyes and noticed that he was surrounded by a thick forest. He took a deep breath. After all these years trapped in that armor, he missed the smell of fresh air. He stood up and checked his armor. It was so much lighter, he figured that he could probably do a triple salto. He didn't feel restricted at all. Vader also noticed his armor lacked its chest buttons, but his belt control boxes for breathing, audio and temperature control still remained. Vader remembered what Force said about his connection with her being much stronger. Vader reached his hand out and concetrated on all the pain he has felt, but resisting the seductive hold of the Dark Side.
Without any warning, the infamous Force lightning erupted from Vader's gloved fingers and vaporized at least five closest trees. It would have vaporized more had Vader not stop on time. He was very surprised and a bit scared to see how much more potent his Force power, which he couldn't even cast from his fingers due to his cybernetic prosthetics, had become.
Vader picked up his mask from the ground and put it on. As soon as his helmet connected with the mask, it hermetically locked and Vader saw the world in infrared vision, as his iconic breathing was heard. However, his respirators didn't produce filtrated oxygen which he used to breathe in, only normal oxygen was produced.
"The Force has probably designed them to filtrate toxins.", Vade thought the most logical explanation.
Vader inspected his surroundings. Nothing but thick forest as far as his eyes could see. Vader began walking in a random direction, curious about the “Equuis” planet that Force had sent him to.
Vader had only been walking for about five minutes before his audio sensors picked up a scream. He quickly ran to its source and saw an animal, looking like a fusion between a bat, a scorpion, and lion slowly closing at what looked like an alien girl. The girl had a buttery yellow coat of fur with matching yellow wings, pink hair, a muzzle, and a pair of hooves where her feet should be. She was wearing a leaf-green skirt, and a white blouse. Considering what Vader had seen during his travels on different planets during the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War, this was perfectly normal.
Vader stepped out of the shadows and took a long breath, thus making his presence known. The yellow horse-like girl heard him and looked in his direction. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. The beast turned around and glared at Vader. It didn't look intimidated by his appearance at all and promptly charged at him. Unfortunately for the beast, he was Darth fucking Vader, so he simply activated his lightsaber and proceeded to cut down the beast while it was in midair with a slash that resembled a golfer’s swing. The beast slain, Vader took a moment to examine his lightsaber. For some reason, it was purple instead of red.
“I’ll worry about that later.”, thought Anakin as he made his way over to the yellow creature.
"Are you alright?" He asked in his deep, robotic voice.
The girl's eyes became even wider and she ran away screaming before Vader could even blink, leaving only a trail of dust behind in her path. Vader slowly turned his head in the direction in which the girl had run off in.
“She’s probably going to contact the local law enforcement, so following her might not be the best idea. I’ll have to see if there is some place where I could stay in the meantime”, thought Vader and went back into the forest.
It was a normal day in Ponyville. The birds were chipping, the flowers were blooming, and ponies were wandering around doing their business.
Well, that is until a certain animal caretaker came into Ponyville, running to the way to the Golden Oaks. She quickly ran inside and slammed the door behind her. She then proceeded to lean on the door, gasping for breath.
All that time, Princess Celestia's prized student, a unicorn with a lavender coat of fur with navy blue hair which had a magenta stripe in it wearing a light blue blouse with a pink bow tie and a purple skirt watched her with a surprised expression on her face. Her name was Twilight Sparkle.
"Is something wrong, Fluttershy? Or have you had your shadow chasing you again?" the unicorn asked with a raised eyebrow. Fluttershy fanatically shook her head.
"No, Twilight. I've seen an alien!" the pegasus yelled with her high-pitched voice.
Twilight froze and stared at Fluttershy with wide eyes. Suddenly, a creepy grin appeared on her face.
"Oh, Fluttershy, you have to tell me everything about it!" she said with almost mad expression on her face as she gleefully clapped her hands and used her magic to summon a piece of parchment and a quill.
Fluttershy took a step back, scared by her friend’s sudden change of demeanor, but had nodded and sat down on the nearby bed.
"W-well, I-I had been looking for carrots to feed Angel, but suddenly a manticore attacked me. I had thought I was going to die, but then I heard a creepy breathing. I looked around and saw the alien. It was extremely tall, possibly as Princess Celestia and it wore black armor with a long cape and the scariest mask i have ever seen! The manticore saw it too and jumped at it. The alien pulled out strange black stick and a purple beam of light appeared from it. It swung the stick at the manticore and cut it in half. T-then it had returned its stick back to its belt and walked to me. It said something, but I don’t know what. I-its voice... it was terrifying! It was deep and rough, demonic-like! I was so scared that I screamed and ran away. And then I came here." Fluttershy finished, almost crying.
Twilight felt small pang in her heart. She hugged Fluttershy and petted her, hushing her and telling her to calm down. After a few minutes, she did.
"Flutters, I’ll send a letter to Princess Celestia. She’ll probably come to see the alien and you'll have to show us where the alien went so we can find it, understand?" she had asked and got a weak nod in return. “Good. You lie down and rest. You’ve had a busy day. SPIKE!” Twilight called.
In Canterlot
Princess Celestia took a swig of whisky right from the bottle. She had had an awful day. First, she had to attend a meeting for a noble who wanted a maid to be executed because she made his bath one degree hotter. Second, she got a complaint from her annoying nephew AGAIN. Something about a commoner mare refusing to go on a date with him and that she should be punished for that. Lastly, she had a mountain of paperwork to do which haven't reduced in a slightest. In fact, it looked like it had grown a few centimeters. Celestia let out a groan, hoping something would happen. Her prayers were magically answered. In a flash of green flames, a note from her faithful student appeared. She smiled and opened the note.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Something truly remarkable has happened. My friend Fluttershy was searching for carrots for her bunny Angel, when a manticore attacked her. She had thought she was finished, but then an alien appeared! I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. Fluttershy said it's bipedal and very tall. It was dressed in black armor, adorned with long black cape and scary mask. It was breathing very loudly. Fluttershy also said that when the manticore had attacked it, the creature had pulled out a stick and a beam of purple light had appeared, cutting the manticore in half with only one swing! It had also said something to her in deep, robotic voice, but then she ran away. I require your assistance to search for this creature. This could be huge change in Equestria's history! Who knows what technology and knowledge this alien possesses?!
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
Celestia’s eyes widened as she read her protege’s letter.
"GUARDS!" she yelled once she’d finished reading. Two Solar Guards entered the throne room and knelt before the Princess.
"You called us, Princess?" one of them said.
"Wake up my sister, prepare a carriage, the Elements of Harmony and select few Solar Guards, Lunar Guards and Captain Shining Armor. We must go to Ponyville immediately!"
“Yes, Your Highness,” said the Solar Guards, rising and virtually running to do their Princess’s bidding.
Ponyville:
Twilight had gathered all her friends and Fluttershy told them about the alien. Their reactions were… somewhat mixed.
"We should go in that forest, find the alien and show him who's the boss!" Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty. who was a pegasus and had a sky-blue coat of fur and a rainbow-patterned hairstyle, and wore a blue jacket with a white t-shirt with the image of a rainbow-patterned lightning bolt underneath and blue exclaimed, smashing her right fist into her left hand as she spoke.
"I concur, Rainbow. It sounds like some kind of brute. Not to mention that his attire sounds like utter garbage!" Rarity, the Element of Generosity (and forever drama queen), who was an alabaster-furred unicorn with curly purple hair wearing a baby blue blouse and a purple skirt, said, dramatically putting her hand on her forehead.
"OH, I HOPE HE LIKES PARTIES, BECAUSEIAMGOINGTOTHROWHIMTHEBESTESTPARTYHEEVEREREXPERIENCED!!!" Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter, who was a pink-furred earth pony with bushy pink hair wearing a light blue jacket with a white t-shirt that bore the image of a heart and blue jeans said while bouncing around. This was nothing weird for her.
"Ah just hope it's not gunna be aggressive and be cooperative. If not, Rainbow and ah will show this thing into the dirt." Applejack, the Element of Honesty, who was an earth pony with a blonde pony tail wearing her father’s stetson hat, a green shirt, and blue jeans said with her arms crossed.
Twilight and Fluttershy had remained silent and waited for the Princess to come.
knock, knock.
Twilight rushed to the door and opened it. When she opened the door, she not only saw Princess Celestia, but Princess Luna, a few Royal Guards, and her brother, Shining Armor, who had alabaster fur, navy blue hair, and wore purple and golden armor.
"Shiny!" Twilight yelled and jumped at her brother, hugging him. A couple of the guards snickered, but they were quickly silenced when their captain had glared at them.
"It's good to see you too, Twily, but could you let me go, I still need to breathe," choked Shining Armor, who was slowly starting to turn blue from the lack of oxygen. Twilight quickly released him, blushing in embarrassment as Shining Armor began swallowing big chunks of air. Twilight then turned to the Princesses and kneeled, as did her friends.
"My faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, it's so good to see you again,” Celestia said as the Mane 6 rose from the ground.
"Alas, I fear that now it's not the time for hugs. If everything what you have written in that letter is true, this alien may be extremely dangerous. We must go now to find it bring it to Canterlot for negotiation. In case it won't come willingly and starts acting aggressive, i brought your Elements of Harmony,” Celestia explained as Lunar Guards brought forth the chest in which the Elements were resting. Mane 6 took each their respected necklaces (Twilight took her tiara).
"We must proceed to the forest now. Faust knows what that alien is doing in the moment." Princess Luna exclaimed. And with that, they all started walking towards the forest.
