Chapter 1: Grandfather's Mission
Starkiller Base
“Falcon’s this way!” yelled a dark-skinned man with short black hair wearing a leather jacket with a black shirt underneath, black pants, and black boots. Right behind him was a girl with tied back dark brown hair wearing a dirty tan garb of some kind and brown leather boots. The man’s name had once been FN-2187 and he had been a Stormtrooper in the service of the First Order, but these days he went by Finn, a name given to him by Poe Dameron, who he’d help escape from the First Order. The girl, meanwhile, was named Rey and she had been a scavenger on the desert planet of Jakku before she’d bumped into Finn and a small droid called BB-8.
As the two made their way through the collapsing planet’s snow covered forests, they were soon stopped dead in their tracks by the sound of a lightsaber activating. Emerging from his hiding place was a boy around Rey’s age with shoulder-length black hair wearing a damaged black hooded tunic, black pants, black leather boots, and black leather gloves. In his hand was a red crossguard lightsaber.
“We’re not done yet,” said Kylo Ren.
Rey was seething with anger, having only just witnessed Kylo murder his own father, Han Solo. “You’re a monster,” she spat at him.
“It’s just us now,” said Kylo. “Han Solo can’t save you.”
Kylo then proceeded to beat on an injury he’d sustained just after killing his father. Rey and Finn watched as droplets of blood fell on the snow near Kylo’s feet.
Her anger getting the better of her, Rey pulled out a blaster and aimed it at Kylo, but before she could fire, Kylo sent the scavenger flying through the air with a powerful telekinetic push, and caused her to crash into a tree, knocking her unconscious.
“Rey!” yelled Finn as he ran over to his friend’s side and began to attempt to get her to wake up. Behind him, Kylo twirled his lightsaber.
“TRAITOR!” Kylo bellowed.
An angry look crossed Finn’s face as he stood up and turned to face Kylo, activating the blue blade of the lightsaber he’d been given.
Kylo almost instantly recognized the weapon. “That lightsaber, it belongs to me.”
“Come and get it,” snarled Finn before he charged at Kylo, swinging the weapon, which Kylo parried with little effort. Back and forth the two men fought, until Kylo managed to pin Finn against a nearby tree, their lightsabers locked together. As Kylo pushed his blade against Finn’s, one of the crossguards began to burn into Finn’s shoulder, causing him to scream in pain before he managed to break the lock and score a hit on Kylo’s shoulder. However, with his next couple of attacks, Kylo managed to knock the lightsaber out of Finn’s hand and scored a deep slash across the rogue stormtrooper’s back, causing him to crumple to the ground, bleeding and unconscious.
Finn dealt with, Kylo deactivated his weapon and reached his hand out to use the Force to claim his grandfather’s old lightsaber. Slowly, the lightsaber began to make its way out of the snow it was embedded in, before it came flying out so fast that Kylo had to move out of the way to avoid it, and as a result, saw the weapon fly right into Rey’s outstretched hand. For a moment, the two warriors stared at each other before Kylo activated his lightsaber once more, Rey following suit. Then, Kylo swung his blade to attack, which Rey parried. Kylo continued to remain on the offensive as he and Rey battled their way to the edge of a newly-formed cliff where their lightsabers locked. It looked as though the Resistance pilots flying overhead had successfully managed to cause the oscillator of the First Order’s fittingly-named Starkiller to go critical, thus causing the planet to begin to collapse on itself.
“You need a teacher!” said Kylo, gazing fiercely into Rey’s eyes as he spoke. “I can show you the ways of the Force!”
“The Force…?” whispered Rey as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax and drift. When she opened her eyes again, she broke the lock and went on the offensive. Kylo, in his pain, was only able to parry some of her attacks before the novice Force wielder managed to score a serious hit on his leg, cutting some of his outfit off and causing the Knight of Ren to fall on one knee in agony before he got up and started swinging again, only to receive a stab to his other shoulder.
Rey could tell by the way Kylo was staggering about that the pain of his injuries was finally starting to get to him, a fact that was only made clearer when she parried Kylo’s next strike and kicked him to the ground. Kylo laid on the ground for at least two minutes before he pulled himself up and continued to fight. Rey grabbed the arm the Kylo was holding his lightsaber in down while he held hers up. Kylo grunted and groaned in agony, the pain in his shoulders intesifying. Rey, seeing her opening, pulled her arm free and brought her lightsaber down and severed the hilt of Kylo’s before delivering a slash across his face, knocking him to the ground.
Kylo struggled to pull himself up, but the most he could manage was lifting his head up just in time to see a fissure form and seperate him and Rey before the latter ran off into the woods. The last of his energy spent, Kylo Ren fell into unconciousness… unaware that someone was watching him.
…
Elsewhere…
A purple anthro Alicorn with a dark blue mane and tail, both of which had a magenta stripe in them, entered one of the vast guest bedrooms within Canterlot Castle, a thoroughly depressed look on her face. She wore an elegant lavender dress, a pink diamond necklace, and brown sandals with heels. Upon her head was a golden tiara. This was Twilight Sparkle, recently-crowned Princess of Equestria… although, at the moment, she was wishing she was still an ordinary Unicorn, getting ready for bed in her old treehouse/library home, back before Tirek had smashed it to splinters… back before she had to put up with all of this hatred and anger towards her and her politics.
I just don’t understand it… why do they hate me so much? thought Twilight as she striped down to her black bra and panties. It’s not like I’ve done anything horrible to them… I’m just trying to make sure that Equestria isn’t left behind in this ever-evolving world we live in now. I mean, right now Equestria is laughably out gunned, lovers of two different species can’t get married, no matter how much they want to, and the Council is made up of royals and nobles who only have interest in themselves rather than the common good.
As Twilight snuggled into the blankets and bedsheets, she felt a wave of hopelessness wash over her. Maybe I’m not meant to be a Princess of Equestria is this is how ponies are going to treat me… maybe I should just step down…
No, Twilight. You can’t step down now. Do you really think all of this hatred will just go away because you’re not a Princess anymore? a stronger voice told Twilight deep in her subconscious
Immediately, Twilight reached into a bedside dresser drawer and pulled out three pictures. One of them was of her and her friends, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. The second was of her and the other three Princesses, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, all of them looking very formal and elegant in their dresses. The third was a picture of a pegasus stallion with orange fur and a blue mane and tail wearing a Royal Guard dress uniform. This was Flash Sentry, Twilight’s secret coltfriend… although, she was starting to suspect that he was getting ready to propose to her.
Twilight thought for a moment about what this might mean for them, given all the hate she’d received. Flash must truly and deeply love her if he was willing to risk going through all of the same minotaur shit she’d been through… and if he wanted to start a family with her.
Twilight smiled. As long as she had this group of ponies by her side, she could take anything those nay-sayers and Traditionalists threw at her.
And with that, Twilight returned the pictures to the drawer, and closed her eyes… completely unaware of what was going on right under her muzzle.
…
“Well? Are we going to do this thing or what?” grumbled a voice in the shadows to one of its four fellows.
“Are you really sure about this? I mean, we’re about to MURDER A PRINCESS-”
“Shut up! Do you want to get us arrested? Besides, we’ve got the one thing that can make our troubles that much easier.”
As the voice said this, a faint gleam of light from a shining blade appeared. A gasp was heard.
“Is that… is that really-”
“Orichalum. The boss stallion had this thing forged just for this sole purpose… something about getting some mare drunk enough not to stand on her own two hooves or something like that. Anyways, this is our room.”
As the five shadowy figures reached the bedroom, they silently opened the door. There, sleeping soundly on the bed, was Princess Twilight Sparkle.
“Well? Who wants the honors?” asked one of the voices.
“I’ll do it.”
“She’s all yours, Gallant.”
As the single figure crept silently into the room, the orichalum blade in his hand, they felt as though a huge weight was resting upon their shoulders. Finally, the figure clamped his hand down over Twilight’s nose and mouth, causing her to awaken.
“Get on her! Keep her down!”
As the other four figures held Twilight down, the princess tried to muster up some magic. However, before the princess could muster the magic to fend off her assassin, the orichalam blade slashed across her throat, cutting deep into her flesh. As blood gushed out of the wound in her throat, Twilight stared in horror at her attacker, unable to scream or even breathe as they continued to stab her. Finally, after a moment of fruitless struggling, Twilight went limp and cold, and her eyes turned glassy. She was dead.
“Good job, now let’s get the buck out of here!”
And with that, the five killers ran for it, leaving their handy work behind.
…
Princess Celestia, an anthro alicorn mare with alabaster fur and a mane that resembled the lush green fields, the open blue sky, and the pink of love and compassion, yawned and stretched as she woke up and climbed out of her vast four-poster bed and made her way over to the balcony on the other side. Stepping onto the cold white marble, Celestia channeled her energies and focused them at the blazing golden sunset. With seemingly no effort at all, Celestia raised the sun to such a position that gravity would be able to take care of the rest until sundown, where Luna would take over and raise her moon.
Celestia smiled. Looks like it’s gonna be a beautiful day… considering, she thought to herself, thinking back to all of her prized pupil’s troubles as of late. I don’t understand it. If these Traditionalists can’t bring themselves to trust Twilight, then why can’t they trust me? It’s not like I’m in any danger. If Twilight really wanted to seize control of Equestria, she would’ve done it by now, and considering how strong she already was as a unicorn, I don’t think Luna and I could handle her now as an alico-
Celestia’s inner dialogue was interrupted by a member of her guard bursting into her room, a mingled look of panic and embarrassment at seeing his leader in her nightclothes. “P-Princess C-C-C-Celestia… f-f-f-forgive m-m-m-me,” stammered the guard as he started to turn beet red.
Celestia frowned. What could’ve possibly happened to get this guard all worked up like this. “It’s all right, just tell me what’s wrong,” she said.
“I-I-I-I-It’s P-P-P-P-Princess T-Twilight… sh-she’s b-b-been… m-m-m-m-m-murdered!”
Celestia could almost hear the glass in her mind breaking into a million pieces. Part of her wanted to dismiss and demote the guard because of his lies… and yet, the look on his face and the way he was acting was very, very hard to fake.
“T-Take me to her,” said Celestia, doing her best to sound dignified.
The guard was taken aback. “Your Majesty, are you-” he began to say, only to be drowned out by Celestia’s anguished voice.
“TAKE ME TO HER, I NEED TO SEE HER!” wailed Celestia.
Nodding to show he understood, the guard led Princess Celestia out of her room and through the halls to Twilight’s room, where a small crowd had gathered, mostly consisting of royal guardsponies.
“Let me through! Let me through!” yelled Celestia.
The crowd made way for her. And then Celestia saw her. Her worst fears had been confirmed.
Princess Twilight Sparkle lay on her bed as a couple of guardsponies moved around her, examining the crime scene, while a third, who had orange fur and a dark blue mane and tail, sobbed uncontrollably and stroked Celestia’s pupil’s mane. Blood was splattered all over the bedsheets, and there was a dark slash across Twilight’s throat.
Princess Celestia couldn’t believe it. She closed her eyes and called upon a healing spell. Twilight’s injuries were repaired but the alicorn did not awaken. Celestia tried a shock spell. Twilight’s body shook and vibrated as though it’d received and electrical shock, but still she did not awaken.
No matter what the tear-soaked Princess Celestia tried, she could not get any response from her beloved student. Finally, she was forced to face the truth.
Twilight Sparkle had been slain in her sleep.
“Twilight… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” wailed Celestia as she fell to her knees and wept.
…
A loud thunderclap woke Kylo Ren from unconciousness. Looking wildly around in fright, the Knight of Ren realized that he was in an unfamiliar alleyway and that his helmet, which was black with silver around the eyes in an almost eyemask-like fashion, was lying nearby. Looking down at himself, Kylo noticed that his injuries had been healed, although his body seemed to be permanently scarred, judging by the minor stabs of pain he felt when he touched the spots where he’d been injured. Another thing that Kylo noticed was that his outfit had changed somewhat. Although it still resembled the one he wore back on Starkiller Base, it now had a layer of armor woven into it. Another strange thing he noticed was that not only had his lightsaber been repaired, but there was a second hilt just like it on his belt. Removing and activating the weapon, Kylo discovered that this new lightsaber emitted a blue blade.
“Do you like it?”
Kylo looked to his immediate right and saw a black hooded figure wearing a darker version of a Jedi robe surrounded by a blue aura approaching him. Stopping in front of him, the figure lowered his hood, revealing himself to be a human male around his age. Although, while the right side of him appeared to be normal, the left side of him seemed to be a bit more monstrous.
Kylo recognized the man immediately. This was his hero, his idol, the man he strived to try to become.
“G…Grandfather?” Kylo said in awe.
Anakin Skywalker nodded in confirmation. “It is nice to meet you at last, Ben,” he said as Kylo pulled himself up and picked his helmet. “Although, I must admit, I find your choice for a role model disturbing. It seems as though you only know what Imperial propaganda made me out to be, not the truth.”
Kylo shrugged. “What can I say? I found Darth Vader to be far more impressive and striking than Anakin Skywalker,”
“Understandable. Come, Grandson. We have much to discuss,” said Anakin.
Kylo nodded, and together, the two men left the alleyway and into the streets. As Kylo looked around, he noticed that most of the creatures in the city he now found himself in seemed to be bipedal horses. Some of them seemed quite strong physically, while others had wings, be they feathered like a birds or leathery like a bat, while still more had a single horn growing out of their forehead. It was the horned ones in particular that Kylo sensed to be strong in the Force. Oddly, none of these creatures seemed to see him or his Grandfather.
“I have a Force Cloak up. They can’t see or hear us until I want them to,” Anakin explained, answering Kylo’s unspoken question. “Welcome to Canterlot, Grandson. Capital city of Equestria, located on the planet Gaia in the Unknown Sector.”
Kylo looked at his grandfather in surprise. “The Unknown Sector? I thought that it was too dangerous to travel there. Something about ships disappearing if they tried to enter?”
“Indeed. That would be because there are two immortal beings here called alicorns who rule this land, and are so strong in the Force, or as the natives call it, ‘magic,’ that they can move the sun and moon as though they were toys. Needless to say, the sight of seeing a star or moon move seemingly by itself can be a frightening experience. Frightening enough that they lose control of the ship and crash,” explained Anakin, causing Kylo to chuckle.
“So, why am I here, Granfather?” asked Kylo.
“I brought you here because The First Order left you to die on Starkiller Base. General Hux, I believe his name was, was ordered to find you and bring you to Snoke. Instead, however, he decided to leave you to die and save his own skin. Furthermore, I hope to give you a chance to escape my fate. Although I had the entire galaxy trembling at my feet as Vader, and a vast array of powers, the pain I felt, the physical being caused by a combination of light on my burnt skin and the machinery welded into me, and the emotional being from killing your grandmother and nearly all the Jedi, including the younglings, was nearly unbearable. I don’t want that for you. Also, I have a mission for you,” explained Anakin.
“The mission being?” asked Kylo as he and his grandfather joined the large, black-clad crowd moving slowly towards a vast castle lodged into a mountainside.
“A tragedy has occurred here. A newly-anointed Princess was slain in her sleep two days ago because of drastic political reforms that would change everything. Something my Master taught me: all who gain power are afraid to lose it. These… Traditionalists, orchestrated this tragedy out of fear of losing centuries’ worth of power and influence. Furthermore, the reforms would’ve allowed for more tolerance of the other species that call this world home, even unions between them. Some of these ponies, as they’re called, are more xenophobic than others,” explained Anakin. “My mission for you is to locate these Traditionalists, and engage in what I like to call ‘aggressive negotiations.’”
“‘Aggressive negotiations?’” asked Kylo.
“Negotiations with a lightsaber and Force powers. In any case, the state funeral is about to start,” said Anakin, lifting the Force Cloak as he and his grandson mingled and blended in with the crowd.
…
At the request of Princess Celestia, the Pegasi Weather Patrol had made the sky almost completely hidden under a shroud of dark gray clouds that poured rain upon those adorned in black who’d arrived for the state funeral for Princess Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia watched on as more and more ponies filed past the glass coffin that contained the purple princess, who looked so at peace, wearing her coronation gown, her hands forever holding a bouquet of enchanted flowers that wouldn’t wilt for a hundred years… and she couldn’t stop herself from weeping. She blamed herself for bringing this fate upon her most faithful student. If she hadn’t made her a Princess, none of this would have happened.
Finally, once everyone was seated before the large podium that had been set up, it was time for the eulogies.
"Fillies and gentlecolts... today, we are here to celebrate the life of one very special unicorn, who ascended to become an alicorn princess... only to be taken from us in such a cruel fashion," said Celestia, a glistening tear on her cheek as she began her speech, pausing a moment before she could find her voice. "Twilight Sparkle was... like a daughter to me. I remember the day I met her, the day of her entrance examination... she seemed so happy, so full of life, so eager to learn new things… I could use so many words but they would never be able to truly convey how wonderful she is…. except maybe stubborn. Once she was sure of something she set to it…. and perhaps loyal as well….. I-I’m sorry… forgive me.” Celestia said as she ran off the stage, tears falling behind her, along with Pinkie Pie and Luna.
Fluttershy, a butter yellow Anthro pegasus with a pink mand tail clad in a black dress with matching heels, swallowed her pride and, with as much courage as she could muster, took the stage.
"H-Hi... I'm Fluttershy," murmured Fluttershy, her knees shaking from both fear and sadness. "T-Twilight... was... one of my... best... friends... and... I MISS HER SO MUCH!" she wailed at the top of her lungs, causing several ponies attending the funeral to jump. Mere moments later, Fluttershy passed out from both her stage fright and sadness. The rest of the funeral, compared to the beginning, however, was really quite uneventful.
Finally, it was time for Shining Armor to do his part… something that, no matter how many times he had to it, never got any easier: honor guard. Today, however, he wasn’t just saying good-bye to one of his comrades… he was saying goodbye to the baby sister he’d watched grow up from the day she was born.
“H-honor guard!” he barked, his voice choked up. As one, the guard ponies who stood in their black dress uniforms snapped to attention, their horns glowing. “Ready… aim… FIRE!” barked Shining Armor.
As one, the soldiers fired off colorful blasts of magic, which exploded into fireworks with a loud Boom!
“Ready… aim… FIRE!”
Boom!
“Ready… aim… FIRE!”
Boom!
“Ready… aim… FIRE!”
With the last Boom! Everypony began to depart the funeral and return home. Not among them was Spike Sparkle, who was a well-built purple and green dragon as tall as a full-grown stallion, despite still being a teenager. He was clad in a black suit and tie as he approached his mother’s glass coffin and sank to his knees beside it, weeping.
“I promise you, Mom. I will get stronger and I will avenge you,” Spike whispered once his tears had been reduced to dry sobs.
Finally pulling himself together, Spike stood up and placed a kiss on his mother’s coffin, before making his way back to the castle to join the others, only to see something out of the corner of his eye. Turning around, Spike saw two black-grabbed figures standing beside his mother’s grave, causing him to frown. But, before Spike could investigate, he heard Princess Cadence’s voice calling from inside the castle.
“Spike! Come in! You’ll catch old out there!”
Hesitating for a moment, Spike heeded his aunt’s call and entered the castle, but not before looking over his shoulder.
…
Kylo Ren felt a surge of anger and grief run through him as he gazed down at Twilight Sparkle’s body. She looked so beautiful, so at peace. It looked more like she was sleeping with only angels to guide her dreams. Something about her struck a chord in Kylo’s heart.
“Twilight Sparkle’s death will only be the first of many to come in the approaching war if these Traditionalists and their allies are not destroyed,” said Anakin.
“I accept your mission, Grandfather. I will hunt these Traditionalists down and I will not rest until each and every one of them lies at my feet, slain by either my blade or my powers.”
“Any ideas where you would start, Grandson?” asked Anakin.
Kylo put on his mask before he gave his reply.
”I will start with those who have slain Twilight Sparkle.”
