PONY WARS: The Empire Strikes Back
PONY WARS: The Empire Strikes Back
A long time ago, in a gala far, far, away...
It is a dark time for the Rebellion. Although the Death Star has been destroyed, Imperial troops have driven the Rebel forces from their hidden base and pursued them across the galaxy.
Evading the dreaded Imperial Starfleet, a group of freedom fighters led by Twilight Sparkle has established a new secret base on the remote ice world of Hoth.
The evil lord Nightmare Moon, obsessed with finding young Sparkle, has dispatched thousands of remote probes into the far reaches of space...
Icy winds tore across the vast white expanse of snow stretching across the Hoth horizon. As the snow fell from the cloud obscured sky, a tiny figure made its way across the blinding abyss of ice. The bundled pony was wrapped in a thick fur coat and gloves as she rode across the windswept slope on her large, grey snow lizard. Curving plumes of snow rose from beneath the Tauntaun's feet as it galloped. Pulling on its reins, the mare brought her mount to a stop atop an icy slope. Twilight pulled off her protective goggles as she put her electrobinoculars to her eyes, scanning the distant sky for a glint that she had seen. As she studied the horizon, she saw a small plume of smoke trail upwards from behind a nearby bluff. Pocketing her binoculars, Twilight pulled out her comlink and began to speak into it.
“Echo Three to Echo Seven,” she called into the device. “Dash, do you read me?” After a little static, she heard the familiar voice of her friend.
“Loud and clear, kid. What's up?”
“Well, I finished my circle,” Twilight announced. “I don't pick up any life readings.”
“There isn't enough life on this ice cube to fill a space cruiser,” Rainbow replied sarcastically. “The sensors are placed. I'm going back.”
“Right, I'll see you shortly. There's a meteorite that hit the ground near here. I want to check it out. It won't take long.” With that, Twilight switched off her comlink and began to rein in her nervous mount. The Tauntaun shook, and Twilight surmised that it wasn't just the cold causing it to shiver. “Hey, steady girl,” Twilight said gently as she nuzzled the beast's head with her hoof. “What's the matter? You smell something?” She reached down to adjust her belt when a large shadow extended over her. She turned quickly, coming face-to-face with a monstrous, eleven foot tall Wampa. The Yeti-like creature let out a howl as it swung at the tiny pony with its massive claw. Twilight reached for her pistol, but the gargantuan paw smashed into her face, knocking her to the ice below. Twilight was unconscious before she hit the ground. The Tauntaun tried to run, but found itself outmatched by the much larger Wampa, and its terrified barks were cut short as the beast snapped its long neck. Grabbing the Tauntaun corpse in one hand and the young mare's leg in the other, the Wampa began to lumber across the frozen plain.
Rebel troops rushed about the busy hangar, unloading supplies and securing their new base. A rider on a Tauntaun briskly made her way into the hangar, glad to be out of the cold. As she leapt off of her mount, Rainbow Dash trotted towards the Wonderbolt, her prized starship, parked among a group of other fighters. Droids and mechanics scurried about as Dash made her way to the ship, where a large purple dragon worked. Hearing his captain's hoofsteps, Spike lifted his welder's mask, an irritated look on his face.
“Spike!” Rainbow called cheerily. Spike replied with a growl. “All right, don't lose your temper. I'll come back and give you a hand.” Spike lowered his mask and resumed his work as Rainbow made her way into a nearby passage. She trotted down the hallway towards a makeshift command center, where General Octavia sat at her console, troops and droids milling about around her, setting up equipment. She stood as Rainbow entered the room.
“Dash?” She asked as the young captain removed her thick hood.
“No sign of life out there, General,” Rainbow reported. “The sensors are in place. You'll know if anything comes around.”
“Has Commander Sparkle reported in yet?”
“No, she's checking out a meteorite that hit near her position.” Octavia turned toward the radar screen on her console.
“With all the meteor activity in this system, it's going to be difficult to spot approaching ships.” Rainbow sighed, not really listening to the General. She had something else on her mind. Taking a deep breath, Rainbow blurted out her request.
“General, I've got to leave. I can't stay anymore.” Octavia looked surprised as she turned to face Dash. Princess Rarity, standing at a console cross the room, turned toward the two, having overheard their conversation. A look of distress grew over her soft, gentle face.
“I'm... sorry to hear that,” Octavia replied.
“Well, there's a price on my head,” Rainbow continued. “If I don't pay off Jabba the Hutt, I'm a dead mare,”
“A death mark's not an easy thing to live with,” Octavia replied, turning away. “You're a good fighter, Dash. I hate to lose you.”
“Thank you, General.” Dash turned and made her way towards the hallway. Rarity intercepted her at the door. “Well, Your Highness, I guess this is it.”
“That's right,” Rarity responded without a trace of warmth in her voice. Seeing her obvious anger, Dash shook her head and replied coolly,
“Well, don't get all mushy on me. So long, Princess.” Rainbow began to trot into the corridor. After stewing for a moment, Rarity hurried after her.
“Rainbow!” Dash stopped, turning to face Rarity.
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“I thought you decided to stay.” Rainbow shook her head.
“Well, the bounty hunter we ran into on Ord Mantell changed my mind.”
“Rainbow, we need you!” Rarity emplored.
“We?” she asked back.
“Yes.”
“Oh, what about you need?” Rainbow replied smoothly.
“I need?” Rarity asked, mystified. “I don't know what you're talking about.” Rainbow shook her head.
“You probably don't.”
“And what, precisely, am I supposed to know?” Rarity demanded.
“Come on!” Rainbow returned. “You want me to stay because of the way you feel about me.” Rarity began to blush, but quickly regained her composure.
“Yes, you're a great help to us. You're a natural leader--”
“No, that's not it,” Rainbow cut her off. “Come on.” Rarity averted her eyes, letting out a little laugh.
“You're imagining things,” she replied, trying to keep her voice firm.
“Am I?” Rainbow asked, smirking. “Then why are you following me? Afraid I was going to leave without giving you a goodbye kiss?”
“I'd just as soon kiss a dragon,” Rarity shot back.
“I can arrange that,” Rainbow retorted as she strode down the hall. “You could use a good kiss!”
A stream of beeps and whistles echoing across the icy halls heralded the approach of two mechanical mares, arguing back and forth as they made their way down the passage.
“Don't try ta blame me,” Applejack snipped at the mischievous pink Astromech. “I didn't ask you ta turn on the thermal heater. I merely commented that it was freezin in the princess's chamber. But it's supposed ta be freezin! How are we gonna dry out all her clothes? I really don't know.” Pinkie-Pie replied with a few snarky beeps. “Oh, switch off!” The two droids made their way into the hangar where Rainbow and Spike struggled with the central lifters on their ship.
“Why did you take this apart now?” Rainbow fussed at the huge dragon. “I'm trying to get us outta here and you pull both of these?” Spike let out an irritated grumble.
“Excuse me, sir,” Applejack said to Rainbow.
“Put them back together right now,” Rainbow instructed Spike, ignoring the golden mare.
“Might I have a word with you, please?”
“What do you want?” Rainbow shot hastily.
“Well, it's Princess Rarity, sir. She's been tryin ta get you on the communicator.”
“I turned it off,” Rainbow replied, her eyes narrowing. “I don't want to talk to her.”
“Oh, well, Princess Rarity is wonderin about Master Twilight. She hasn't come back yet. We don't know where she is.”
“I don't know where she is.”
“Nopony knows where she is.” Rainbow turned, her eyes widening.
“What do you mean nopony knows?” Her eyes fell on the entrance to the huge ice cave, the evening light fading into the wide hangar.
“Well, uh, ya see--” Rainbow dove from the lift, using her wings to steady her fall. She dashed to a deck hand while Applejack hurried behind.
“Yes sir?” the deck hand asked.
“Do you know where Commander Sparkle is?”
“I haven't seen her,” the deck hand replied. “It's possible that she came in through the south entrance.”
“It's possible?” Rainbow asked somewhat angrily. “Why don't you go find out? It's getting dark out there.”
“Yes sir!” the deck hand saluted as he galloped off.
“Excuse me, sir. Might I inquire what's goin on?” Applejack asked.
“Why not?” Rainbow shot back sarcastically.
“Impossible mare!” Applejack sighed as she threw her hooves in the air. “Come along, Pinkie, let's find Princess Rarity. Between ourselves, I think Master Twilight is in considerable danger.”
The deck hand and his assistant galloped toward Rainbow as she entered the small tunnel.
“Sir, Commander Sparkle hasn't come in through the south entrance,” the deck hand reported. “She may have forgotten to check in.”
“Not likely,” Rainbow muttered to herself. “Are the speeders ready?”
“Not yet. We're having some trouble adapting them to the cold.”
“Then we'll have to go out on Tauntauns.” The deck hand's eyes grew wide.
“Sir, the temperature's dropping too rapidly.”
“That's right,” Rainbow shot back. “And my friend's out in it.” She pushed her way through the troops and flew up to a nearby Tauntaun.
“Your mount will freeze before you reach the first marker!” the deck hand warned.
“Then I'll see you in hell!” Rainbow shouted as she maneuvered out of the cave and into the dark, bitter night.
The jagged face of a huge ice wall sat gloomily in the dim Hoth dusk. Deep within the icy cave, Twilight hung upside down, suspended from the ceiling by her legs. Her front hooves dangled, nearly brushing against the icy stalagmites crawling up from the cave floor. A mask of caked-on dried blood covered one side of the mare's face. She began to crack open her eyes slowly as consciousness reentered her limp body. A chilling moan resonated around the room, echoing around the gorge walls. Gathering her strength, Twilight pulled herself up, grabbing at her back hooves. She futilely attempted to undo the ropes binding her, but her body gave out, and she slumped back into a hanging position. Exhausted, she began to scan the small room for her belongings. Near her discarded gear, she spotted her lightsaber handle lying on the ground, just a few feet out of her reach. She focused on the saber, straining her hoof towards the weapon. She squeezed her eyes shut in concentration, and the weapon flew to her hoof. She quickly lighted it, cutting the bonds on her legs. As she dropped to the cave floor, she looked up to see the massive Wampa standing over her. She quickly got to her hooves, not wanting to feel the force of another blow from the creature, and as it raised its paw to attack, Twilight swung with her sword, dismembering the furry, white arm from its owner. As the Wampa roared in pain, Twilight galloped as fast as she could out of the cave and into the dark, snowy night. She ran through the snow and tripped, falling face first into the snowy ground. She was glad to have the snow to break her fall, and lay there for a few minutes before slowly getting back to her hooves and staggering into the icy wilderness.
As she stumbled through the ice and snow, the cold wind began to pick up, beating against the young mare. Twilight struggled to stay upright, but a blast of freezing snow knocked her off of her hooves. She tried to stand, but found her legs unable to bear her weight. She began to drag herself a few feet across the snow before collapsing.
Princess Rarity stood inside the dark entrance to the Rebel base, hopefully waiting for a sign of the two mares. She shivered in the cold as Spike stood nearby, his head in his hands. Pinkie and Applejack made their way through the large doors, followed closely by General Octavia and Skybuck Antilles.
“There's still no contact from Sparkle or Dash,” Octavia reported to Rarity, her eyes avoiding the princess's.
“Miss Rarity, Pinkie says she's been unable ta pick up any signals, although she does admit that her own range is too weak to abandon all hope,” Applejack said, attempting to be comforting. Rarity nodded, lost in her thoughts.
“Your Highness, there's nothing more we can do tonight,” Octavia said to the silent princess. “The shield doors must be closed.”
“What? We can't!” Skybuck shouted in disbelief. “Twilight's still out there!”
“Close the doors, Antilles,” Octavia replied, her voice remaining stoic. Skybuck's eyes fell as he began to walk away.
“Yes, sir,” he grumbled as he moved toward the large control panel. Spike let out a long howl as Pinkie began sputtering a series of beeps.
“Pinkie says the chances of survival are seven hundred seventy-five ta one,” Applejack translated. Rarity stood silently as the huge metal doors slammed shut across the entrance to the cave. The loud boom echoed across the cavern as Spike let out another howl. “Actually, Pinkie has been known ta make mistakes... from time ta time. Oh, dear. Don't worry about Master Twilight. I'm sure she'll be all right. She's quite clever, ya know... for a pony.”
Twilight lay face down in the snow, semi-conscious. Thoughts began to swirl through her head. Thoughts of her aunt and uncle, of her friends, of the Death Star. Thoughts of a tender kiss. She thought of the time she had served as commander in the Rebel Alliance. It had always been her dream, and she'd made it a reality. She thought of her life as it flashed through her mind's eye. She could no longer feel her legs or face, only a warm feeling deep within her chest. She struggled to force air into her dying lungs. She would die here, alone in the snowy night. However, as the thoughts of death grew closer, she found that no tears would escape her eyes. She thought of Rarity, of Rainbow Dash, of Applejack and Pinkie-Pie. She thought of Macintosh, and longed to bury her head against his warm chest. She thought of Celestia, the old mare that had watched over her. As she thought of her former teacher, the visions grew brighter and more vivid. It was as if the great mare stood before her very eyes. Weakly, Twilight lifted her head and opened her eyes. There Celestia stood, her magnificent mane flowing in the night air.
“Twilight... Twilight...” the old mare called.
“Celestia?” Twilight weakly choked out.
“You will go to the Dagobah system,”
“Dagobah system?” Twilight repeated, dazed.
“There you will learn from Fluttershy, the Jedi Master who instructed me.” The image of Celestia began to fade, and Twilight began to thrash in the snow, trying to get to her hooves. She wanted to get to the old mare, but she couldn't move. She could only watch as her teacher faded away, leaving only the bleak, black night sky.
“Celestia...” Twilight slowly groaned as she began to lower her head. As she closed her eyes, she saw the silhouette of a lone rider in the distance. Rainbow pulled up, dropping from her mount, and rushed to the snow-covered body of her friend, cradling her in her hooves.
“Twilight! Twilight! Don't do this, girl! Come on, give me a sign here!” Twilight remained motionless, and Rainbow began frantically rubbing and slapping the unconscious mare's face. She stopped as she heard a rasping sound from behind her. She turned to see the Tauntaun stagger and fall over into the snow. Dash carried Twilight to the fallen mount and placed her ear to the creature's chest. Its breathing had stopped. “Not much time,” she muttered as she pressed Twilight's inert body against the belly of the dead beast.
“Celes... tia...” Twilight moaned.
“Hang on, kid.”
“Dagobah... system...” Rainbow grabbed the lightsaber from Twilight's coat pocket. After a quick examination, she ignited the blade and sliced the Tauntaun's body open. She quickly began to toss its steaming innards into the snow, then lifted Twilight's limp body, stuffing her inside of the carcass.
“Whew!” Rainbow exclaimed, reeling from the odor.
“Dagobah...”
“This may smell bad, kid.”
“Flutter... shy...”
“But it'll keep you warm til I get the shelter built.” Rainbow struggled to fit Twilight inside of the corpse. “Oooh, and I thought they smelled bad on the outside!”
Four snub-nosed snowspeeders raced across the vast white landscape as the morning light crept across the ice. One of the pilots, a scruff looking stallion, glanced down at his softly beeping monitor.
“Echo Base, I've got something,” he announced into his headset. “Not much, but it could be a life form.” The small craft banked, making a wide arc, then raced off in its new direction. The pilot switched over to a new transmitter. “This is Rogue Two. Captain Dash, do you copy? Commander Sparkle, do you copy?” After a sharp crackle of static, Rainbow's voice resounded from the headset.
“Good morning. Nice of you boys to drop by.” The pilot quickly switched back to his first transmitter.
“Echo base, this is Rogue Two. I found them. Repeat, I found them!”
Strange robotic surgeons worked and adjusted a mass of electronic equipment near a huge tank. In a sudden blinding flash, the tank was filled with bacta, a thick gelatinous slime. Twilight, her body suspended in the bacta, began to thrash about, raving in delirium. She slowly began to calm as the bacta began its healing process, until she was left motionless.
As she slowly opened her eyes, Twilight began to take in her surroundings. She was lying in a recovery-room bed. She slowly lifted her hoof to her face. A large bandage covered her cheek where she had been struck by the Wampa, but other than that, she had no bandages or dressings. The metal door slid open, and the two mechanical mares made their way into the room.
“Master Twilight, sir,” Applejack began as she made her way to the bedside. “It's good ta see you fully functional again.” The little Astromech let out a few beeps. “Pinkie expresses her relief as well.” The door swished open again as Rainbow Dash and Spike made their way in. Spike growled a greeting as they approached.
“How are you feeling, kid?” Rainbow asked. “You don't look so bad to me. In fact, you look strong enough to pull the ears off a Gundark.”
“Thanks to you,” Twilight replied.
“That's two you owe me, Junior.” Rainbow turned as Rarity entered the room. A devilish grin grew over her face. “Well, your Worship, looks like you managed to keep me around for a little while longer.”
“I had nothing to do with it,” Rarity replied haughtily. “General Octavia thinks it's dangerous for any ships to leave the system until we've activated the energy shield.”
“That's a good story,” Rainbow said smoothly. “I think you just can't bear to let a gorgeous mare like me out of your sight.” She smirked at the princess as she slowly ran her hoof down the side of her own face.
“I don't know where you get your delusions, laser brain,” Rarity shot back. Spike laughed at his captain's attempt.
“Laugh it up, fireball,” Rainbow said with a grin. “You didn't see us alone in the south passage.” Twilight sat up, her surprised eyes fixed on Rarity. “She expressed her true feelings for me.” Rarity began to blush, her eyes darting back and forth between the two mares.
“My... Why you stuck up... half-witted... scruffy looking... nerf-herder!” Rarity shouted at Dash.
“Who's scruffy looking?” Rainbow demanded as she patted down her mane. She turned to Twilight. “I must have hit her pretty close to the mark to get her all riled up like that, huh?” Rarity's eyes fell, a vulnerable look growing on her face. She quickly regained her composure and moved toward Twilight.
“Why, I guess you don't know everything about me yet!” With that, she leaned over and planted her lips against Twilight's. Twilight's eyes grew huge with surprise, but Rarity had pulled away before she could fully grasp what had just transpired. Rarity turned on her hooves and walked out, leaving everyone in the room dumbstruck, especially Twilight. She slowly brought her hoof to her lips. She had never kissed a mare before. She had never particularly wanted to kiss a mare, but it had happened so fast that she didn't have time to think. Twilight was shaken from her thoughts by a voice over a loudspeaker.
“Headquarters personnel, report to command center,” the voice echoed. After repeating the message, Rainbow, Spike, Pinkie, and Applejack began to make their way out of the room, bidding farewell to Twilight.
“Take it easy,” Rainbow called as she walked through the sliding doors.
General Octavia looked up grimly from her console screen as Rarity entered the room. Rainbow followed behind her.
“Princess, we have a visitor,” Octavia announced, motioning towards the readout screen. “We've picked up something outside the base in zone twelve, moving east. It's metal.”
“Then it couldn't be one of those creatures that attacked Twilight,” Rarity pondered to herself.
“It could be a speeder, one of ours,” Rainbow offered.
“No, wait. There's something very weak coming through.” Octavia and the others gathered around the console, where a strange stream of tics was coming through the speaker. Applejack made her way to the control panel, her eyes narrowing in concentration.
“Sir, I am fluent in over six million forms of communication. This signal is not used by the Alliance. It could be an Imperial code,” she announced. The transmission cut off, ending in static. Octavia and Rarity glanced nervously back and forth.
“It isn't friendly, whatever it is,” Rainbow muttered. “Come on, Spike, let's check it out.” Spike growled his approval, and the two of them rushed out of the room towards the hangar.
The dark probe droid moved silently through the snow, sliding down a slope toward the Rebel base. It spotted the form of the giant purple dragon, then raised an antenna from its dome and let out a shrill, piercing signal. Spike, startled, ducked behind a snow bank as the droid began charging a laser. Before getting a chance to fire, a laserbolt struck the droid from behind, and in an instant, it burst into flame, scattering debris across the icy plain. Rainbow holstered her blaster, peering intently at the smoldering remains of the Imperial probe. Back at the base, Octavia and Rarity sat nervously near the console, listening for Dash's report.
“Afraid there's not much left,” the captain's voice came over the comlink.
“What was it?” Rarity asked.
“Some kind of droid,” Rainbow replied. “I didn't hit it that hard. It must have had a self destruct.”
“An Imperial probe droid,” Rarity responded, half to herself.
“It's a good bet the Empire knows we're here.”
“We'd better start the evacuation,” Octavia said as she stood.
Five massive Imperial Star Destroyers flew in precise formation, seeming suspended among the vast array of stars. An even larger Star Destroyer took the center of the formation, the Star Destroyer of the Dark Lord Nightmare Moon. A convoy of TIE fighters darted to and fro around the much larger ships. Officers working their vast complex of electronic controls stopped to look as they heard the ominous approaching hoofsteps echoing down the corridors. The squat, evil-looking Admiral and powerfully built General who had been conferring near the front of the room also stopped, feeling the Dark Lord's presence. Nightmare Moon entered like a chill wind, slowly moving across the wide bridge. A young captain hurried up to the Admiral.
“I think we've got something, sir,” he reported. “It's only a fragment from a probe droid in the Hoth system, but it's the best lead we've had.”
“We have thousands of probe droids searching the galaxy,” the Admiral shot back, irritated. “I want proof, not leads!”
“The visuals indicate life readings.”
“It could mean anything. If we followed every lead--”
“But sir, the Hoth system is supposed to be devoid of pony forms,” the captain cut him off. Moon moved to the large screen where the short clip from the probe droid was playing. Rebel speeders could be seen approaching the base in the distance.
“You found something?” Moon asked, intrigued.
“Yes, my lord,” the captain replied, nervously. Moon continued studying the image on the screen.
“That's it. The Rebels are there,” she announced.
“My lord, there are so many uncharted settlements,” the Admiral argued. “It could be smugglers. It could be--”
“That is the system,” Moon cut him off. “And I'm sure Sparkle is with them. Set your course for the Hoth system. General, prepare your troops.”
A captain issued instructions to his stallions at the entrance to the main transport bay of the Rebel base. Several transports behind them were loaded by Rebel troops carrying heavy boxes. The troops trotted quickly, but not in panic.
“Groups seven and ten will stay behind to fly the speeders,” the captain briefed. “As soon as each transport is loaded, evacuation control will give clearance for immediate launch.” As the troops disbanded, alarms sounded throughout the base. Troops, ground crew, and droids rushed to their alert stations. A row of armored snowspeeders was lined up in an attack formation near the main entrance. In the midst of all the activity, Rainbow Dash welded frantically on the lifters of the Wonderbolt. Finishing her work, she dropped down to the hangar floor, pulling out her comlink, all the while eying the problematic lifters.
“Okay, that's it,” she said into the comlink, to Spike. “Try it—off! Turn it off!” She began to panic as smoke began to rise from one of the lifters. Sighing, Rainbow hovered over to survey the new damage.
Twilight finished pulling on her heavy jacket as she made her way to the door of the medical room. A small scar on her cheek was the only reminder of her encounter in the ice. An attending medical droid stood at the ready as Twilight approached.
“Sir, it will take quite a while to evacuate the T-forty-sevens,” the droid reported.
“Well, forget the heavy equipment,” Twilight replied. “There's plenty of time to get the smaller modules on the transports.”
“Take care, sir,” the droid said as Twilight trotted out the door.
“Thanks,” she replied as she briskly made her way to the hangar. Pilots, gunners, and Astromechs milled about as Twilight made her way over to the armored speeders. She stopped as she approached the rear of the Wonderbolt, where Spike and Rainbow worked on the lifter with haste. “Spike, take care of yourself, okay?” As she patted the huge dragon on the arm, he turned and wrapped his huge scaly arms around her in a big bear hug. Rainbow turned to Twilight.
“Hey, kid. You alright?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Twilight replied.
“Be careful.”
“You too.” Twilight smiled, then waved at her friend and trotted on. After a few steps, she glanced back. The two mares locked eyes, wishing each other safety, happiness, and other things difficult to verbalize. Twilight smiled as she thought fondly of the times they had spent together. Rainbow returned the smile, a twinkle in her eye. Meanwhile, in the control room, a commander quickly made his way to General Octavia.
“General, there's a fleet of Star Destroyers coming out of hyperspace in sector four,” he reported, shaken. Octavia maintained her stoic demeanor.
“Reroute all power to the energy shield. We've got to hold them until all of the transports are away. Prepare for ground assault.”
The dark room was illuminated by a single shaft of light, falling on the brooding Dark Lord as she sat on her raised meditation cube. The stocky General entered the room, slowly approaching the silent, unmoving Moon. He paused, unwilling to interrupt the meditating alicorn. He remained motionless until the Dark Lord spoke.
“What is it, General?” Moon asked without turning to face him.
“My lord, the fleet has moved out of light speed. Com-Scan has detected an energy field protecting an area around the sixth planet of the Hoth system. The field is strong enough to deflect any bombardment.”
“The Rebels are alerted to our presence,” Moon snapped angrily. “We came out of light speed too close to the system.”
“The Admiral felt surprise was wiser--”
“He is as clumsy as he is stupid!” Moon cut him off. “General, prepare your troops for a surface attack.”
“Yes, my lord,” the General replied as he trotted nervously out of the room. Moon turned, activating a large viewscreen showing the bridge of the ship. The swarthy Admiral stood in front of the young captain.
“Lord Moon,” the Admiral began, “the fleet has moved out of light speed, and we're preparing to--” He stopped, then began clutching at his throat.
“You have failed me for the last time, Admiral,” Moon said as she remained motionless. “Captain,” she motioned. The young captain stepped forward.
“Yes, my lord?” he asked nervously.
“Make ready to land our troops beyond the energy shield and deploy the fleet so that nothing gets off this system. You are in command now, Admiral.”
“Thank you, Lord Moon,” the newly promoted Admiral replied as he shuffled backwards. He gave a slight glance at his predecessor, who lay on the floor, gasping his last few breaths, before leaving the bridge.
Princess Rarity urgently gathered a group of pilots around her in the large docking bay. She quickly briefed them.
“All troop carriers will assemble at the north entrance,” she began. “The heavy transport ships will leave as soon as they're loaded. Only two fighter escorts per ship. The energy shield can only be opened for a short time, so you'll have to stay very close to your transports.”
“Two fighters against a Star Destroyer?” a pilot exclaimed in disbelief.
“The ion cannon will fire several shots to make sure that any enemy ships will be out of your flight path,” Rarity continued. “When you've gotten past the energy shield, proceed directly to the rendezvous point, understood?” The pilots nodded in unison. “Good luck.” The pilots scurried to their ships as Rebel troops carried heavy weaponry to the trenches that had been carved in the snow. Soldiers hurriedly responded to their officers' orders while bracing themselves against the icy blasts of wind. The control room was filled with tense faces, including those of Princess Rarity and General Octavia, both of whom tried their hardest to not show their fear.
“Their primary target will be the power generators,” Octavia began. “Prepare to open the shield.” Outside, a large rebel transport and its two escort fliers lifted from the ground, beginning their departure from the barren planet. As the ships made their way into the sky, the giant, ball-shaped ion cannon rotated into position, firing two huge red energy beams skyward. The massive Star Destroyer that had been lying in wait for the transport was hit dead-on by the red blasts, and fiery explosions erupted along its metal hull as the transport raced away into safety. Everyone in the base cheered as the announcement of the successful launch echoed across the loudspeaker. Twilight turned, trotting toward her snowspeeder. She greeted an energetic young colt, her gunner, Caramel.
“Feeling all right, sir?” the golden brown colt asked.
“Just like new, Caramel. How bout you?”
“Right now, I feel I could take on the whole Empire myself!” Twilight laughed softly.
“I know what you mean,” she replied as she strapped herself in.
A rebel officer lifted his binoculars to his eyes, glancing over the vast horizon. In the distance, he could make out the view of a giant All-Terrain Armored Transport, or AT-AT, a massive, pony-shaped landwalker equipped with devastating laser cannons. As more of the lumbering walkers made their way over the horizon, officers and soldiers scurried about, preparing their turrets and stationary guns. Pilots and gunners galloped to their waiting snowspeeders as ice and snow shook loose from the walls of the Rebel base. The ground rumbled as the AT-AT's made their way closer to the base, firing their weapons at the scattered troops. The Rebels returned fire as a dozen snowspeeders raced past them.
“Echo station Five-Seven, we're on our way,” Twilight reported into her comlink as she piloted her speeder. The convoy of vehicles zipped across the snowy surface, headed for the distant walkers. “All right, boys, keep tight now,” Twilight quipped.
“Twilight, I have no approach vector,” Caramel called from his gunport. “I'm not set.”
“Steady, Caramel,” Twilight responded, her voice calm and collected. “Attack pattern delta. Go now!” As the cannons of the lead AT-AT sputtered laserbolts at the speeders, Twilight made a sharp turn, banking to the right. “All right, I'm coming in.” She ducked and weaved between the walkers as Caramel fired his mounted weapon. Other snowspeeders followed, glancing hits against the huge AT-AT's, though the assault didn't seem to faze the much larger walkers. “That armor's too strong for blasters,” Twilight muttered as she made another pass between the legs of an AT-AT. Her eyes lit up as an idea was born. “Rogue Group, use your harpoons and tow cables,” she ordered into the comlink. “Go for the legs. It might be our only chance of stopping them.” She turned to Caramel. “All right, stand by.”
“Twilight, we've got a malfunction in fire control,” he reported. “I'll have to cut in the auxiliary.” Twilight sighed.
“Just hang on, Caramel,” she replied. “Get ready to fire that tow cable.” Barely keeping his balance, Caramel struggled to set up the harpoon gun. Twilight swung the speeder around, heading toward an oncoming walker. Laserbolts and flak filled the air, creating a deadly obstacle course for her tiny craft. After sustaining a heavy volley of fire, Twilight turned to check on Caramel. She gasped as she saw blood leaking from his forehead, which lay on his smoldering controls. “Caramel? Caramel!” Outside, Rebel soldiers fired their massive stationary guns at the AT-AT's. The walkers lumbered closer to the base, firing their powerful weapons at the dish-like turrets, causing explosions to erupt in the trenches. Inside of the lead walker, the gruff General turned on a monitor, revealing the ominous masked face of Nightmare Moon.
“Lord Moon,” he reported, “I've reached the main power generator. The shield will be down in moments. You may start your landing.”
“Rogue Three,” Twilight called into her comlink.
“Copy, Rogue Leader,” Skybuck's voice replied.
“Skybuck, I've lost my gunner. You'll have to make this shot. I'll cover for you. Set your harpoon. Follow me on the next pass.”
“Coming around, Rogue Leader.” Skybuck piloted his speeder through the legs of one of the monstrous walkers as he turned to his gunner. “Activate harpoon,” he ordered. The harpoon flashed out of it's chamber, speeding toward the leg of the walker and embedding itself. Skybuck began to speed around the walker's feet, trailing the cable behind it. He made several passes before banking sharply to the front of the walker. “Cable out! Let her go!” he called. The cable snapped, and the tiny speeder zipped away from the struggling AT-AT. After a few teetering steps, the monstrous machine began to topple and crashed onto the icy ground, sending snow and bits of metal flying into the air. Troops began to rain fire upon the fallen walker until it exploded in a magnificent fireball. “Woah! That got him!” Skybuck exclaimed into his comlink.
“I see it, Skybuck,” Twilight replied, a smile on her face. “Good work.”
Large chunks of ice tumbled into the command center as Rarity and General Octavia monitored the battle on their consoles.
“I don't think we can protect two transports at a time,” Octavia said to the princess.
“It's risky, but we can't hold out much longer,” Rarity replied. “We have no choice.” Octavia reached for her comlink.
“Launch patrols,” she ordered. She turned to Rarity. “Evacuate remaining ground staff.”
Muffled explosions created widening cracks in the icy ceiling of the hangar. Rainbow Dash tried her hardest to ignore the noise and falling bits of snow as she feverishly worked on the Wonderbolt's lifter while Spike worked on a wing. In another corner, Applejack watched with apprehension as Pinkie was lifted into a slot on Twilight's X-wing fighter.
“Pinkie, you take good care of Master Twilight now, understand?” she said to the tiny droid. “And... do take care of yourself. Oh, dear...”
The fierce battle across the vast snow plains of Hoth raged on. The Imperial AT-AT's continued their slow lumber towards the base, firing their lasers at the Rebel stationary guns. Twilight piloted her craft beneath the massive walkers, trailed by other snowspeeders. Her harpoon idea had worked, and other speeders began deploying their own harpoons, trying to bring down more of the lumbering giants. Twilight zipped through the legs of an AT-AT, followed by Rogue Two.
“Set harpoon, I'll cover for you,” she called into her headset. She darted back and forth, firing at the walkers to distract them. “Stay tight and low.” She moved into formation when suddenly, Rogue Two was struck by a laserbolt, erupting into a ball of fire. The tumbling wreckage smashed into the leg of the walker, shattering into tiny, flaming pieces. Desperately, Twilight worked at the controls of her flak-buffeted ship. Her head whipped forward as an explosion rocked the speeder. After regaining her bearings, she turned to see smoke pouring from her engines. Sparks flew from the control panel as the cockpit began to fill with smoke. “I've been hit!” she shouted into her comlink, her eyes beginning to widen in terror.
The corridor was eerily quiet and empty as Rainbow Dash quickly galloped her way through the base. Broken pipes in the wall spewed steam into the hallway as the young pegasus captain made her way through the underground passages. She quickly turned into the command center, which lay in shambles. A few officers stood at their posts, though most had evacuated. She spotted Rarity standing in a corner of the room with Octavia and Applejack. Suddenly, the room rumbled as snow began to drop from the ceiling. Rainbow rushed to the princess.
“You all right?” she asked, genuinely concerned. Rarity nodded, a look of surprise on her face.
“Why are you still here?” she asked.
“I heard the command center had been hit.”
“You got your clearance to leave,” Rarity replied.
“Don't worry, I'll leave,” Rainbow returned. “First I'm going to get you to your ship.”
“Your Highness, we must take this last transport,” Applejack interrupted, a worried tone in her metallic voice. “It's our only hope.” Rarity turned to Octavia, who nodded silently. She turned to a nearby officer.
“Send all troops in sector twelve to the south slope to protect the fighters,” she ordered. Suddenly, another blast rocked the room, throwing Rarity off of her hooves and into Rainbow's. A voice came over the loudspeaker.
“Imperial troops have entered the base,” the ominous voice echoed.
“Come on, that's it,” Rainbow said, turning toward the exit. Rarity stepped forward out of Dash's arms and turned back to the officer.
“Give the evacuation code signal. And get to your transports.” The officer saluted a reply, then trotted off. Rarity turned to Octavia. “And what about you?” she asked.
“You do your duty, Princess,” Octavia replied, her eyes stern as ever. “I'll do mine.” Rarity nodded, understanding. Exhausted, she made her way out of the room along with Rainbow and Applejack. She turned to see the lone General Octavia standing, ever vigilant, at her console. Rainbow grabbed her, shaking her from her thoughts as the trio began galloping through the corridors.
“Oh, wait fer me!” Applejack called as she tried to keep up.
Twilight looked up at the underbelly of the huge AT-AT standing above her. She had managed to crash her destroyed speeder into a snowbank, softening the impact. She had crawled her way out of the mangled vehicle and now stood under the mechanical beast. Thinking quickly, she tore the harpoon gun from the wrecked vehicle and galloped to keep up with the walker, aiming the harpoon upwards. She attached the cable to her belt buckle, then fired. The harpoon embedded itself in the walker's underbelly, and Twilight was pulled up the cable, dangling beneath the huge vehicle. Stray laserbolts whipped by as she climbed the cable to the walker's hull. Hanging precariously, she reached into her heavy coat for her lightsaber. She cut a small hole in the thick metal, then put her sword back and withdrew a thermal detonator from her coat. After pulling the pin, she tossed the detonator upwards into the hole, then quickly cut the cable holding her up. She fell far to the ground and landed with a thud against the snow. She was nearly crushed by one of the walker's passing legs as she lay unconscious in the snow. After taking a few more steps, the walker stopped, a muffled explosion coming from within. Mechanical parts spewed from every opening in the AT-AT, and it stood smoking like a locomotive on stilts.
With Applejack lagging behind, Rainbow and Rarity raced through the crumbling ice corridors. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the hall. Rainbow grabbed Rarity, pulling her to the wall as a tremendous avalanche fell right where she'd been standing. The cave in had completely blocked off the path. Rainbow took the comlink from her pocket.
“Transport, this is Dash,” she reported. “Better take off, I can't get to you. I'll get the princess out on the Wonderbolt.” With that, the two mares turned and galloped back the way they had just come, passing the confused Applejack.
“But—but, where are ya goin?” she stuttered as she turned to follow them. “Wait! Come back!”
A group of Imperial stormtroopers, having reached the base, pushed their way through the blocked passageway. Striding calmly behind them was Nightmare Moon, her visage in stark contrast to the overwhelming white of the ice planet. As the trio of mares made their way to the hangar, Spike stood under the Wonderbolt's landing gear, loading a few more items into the cargo hold. The huge dragon glanced around, then let out a relieved shriek as he spotted his captain. He ran out into the falling ice and up the ship's ramp, followed closely by Rainbow and Rarity, and then Applejack.
“Hurry up, Goldenrod, or you're going to be a permanent resident!” Rainbow yelled to the struggling droid.
“Wait! Wait!” Applejack called as she made her way into the ship.
Imperial troops galloped through the crumbling corridors as Nightmare Moon surveyed the base. As she trotted, a huge chunk of ice fell from the ceiling, nearly striking her. Moon calmly and purposefully strode around the glacier without giving it a second glance.
Rainbow, standing before a control panel, nervously flipped switches as Spike kept an eye on a troublesome gauge. A worried Rarity paced back and forth, observing their efforts.
“How's this?” Rainbow asked. Spike shook his head, barking a negative reply.
“Would it help if I got out and pushed?” Rarity half-joked, trying to ease the tension.
“It might,” Rainbow replied, continuing her work. Applejack made her way into the room.
“Captain Dash, Captain Dash, sir, might I suggest that you--”
“It can wait,” Rainbow cut the droid off with an angry glare. She moved to the cockpit where she continued flipping switches. As Rarity watched, a look of disbelief grew over her face.
“This bucket of bolts is never going to get us past that blockade,” she said impatiently.
“This baby's got a few surprises left in her, sweetheart,” Rainbow shot back. Rarity turned toward the cockpit window and gasped as she saw a squad of stormtroopers rushing into the hangar. She nudged Rainbow, who saw them as well. Rainbow quickly strapped herself into the pilot's seat, while Rarity moved to the navigator's chair. As the giant hangar doors slid open, the gun on the Wonderbolt swung into position, firing at the stormtroopers and taking them by surprise. The troopers began firing back at the ship. Spike, who had rushed into the cockpit, nervously flipped a few switches, then pulled back on the controls. The engines roared to life as the Wonderbolt began to lift off of the hangar floor. Rainbow flashed a huge grin at Rarity. “See?”
“Someday, you're going to be wrong, and I hope I'm there to see it,” Rarity shot back. Rainbow turned to Spike.
“Punch it!” The roar of the engines blasted away the troopers as the ship launched into the sky. More troopers marched into the hangar, followed closely by Moon. Hearing the loud roar of the engines, Moon looked up just in time to see the Wonderbolt disappear outside the cave.
Twilight looked up to see the Wonderbolt race past in the sky. She had regained her consciousness after her fall, and thanks to the thick snow, she hadn't suffered any real injuries. Her body was still sore, but she had managed to trot over to a group of other pilots before seeing her friend's ship escape. She began to trudge on toward the small group of X-wing fighters along with the other pilots. She headed toward her own, recognizing it from a distance due to the fluffy mass of pink hair coming from the Astromech port.
“Pinkie! Get ready for takeoff!” she called as she trotted toward the ship. She turned as Skybuck approached her from behind.
“Good luck, Twilight,” he said, his eyes nervously darting to the ground. “S—see you at the rendezvous.” He extended his hoof and Twilight gave it a firm shake.
“Good luck to you too, Skybuck,” she replied. She wrapped her hooves around him in a quick embrace before turning to climb into her X-wing. The young pilot's cheeks turned bright red as he darted back to his own ship, a big, goofy grin growing over his face. Twilight lowered herself into the cockpit as Pinkie beeped impatiently. “Don't worry, Pinkie. We're going,” the mare reassured. Twilight closed the overhead canopy and turned on her engines. The fighters wings closed as it sped away from the icy planet, disappearing into the stars. As she left Hoth behind, a thoughtful look grew over her face. She sat, slowly contemplating. After making up her mind, she flipped a few switches, and the X-wing began to veer off in another direction. The cockpit monitor relayed Pinkie's concerned message as she beeped her reply. “There's nothing wrong, Pinkie,” Twilight reassured. “I'm just setting a new course.” Pinkie beeped again. “We're not going to regroup with the others.” Pinkie let out an unbelieving whistle. “We're going to the Dagobah system.” Twilight checked her readouts, making a few adjustments. She rode along in silence, aside from the soft hum of her instruments. Pinkie broke the silence. “Yes, Pinkie?” Twilight asked. Pinkie uttered a few soft streams of whistles. “That's all right,” Twilight chuckled. “I'd like to keep it on manual control for a while.” The little droid let out a defeated whimper as Twilight smiled, continuing on her course.
The Wonderbolt sped away from Hoth, closely followed by a few TIE fighters and a huge Star Destroyer. Inside the cockpit, Spike let out a loud howl as the ship was buffeted by flak. Rainbow raced back and forth, doing six different things at once.
“Yeah, I saw them! I saw them!” she quipped to the huge dragon.
“Saw what?” Rarity asked.
“Star Destroyers, two of them, coming right at us,” Rainbow replied, serious. Applejack bumped and banged her way into the cockpit.
“Sir! Sir, Might I suggest--”
“Shut her up or shut her down!” Dash shouted angrily toward Rarity. She turned back to Spike. “Check the deflector shield!” Spike barked a reply as he began to adjust an overhead switch. “Oh, great,” Rainbow muttered, annoyed. “Well, we can still outmaneuver them.” The Wonderbolt raced toward one of the oncoming Star Destroyers. Suddenly, the ship started into a deep dive straight down, followed closely by the TIE fighters. The following Star Destroyer continued its course, heading straight toward the two oncoming ships. Alarms sounded as the huge Star Destroyer began to slowly turn, but it was too late. The ship collided with the two approaching Star Destroyers, creating a huge explosion lighting up the sky. The Wonderbolt raced away from the colliding ships, still pursued by the small TIE fighters. Laserbolts streaked through the pitch-black skies. Things had calmed down a bit inside the cockpit, but Rainbow still held a firm look on her face as she darted away from the fighters. Rarity tried to regain her balance as the ship was buffeted by laserbolts. “Prepare to make the jump to light speed!” Rainbow ordered.
“But sir,” Applejack interjected. She was interrupted by the loud striking of laserbolts against the ship.
“They're getting closer!” Rarity shouted, worried.
“Oh yeah?” Rainbow said back, a gleam in her eye. “Watch this!” She pulled back on her lever as everyone glanced expectantly out the window. The stars did not start to blur, but remained motionless. The smug look drained off of Rainbow's face as she stared in disbelief.
“Watch what?” Rarity asked. Rainbow tried the lever again to no avail. She lowered her head.
“I think we're in trouble,” she muttered.
“If I may say so, sir,” Applejack interjected, “I noticed earlier that the hyperdrive motivator's been damaged. It's gonna be impossible ta go ta light speed!”
“We're in trouble!” Rainbow shouted as more laserbolts struck the ship. The Wonderbolt raced into the starry vastness, followed by the TIE fighters and one remaining Star Destroyer. Stars raced by as flak burst at the Wonderbolt's window. Rainbow worked furiously while barking orders to Spike. As the dragon carried a box of tools over to the crevice where Rainbow worked, a huge explosion rocked the ship. Losing his balance, Spike dropped the box into the pit, landing on Rainbow's head. “Oww!” she shouted. “Spike!” More turbulence rocked the ship as the blue mare climbed out of the pit. “That was no laser blast,” she said, worried. “Something hit us.”
“Rainbow, get up here!” Rarity's voice came over the comlink. Rainbow flew out of the hold and dashed to the cockpit, Spike following closely behind. Out of the front window, they saw hundreds of asteroids race by. Rainbow sat at the pilot's chair and worked at the controls as a chunk of rock crossed in front of the ship.
“Spike, set two-seven-one,” Rainbow ordered.
“What are you doing?” Rarity asked in disbelief. “You're not actually going into an asteroid field?”
“They'd be crazy to follow us, wouldn't they?” Rainbow replied as her cocky grin began to return. Another asteroid thumped against the ship and Rarity winced at the jolt.
“You don't have to do this to impress me,” she said back.
“Sir, the possibility of successfully navigatin an asteroid field is approximately three thousand, seven hundred and twenty ta one!” Applejack added.
“Never tell me the odds!” Rainbow shot back as she maneuvered through the oncoming rocks. She swerved back and forth, weaving through the asteroids. Chunks of rock pounded against the hull as she flew. Smaller asteroids ricocheted off of the ship, crashing into larger ones and sending debris flying through the starry sky. The TIE fighters ducked and weaved between the rocks, doggedly pursuing the pirateship. One of the fighters connected with an asteroid as it turned, exploding and sending flak pounding against the others. As the remaining fighters dodged the wreckage, one of them scraped against an asteroid and spiraled off into deep space. The massive Star Destroyer fired its lasers at the oncoming asteroids as it followed the Wonderbolt. Smaller asteroids exploded across its huge surface. Rainbow twisted the Wonderbolt on its side as a huge asteroid dropped by, narrowly missing the ship. Spike barked in terror as a smaller one bounced off of the hull with a loud crunch. Applejack covered her eyes with her hooves as Rarity sat stone-faced, staring out the window. Rainbow gave her a quick glance. “You said you wanted to be around when I made a mistake, well, this could be it, sweetheart.”
“I take it back,” Rarity replied, her voice trembling. “We're going to get pulverized if we stay out here much longer.”
“I'm not going to argue with that,” Rainbow said back. She turned to her controls. “I'm going in closer to one of the big ones.”
“Closer?!” Rarity and Applejack exclaimed in unison. Spike barked his concern as well. The Wonderbolt began to dive toward the surface of one of the large, moon-sized asteroids. The two remaining TIE fighters followed as the pirateship skimmed the asteroid's surface. The Wonderbolt pulled up just as a smaller rock raced past it. The TIE fighters kept going and smashed into it, exploding in balls of fire. The interior of the ship rocked violently as it was pelted with rubble and debris.
“Oh, this is suicide!” Applejack wailed, nearly in hysterics. Rainbow noticed something on her scope and nudged her faithful dragon.
“There,” she said, pointing. “That looks pretty good.”
“What looks pretty good?” Rarity asked, confused.
“Yeah, that'll do nicely,” Rainbow said to Spike, ignoring the princess. The Wonderbolt continued skimming the surface of the large asteroid, then took a sharp dive into a deep crater in the rock's surface.
“I hope you know what you're doing,” Rarity said as the ship disappeared into the crater.
“Yeah, me too,” Rainbow said back as she piloted her ship. The walls of the cave were barely visible as the small ship plunged into the darkness. The Wonderbolt turned, slowing, and gently came to rest on the cavern floor.
The tiny X-wing sped toward the cloud cover of the green planet Dagobah. Pinkie-Pie swiveled her head back and forth, beeping her anxiety.
“Yes, that's it,” Twilight said from within the cockpit. “Dagobah.” Pinkie beeped a hopeful inquiry. “No, I'm not going to change my mind about this,” Twilight replied. She scanned her console and a look of worry began to spread over her face. “I'm not picking up any cities or technology,” she muttered to herself. “Massive life form readings, though. There's something alive down there.” Pinkie beeped again, worried. “Yes, I'm sure it's perfectly safe for droids,” Twilight laughed into her comlink. She continued her descent into the cloud covered planet. Her vision quickly became blurred as she entered the cloudy atmosphere. An alarm buzzed in the background as her console went blank, Pinkie beeping and whistling frantically. “I know, I know!” Twilight shouted into the comlink. “All the scopes are dead. I can't see a thing! Just hang on, I'm going to start the landing cycle.” The blast of the ship's retrorockets was deafening as Twilight pulled back on her controls. Suddenly, a cracking sound echoed as the ship stopped with a tremendous jolt.
Twilight pulled a switch, popping open her canopy. She could hardly see due to the dense fog. As she climbed out of the X-wing, she pulled Pinkie out of her Astromech port. The young warrior surveyed the fog, barely pierced by the X-wing's landing lights. All she could make out were the shapes of twisted trees. Pinkie whistled anxiously.
“No, Pinkie, you stay put,” Twilight replied. “I'll have a look around.” As she began to trot off, Pinkie lost her balance and plunged into the boggy lake. “Pinkie?!” Twilight called, kneeling and leaning over the lake, looking for the pink droid. “Pinkie, where are you?” A pink periscope broke the surface of the water and began to steadily make its way toward the shore. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “Pinkie, be more careful,” she softly chided. Suddenly, a dark shape appeared in the water, moving toward the little pink periscope. With a loud clunk, Pinkie disappeared from sight, uttering a dull mechanical scream. “Pinkie!” Twilight shouted as she ignited her lightsaber, wading into the water for any sign of her little pink friend. The black surface was as still as death itself. Suddenly, with a loud spitting noise, the tiny pink droid was expunged from the water, flying through the air and crashing into the mossy ground. Twilight sheathed her sword and galloped toward the droid. “Oh no! Are you alright?” she asked, helping the droid to her hooves. “Come on, you're lucky you don't taste very good. Anything broken?” Pinkie whistled a feeble reply as she got upright on her hooves. Her pink exterior was stained and muddy, and her normally frizzy mane hung limp and straight down her mud-stained face. “If you're saying coming here was a bad idea, I'm beginning to agree with you,” Twilight replied. She sighed as she sat down to rest. “Oh, Pinkie, what are we doing here?” she asked, half to herself. “It's like... something out of a dream, or, I don't know. Maybe I'm just going crazy.” She sighed again as she began to wipe some of the mud off of Pinkie's exterior.
The young, newly promoted Admiral hesitated as he approached the entryway to Nightmare Moon's private chamber. After pausing a moment and catching his breath, he slowly stepped into the room. He stopped and put his hoof to his mouth, his eyes shooting open in shock. Moon, her back turned, sat in a chair in the gloom of the far corner. Various apparatuses surrounded her, including a respirator tube which began to retract from the most shocking sight, her uncovered head. The back of the Dark Lord's deep blue head was completely bald and covered in a mass of disturbing scar tissue. As the respirator retracted, the large machine overhead lowered her helmet, securing it in place on her head. Her signature glowing, blue energy mane began to emanate from the back of the helmet, creeping out like a deadly cloud. After the machine retracted, Moon slowly turned in her chair to face the trembling stallion.
“Yes, Admiral?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.
“O—our ships have sighted the Wonderbolt, lord, but... It has entered an asteroid field, and we cannot risk--”
“Asteroids do not concern me, Admiral,” Moon cut him off. “I want that ship, not excuses.”
“Y—yes, lord,” the Admiral stuttered back.
The pirateship rested in the dark, dank cave within the asteroid. Rainbow and Spike hurriedly shut down the engine and all electronic systems. Applejack and Rarity watched worriedly as they worked.
“I'm going to shut down everything but the emergency power systems,” Rainbow explained as she flipped switches off.
“Sir, I'm almost afraid ta ask, but... does that include shuttin me down too?” Applejack asked nervously. Spike growled and nodded his head, but Rainbow decided otherwise.
“No, I need you to talk to the Wonderbolt,” she replied. “Find out what's wrong with the hyperdrive.” Suddenly, the ship lurched, causing all of the loose tools to fly across the room. Spike barked in frustration.
“Sir, it's quite possible this here asteroid ain't entirely stable,” Applejack noted. Rainbow rolled her eyes.
“Not entirely stable?” she asked sarcastically. “I'm glad you're here to tell us these things. Spike, take the professor in the back and plug her into the hyperdrive.”
“Oh, sometimes I just don't understand pony behavior,” Applejack muttered. “After all, I'm just tryin ta do my job in the most--” Her words were cut off as the door closed behind her and Spike as they moved to the hold. Suddenly, the ship lurched again, throwing Rarity across the cabin. Rainbow saw and reached out, catching the princess in her hooves. After shaking off the shock, Rarity looked up, realizing she was now in Rainbow's arms.
“Let go,” she demanded.
“Shhh,” Rainbow replied, ignoring her.
“Let go, please,” Rarity repeated. Her face flushed as she averted her eyes, not exactly fighting to get free.
“Don't get excited,” Rainbow said back, a smirk on her face. Rarity's expression turned to a scowl.
“Captain, being held by you isn't quite enough to get me excited,” she shot back.
“Sorry, sweetheart, we haven't got time for anything else,” Rainbow replied. She grinned wickedly at Rarity as she turned and trotted out the door. Rarity's face began to flush, her confused emotions showing through her lovely face.
The mist had cleared a bit from the gloomy swamp as Twilight pulled an equipment box from the shore to the small clearing where Pinkie sat. She ignited a small fusion furnace and warmed her hooves for a bit before plugging it into a port on Pinkie's nose.
“Ready for some power?” she asked. The droid whistled her appreciation. Twilight sat and opened a container of processed food. “Now all I have to do is find this 'Fluttershy'... If she even exists.” She sighed, looking around at the foreboding jungle. “Still, there's something familiar about this place,” she said, mostly to herself. “I feel like... I don't know...”
“Feel like what?” Twilight nearly jumped out of her skin at the soft voice from behind her. She reached for her lightsaber as she spun around, looking for the speaker. Standing in front of her was a tiny yellow pegasus, her soft pink hair flowing in a pool around her. The little pony looked no older than a filly, the last creature Twilight had expected to find on this planet. Her eyes seemed fixated on Twilight's sword.
“Feels like we're being watched,” Twilight said, her eyes locked on the tiny pony.
“Please, put away your weapon,” the pony said in the same soft voice. “I mean you no harm.” After some hesitation, Twilight sheathed her sword, somehow swayed by the little pegasus's words. Pinkie watched with interest. “I wonder, why are you here?” the pony asked.
“I'm looking for somepony,” Twilight replied, her voice beginning to calm.
“Looking? Well, I would say you found somepony,” the little creature replied. She began to laugh softly. Twilight smiled, feeling somewhat at ease with the pony.
“Right,” she said back.
“I can help you, I believe,” the pony said as she began to trot closer.
“I don't think so,” Twilight returned. “I'm looking for a great warrior.”
“Ah, a great warrior,” the pony said as she laughed and shook her head. “Wars do not make one great.” She began to move over to the case of supplies and started rummaging around in it. Pinkie moved over to the case, standing on eye level with the diminutive pony, and squeaked her disapproval. The tiny visitor picked up the container of food that Twilight was eating from and took a bite.
“Hey! Put that down!” Twilight shouted. “That's my dinner!” The pony spit out the bite she had taken and made an angry face.
“How ever did you get so big, eating food of this kind?” she asked, flipping the container toward Twilight. She began to rummage through a supply case.
“Listen, friend,” Twilight began, “we didn't mean to land in that puddle, and if we could get our ship out, we would, but we can't, so why don't you just--”
“Aww, can't get your ship out?” the pony teased as she grabbed a tiny power lamp. Her eyes grew wide as she examined it with delight.
“Hey, you could have broken that,” Twilight shot towards the pony. “Don't do that. Hey, you're making a mess. Give me that!” The pony retreated with the lamp.
“Give me this, or I will not help you,” she said, firmly. Clutching her treasure, she began to back away from Twilight, drawing closer to Pinkie. As she backed up, one of Pinkie's mechanical claws extended and moved toward the little pony.
“I don't want your help, I want my lamp back,” Twilight retorted. “I'll need it to get out of this slimy mudhole.”
“Mudhole? Slimy? This is my home.” Suddenly, Pinkie gripped the lamp with her mechanical arm and began to pull back on it. The little pony pulled back, flapping her small wings. Twilight rolled her eyes.
“Oh, Pinkie, just let her have it,” she muttered. Pinkie refused to release the lamp until the pony reached out with her hoof and poked the droid's mechanical eye. Pinkie let out a squeal and let go. The little pony jumped up and down with her prize. “Now will you move along, little pony?” Twilight asked, fed up. “We've got a lot of work to do.”
“Oh, no no no,” the pony replied. “I will stay and help you find your friend.”
“I'm not looking for a friend, I'm looking for a Jedi Master,” Twilight replied.
“Oh, a Jedi Master,” the pony said, her eyes widening. “Fluttershy. You're looking for Fluttershy.”
“You know her?” Twilight said, excited.
“I will take you to her,” the pony replied, nodding. “But first, we should eat. Come, I have good food.” With that, the pony flapped her wings and made her way out of the clearing, humming merrily to herself. Twilight stared as the light from the power lamp grew dimmer into the fog. She shook her head and followed after the butter colored pony. Pinkie, upset, whistled a protest.
“Stay here and watch the camp, Pinkie,” Twilight said as she disappeared from view. Pinkie beeped even more frantically before growing quiet and uttering a small electronic sigh.
Applejack whistled and beeped an electronic dialect into the control panel in front of her. The panel whispered back, and the mechanical mare scratched her scruffy blond mane.
“Oh, where's Pinkie when I need her?” she muttered to herself. Rainbow entered the room, kneeling next to the control box. “Sir, I don't know where your ship learned ta communicate, but it has the most peculiar dialect. I believe, sir, it says the power couplin on the negative axis has been polarized. I'm afraid you'll have ta replace it.”
“Well, of course I'll have to replace it,” Rainbow muttered sarcastically. She tossed a wire coil to Spike, who was working near the ceiling. “Here! And Spike...” The large dragon leaned his head down. Rainbow shot a glance at Applejack, who was busy with the control panel. “I think we'd better replace the negative power coupling,” she whispered into the dragon's ear.
Rarity finished welding the valves she had been working on and attempted to pull on a lever. The stubborn piece of machinery refused to budge, and the princess pulled harder on it, but to no avail. Rainbow, who had entered the room, noticed and moved to help her. Rarity quickly pushed her away.
“Hey, your worship, I'm only trying to help,” Rainbow said, annoyed.
“Would you please stop calling me that?” Rarity shot back as she continued to struggle with the lever. Rainbow noticed a new tone in her voice, a less commanding one. She smiled.
“Sure, Rarity.”
“Oh, you make it so difficult sometimes,” the princess sighed as she let go of the lever, rubbing her sore hoof.
“I do, I really do,” Rainbow replied. “You could be a little nicer, though. Come on, admit it. Sometimes you think I'm alright.”
“Occasionally,” Rarity said back, halting a little smile. “Maybe... when you aren't acting like a scoundrel.”
“Scoundrel?” Rainbow laughed. “Scoundrel. I like the sound of that.” With that, she took Rarity's hoof in hers and started to massage it.
“Stop that,” Rarity said, startled.
“Stop what?” Rarity's face flushed.
“Stop that! My hooves are dirty.”
“My hooves are dirty too,” Rainbow said, a smile growing over her lips. “What are you afraid of?”
“Afraid?” Rarity asked, looking straight into Dash's eyes. Rainbow returned with a piercing look. Her short-cropped rainbow mane danced around her rugged face. Her rose-colored eyes seemed to peer into Rarity's very soul. Rarity had never seen her look quite so dashing and confident. Rainbow reached out and took Rarity's hoof, which rested on the nearby console.
“You're trembling,” she whispered softly.
“I'm not trembling,” Rarity said back, her voice starting to quiver. Rainbow began to smile, and slowly drew the princess closer to her.
“You like me because I'm a scoundrel,” she whispered. “There aren't enough scoundrels in your life.” As she drew the princess closer, Rarity whispered into her ear,
“I happen to like nice mares.” Her words were in complete opposition to the tone of her excited whisper.
“I'm a nice mare,” Rainbow said back, her eyes narrowing as she smiled.
“No, you're not. You're--” In one swift motion, Rainbow pulled her in and kissed her. The two mares stood, lips locked in a slow, hot embrace. Rainbow wrapped her hooves around the princess, bending her body backward as they kissed. Rarity had never been kissed like this before, and she felt her heart begin to flutter as she closed her eyes, giving in to the dashing star pilot's embrace. When they finally stopped, Rarity regained her breath and tried to work up some indignation, but found it difficult to talk. Suddenly, Applejack appeared in the doorway, speaking excitedly.
“Sir, sir! I've isolated the reverse power flux couplin!” Rainbow turned slowly from the embrace, her eyes shooting icy daggers at the mechanical mare.
“Thank you,” she said coldly. “Thank you very much.”
“Oh, you're perfectly welcome, sir,” Applejack replied, oblivious to Rainbow's obvious anger. Her moment spoiled, Rainbow marched out of the room after Applejack.
Asteroids collided, creating a fireworks display outside the bridge window of the Imperial Star Destroyer. Nightmare Moon stood, staring out the window above the control deck. She turned slowly toward the bridge, followed by the young Admiral. She trotted purposefully toward a large hologram of a stallion in black armor, the captain of the Star Destroyer most hotly on the Wonderbolt's tail.
“And that, Lord Moon, was the last time they appeared in any of our scopes,” the captain reported. “Considering the amount of damage we've sustained, they must have been destroyed.”
“No, Captain, they're alive,” Moon rebutted. “I want every ship available to sweep the asteroid field until they are found.” The hologram of the star captain faded out as Moon turned to the Admiral.
“Lord Moon,” he stuttered.
“Yes, Admiral, what is it?” she asked menacingly. The Admiral's face was even paler than usual.
“The—the Emperor commands you make contact with him,” he stammered out.
“Move the ship out of the asteroid field so that we can send a clear transmission,” she ordered.
“Yes, my lord.” The Star Destroyer began to move away from the rest of the fleet and into the vast sea of stars. The Dark Lord entered her chamber, alone. She stood around a large hologram display. A dim light flashed and began to play across her armor, and she lowered herself to her knees, bowing before the image. The hologram displayed a figure enshrined in a black cloak. His pointed chin protruded slightly from his hood, his small goatee curled slightly at its end. The rest of his face remained obscured by the hood.
“What is thy bidding, my master?” Moon asked, eyes looking up to the figure's face.
“There is a great disturbance in the Force,” the Emperor replied in a deep and unsettling voice.
“I have felt it,” Moon agreed.
“We have a new enemy,” the Emperor continued. “Twilight Sparkle.”
“Yes, my master.”
“She could destroy us.”
“She's just a filly,” Moon replied. “Celestia can no longer help her.”
“The Force is strong with her,” the Emperor continued. “The daughter of Sparkle must not become a Jedi.”
“If she could be turned, she would become a powerful ally,” Moon said as she rose to her hooves.
“Yes,” the Emperor agreed. “Yes, she would be a great asset. Can it be done?”
“She will join us or die, my master.” Moon kneeled again as the Emperor passed a clawed hand over the Sith Lord, then disappeared.
A heavy downpour of rain pounded through the gnarled trees onto a baroque cottage sitting on a moss covered knoll. The small structure radiated a warm glow from its thick glass windows. As the rain danced a merry tune on Pinkie-Pie's metal head, the tiny droid raised herself up on her tip hooves to peek inside of a nearby window. The inside of the cottage was a very plain, but cozy dwelling. Everything was small scale, and there were several birdhouses and various animal pens. A few rabbit-like creatures bounded around the wooden floor as the little yellow pony stirred a stew in her pot. She hummed a little tune as she worked, chopping up vegetables, and showering everything with exotic herbs and spices. The only thing that seemed out of place in the snug little cottage was the purple unicorn who sat on a couch in the living room, watching the pegasus impatiently.
“Look, I'm sure it's delicious,” Twilight said, impatient. “I just don't understand why we can't see Fluttershy now.”
“Patience,” the little pony said softly as she stirred her brew. “It is time to eat. Eat well.” Twilight moved over to the fireplace and served herself from the pot. She was pleasantly surprised by the flavor of the unfamiliar concoction, and downed it quickly.
“How far away is Fluttershy?” she asked. “Will it take us long to get there?”
“Not far, not far,” the pony replied. “Patience. Soon you will be with her.” She sipped some of the brew from her spoon. “Rootleaf,” she said, pointing to the pot. “Why do you wish to become a Jedi?” she asked.
“Mostly because of my mother, I guess,” Twilight replied.
“Ah, your mother. She was a powerful Jedi, yes.”
“Oh, come on,” Twilight said, a bit irritated. “How could you know my mother? You don't even know who I am.” She threw her hooves up. “Oh, I don't even know what I'm doing here. We're wasting our time.” The little pony turned away, facing the wall. She paused for a minute before speaking.
“I cannot teach her,” she said, seemingly to nopony in particular. “The filly has no patience.” Twilight's head spun in the direction of the wall, but there was nopony there. Twilight's mind raced as she took in the yellow pony's words, and her eyes widened as a sudden epiphany rushed to her brain.
“She will learn patience,” a voice echoed throughout the cottage. A voice that sounded eerily similar to a certain old mare's.
“There is much anger in her, like her mother,” the little pony replied.
“Was I any different when you taught me?”
“Hmph. She is not ready.” Twilight leapt to her hooves.
“Fluttershy! I am ready,” she blurted, her heart racing. “I—Celestia! I can be a Jedi. Celestia, tell her I'm ready.”
“You're ready?” Fluttershy asked, turning to face Twilight. “What do you know of ready? For eight hundred years, I have trained Jedi. I will keep my own counsel on who is to be trained! A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind.” She turned to the invisible Celestia. “I have watched this filly for a long time. Her mind was never on where she was or what she was doing. Hmph. Adventure. Heh! Excitement. Heh! A Jedi does not crave these things.” She turned back to Twilight. “You are reckless!” Twilight's head fell. She knew the words were true.
“So was I, if you'll remember,” Celestia's disembodied voice echoed.
“She is too old,” Fluttershy rebutted. “Too old to begin the training.” Twilight began to sense a subtle softening in Fluttershy's voice.
“But I've learned so much,” she pleaded. Fluttershy whipped her head around and shot a piercing glare at the unicorn. Twilight froze, her heart filling with fear. It was as if the Jedi Master was picking her way through Twilight's soul with her eyes. After a long moment, Fluttershy closed her eyes and turned back to the wall. She gave a little sigh.
“Will she finish what she begins?”
“I won't fail you,” Twilight promised. “I'm not afraid.” Fluttershy turned slowly, an unsettling look on her face.
“Oh, you will be,” she whispered. “You will be.”
The cockpit was quiet, lit only by the indicator light on the control panel. Rarity sat in the pilot's seat and ran her hoof over the panel, thinking of Rainbow Dash and the confusion within her. Something outside caught her eye, and she moved toward the window, peering into the darkness. Suddenly, large yellow eyes flashed open, staring right at her. Rarity let out a shriek, stumbling backwards, her heart pounding. With a scurry of feet, the eyes disappeared. She paused a moment to catch her breath, then raced from the cockpit.
The lights flashed for a second before going out again. Applejack watched intently as Rainbow and Spike finished with some wires.
“Sir, If I may venture an opinion--”
“I'm not really interested in your opinion, Applejack,” Rainbow shot back, cutting her off. Just as Rainbow dropped the last floor panel into place, Rarity galloped her way into the cabin.
“There's something out there,” she stammered, trying to catch her breath.
“Where?” Rainbow asked, alarmed.
“Outside, in the cave.” A sharp banging rang out across the hull. Spike looked up and barked anxiously.
“I'm going out there,” Rainbow said as she headed for the door.
“Are you crazy?!” Rarity shot back.
“I just got this bucket back together. I'm not gonna let something tear it apart.” She grabbed her breath mask, followed closely by Spike.
“Then I'm going with you,” Rarity said as she followed.
“I think it might be better if I stay here and guard the ship,” Applejack said as the others exited the room.
It was too dark to see properly as Rainbow fruitlessly swept her flashlight back and forth across the cavern floor. Rarity stamped her hoof on the ground.
“This ground sure feels strange,” she noted. “It doesn't feel like rock at all.” Rainbow kneeled, studying the ground.
“There's an awful lot of moisture here,” she muttered.
“I don't know,” Rarity said back. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
Spike barked through his face mask and pointed towards the ship's cockpit. A long shape slithered its way along the ship's exterior. The leathery creature let out a screech as Rainbow blasted it with a bolt from her pistol.
“Watch out!” she yelled as the creature tumbled onto the ground in front of Rarity. “Yeah, that's what I thought,” Rainbow said, investigating the corpse. “Mynock. Spike, check the rest of the ship. Make sure there aren't anymore attached. They're chewing on the power cables.”
“Mynocks?” Rarity asked.
“Go on inside,” Rainbow replied. “We'll clean them off if there are any more.” Just then, a swarm of the ugly creatures swooped through the air. Rarity lifted her hooves over her head in a protective stance as she darted for the ship. Spike shot another Mynock away as several of the bat-like creatures flapped their wings loudly against the cockpit window. Rainbow looked around at the strange dripping cave. “Wait a minute,” she mumbled to herself. She unholstered her gun and fired into the wall of the cave. The cavern began to shudder as the floor started to buckle. Spike roared, running for the ship, followed closely by Dash. As soon as they got on board, Spike closed the hatch. “All right, Spike, let's get out of here!” Rainbow called as she flew towards the cockpit. Rarity and Applejack hurried after.
“The Empire is still out there,” Rarity argued. “I don't think it's wise to--”
“No time to discuss this as a committee!” Rainbow cut her off as she flew. A few seconds later, the engines began to rumble. Rarity raced after her, bouncing around in the shaking ship.
“I am not a committee!” she shouted. Rainbow was already in the pilot's seat pulling back on the throttle. “You can't make the jump to light speed in this asteroid field--”
“Sit down, sweetheart, we're taking off!” Rainbow interrupted again. As the ship barreled forward, Spike barked, noticing something outside the front window. “I see it, I see it!” Rainbow called as she concentrated on her controls. Suddenly, a row of jagged stalagmites and stalactites began to jut out around the cavern entrance. As the Wonderbolt sped forward, the entrance seemed to grow smaller. Rainbow pulled hard on the throttle.
“We're doomed!” Applejack shouted.
“The cave is collapsing!” Rarity shrieked.
“This is no cave,” Rainbow returned.
“What?” Rarity's mouth dropped open as she realized that the rocks on the cave entrance were not stalagmites and stalactites at all, but giant teeth, quickly closing in. The Wonderbolt turned on its side and sped out, barely passing the closing jaws of the enormous slug. The pirateship raced out into the deadly rain of the asteroid storm.
Twilight climbed one of the many thick vines growing throughout the swamp, the diminutive Jedi Master strapped to her back. Twilight panted heavily as she continued her course, sweat running down her brow and into her mane. She climbed to the top and leapt through the air to another vine, grabbing hold of it without slipping. She continued along, racing through the heavy fog.
“Run, yes,” Fluttershy commented from her perch on the unicorn's back. “A Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger... fear... aggression... They are the dark side of the Force. They flow easily, quick to join you in a fight. If you start down the dark path, it will forever dominate your destiny. It will consume you, as it consumed Celestia's apprentice.”
“Moon,” Twilight confirmed as she paused to catch her breath. “Is the dark side stronger?”
“No no no, quicker, easier, more seductive,” Fluttershy replied.
“But how am I to know the good side from the bad?” Twilight asked.
“You will know. When you are calm, at peace. Passive. A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.”
“But tell me why I can't--”
“No, no, there is no 'why',” Fluttershy interrupted. “I am finished teaching you today. Clear your mind of questions.” Pinkie beeped in the distance as Fluttershy let herself down from Twilight's back, fluttering gracefully to the ground with her soft wings. Breathing heavily, Twilight sat on a nearby log. She turned toward a huge dead tree, its base surrounded by a few feet of water. Its giant twisted roots formed a dark, sinister cave on one side. As she stared into the cave, a deeply unsettling feeling gripped Twilight's heart.
“There's something not right here,” she muttered. Fluttershy sat on the log next to her, “I feel cold... death.”
“That place is strong with the dark side of the Force,” Fluttershy said back. “It is a domain of evil. You must enter.”
“What's in there?” Twilight asked.
“Only what you take with you,” the yellow pony replied cryptically. Twilight glanced warily between Fluttershy and the cave. She stood and reached for her weapon belt. “Your weapons... you will not need them.” Twilight paused, giving the cave a long look, then shook her head. Fluttershy shrugged as Twilight strapped on her belt and entered the cave.
She moved into what seemed like total darkness as soon as she stepped inside of the wet and slimy cave. Holding her lit saber before her, she pushed deeper into the darkness. The space seemed to widen around her as she waved her sword about, trying to illuminate the area. Suddenly, the silence was broken by a loud hiss. Twilight recognized it immediately, and spun around, coming face to face with Nightmare Moon, illuminated by the red glow of her own saber. The Dark Lord charged, coming upon the young mare in seconds, but Twilight sidestepped and slashed at Moon with her sword. Moon's decapitated body faded into the darkness as her helmeted head rolled across the floor. The metal helmet banged and echoed across the cavern until it came to rest. Twilight slowly made her way to the head and peered down at it. A vertical crack on the helmet began to widen until it split, falling away. As the broken helmet and mask disappeared, Twilight's eyes went wide with terror. Lying on the cave floor, beneath the mask, was her own head, its lifeless eyes staring up into hers. Outside, Fluttershy sat, her eyes closed in a deep concentration.
Moon stood in the back control area of her ship’s bridge with a motley array of creatures. The young Admiral stood with an officer, watching the scene with scorn.
“Bounty hunters,” the Admiral spit. “We don't need that scum.”
“Yes, sir,” the officer agreed.
“Those Rebels won't escape us.” A second officer interrupted.
“Admiral, we have a priority signal from the Star Destroyer Avenger.”
The group standing before Moon was a bizarre one: A slimy, tentacled, bipedal creature, two battle scarred, mangy stallions, a battered, tarnished chrome war droid, and a hooded zebra wearing a suit covered with various weaponry.
“There will be a substantial reward for the one who finds the Wonderbolt,” Moon briefed the group. “You are free to use any methods necessary, but I want them alive. No disintegrations.”
“If that is what you wish, then fine,” the zebra, Zecora, replied. “I'll leave the fools alive this time.” At that moment, the young Admiral approached Moon in a rush of excitement.
“Lord Moon! My lord, we have them!” he reported excitedly.
The Wonderbolt sped through the starry expanse, closely followed by a firing Star Destroyer. The tiny ship barreled around asteroids as they pelted off of the Star Destroyer's surface.
“Oh, thank goodness we're comin out of the asteroid field,” Applejack said as she watched nervously out the window. Spike roared excitedly as the rain of asteroids began to subside. A bolt from the Star Destroyer struck the ship, causing it to lurch violently.
“Let's get out of here,” Rainbow said as she corrected her angle. “Ready for light speed? One... two... three!” She pulled back on her lever, and nothing happened. Flak continued to burst around the ship as it made its way through space. Rainbow pounded the control panel in disgust. “It's not fair!” she shouted. Spike began to bark at the pegasus, who desperately pulled back on the throttle. “The transfer circuits are working! It's not my fault!” The huge dragon put his head in his hands.
“No light speed?” Rarity asked as if she had been expecting it.
“It's not my fault,” Rainbow repeated softer.
“Sir, we just lost the main rear deflector shield,” Applejack reported. “One more direct hit on the back quarter and we're done for!” Rainbow paused for a moment before pulling back on the lever.
“Turn her around,” she ordered. Spike barked in puzzlement. “I said turn her around! I'm going to put all power in the front shield.”
“You're going to attack them?!” Rarity shouted in disbelief.
“Sir, the odds of survivin a direct assault on an Imperial Star Destroyer--”
“Shut up!” Rainbow cut off the golden droid. The Wonderbolt banked, making a steep, twisting turn. It began to race toward the oncoming Star Destroyer. The Imperial officers inside were stunned to see the tiny ship headed directly at the bay windows. Alarms started to flash, and the ship's captain could barely believe his eyes.
“They're moving to attack position. Shields up!” he ordered. The soldiers ducked instinctively as the oncoming Wonderbolt neared the bridge window. At the last second, the ship veered off and out of sight. An eerie quiet permeated the bridge. “Track them,” the captain broke the silence. “They may come around for another pass.”
“Captain, the ship no longer appears on our scopes,” an officer reported.
“They can't have disappeared,” the captain replied, bewildered. “No ship that small has a cloaking device.”
“Well, there's no trace of them, sir.” Another officer approached.
“Captain, Lord Moon demands an update on the pursuit,” he reported. The captain took a deep breath.
“Get a shuttle ready,” he ordered. “I shall assume full responsibility for losing them, and apologize to Lord Moon. Meanwhile, continue to scan the area.”
“Yes sir!”
Twilight's face strained as she stood upside down on her front hooves. Her back legs extended skyward, the little yellow pegasus perched atop them. As she held her position, Twilight turned her gaze toward two rocks. She worked up her concentration and began to lift one of the rocks, placing it precariously atop the other.
“Use the Force. Yes...” Fluttershy commented from her perch. She tapped Twilight's leg, and the purple mare lifted one hoof from the ground, maintaining her balance on just one. Her body wavered, but she managed to keep upright. Pinkie, watching from nearby, beeped anxiously. “Now... the stone. Feel it.” Twilight concentrated even harder, lifting the top stone into the air, but as she did, her body began to sway, and she toppled to the ground. Fluttershy leapt into the air, floating to the ground with her wings. “Concentrate!” Twilight, annoyed, looked over at Pinkie, who had begun to bounce back and forth. She chirped over to Twilight, then scooted over to the edge of the bog. Twilight followed to the water's edge and saw the tip of her X-wing's nose protruding from the swamp, the rest of the craft submerged.
“Oh, no,” she sighed. “We'll never get it out now.” Fluttershy stamped her hoof in irritation.
“You're so certain it can't be done,” she chided. “Do you not hear anything I say?” Twilight looked out uncertainly at her ship.
“Master, moving stones around is one thing. This is totally different.”
“No, it is no different,” Fluttershy rebutted. “It is only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned.” Twilight focused quietly.
“All right, I'll give it a try,” she said.
“No, either do, or do not. There is no try,” Fluttershy replied. Twilight closed her eyes, concentrating on the sunken ship. Slowly, the X-wing's nose began to rise above the water. It hovered for a moment before sliding back into the muck. Twilight slumped, panting heavily.
“I can't, it's too big.”
“Size does not matter,” Fluttershy rebutted. “Look at me. Do you judge me by my size?” Twilight shook her head. “And you should not, for my ally is the Force, and it is a powerful ally. It creates life, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. We are luminous beings, not this crude matter.” She pinched Twilight's shoulder as she said this. “You must feel the Force around you.” She swept her hoof out in a wide arc. “Here, between you... me... the tree... the rock... everywhere! Even between this land and that ship!”
“You want the impossible,” Twilight groaned. Fluttershy quietly turned toward the X-wing fighter. With her eyes closed and head bowed, she raised her hoof and pointed toward the ship. With a great gurgling sound, the vehicle began to rise from the water, moving forward as Pinkie beeped in terror and scooted away. The X-wing moved majestically toward the shore as Fluttershy guided it carefully down. Twilight stared, mouth agape as the water rolled off of the freed ship. She began to slowly approach Fluttershy, a new awe in her eyes. “I don't... I don't believe it,” she stammered.
“And that is why you fail,” Fluttershy replied.
The captain of the Star Destroyer Avenger writhed on the floor, clutching desperately at his throat before slumping at the feet of Nightmare Moon. Two stormtroopers carried the lifeless body away.
“Apology accepted, Captain,” Moon said to the corpse. The young Admiral and a few aides quickly approached the Dark Lord as the captain's body was carried off.
“Lord Moon, our ships have completed their scan of the area and found nothing,” the Admiral reported. “If the Wonderbolt went into light speed, it'll be on the other side of the galaxy by now.”
“Alert all commands,” Moon ordered. “Calculate every possible destination along their last known trajectory.”
“Yes, my lord. We'll find them,” the Admiral replied, bowing.
“Don't fail me again, Admiral.” As Moon's ship moved away, flanked by its fleet of smaller ships, the Avenger glided off into space in the opposite direction. Nopony on either ship was aware that a small pirateship was clinging to the side of the Avenger.
“Captain Dash, this time you've gone too far!” Applejack ranted. Spike growled a response. “No, I will not be quiet, Spike! Why don't anypony listen to me?”
“The fleet is beginning to break up,” Rainbow said to Spike, ignoring the raving droid. “Go back and stand by the manual release for the landing claw.” Spike barked and made his way out of the cabin.
“I really don't see how that's gonna help,” Applejack continued. “Surrender is a perfectly acceptable alternative in extreme circumstances. The Empire may be gracious enough ta--” Rarity reached over and switched the mechanical mare off mid-sentence.
“Thank you,” Rainbow said as she scanned over her console.
“What did you have in mind for your next move?” Rarity asked.
“Well, if they follow standard Imperial procedure, they'll dump their garbage before they go to light speed, then we just float away.”
“With the rest of the garbage,” Rarity added sarcastically. “Then what?”
“Then we've got to find a safe port somewhere around here. Got any ideas?”
“No, where are we?” Rarity asked.
“The Anoat system.”
“Anoat system... there's not much there.”
“No. Well, wait,” Rainbow started. “This is interesting. Gilda.” She pointed to a map screen on her monitor. Rarity slipped out of her chair and moved over to the rugged pilot.
“Gilda system?” she asked, confused.
“Gilda's not a system, she's a gryphon. Gilda Strongwing. She's a card player, gambler, scoundrel. You'd like her.”
“Thanks,” Rarity replied sarcastically.
“Bespin,” Rainbow continued. “It's pretty far, but I think we can make it.”
“A mining colony?” Rarity asked, reading from the map screen.
“Yeah, a Tibanna gas mine,” Rainbow explained. “Gilda conned somepony out of it. We go back a long way, Gilda and me.”
“Can you trust her?” Rarity asked.
“No, but she has no love for the Empire, I can tell you that.” Spike's voice barked over the intercom. Rainbow switched her readouts and craned out of the window. “Here we go, Spike. Stand by,” she said into her comlink. “Detach!” Dash leaned back in her chair as she flashed Rarity a smile. The princess thought for a moment, then shook her head. A grin crept across her face and she leaned over, giving Dash a quick kiss.
“You do have your moments,” she said with a smile. “Not many, but you have them.” As the Avenger moved slowly into space, the hatch on its underbelly opened, sending a trail of junk behind into the stars. Hidden among the refuse tumbled the relatively small pirateship, floating amongst the garbage. The Star Destroyer's engines roared as it blasted off into hyperspace. The Wonderbolt's engines then sprang to life, and it raced off into the distance. Amidst the slowly drifting junk, another ship also ignited its engines and began to follow after the pirateship into the starry expanse.
In the clearing behind the small cottage, Twilight again stood upside-down, though her face showed much less strain and more concentration than before. Fluttershy sat on the ground next to the young warrior as she slowly lifted two equipment cases with the Force. Pinkie sat, watching and humming to herself, until she too began to rise. The startled droid began kicking her little hooves desperately as she whistled and beeped a protest. Twilight remained calm, though.
“Concentrate,” Fluttershy coached. “Feel the Force flow. Yes, good. Stay calm. Through the Force, you will see. Other places. The future... the past... old friends long gone.” Twilight's eyes shot open as the two boxes and Pinkie crashed to the ground. The unicorn tumbled over as Pinkie struggled to right herself,
“Rainbow! Rarity!” she shouted, trying to catch her breath.
“Hmm... you must learn control,” Fluttershy said as she approached the purple mare.
“I saw... I saw a city in the clouds,” Twilight said, getting to her hooves.
“You have friends there?” Fluttershy asked.
“They were in pain.” Twilight recalled the vision that had flashed before her eyes.
“You saw a glimpse of the future,” Fluttershy explained.
“Future? Will they die?” Twilight asked, worried. Fluttershy closed her eyes and lowered her head.
“It is difficult to see,” she replied. “The future is always in motion.”
“I've got to go to them.”
“You must decide how to serve them best,” Fluttershy said, stopping Twilight, who had turned to the cottage. “If you leave now, you could help them. But you would destroy everything they fought and suffered for,” Twilight was stopped cold by the little pony's words. She felt shrouded in gloom as she nodded her head sadly.
The powerful pirateship blasted through space as it approached the soft pink planet of Bespin. It began to descend into the clouds, headed toward a huge floating city. Suddenly, two twin pod cars appeared, moving toward the Wonderbolt. One of the cars opened fire, its flak rocking the ship. Spike barked his concern.
“No, I don't have a landing permit,” Rainbow explained into her transmitter. “I'm trying to reach Gilda Strongwing.” More flak burst outside the window. Rarity's face grew grim with concern. “Woah! Wait a minute! Let me explain.”
“You will not deviate from your present course,” the voice ordered over the intercom.
“Rather touchy, aren't they?” Applejack remarked.
“I thought you knew this Gilda,” Rarity added. Spike growled towards Dash.
“Well, that was a long time ago,” she replied. “I'm sure she's forgotten about that.”
“Permission granted to land on Platform Three-two-seven,” the voice echoed across the cockpit.
“Thank you,” Rainbow said before hastily shutting off the transmitter. She turned to the worried princess, dragon, and droid. “There's nothing to worry about,” she reassured. “We go way back, Gilda and me.”
“Who's worried?” Rarity asked, unconvinced. With the cloud cars still guarding it, the Wonderbolt landed on a large platform. Rainbow and Rarity stood at the open door, pistols at the ready. Spike, also armed, surveyed the scene warily.
“Oh, nopony to meet us,” Applejack noted.
“I don't like this,” Rarity murmured.
“Well, what would you like?” Rainbow asked sarcastically.
“Well, they did let us land,” Applejack added.
“Look, don't worry,” Rainbow reassured. “Everything's going to be fine, trust me.” A group of guards began approaching the platform. At the head of the group was a dashing gryphon, her sharp talons clicking against the metal floor as she marched. Her head feathers were messy and swept in front of her face in a manner not unlike Dash's mane. She wore a grim expression on her face as she moved to the landing platform. “See? My friend,” Rainbow said. She leaned over to Spike and whispered, “Keep your eyes open, okay?” Spike growled as Rainbow trotted down the ramp. Gilda and her soldiers headed across the bridge to meet the space pirate. She stopped ten feet from Rainbow. The two pirates eyed each other carefully as they walked closer.
“Why, you slimy, double-crossing, no good swindler,” Gilda said with a scowl. “You've got a lot of guts coming here after what you pulled.” Rainbow looked around nervously. As Gilda approached, she suddenly threw her wings open and rushed towards Dash, throwing her arms around the startled pegasus. “How you doing, you old pirate?” she asked with a laugh. “So good to see you! I thought I'd never catch up with you again. Where you been?” The two friends embraced, laughing and chuckling.
“Well, she seems very friendly,” Applejack noted.
“Yes,” Rarity said sceptically. “Very friendly.”
“What are you doing here?” Gilda asked as the two stepped apart.
“Ah, repairs,” Rainbow said, pointing towards the Wonderbolt. “I thought you could help me out.”
“What have you done to my ship?” Gilda asked in mock panic.
“Your ship?” Rainbow said back. “Hey, remember, you lost her to me fair and square.” Spike growled a reserved greeting. Gilda looked in his direction and spotted the princess. A smile grew over her feathered face.
“Hello, what have we here?” she asked as she made her way to the ship. “Welcome. I'm Gilda Strongwing, the administrator of this facility. And who might you be?”
“Rarity,” she answered quickly.
“Welcome, Rarity.” Gilda bowed and kissed the princess's hoof.
“Alright, alright, you old smoothie,” Rainbow groaned from behind. She took Rarity by the hoof and steered her away from Gilda.
“Hello, sir. I am Applejack, pony-cyborg relations. My facilities are at your--” Applejack stopped as she realized that Gilda wasn't listening, and was following Rainbow and Rarity towards the city. “Well, really!” she said indignantly as she followed. The group trotted along, making their way into the city.
“So, what's wrong with the Wonderbolt?” Gilda asked.
“Hyperdrive,” Rainbow replied.
“I'll get my people to work on it.”
“Good.” Gilda turned to Rarity.
“You know, that ship saved my life quite a few times. She's the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.” Rarity rolled her eyes. As the group continued through the city, Applejack began to lag behind, stopping to look at the various artwork displayed on the walls.
“So how's the gas mine?” Rainbow asked. “Is it paying off for you?”
“Oh, not as well as I'd like,” Gilda replied. “We're a small outpost and not very self-sufficient. And I've had supply problems of every kind. I've had labor difficulties--” She stopped as she noticed Rainbow chuckling. “What's so funny?”
“You, G,” Rainbow said back. “Listen to you, you sound like a businessmare, a responsible leader. Who'd have thought that, huh?” Gilda stopped, reflecting on her words. She looked over at Dash.
“You know, seeing you sure brings back a few things.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow agreed, starting to get lost in memories. The two locked eyes for a moment before Gilda shook her head.
“Yeah, I'm responsible these days. It's the price you pay for being successful.” The two friends laughed as they moved on through the corridor. The lagging Applejack passed by a silver protocol droid as she followed.
“Oh, nice ta see a familiar face,” she said. The silver droid spat out a few words in a mechanical language before moving away. “How rude!” As Applejack stopped, she heard the muffled beeping and whistling of an Astromech coming from within the nearby room. Curious, she peered inside. “Hello? How interestin. Oh, my.”
“Who are you?” a stallion's voice echoed from within the room.
“Oh, I'm terribly sorry,” Applejack stammered as she backed up. “I—I didn't mean ta intrude. No, no, please don't get up. No!” A laserbolt struck the mechanical mare in the chest, sending pieces of her scattering across the room. Her head landed on a pile of junk, her eyes dark. Gilda, Rainbow, and Rarity continued down the hall, unaware of the droid's disappearance. Spike glanced around, sniffing the air, before shrugging his shoulders and following the group.
In the bright lights of the fighter, Twilight loaded a heavy case into the belly of her ship. Pinkie sat atop the X-wing, nuzzling down into her port. Fluttershy sat on a nearby log.
“Twilight, you must complete your training,” she insisted.
“I can't keep the vision out of my head,” Twilight said as she finished loading the ship. “They're my friends, I've got to help them.”
“You must not go!” the tiny pegasus called.
“But Rainbow and Rarity will die if I don't!”
“You don't know that,” a third voice echoed across the bog. Twilight turned, startled, to the source of the voice. Standing near Fluttershy, shimmering and translucent, stood Celestia, her pastel mane flowing, though no breeze was present. Twilight stopped, awed by her presence. “Even Fluttershy cannot see their fate.”
“But I can help them!” Twilight argued. “I feel the Force!”
“But you cannot control it,” Celestia rebutted. “This is a dangerous time for you, when you will be tempted by the dark side of the Force.”
“Yes, yes, listen to Celestia,” Fluttershy added. “Remember your failure at the cave.”
“But I've learned so much since then,” Twilight persisted. “Master Fluttershy, I promise to return and finish what I've begun. You have my word.”
“It is you and your abilities the Emperor wants,” Celestia said. “That is why your friends are made to suffer.”
“And that is why I have to go.”
“Twilight,” Celestia called, her eyes falling to the ground. Twilight turned to face the ghost of her mentor. “I don't want to lose you to the Emperor the way I lost Moon.” Twilight wasn't sure, but for a moment, she thought she heard trembling in the old mare's voice.
“You won't,” Twilight reassured.
“Only a fully trained Jedi Knight with the Force as her ally can conquer Moon and her Emperor,” Fluttershy warned. “If you end your training now, if you choose the quick and easy path as Moon did, you will become an agent of evil.”
“Patience,” Celestia added.
“And sacrifice Rainbow and Rarity?”
“If you honor what they fight for, then yes,” Fluttershy said, her voice firm. Twilight struggled with the dilemma, her emotions conflicting in her head.
“If you choose to face Moon, you will do it alone,” Celestia said. “I cannot interfere.”
“I understand,” Twilight said as she climbed into her X-wing. “Pinkie, fire up the converters.” Pinkie whistled a happy reply.
“Twilight, don't give into hatred,” Celestia warned. “That leads to the dark side.” Twilight nodded as she climbed into the cockpit.
“Moon is strong,” Fluttershy added. “Mind what you have learned. It can save you.”
“I will,” Twilight reassured. “And I'll return, I promise.” Pinkie closed the cockpit, and the two Jedi stood behind, watching as the ship disappeared into the night sky.
“I told you,” Fluttershy said with a sigh. “She is reckless. Now matters are worse.”
“That filly is our only hope,” Celestia replied, her eyes on the stars.
“No,” Fluttershy replied, gazing upwards as well. “There is another.”
Within her quarters in the cloud city, Rarity paced back and forth nervously. She moved from the large open window and turned to see Dash enter the room.
“The ship is almost finished,” she said, trotting over to the princess. “Two or three more things and we're in great shape.”
“The sooner the better,” Rarity replied. “Something's wrong here. Nopony has seen or knows anything about Applejack. She's been gone too long to have gotten lost.” Rainbow put her hooves on Rarity's shoulders, massaging them as she gently kissed her forehead.
“Relax, I'll talk to Gilda and see what I can find out.”
“I don't trust Gilda,” Rarity replied, her voice soft with worry.
“Well, I don't trust her either. But she is my friend. Besides, we'll soon be gone.”
“And then you're good as gone, aren't you?” Rainbow paused, considering her words. She stopped and gazed into Rarity's troubled eyes.
In a room piled high with broken and discarded machine parts, four Ugnaughts, small hog-like creatures, separated and threw parts onto a conveyor belt which moved slowly to a furnace of molten metal. A few pieces of Applejack's golden body rested in the piles. Spike entered the room and spotted an Ugnaught inspecting Applejack's head. The dragon barked a command, which startled the creature. He reached for the head, but the Ugnaught tossed it to one of the others. Annoyed, Spike reared back and let loose a stream of fire from his mouth, causing the Ugnaughts to scatter. He reached down and picked up the golden head.
The door swished open as Spike walked into the room, carrying a box filled with pieces of the mechanical mare.
“What happened?” Rarity asked, concerned. Spike set the box down and growled an explanation.
“Where? Found her in a junk pile?” Rainbow asked.
“Oh, what a mess,” Rarity commented. “Spike, do you think you can repair her?” The giant dragon studied the array of robot parts. He looked at the princess and shrugged.
“Gilda's got people who can fix her,” Rainbow suggested.
“No thanks,” Rarity quipped. A buzz, and the door slid open again, revealing the gryphon.
“I'm sorry, am I interrupting anything?” she asked.
“Not really,” Rarity replied.
“You look absolutely beautiful,” Gilda said, making her way over to the princess. “You truly belong here with us among the clouds.”
“Thank you,” Rarity replied coldly.
“Will you join me for a little refreshment?” Gilda asked. Rainbow squinted her eyes at the gryphon, but Spike licked his lips at the mention of food. “Everyone's invited, of course.” Rarity took Rainbow's proffered hoof, and the group turned to go. Gilda stopped, spotting Applejack's remains. “Having trouble with your droid?” she asked. Rainbow and Rarity exchanged a quick glance.
“No, no problem,” Rainbow replied “Why?” Rainbow and Rarity moved through the door, followed by Spike and Gilda. Long shafts of light poured across the corridor between tall white columns.
“So you see,” Gilda explained, “since we're a small operation, we don't fall into the... uh... jurisdiction of the Empire.”
“So you're a part of the mining guild, then?” Rainbow asked.
“No, not actually. Our operation is small enough not to be noticed... which is advantageous for everypony since our customers are anxious to avoid attracting attention to themselves.” They continued walking into a larger corridor, headed for a large door on the opposite side.
“Aren't you afraid the Empire's going to find out about this little operation and shut you down?” Rainbow asked.
“That's always been a danger looming like a shadow over everything we've built here,” Gilda replied, her tone darkening. “But things have developed that will ensure security. I've just made a deal that will keep the Empire out of here forever.” The mighty doors to the dining room slid open, revealing a shocking sight. At the far end of the table sat Nightmare Moon, with the zebra Zecora standing behind her. Immediately, Rainbow drew her pistol and popped off a few shots at the Dark Lord. She merely raised her hoof and deflected the bolts into the walls. Just as quickly, Rainbow's weapon flew across the room and into Moon's waiting hoof. She calmly placed the weapon on the table in front of her.
“We would be honored if you would join us,” the Dark Lord addressed the group. Rainbow turned to Gilda, her eyes shooting daggers at the gryphon.
“I had no choice,” Gilda said, her eyes falling. “They arrived right before you did. I'm sorry.”
“I'm sorry too,” Rainbow replied icily.
Twilight was grim faced as she raced towards Bespin's shining city. Pinkie beeped and whistled as they drew closer.
“No, Applejack's with them,” Twilight said into her comlink. Pinkie whistled another inquiry. “Just hang on, we're almost there.”
The stone cell was flooded with hot light, adding to the huge purple dragon's discomfort. A high-pitched whistle screeched loudly throughout the cell, causing Spike to roar and shriek with rage. He pounded the walls, flames firing from his snout. Finally, the light and sound subsided, and the dragon slumped to the ground next to the box containing Applejack's remains. He picked up the droid's head, thinking for a moment, then stuck it onto the torso, adjusting its wires and circuits. The lights in Applejack's eyes sparked to life as Spike wired the connections together. She immediately began to speak, though her voice's frequency bounced around a bit before she was legible.
“Mmmm... Oh, my. Uh, I, uh, Take this off! I, uh, don't mean ta intrude here. I, don't, no, no, no... Please don't get up. No!” Spike looked at the droid in bewilderment, then scratched his scaly head. He began adjusting more connections until her voice seemed to stabilize. “Stormtroopers? Here? We're in danger! I must tell the others! Oh, no, I've been shot!”
Nightmare Moon strode across the room as two stormtroopers prepared an elaborate torture mechanism. Rainbow, strapped to a rack, was tilted forward, edging nearer and nearer to the device. The door opened, and Moon exited, striding out into the holding chamber where Gilda and Zecora waited.
“Lord Moon,” Gilda addressed.
“You may take Captain Dash to Jabba the Hutt after I have Sparkle,” Moon said to Zecora, ignoring Gilda.
“For the price on her head, she's no good to me dead,” the zebra replied. Rainbow's muffled screams echoed through the walls and across the room.
“She will not be permanently damaged,” Moon replied.
“Lord Moon, what about Rarity and the dragon?” Gilda asked.
“They must never again leave this city,”
“That was never a condition of our agreement, nor was giving Rainbow to this bounty hunter!” Gilda shouted, angry.
“Perhaps you think you're being treated unfairly?” Moon asked.
“No,” Gilda replied, her eyes falling to the floor.
“Good,” Moon said back. “It would be unfortunate if I had to leave a garrison here.” She turned and swept into the elevator with Zecora. Gilda turned and walked down the hall, muttering to herself.
“This deal's getting worse all the time.”
Spike had succeeded in connecting one of Applejack's legs, but he had somehow managed to get her head on backwards.
“Oh, yes, that's mighty good,” the droid said as she flexed her newly attached leg. “I like that. Oh, somethin's not right, cause now I can't see. Wait, wait!” Her eyes flashed on again. “Oh my, what did you do? I'm backwards, ya stupid reptile. Only an overgrown lizard like you would be stupid enough ta--” She was cut off as Spike deactivated a circuit, shutting her down. Suddenly, he looked up, his sensitive nose picking up a smell. The door to the chamber slid open as Rainbow was shoved through the doors, collapsing on the floor. Barking his concern, Spike ran to his captain and kneeled beside her. The pegasus's pale face was covered in bruises, and cuts ran down her back and arms.
“I feel terrible,” she mumbled as Spike helped her to the cell bed. The door slid open again, and Rarity was pushed into the room. Her soft face was marked with bruises as well, though she wasn't quite as torn up as Dash. She moved to the bed where Rainbow lay and kneeled next to her, gently stroking her frazzled multi-colored mane.
“Why are they doing this?” Rarity asked.
“They never even asked me any questions,” Rainbow added. The cell door slid open and Gilda entered, along with two guards.
“Gilda,” Rarity spit through her teeth.
“Get out of here, Gilda!” Rainbow shouted, getting to her hooves.
“Shut up and listen!” Gilda barked. “Moon has agreed to turn Rarity and Spike over to me.”
“Over to you?” Rainbow asked, her legs wobbling as she stood.
“They'll have to stay here, but at least they'll be safe.”
“What about Rainbow?” Rarity asked.
“Moon's giving her to the bounty hunter.”
“Moon wants us all dead,” Rarity muttered.
“She doesn't want you at all,” Gilda replied. “She's after somepony called Sparkle.”
“Twilight?” Rainbow asked.
“Lord Moon has set a trap for her,” the gryphon continued. Rarity's mind began to race.
“And we're the bait,” she said.
“Well, she's on her way,” Gilda replied. Rainbow felt the heat rising to her face as her anger peaked.
“Perfect,” she spit through her teeth. “You fixed us all pretty good didn't you?” She spit on the cell floor. “My friend!” Rainbow hauled off and punched Gilda square in the jaw, sending her spiraling across the room. Instantly, the two guards began to pummel Rainbow with their rifles, knocking her to the ground. Spike roared and ran towards the guards, who pointed their rifles at him. Gilda stopped them before they fired.
“Stop!” she yelled. “I've done all I can do. I'm sorry I couldn't do better, but I have my own problems.”
“Yeah, you're a real hero,” Rainbow spit from her spot on the ground. Gilda and the guards turned and left, and Rarity made her way over to Rainbow, helping her back to the bed.
“You certainly have a way with words,” she said as she dabbed at the blood leaking from Dash's chin.
Four armored stormtroopers stood at the ready in the large chamber filled with pipes and chemical tanks. In the middle of the room, a round pit housed a hydraulic platform. Moon and Gilda stood next to it.
“This facility is crude, but it should be adequate to freeze Sparkle for her journey to the Emperor,” Moon said as she scanned the equipment. An Imperial soldier approached.
“Lord Moon, ship approaching,” he reported. “X-wing class.”
“Good,” Moon replied. “Monitor Sparkle and allow her to land.” The soldier bowed and left the chamber.
“Lord Moon, we only use this facility for carbon freezing,” Gilda said. “If you put her in there, it might kill her.”
“I do not want the Emperor's prize damaged,” Moon mused aloud to herself. “We will test it... on Captain Dash.” Gilda's face grew pale as she heard the Dark Lord's words.
Twilight's X-wing darted through the clouds as she neared the city. Surprised that she hadn't encountered any guards, she scanned her display panel with concern. Surely somepony would have been sent to investigate. She thought about the Jedi Masters' words as she continued on her course.
There was great activity in the freezing chamber as Ugnaughts frantically prepared it for use. A special coffin-like container was put into place inside the chamber. With Zecora in the lead, a squad of stormtroopers led Rainbow, Rarity, and Spike through the halls. Strapped to Spike's back, with only her head, torso, and one leg assembled, was Applejack. The rest of her body lay in the backpack where she rested, and she continuously craned her neck around, trying to see past the dragon's shoulder to see where she was being taken.
“If only y'all had attached my legs, I wouldn't be in this ridiculous position,” she complained. “Now remember, Spike, y'all have a responsibility ta me, so don't do nothin foolish.”
“What's going on... buddy?” Rainbow asked Gilda coldly as they entered the chamber.
“You're being put into carbon freeze,” the gryphon answered, avoiding meeting Dash's eyes. Zecora moved across the room to Nightmare Moon.
“She's worth a lot to me alive,” she demanded. “She's nothing unless she survives.”
“The Empire will compensate you if she dies,” Moon answered. “Put her in!” Realizing what was about to take place, Spike let out a wild roar and attacked the stormtroopers around Dash. Within seconds, other troopers joined the scuffle, pounding the dragon with their rifles. Applejack shrieked in panic, trying to protect herself with her one hoof.
“Oh, no! Stop! Spike, stop!” she shouted in terror.
“Stop, Spike! Stop!” Rainbow shouted at her first mate. “Do you hear me? Stop!”
“Yes, stop, please,” Applejack added. “I'm not ready ta die.” Rainbow moved over to Spike and broke him away from the troopers.
“Spike, this won't help me, alright?” She gave the dragon a stern look. “Save your strength. There'll be another time. The princess... you have to take care of her. You hear me?” Spike nodded sadly as Rainbow was dragged back over to the pit. The troopers slipped a pair of binders on Spike, who was too distraught to protest. Rainbow turned back and moved towards Rarity. The two mares locked eyes, then Rainbow moved forward and they shared a final, passionate kiss.
“I love you!” Rarity shouted as the troopers dragged them apart.
“I know,” Rainbow replied as she was led to the freezing pit. Tears rolled down Rarity's face as she watched her dashing pirate walk to the hydraulic platform. Rainbow turned back one final time, tears in the corners of her eyes, and she was dropped into the pit. Spike howled and Rarity turned away, sobbing into her own shoulder. Gilda winced as the fiery liquid began to pour into the pit. She felt a horrible tugging inside her heart. She knew all along that she had made the wrong decision, but she had tricked herself into believing it was for the best. But as she stood and watched the steel furnace, she felt a tear make its way into her eye. At that moment, she would have given anything to have Rainbow Dash by her side again.
“What, what's goin on?” Applejack stammered from behind the dragon. “Turn around, Spike, I can't see. Oh, they've encased her in carbonite. She should be quite well-protected... if she survived the freezin process, that is.” Spike gave the droid an angry bark. A huge mechanical tong lifted the steaming, metal-encased space pirate out of the vat and set it on the platform. Some Ugnaughts attached a few mechanical pieces to the coffin-like structure, then Gilda kneeled down beside it, checking the readouts. She shook her head in relief.
“Well, Strongwing, did she survive?” Moon asked.
“Yes, she's alive,” Gilda replied. “And in perfect hibernation.” Moon turned to Zecora.
“She's all yours, bounty hunter. Reset the chamber for Sparkle.”
“Sparkle has just landed, my lord,” a soldier reported.
“Good. See to it that she finds her way here. Strongwing, take the princess and the dragon to my ship.”
“You said they'd be left in the city under my supervision,” Gilda said in disbelief.
“I am altering the deal,” Moon replied. “Pray I don't alter it any further.”
As Twilight and Pinkie moved carefully down a deserted corridor, they stopped, hearing the voices of a group of ponies approaching. They quickly hid in a nearby doorway and watched as the procession carried by. Zecora entered, followed by two guards who pushed the encased body of Rainbow Dash. Two stormtroopers who had followed spotted Twilight and opened fire. The mare drew her pistol and fired off shots at the two troopers before they could get off a second shot. The guards whisked Rainbow into another hallway as Zecora turned and fired a large, green laser from a golden device on her wrist. Twilight ducked as the laser exploded behind her, tearing up a huge chunk of the wall. Twilight got to her hooves and rushed after them, but a huge metal door slammed in front of her, cutting her off from the bounty hunter. She turned and spotted Rarity and Spike being herded down another hall by Gilda and a few stormtroopers. Rarity turned just in time to spot Twilight.
“Twilight! Don't! It's a trap! It's a trap!” Before she could finish her warning, she was pulled through the doorway by a stormtrooper and disappeared from sight. Twilight raced after the group, leaving little Pinkie-Pie trailing behind. She galloped into an anteroom where she stopped to get her bearings. Rarity and the others were nowhere to be seen. As Pinkie scooted her way to the room, a thick door slammed down, cutting them off. Pinkie stood with her nose pressed against the giant door. She whistled a long sigh before wandering off in the other direction.
Twilight cautiously walked through the maze of hissing pipes and steam. She stopped, and as she did, the platform she stood on rose up through the ceiling, leading her into another room. The darkness of the room was deathly quiet. Warily, Twilight walked toward the stairway. Looking up through the steam, she spotted a dark figure standing on a walkway above her. She holstered her gun as she moved up the stairs, confident and eager to engage her enemy.
“The Force is strong with you, young Sparkle,” Moon said as the unicorn moved closer. “But you are not a Jedi yet.” Twilight ignited her sword, and in an instant, Moon's own sword was lit. Twilight lunged, but Moon repelled the blow. The swords of the two combatants clashed as they fought.
Gilda and the stormtroopers marched onward, surrounding Rarity, Spike, and Applejack, who was still strapped to the dragon's back. As they reached an intersection, they ran into a group of Gilda's guards. The guards pointed their rifles at the stormtroopers, surrounding them. As the guards began to disarm the troopers, they handed a rifle to Gilda, and another to Rarity.
“Well done,” Gilda said to the guard. “Hold them in the security tower, and keep it quiet. Move.” As her guards began to march the stormtroopers away, Gilda started unfastening Spike's bindings.
“What do you think you're doing?” Rarity asked in shock.
“We're getting out of here,” the gryphon replied.
“I knew all along it hadta be a mistake,” Applejack added. As his bindings were removed, Spike turned on Gilda, wrapping his scaly hands around her throat.
“Do you think that after what you did to Rainbow we're going to trust you?” Rarity shot at the gryphon, who struggled to free herself from the dragon's grip.
“I... had no choice...” she choked out. Spike roared ferociously.
“What're ya doin?” Applejack shouted to Spike. “Trust her! Trust her!”
“Oh, we understand, don't we, Spike,” Rarity mocked. “She had no choice.”
“I'm just trying to help...” Gilda gasped.
“We don't need any of your help,” Rarity shot back.
“Ra-a-a-a...” Gilda struggled.
“What?”
“There's still a chance... to save Rainbow... I mean, at the East Platform...”
“Spike.” The dragon finally released Gilda, who fought to regain her breath.
“I'm terribly sorry bout all this,” Applejack said to the wheezing gryphon. “After all, he's only a dragon.”
The two guards slid Rainbow's encased body into an opening in the side of the bounty hunter's ship. Zecora climbed on board.
“Put Dash in the cargo hold,” she ordered. “Tonight, Zecora rolls in gold!” With that, the door slammed shut. Gilda, Rarity, and Spike rushed down a corridor when they spotted a familiar pink droid coming toward them, beeping wildly.
“Pinkie! Pinkie! Where've you been?” Applejack asked, overjoyed to see her counterpart again. “Hurry, we're tryin ta save Rainbow from the bounty hunter!” Whistling frantically, Pinkie scooted along with the racing group. “Well at least you're still in one piece! Look what happened ta me!” An elevator slid open as they raced for the large platform. Just as they arrived, Zecora's ship was crossing over the sunset horizon. Spike howled and began firing at the ship. “Oh, no! Spike, they're behind you!” Spike turned to see a squad of stormtroopers running toward them. Gilda and Pinkie ran for an elevator while Spike and Rarity began unloading their weapons into the troopers. Gilda motioned for them to follow, but the pair seemed transfixed, their anger overflowing as they riddled their enemies with laserbolts. After a few moments, they dove through the laserfire and into the elevator, which whisked quickly away.
Twilight and Moon stood locked in combat on the platform overlooking the chamber. The platform swayed as their swords clashed. Twilight aggressively drove Moon back, forcing her to use defensive tactics.
“You have learned much, young one,” Moon said as she backed down the stairs.
“You'll find I'm full of surprises,” Twilight replied. Moon made a quick move, hooking Twilight's sword out of her hoof and sending it flying. Another lightning move at her feet forced Twilight to jump back. She lost her balance and rolled down the stairs to the circular freezing platform. She sprawled on the floor, surprised and shaken. She rolled away just in time to see Moon descend toward her like a giant black bird. Crouching, she kept her gaze locked on the Dark Lord.
“Your destiny lies with me, Sparkle,” Moon said as she circled the fallen mare. “Celestia knew this to be true.”
“No!” Twilight shouted as the hydraulic elevator opened noiselessly behind her. Twilight got to her hooves and moved cautiously back from the Dark Lord. Suddenly, Moon took a swing that forced Twilight to leap backwards, falling right into the opening. As the freezing steam rose from the pit, Moon turned, deactivating her sword.
“All too easy,” she murmured. “Perhaps you are not as strong as the Emperor thought.” Through the steam, Moon saw a blur rise upward. She turned to see Twilight, who had used the force to leap into the air and dangle from a few hoses. “Impressive...” she mused. “Most impressive.” Twilight jumped down and raised her hoof. Her fallen sword zipped to her outstretched hoof and was instantly lighted. Moon lit her sword as well. “Celestia has taught you well,” she said as she swayed back and forth. “You have controlled your fear... now release your anger.” Twilight, realizing she had been foolhardy before, assumed a defensive stance. A quick sword exchange, and Twilight pressed Moon back. “Only your hatred can destroy me.” Breathing hard, Twilight leapt into the air, turning a somersault over Moon. She landed and slashed at Moon as the room began to fill with steam. Moon retreated before Twilight's skillful sword. As she backed up, she dropped behind the platform and into the outer rim of pipes. The energy she had expended had nearly brought Twilight to the point of collapse. She moved to the edge and peered down, but saw no sign of Moon. She deactivated her sword, hooking it onto her belt, then dropped into the pit.
Moving through a tunnel-like entrance, Twilight cautiously crept into a reactor room. She ignited her sword and stepped in front of a large window, when she saw a shadow move from the corner of her eye. She spun around to see Moon, and she rushed forward to attack. As she galloped, a large piece of machinery detached itself from the wall, flying toward her. She spun and slashed at the machine, cutting it in half, but another piece was already flying towards her. Twilight used the Force to deflect it, then turned to see several pipes flying her way. Sparking wires began to pull themselves from the walls and creep towards the young mare. Bombarded from all sides, Twilight did her best to deflect the projectiles, but several of them struck her body, leaving her cut and bruised. She clenched her teeth as she swung with her sword, trying her best not to let the pain get to her. As she raised her hooves to defend herself, a large machine smashed through the window behind her, and a fierce wind began blowing through the room. Moon stood, unmoving, as Twilight grabbed hold of a rail, holding on for her life. A piece of machinery crashed into her, and she slipped, rolling across the floor and out the window. She fell onto the gantry outside and tumbled over the edge. Acting quickly, she grabbed hold of the gantry and kept a firm grasp on her deactivated sword as she hung. She clipped the sword to her belt and slowly began to climb her way up to the ledge.
Rarity, Gilda, Spike, and Pinkie rounded a corner, headed for the door to the landing platform. They got a glimpse of the Wonderbolt outside before the door slammed shut. The group dove into an alcove as the pursuing stormtroopers arrived, sending a rain of laser fire towards them. Spike and Rarity returned the fire as Gilda desperately punched at the door's control panel.
“The security codes have been changed!” she shouted in frustration.
“Pinkie, can you tell the computer ta override the security system?” Applejack asked, pointing to a socket on the control panel. Pinkie beeped and scooted towards the panel as Gilda connected to the panel's intercom.
“Attention!” she announced into the microphone. “This is Gilda Strongwing. The Empire has taken control of the city. I advise everyone to leave before more Imperial troops arrive.” Pinkie plugged her hoof into the socket, then let out a loud shriek as her head began to spin. Spike quickly pulled her away. “This way,” Gilda motioned as she started down the hallway. The others turned to follow, fleeing down the corridor. As she scooted along, Pinkie threw some angry beeps toward Applejack.
“Don't blame me,” she replied. “I'm an interpreter. I'm not supposed ta know a power socket from a computer terminal.” In a panic, the residents of the cloud city scurried to board their ships. Some fired at the stormtroopers, while others merely hid. Pinkie worked feverishly on another door while Applejack berated her for her seeming ineptitude. “What're y'all talkin about? We're not interested in the hyperdrive on the Wonderbolt, it's fixed! Just open the door, you stupid lump.” After a triumphant beep, the door clicked open. “I never doubted you for a second!” the mechanical mare said to Pinkie, her tone swiftly changed. The group dashed outside, racing for the Wonderbolt. Gilda and Rarity held off the oncoming troops as the droids boarded the ship with Spike. The huge dragon began to hurriedly start up the ship as Rarity and Gilda backed closer to the ramp.
“Rarity, go!” Gilda shouted as she fired her weapon. The princess popped off a few more shots before turning and galloping toward the ship. Gilda continued firing as she backed up. The engines roared as she made her way up the gangplank. Pinkie dragged the bag containing the partially assembled Applejack down the hallway, beeping a conversation as she did.
“I thought that scaly beast would be the end of me,” Applejack muttered. “Of course I've looked better!” Spike worked the controls as Rarity sat in the pilot's seat. Gilda appeared behind them as Spike pulled back on the throttle. The ship began to lift gracefully into the darkening sky and roared away from the city, TIE fighters taking off in pursuit.
Twilight moved along the railing and into the control room. Moon darted out, lunging at her, and Twilight instinctively raised her sword, deflecting Moon's strike. Sparks flew as the blades clashed, Moon gradually forcing Twilight back toward the gantry.
“You are beaten,” she announced as she continued her push. “It is useless to resist. Don't let yourself be destroyed as Celestia did.” Twilight answered by rolling sideways, thrusting her sword viciously. The blade nicked Moon's shoulder, and the black armor began to smoke. Moon backed up, lifting her hoof to the wound, but she quickly recovered, backing Twilight up to the narrow end of the gantry. Moon swung her sword down, crashing against the instrument complex at the end of the gantry. Twilight swayed as the platform shook, and Moon struck again, her sword coming down across Twilight's right forehoof. In a flash of sparks, Twilight's hoof shot across the air, tumbling down into the deep pit along with her sword. Twilight screamed out in pain, squeezing her severed limb under her left front leg, and began to back up to the edge of the gantry. Moon slowly followed as Twilight reached the edge, biting back tears as she held on to the railing. “There is no escape,” Moon said as she towered over the young mare. “Don't make me destroy you. You do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy.”
“I'll never join you!” Twilight screamed, slowly edging herself off of the gantry and onto the broken instrument complex. She bit down hard on her lip as she squeezed the end of her wrist, trying to stifle the burning pain.
“If only you knew the power of the dark side,” Moon continued, sheathing her sword. “Celestia never told you what happened to your mother.”
“She told me enough!” Twilight shouted, tears beginning to form in her maddening eyes. “She told me you killed her!”
“No,” Moon replied, her dark eyes locked with the fallen unicorn's. “I am your mother.” Twilight's eyes grew wide as she took in the Dark Lord's words. Her heart began to sink in her chest.
“No... No, that's not true!” she screamed. “That's impossible!”
“Search your feelings. You know it to be true.”
“No! No!” Tears flooded from Twilight's eyes as she screamed maddeningly, trying to deny the horrible truth that lay in front of her.
“Twilight, you can destroy the Emperor,” Moon continued. “He has foreseen this. It is your destiny.” She reached out her black shod hoof, extending it to Twilight. “Join me, and we can rule the galaxy as mother and daughter. Come with me. It's the only way.” As Twilight lifted her eyes to meet her mother's, a calm came over her body. She wiped the last tears from her eyes, got to her hooves, and fell. Moon darted to the edge of the platform as Twilight's body tumbled down the deep pit. The wind whipped around her, and she slowly turned, making her way out of the room. As the beaten and bruised unicorn tumbled down the shaft, an exhaust pipe opened and sucked her inside. She slid down the pipe, coming to rest atop a circular grill. After a few seconds, the grill popped open, and Twilight dropped through the pipe, falling down to a weather vane hanging below the city. She hooked her back legs around the vane to keep from falling to her death. As she hung, she attempted to swing her remaining front hoof up to get a better grip, but her body would not obey. It was all she could do to hang, nearly lifeless, from the cracking weather vane.
“Celestia... Celestia, please...” she mumbled, her will to live nearly gone. “Celestia... Rarity...” There was an ominous cracking as a piece of the vane broke off and tumbled down into oblivion. “Rarity... Please hear me...”
Rarity seemed to be lost in a fog, her soft expression troubled. Spike was busy operating the ship while Gilda stood behind, watching the readouts.
“Twilight...” Rarity muttered under her breath. She suddenly got up. “We've got to go back,” she demanded. Spike growled in surprise.
“What?” Gilda asked, bewildered.
“I know where Twilight is,” Rarity explained.
“But what about those fighters?” Spike barked in agreement with Gilda.
“Spike, just do it,” Rarity pleaded.
“But what about Moon?” Gilda asked. Spike turned on her with an ominous growl. “All right, all right, all right.” The Wonderbolt made a graceful banking turn towards the city. The ship dove to the underside of the floating city, three TIE fighters close behind it. Rarity tried to maintain her calm. Suddenly, Gilda pointed out the window. “Look, somepony's up there!”
“It's Twilight!” Rarity shouted, rushing to the window. “Spike, slow down. Slow down and we'll get under her. Gilda, open the top hatch.” Twilight hung desperately by one leg, her body swaying in the wind below the city. The vane continued cracking, more pieces breaking off. As Twilight's vision began to fade, her leg slipped from the vane, and she began to tumble downwards. Her fall was quickly broken by the top of the Wonderbolt. Gilda, emerging from the top hatch, grabbed the battered mare's body and pulled her inside. Flak burst around the ship as Rarity and Spike struggled with the controls. “Gilda?” Rarity asked into her comlink.
“Okay, let's go,” the gryphon's voice replied. The Wonderbolt raced away, followed closely by the fighters which continued firing at the pirateship. Spike howled frantically as he struggled to maintain control. They turned to see Twilight, bloody and battered, enter the cockpit, supported by Gilda. Rarity jumped up and wrapped her arms around Twilight in a warm embrace.
“Oh, Rarity,” Twilight mumbled as she returned the hug.
“All right, Spike. Let's go,” Gilda called as she took Rarity's seat. Rarity helped Twilight from the cockpit to the hold as another blast rocked the ship. Twilight lay down on a cot, her injured leg wrapped in a protective cuff. Rarity gently wiped her face as the ship lurched.
“I'll be back,” she whispered before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and trotting towards the cockpit. As Rarity made her way back, Spike and Gilda were madly working the ship's controls. A huge blip had recently appeared on the radar screen, and Rarity recognized it right away. “Star Destroyer,” she murmured.
“All right, Spike. Ready for light speed,” Gilda called.
“If your ponies fixed the hyperdrive,” Rarity added. Another explosion rocked the ship. “The coordinates are set, it's now or never!”
“Punch it!” Gilda shouted. Spike pulled back on the lever, the sound of the ion engine wound up, everypony's face grew tense, and... nothing. Spike let out a frustrated howl as flak violently rocked the ship. “They told me they fixed it!” Gilda shouted in disbelief. “I trusted them to fix it! It's not my fault!” Spike stormed out of the cockpit, giving Gilda an angry shove.
The TIE fighters continued their chase, with Moon's Star Destroyer following closely behind. The Dark Lord stood on the bridge, looking out the window as the young Admiral approached her.
“They'll be in range of our tractor beam in moments, Lord,” the Admiral reported.
“Did your ponies deactivate the hyperdrive on the Wonderbolt?” she asked.
“Yes, my lord.”
“Good.” Moon turned to face him. “Prepare the boarding party and set your weapons for stun.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Beeping while she worked, Pinkie finished connecting some wires to Applejack, who now had one of her back legs attached. Spike stomped past, grunting to himself.
“Noisy brute,” Applejack muttered. “Why don't we just go ta light speed?” Pinkie beeped in response. “We can't? How would you know the hyperdrive's deactivated?” Pinkie whistled knowingly. “The city's central computer told you? Pinkie-Pie, you know better than ta trust a strange computer. Ouch! Pay attention ta what you're doin!” Spike stood in a pit, trying to loosen something with an enormous wrench. Frustrated, he began to hit the panel with the wrench like a club.
As the Star Destroyer gained on the small ship, Moon's loud breathing became slightly faster.
“Twilight,” she called. Twilight's eyes shot open as she heard the call echo through her skull. Her eyes were sunken into her head, her spirit defeated.
“Mother...” she murmured, half dazed.
“My daughter, come with me.” Moon's voice echoed.
“Celestia...” Twilight moaned, her eyes drooping closed. “Why didn't you tell me?”
` Rarity and Gilda worked frantically at the controls while Spike welded away at the hyperdrive mechanism. The Wonderbolt raced through space, the huge Star Destroyer drawing nearer. Twilight limped her way into the cockpit, gazing out the window.
“It's Moon,” the mumbled as she lifted her hoof to the glass.
“Twilight... It is your destiny,” Moon's voice called.
“Celestia, why didn't you tell me?” Twilight asked again.
Pinkie raced to a control panel and began working on a circuit board. Furious, Applejack got up on her two legs and started yelling.
“Pinkie, come back at once! You haven't finished with me yet!” she yelled. “You don't know how ta fix the hyperdrive! Spike can do it. I'm standin here in pieces and you're havin delusions of grandeur!” As Pinkie backed away from the panel, lights began to flash. Rarity and Gilda were thrown back in their seats as the ion engines began to roar. “Oh, you did it!” the mechanical mare shouted in praise.
The Wonderbolt soared off into infinity with a loud boom. As the rainbow-colored ring began to radiate out from the point of exit, Moon stood, her gaze transfixed on the starry sky. The Admiral and a captain glanced at Moon in terror. She slowly turned and trotted off of the bridge.
The Wonderbolt was docked to a large Rebel cruiser. Rebel fighters darted about the giant ship, and a Rebel transport ship hovered near the group. Inside the pirateship’s pilot's seat, Gilda spoke through the comlink as Spike threw a variety of switches, preparing to blast off.
“Twilight, we're ready for takeoff,” Gilda announced.
“Good luck, Gilda,” Twilight's voice returned.
“When we find Jabba the Hutt and that bounty hunter, we'll contact you.” Twilight, speaking into the comlink, sat on a cot as a medical droid worked on her hoof. Rarity stood behind her while Applejack and Pinkie stood by the window.
“I'll meet you at the rendezvous point on Tatooine,” Twilight replied.
“Princess, we'll find Rainbow,” the gryphon's voice reassured. “I promise.”
“Spike, I'll be waiting for your signal,” Twilight replied. Spike's roar echoed out of the comlink. “Take care, you two. May the Force be with you.” Twilight looked down at her hoof. A metalized bandage had been wrapped around her wrist, connecting it to a robotic hoof. The little medical droid put a few finishing touches on the artificial limb before closing its port. Flexing her new limb, Twilight found it to be fully functional. She stood and walked over to Rarity. The princess turned, and the two unicorns locked eyes. A bond had formed between them, though neither mare could quite place what it was. Rarity still thought of Rainbow Dash, the rugged, yet beautiful star captain that had stolen her heart. She longed to feel the pegasus's warm embrace again, to feel her lips against hers. Twilight thought of her uncertain and newly complicated future. She thought of the words that had passed between herself and Nightmare Moon, her mother. As they stood together, the two mares wrapped their hooves around each other in a friendly embrace. They stood, alongside the two droids, and watched as the Wonderbolt detached from the cruiser and began to zoom away into space. The ship jumped into light speed, releasing its signature rainbow-colored boom.
-THE END-
To be continued in 'PONY WARS: Return of the Jedi'
