Darth Edris

Chapters

The Cocoon
The Spirit World
The Defender
The Chessboard
The Lightsaber
The Fiendfyre
The Assassins
The Master
The Train

The Cocoon

A sudden turn of events! After the redemption of
Starlight Glimmer and the birth of Princess Flurry Heart,
Equestria’s future looks to be brighter than its own sun.

But things are not to be taken lightly, as the
diabolical Queen Chrysalis plots her revenge on Twilight
Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony for ruining her
plans to feed her ravenous changeling hordes.

Unbeknownst to either side, however, a Dark
Shadow begins to pull the strings for a much bigger picture,
which could not only determine the future of Equestria,
but of the entire Multiverse...

It was a cool and breezy afternoon. The Sun began to set on another busy day. The wind was hustling the trees brushing up against each other in the Everfree Forest, and the day was about to end on a perfect note. And even more so for young Fluttershy, who was tending to her regular duties as an animal caretaker. Her gentle wings floated her to the bird’s nests to feed the canaries and bluejays. Her kind hooves sprinkled feed for the hens. And vegetables were gifted to the rabbits and her other herbivorous pets.

The sky slowly changed color from an orange to a purple, and then to a deep blue, revealing the diamond-like stars in the sky. Fluttershy took a moment to admire the beauty of it all, how they pranced and glittered in the sky. And for a moment, Fluttershy could almost hear her name deep into the night sky. Almost as if the sky was calling her for adventure. Fluttershy had no idea why, but it was like a feeling for her. A nice, calm, soothing feeling to hear her name be called out by the stars.

Meanwhile, a great distance away from the cottage, the silhouette of a swarm of changelings drew closer to the unsuspecting cottage. The bugs zipped past the clouds, making them smaller clouds, as their leader spoke up.

“Alright maggots, listen up! We’re approaching the target quickly now! I want us to blend in and catch her by surprise! This is a stealth mission, not a full-blown attack, so keep yer yaps shut!” The lead changeling shouted through the whistling winds that zipped past each of the changeling soldiers’ ears.

“Sir, yes sir!” The changelings behind him responded as the lead noticed one of them paid no mind to the orders!

“And that means you too, Private Roach! We don’t want ya running off like ya did last time during the Weddin’ Incident! Do you hear me loud and clear, Soldier?” The commanding officer bellowed, catching the quiet changeling off guard

“Oh! Uh, yes sir, Sergeant Scabbers, sir! I’m sorry, sir!” Roach responded as he caught up with his troop. The changeling soldiers landed a good distance away and disguised themselves as smaller bugs, as to not be spotted so easily. Fluttershy still sat there, listening to the stars, letting the cold breeze brush against her coat and mane. The changelings used this to their advantage and quietly snuck up onto the shy little pony. Although Roach noticed Fluttershy’s calm demeanor and felt something...odd about her.

“Now!” The sergeant changeling commanded as the changelings removed their tiny insect disguises, startling Fluttershy. The small critters ran off at the sight of the ferocious monsters to their dens and nests to hide, leaving Fluttershy to fend for herself. Quivering, Fluttershy attempted to go around to call for help but was cut off by yet more changeling soldiers. The insectoid ponies cornered the whimpering pony up against the door.

"...For my ally is the Force. And a powerful ally, it is," A voice whispered in Fluttershy's ear. The voice was old and croaky, but also kind and gentle. Fluttershy couldn't tell which changeling said it if it even was one of those changelings.

"Fear attracts the fearful. Fear is my ally," Another voice whispered, this one more dark and shadowy than the first one.

"Bring balance to the Force! Not leave it in Darkness!" One more voice bellowed, this one calm and collected, but also saddened, irking Fluttershy's curiosity.

“Help! Somepony help me!” Fluttershy yelled! Or at least tried to yell, as it came out more like a whisper. Some of the changelings found that kind of funny, even. But Fluttershy couldn't quite hear them over the strange voices, which called out louder than last time.

"A powerful Sith, you will become!" A loud, bellowing, and croaky old voice promised as Fluttershy was starting to lose focus on the changeling invaders.

"I will become the most powerful Jedi ever!" A youthful and arrogant voice proclaimed, as Fluttershy was starting to lose her balance.

"Fear is the path to the Dark Side," The first voice returned to warn Fluttershy about, though Fluttershy was a bit too dazed, confused, and overwhelmed to comprehend what any of these voices were saying.

“Hate to break it to ya, but none of yer pony friends are gonna come rescue ya. And that’s a promise!” Sergeant Scabbers snarled as he leaped towards Fluttershy. Fluttershy let out a blood-curdling scream in terror and covered her eyes in hopes this was just some bad dream. But what happened then was extremely peculiar. When the poor frightened pony opened her eyes, she found all of the changelings knocked back, as if something pushed, no, tossed them all out of the way. Fluttershy stared at her two front hooves, wondering what she did that was able to cause that. There’s no way she could have done that. Even if she’s the bearer for the Element of Kindness, she was still a simple pegasus.

Roach was able to quickly recover and found all his changeling brethren knocked back and rendered unconscious by some sort of blast. The changeling rubbed his head and looked on at Fluttershy, wondering how she was able to accomplish it. Roach got up and startled Fluttershy, flailing her hooves out in front of him.

“Uh...stand back you...meanie! I don’t know how I did...what I just did...but I will do it again...on you!” Fluttershy attempted to threaten, hoping to scare Roach off. Instead, the changeling raised his hoof.

“Woah, hold your fire there. I don’t want to fight. At least, not anymore. Listen, I just wanna ask you something!” The lone changeling asked as Fluttershy continued flailing around.

“I...I just told you, I don’t know how I did that!” Fluttershy whined, hoping whatever she just did would happen again.

“OK, listen! I think I might know how that happened. I promise I won’t harm you if you let me explain,” Roach promised as Fluttershy did not falter.

“How do I know I can trust you? You and your fellow changelings...were you going to kidnap me?” Fluttershy asked as Roach got just a bit closer. Roach collected his thoughts and thought this through carefully.

“OK, I admit, that is what we were sent to do. But I promise you that I won’t use that against you,” Roach promised once more as Fluttershy nervously stared down the changeling.

“Pinkie promise?” Fluttershy asked, catching Roach off guard.

“Wait, what?” Roach asked, stifling a chuckle.

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye?” Fluttershy asked, hoping Roach would understand.

“What kind of…? OK, sure. Stick a cupcake in my eye and all that. Sounds a bit brutal to do that, honestly. Can you let me in now?” Roach asked as Fluttershy finally let her guard down and let Roach in to explain himself.

“OK, now could you kindly tell me who you are?” Fluttershy said, closing the door behind the Changeling and keeping an eye on her hooves to prevent them from exploding.

“You can call me Roach. That’s what everyone else calls me,” Roach introduced himself as Fluttershy couldn’t help but nod in response.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Roach. Now, Can you tell me how I did what I just did to your fellow changelings?” Fluttershy asked as Roach looked at his troop outside the window.

“How long have you had your Jedi powers?” Roach asked as Fluttershy raised an eyebrow in response.

“I don’t understand. I don’t know what these Jedi powers are. What even is a Jedi?” Fluttershy asked as Roach looked on at the scared and confused pony.

“To be honest, I was hoping you could tell me. I found an ancient crashed spaceship that belonged to these Jedi and thought there would be some hiding in Equestria. When I saw you with these powers, I thought you could be one of them. But, I guess I was wrong,” Roach sighed, almost disappointed by the result. Fluttershy had a moment to process what she was hearing. An ancient crashed spaceship? Alien Jedi powers? It seemed so hard to believe.

“Well, OK. Can you at least show me this spaceship?” Fluttershy asked as Roach’s ear perked up by the windows, hoping none of the other changelings were recovering from the blast.

“I wish I can, but I’m afraid we don’t have much time. I don’t know how long it’s gonna be till the other changelings will recover. I’m gonna have to cocoon you!” Roach instructed as Fluttershy jumped back.

“Wait, what? You promised you weren’t gonna capture me!” Fluttershy whimpered. She should have known better than to trust a changeling spouting nonsense about spaceships.

“I Pinkie Promise that I’ll take care of you, even when you’re in your cocoon, and that I’ll show you this spaceship when this is all over!” Roach promised as Fluttershy’s guard was raised just a smidge.

“But I--” Fluttershy muttered as Roach was having a hard time gaining her trust.

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye?” Roach recited as Fluttershy looked on at the slowly recovering changelings. Finally, Fluttershy took a deep breath and cleared her mind.

“OK, fine. But don’t get any funny ideas,” Fluttershy begged.

"Hey, it's worth a shot, ain't it?" Roach asked as he laid her down onto her sofa.

“So, have you ever been cocooned before?” Roach asked as he conjured some green slime from his saliva and rubbed it all up against his hooves. Fluttershy was disgusted by the idea of being covered in changeling spit.

“Can’t say I have, so no,” Fluttershy replied as Roach began covering Fluttershy’s hind legs with the slime.

“Well, for starters, you’re gonna be rendered unconscious while in there as to hold the mind prisoner as well as the body. But, if you’d like, I can hypnotize you to help calm you down,” Roach offered as he made more slime.

“I think mind control would just stress me out even more,” Fluttershy argued as she loosened the slime so the cocoon wouldn’t end up being so tight.

“Oh, I’m not forcing you to calm down against your will. I’m just gonna have you go into a deep meditative state to preserve your mind while your body is in the cocoon,” Roach explained as he applied more slime. Fluttershy thought the idea over a bit more.

“O...kay. But that doesn’t put me at ease. You’re trying to convince me to consent to my own kidnapping like you’re certain Twilight and the others are gonna rescue me,” Fluttershy explained as Roach stopped his slime making in his tracks like he completely forgot something important.

“Yeah...about that…Don’t get mad when I say this, but...” Roach chuckled nervously as Fluttershy stared him down.

“You already captured Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony, didn’t you?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, not me specifically, but yeah, we already got them before you,” Roach explained, as Fluttershy facepalmed in disappointment. Roach sighed as he didn’t want to disappoint his new pony friend.

“OK, sorry for not telling you that part. And even if we already captured Twilight and your friends, I’m already betting your other friends are gonna rescue you. You got Discord, you got Starlight. I bet once they find out about your capture, they’re gonna come rescue you right away. And then I can show you that spaceship,” Roach said, hoping to raise Fluttershy’s hopes.

“Yeah. Yeah, I suppose that’s one way to look at it. Alright, Roach, you win. I’m gonna let you hypnotize and cocoon me, and you can show me that spaceship. I still want to find out more about these powers I never knew I had,” Fluttershy said as Roach let out a cheeky grin.

“Alright, Fluttershy. I’m gonna want you to focus on me for a second,” Roach prompted, with his eyes and horn glowing green. Fluttershy’s eyes stared back at Roaches and had a similar green glow.

“I’m gonna want you to take nice deep breaths,” Roach instructed as he simulated breathing. Fluttershy followed Roach’s advice and took deep breaths and felt her mind became calmer and at peace. Roach applied more slime to Fluttershy’s body to cocoon her in.

“Now, I’m gonna want you in a deep meditative state,” Roach said, making more slime and keeping an eye out on the changelings.

“Deep...meditative...state,” Fluttershy repeated as Roach applied the slime. As the time passed, Roach and Fluttershy took deep breaths together and chanted about their “deep meditative state” together, until halfway through, Fluttershy stopped chanting. Roach could tell she wasn’t awake, but she wasn’t asleep either.

“Huh. I guess a deep meditative state worked better than I thought,” Roach thought to himself as he continued cocooning Fluttershy.

The changeling soldiers got up from the surprise shockwave one by one, each one trying to figure out what could have caused such a ruckus. Among the confusion, the sergeant changeling rubbed his head and prepared to bust down the door.

“I don’t know who ya think yer foolin’, pony, but I’m bustin’ in whether ya like it or not!” Sergeant Scabbers ordered before Roach opened the door to reveal a fully cocooned Fluttershy, much to the Sergeant's shock.

“That won’t be necessary, sir! I managed to apprehend the target before she could get away,” Roach lied as Scabbers examined Fluttershy in her cocoon.

“...You cocooned her? Yourself?” Scabbers asked as Roach looked proud at his accomplishment.

“That I did, sir,” Roach answered, as that was the only truth in the web of lies he was about to weave to protect Fluttershy.

“Well then, what happened? What caused that shockwave?” Scabbers asked as the two changelings looked back as some of the still-recovering bug soldiers.

“Princess Twilight must have set a bunch of magic booby traps or something,” Roach lied once more to throw his superiors off his trail. The Sergeant looked down at the proud changeling.

“Well, then I guess you have no problem explaining all of this to Queen Chrysalis herself then?” Scabbers asked, catching Roach off guard. Not only would Roach have to lie in Chrysalis’ face, but was also at risk of being found out if Chrysalis could read minds. And Roach couldn’t exactly remember if she could or not. It's best to hope she can't.

"Well, hey. It's worth a shot, ain't it?" Roach asked as he carefully carried the cocoon back to the hive with his fellow changelings.

When she opened her eyes, Fluttershy ended up finding herself somewhere extraordinary. Fluttershy found herself in a golden forest decorated with white grass and trees. The rivers were filled with silver waters filled with the happiest fish a pony could find, even happier than the fish in the normal rivers at home.

Fluttershy followed the silver river to find even more bizarre sights. The wildlife and flowers looked like they were made out of the northern lights. The clouds dared not to block the shining light of this mysterious realm. And at the edge of the river, Fluttershy met a peculiar fellow. He had a peculiar bipedal appearance, with fair skin covered by no coat, a long brown mane which was partially braided in the back, had a small beard on his face, and wore an assortment of light tan to white robes with dark brown boots and a massive white bandage across his chest.

“Hello, little pony,” The figure introduced himself. Fluttershy couldn’t believe her eyes. She was speaking to an actual human!

The Spirit World

Outside of the black spires of her changeling hive, Queen Chrysalis waited for her changeling soldiers and spies to return with the Elements of Harmony and Royal Family as her prisoners, as she just finished inspecting Rarity frozen stiff in her cocoon.

“See if you can do something about her eyes. She’s starting to look like a corpse. We’re not trying to preserve a dead body. In the meantime, hang her up with the others,” Chrysalis ordered, as the changelings hauling Rarity kneeled in response to their queen and carried her into the hive. Queen Chrysalis turned outward and found more changelings headed her way, this time with Fluttershy in her cocoon.

“Yer Highness. We’ve obtained the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy,” Sergeant Scabbers informed as he and Roach kneeled before the queen. Queen Chrysalis smirked at the effectiveness of her minions.

“Ah, there you are, Sergeant. And with the prisoner as well. Let me have a look,” Chrysalis cackled as Roach gently laid Fluttershy’s cocoon down for inspection.

“This one didn’t look like she put up much of a fight, did she?” Chrysalis asked as the changeling Sergeant cleared his throat.

“On the contrary, yer highness, she caught us off guard with some sort of shockwave,” Scabbers informed, intriguing the Queen and worrying Roach.

“A...shockwave? From a simple pegasus?” Chrysalis asked, examining Fluttershy for any strange magic.

“Yes, m’Queen. We believe Princess Twilight must've made some booby traps with her magic,” Scabbers explained as Queen Chrysalis pondered if such a feat was possible.

“But thankfully, this lucky maggot right here was able to overcome the traps, apprehend the pony, and wrap ‘er up,” the Sergeant once more, patting Roach on the back, while Roach tried to come up with the best lie to cover his tracks.

“So...a lone changeling went into a magic-trap infested house, and captured one of our enemies single-handedly?” Chrysalis recapped as Scabbers felt prideful of his fellow soldier’s accomplishment.

“And tell me, how were you able to accomplish this?” Queen Chrysalis asked, turning to Roach, who ended up with a bit of stage fright after being put on the spot like that.

“Oh, well, you see, I gave her a HA! And a HI-YAH! And a HOO-WAH! And I kicked her, Ma’am,” Roach stalled, pretending to be a martial artist. Chrysalis found this even stranger by the second.

“You...kicked her?” Chrysalis asked, examining Fluttershy’s body for any hoofprint kick marks from what Roach was saying.

“Yes, Ma’am. She didn’t put up much of a fight anyway, so she went down easily,” Roach said, this time only being half true because she technically didn’t put up much of a fight.

“Well. Congratulations on your victory, Private Roach. Keep this up, and you’ll end up with a promotion. Hang her up with the others,” Chrysalis said, as Scabbers and Roach bowed before their queen and took Fluttershy into the hive to hang her up with the rest of your friends.

“Now, with all the Elements of Harmony as my prisoners, no one shall stand in my way!!!” Chrysalis bellowed, cackling maniacally.

“Your highness! We captured Baby Flurry Heart, Cadence’s daughter,” A couple of changelings informed, carrying a small cocoon and interrupting Chrysalis’ mad laughter.

“Ew! Gross! They actually had a kid?” Queen Chrysalis gagged at the thought.

“Hang in there, Fluttershy. Help is on the way...I hope,” Roach whispered to himself, hoping no one would hear him. He wondered if Fluttershy would be able to hear him in there.

Fluttershy cannot believe what she was seeing. And considering what she last remembered before ending up in this beautiful, but still crazy-looking place, she might not really be seeing it and is really just going crazy. The human looked back at the bewildered and confused pony with a look of concern.

“You seem unsettled, my friend,” The human said as Fluttershy snapped herself out of her shock.

“Oh, well, uh...Hi there. Can--can you tell me where I am?” Fluttershy stuttered, looking around at the ethereal-looking trees. But she couldn’t help but feel how cold it was starting to get, for some reason.

“It is a spirit realm designed for anyone living or dead to commune with one another through the Force. You are not here physically, but spiritually. Now tell me, what was the last thing you remembered before you got here?” The human asked as Fluttershy shivered and brushed her wings up against her body for warmth.

“We--well, a ch-ch-changeling told me I was s-s-something called a Je--Jedi, and I have n-n-n-n-no idea what that is, so he hypnotized me to calm me d-d-d-down and now I’m in here,” Fluttershy said, practically turning blue.

“You seem a bit cold. Come. I have something I want to show you,” The human instructed as Fluttershy had a seat right down next to him. The man pulled out a pile of twigs and small logs surrounded by a simple circle of stones. The man raised his hand on the wood, and it caught on fire. A small fire, but a fire nonetheless. Fluttershy couldn’t believe her eyes. There were no tools, and Fluttershy couldn’t see any magic come out from his hand. It just...caught. Fluttershy wasted no time, however, and began warming herself up against the fire.

“Being stuck in an insect’s cocoon must be really cold, I take it?” The man asked as Fluttershy began feeling better, even if she was still a bit chilly.

“Looks like it. Do you mind if I ask for your name?” Fluttershy asked as the man decided to warm himself up as well.

“I’m Qui-Gon Jinn. Jedi Master. And your name, little pony?” The man answered as Fluttershy perked up at his answer. He said he was a Jedi. Fluttershy looked at him and realized she was getting the answers she would be looking for a lot earlier than anticipated.

“I’m Fluttershy. Element of Kindness. You said you were a Jedi?” Fluttershy asked as Qui-Gon gave a cheeky smirk to her.

“Yes. And I noticed you said some kind of changeling thought you were one. Are you a Jedi as well?” Qui-Gon asked as Fluttershy whimpered in worry at the question.

“Oh, well, no. He thought I was one, but I said that I wasn’t, but I used strange powers that I didn’t know I had that he called Jedi powers, so I don’t know if I’m a Jedi or not,” Fluttershy explained as Qui-Gon thought over Fluttershy’s story.

“You are most definitely strong in the Force. Strong enough to join this place with me. But I must say, you are no Jedi. You haven’t received any training and did not know about the Force until now,” Qui-Gon briefed as Fluttershy processed what the Jedi Master was saying.

“Okay, can you explain to me what a Jedi or this Force even is in a neat digestible bite, if it’s not too much trouble?” Fluttershy squeaked as Qui-Gon chuckled at her politeness.

“For over thousands of years, the Jedi Knights defended the Galaxy from dark threats and became the avatars of peace and justice. They let the Force, an energy field created by all living things, flow through and guide each Jedi on their respectable journey. It led your changeling friend to you. And it led you right to me,” Qui-Gon explained as Fluttershy looked at her hooves and wondered how to tap into this Force.

“Can you teach me how to use this Force? If it’s not too much trouble, that is?” Fluttershy asked as Qui-Gon noticed the campfire starting to die down.

“I’m afraid I cannot teach you how to use your powers every step of the way. But I think I may know a way to get you started,” Qui-Gon said as Fluttershy perked up. What little instruction she was about to receive was no doubt better than no instruction at all.

“Now. I want you to concentrate on the campfire,” Qui-Gon instructed as Fluttershy stared at the campfire, wondering what she’s supposed to be doing.

“Now, see how the fire is dying down? I want you to focus on the center and amplify the heat with the Force. Don’t think about making the fire, but focus on how you would feel when near a fire,” Qui-Gon instructed as Fluttershy was lost in Qui-Gon’s words. She stared at the fire, hoping the staring would somehow light it on fire.

“Am I doing it right?” Fluttershy asked as Qui-Gon looked at her funny.

“We don’t stare at anything to make it do what we want. We let the Force flow through us. So let it flow through you,” Qui-Gon instructed as Fluttershy stopped staring into the fire and thought this through. She tried her best to concentrate on the Force to make the campfire light up, but it was hard for her to concentrate on something she didn’t quite understand yet. And then, she felt something. A smooth gentle trickle of cold air suddenly brushed her wings. Not the freezing cold of the fluids of her cocoon prison in the physical world, but something that reminded young Fluttershy of her breezy childhood home of Cloudsdale, but the feeling was oh so faint to her. Fluttershy gently extended her hoof and raised it at the fireplace, slowly turning it red with more heat. Qui-Gon was amazed to see Fluttershy accomplishing this with barely any training. However, the heat was starting to die down again, but not as quickly it was when it started. Fluttershy was disappointed in herself to learn she had not ignited the campfire like instructed.

“I don’t understand. Did I do something wrong?” Fluttershy asked as Qui-Gon chuckled.

“You did nothing wrong, little pony. Nobody gets anything done right on their first try. Just keep practicing, and you’ll master the Force in no time,” Qui-Gon said, placing his hand on the young pony’s shoulder.

“Now then. Let’s try this a second time,” Qui-Gon said as he and Fluttershy concentrated to light the campfire with the Force, this time together.

“Well, now. I hope you made yourself comfortable in there,” Queen Chrysalis mocked as she spoke to Twilight Sparkle, immobile in her cocoon. She turned her attention to the rest of her cocooned prisoners.

“Oh, don’t get too lonely in there. I heard somepony has made their way in here to rescue you,” Chrysalis said, stroking Pinkie’s cocoon, pretending she was able to cower in fear.

“And when we catch these intruders, I’ll make sure they join you. Doesn’t that sound like fun?” Chrysalis mockingly told Applejack.

“And with them out of the way, nopony will be able to stand in my--Holy cow, your cocoon is warm,” Chrysalis asked, placing her hoof on Fluttershy’s cocoon.

“Are you seeing this, by any chance?” the Changeling Queen asked Rainbow Dash. Queen Chrysalis then touched Rainbow Dash and Rarity’s cocoon and noted how cold they both are, as they should be. Chrysalis touched Fluttershy’s cocoon in comparison; it was still warm.

“Your highness, you’re not gonna believe this!” A couple of changelings barged in, carrying a large cocoon.

“Quick! Let me see that!” Chrysalis demanded, testing the temperature of the cocoon. The other two changelings looked at one another in confusion.

“Is...something wrong, my queen?” One changeling asked as Chrysalis finished testing it.

“Something strange is going on with one of the cocoons. I don’t know how, but one of the prisoners seems to be warming themselves up inside their cocoon, and--Wait, did you guys just capture Discord?” Chrysalis asked as the changelings gleamed with pride.

“Yes, we did. You impressed?” The other changeling asked Chrysalis as she had her minions capture the literal entity of chaos.

“Of course I am--But never mind that now. One of the cocoons is heating up, and I have no idea what’s going on,” Queen Chrysalis recapped, shifting her focus back to Fluttershy’s cocoon. Just then, a loud crashing tumble could be heard outside the door, where a certain third changeling, Roach, entered as if on command for him specifically, despite Chrysalis never demanding such. Roach sprinted in, panting almost, as he examined the condition of Fluttershy’s cocoon.

“Is...something wrong?” Chrysalis asked as she fluttered up to Roach.

“You...said that there’s something wrong with the cocoon,” Roach recapped as Chrysalis stood there, confused.

“Yeah...and?” Chrysalis asked as Roach tested the warmth of Fluttershy’s cocoon for himself.

“Well, I was thinking since I was the one who cocooned her, I should be the one to fix up her cocoon if this warmth is a telling sign she’s trying to escape,” Roach explained as Chrysalis was starting to get a little confused.

“Wait, who are you again?” Chrysalis asked, rubbing her temple.

“Private Roach, your highness?” Roach reminded as it just came to her.

“Oh, right! You’re the one who kicked her. Oh well, since you were the one to capture her, you have the right to wrap her back up if it turns out she’s trying to escape,” Chrysalis laughed at the memory as Roach headed over to pluck Fluttershy’s cocoon from its hanging place.

“You won’t regret this, your highness! You won’t regret it!” Roach lied as he ran off in a safe place to “repair” the cocoon. In actuality, if Queen Chrysalis found out about it, she would most definitely regret it. Roach swerved and navigated every corridor in the hive for that sweet sweet hiding spot to place the cocoon. Then, he found a small window leading directly into the nearby forest. Roach fit the cocoon into the small hole and then himself, getting the cocoon at a safe enough distance and covering it with leaves.

“Alright, I don’t know if you can actually hear me in there, but I’m only gonna say this once. Queen Chrysalis might be onto your Force Powers, so I’ve taken you out of the hive, and...I’m gonna disguise myself as you and take your place. Once that’s all done, I’m coming back for you,” Roach informed, praying to some deity up above that she actually can hear what he was saying, as he fluttered off to cover for the little pony.

Fluttershy and Qui-Gon continued to sit by the warm fire beside the silver streams, as the young pony was only getting more curious about the Force.

“So...do you really think I’m cut out for this Jedi business? I still don’t know what you’re all about,” Fluttershy asked as Qui-Gon looked down at Fluttershy, almost considering the idea of training her.

“If you’re really considering becoming a Jedi, even after discovering your connection to the Force only now, then I consider you should get yourself some training, and maybe a master to train you,” Qui-Gon advised as Fluttershy perked up at the elder Jedi.

“Then...can you be my teacher? You’re the only Jedi here that I know of. So, maybe I can bring you into Equestria and--” Fluttershy pondered before being cut off.

“I’m afraid I’m in this Spirit Realm under...different circumstances than you are, young Fluttershy,” Qui-Gon confessed as he showed Fluttershy the bandage he was wearing on his waist. Despite the fact he could not feel the pain anymore, he revealed a gross, charred hole in his chest, scaring the young pony.

“How...How did you end up with that?” Fluttershy asked, almost on the verge of tears, after figuring it out.

“I was killed in battle by a Sith Lord, the ancient enemy of the Jedi. They are known to hide in the shadows and feed off their own anger and the fears of others,” Qui-Gon explained as Fluttershy had a trip down memory lane, comparing her idea of what a Sith Lord could be to the past villains Fluttershy and her friends have faced. And more importantly, if Fluttershy were to become a Jedi, this would mean putting her own life at risk protecting her friends, from an enemy supposedly more powerful than Nightmare Moon, King Sombra, Lord Tirek, and Queen Chrysalis combined. Fluttershy went immediately into a state of panic, and Qui-Gon noticed.

“How is that gonna make me consider becoming a Jedi? Risking my life with a power I don’t know about against an enemy I know nothing about? If anything, that would just scare me away from being a Jedi!” Fluttershy cried, guarding herself with her wings. Qui-Gon thought it over and maybe didn’t have the best choice of words.

Kneeling at her level, Qui-Gon put his hands around Fluttershy to meet her at eye level. “I understand how such a dangerous threat can make one such as you swell with fear. But trust me when I say you must not give in to that fear,” He advised, pleading for Fluttershy to heed Qui-Gon’s advice and recollect fearful incidents of her past. Memories of her adventure to confront a sleeping dragon over a hundred times her size, mustering the courage to create the tornado necessary to transport water to Cloudsdale over her personal demons, and facing a cockatrice while being turned to stone and keeping her composure filled her mind. She had played a key role in all her endeavors and trampled her fears time and again, her courage spoke for itself.

“If the Force is responsible for Roach uncovering my powers, then it must also be the reason why I was able to pass those trials of mine,” Fluttershy thought to herself as the Force uncovered her elusive sense of confidence. If she was able to face a dragon, make a tornado, and rise to the occasion in time of need, then she’d be able to face off against what she believed to be a Sith Lord, when the time came. Fluttershy looked back to Qui-Gon and took a deep breath.

“I...think I’m ready to become a Jedi now,” Fluttershy said as if taking a huge weight off her chest. Qui-Gon gleamed with pride that she was able to embrace her powers and walk down the Jedi Path. Just then, a bright light came from beyond the woods and only came closer, calling Fluttershy’s name.

“Qui-Gon. What is that?” Fluttershy asked as he looked out and saw it draw closer to Fluttershy.

“I think that might be your ticket out of the Spirit Realm and into the physical realm. Though I wouldn’t know, honestly. Can’t really be invited back and all that,” Qui-Gon paraphrased as the light came closer by the second. Slowly, but still closer and closer.

“Before you depart, I must give you a warning before you begin your training. Keep your training a secret at all costs. Your world, from what I can gather, will go down a dark path if you reveal them too early. Only trust those who know of the Jedi. And most importantly, the Force will be with you. Always,” Qui-Gon warned as Fluttershy couldn’t resist any longer. Fluttershy leaped in and embraced the Jedi Master in a warm hug and ran off into the light, wanting to see her friends once more before she began her training.

As her eyes squinted repeatedly, as if the sun was blasting in her face, Fluttershy woke up surrounded by green gunk, some of it covering her and getting in her mane. Fluttershy wiped the gunk off and came face to face with what appeared to be herself.

“Hey, are you alright?” The doppelganger asked as the real Fluttershy shook some of the gunk out of her mane.

“What’s going on?” Fluttershy asked, dazed as if she woke up from a week-long sleep. Being in a cocoon clearly did not do wonders to her physical body.

“Well, while you were out, Queen Chrysalis almost discovered your powers, so I disguised myself as you until your friends were rescued, in which I would come to pick you up,” The Fluttershy doppleganger replied, revealing himself to be Roach, but still donning his Fluttershy disguise.

“Oh. So somepony came to rescue us after all?” Fluttershy asked, gleaming.

“Yep. Just as I predicted. Told ya you’d be in safe hooves,” Roach replied as Fluttershy was glad to have someone like him looking out for her, even if it wasn’t at first glance.

“Well, I believe you can take that disguise off now. We’re clearly on the same side now,” Fluttershy said, shocking and concerning Roach.

“Oh! Oh! I almost forgot! While you were out, the craziest thing just happened! While Starlight Glimmer went out to rescue you and your friends, the ‘traitor’ Thorax overthrew Chrysalis, and now he’s the new king of the changelings, and check it out!” Roach recapped as he changed from his Fluttershy disguise to his new form. Roach now donned an orange exoskeleton with a green shell and blue eyes, much to Fluttershy's surprise as well as his own.

“OK, I honestly haven’t seen this before until just now, and let me just say, I was hoping I’d be red,” Roach reacted, making Fluttershy laugh a little at his comment.

“So...are all the changelings like this now?” Fluttershy asked as Roach grinned with such excitement.

“Yeah. The rest of the hive just turned shades of blue and green,” Roach said as Fluttershy thought over not having to fear the Changelings anymore.

“That’s great news and all, but I think I have some greater news,” Fluttershy remarked smugly as Roach piqued his curiosity at what Fluttershy had to say. Fluttershy took a deep breath to remember everything that happened and explain it in great detail.

“Thanks to you, I was in the Spirit World, and I met a Jedi Master who explained the Force to me!” Fluttershy said as Roach gasped.

“So you are a Jedi!” Roach exclaimed as he smiled all giddy-like as if meeting his childhood hero.

“No. No, I’m not a Jedi. But I can train to become one. And, since you were the one who helped me find my way, I was thinking maybe you’d like to help me become a Jedi,” Fluttershy explained as Roach was starting to fanboy even harder.

“Fluttershy, it would be an honor,” Roach said, taking a bow before the Jedi in training.

“Thank you so much. But one more thing. We have to keep it a secret. So everything related to the Jedi remains between the two of us, and nopony else. Capiche?” Fluttershy whispered as Roach listened closely.

“Hey, worth a shot, ain’t it?” Roach said, promising Fluttershy to keep it a secret at all costs.

“Fluttershy, darling! You’ve been in there for too long. Can we just go home now?” Rarity called from a good distance away. Fluttershy and Roach nodded to each other as Roach shapeshifted into a small orange bird and flew off to keep an eye on Fluttershy while she reunited with her friends and returned home to begin her secret Jedi Training.

The Defender

The dawn crawled over spawning a new day as Fluttershy made a couple of paper bags for the adventure ahead. Fluttershy took a deep breath to recollect her thoughts on what was about to happen. Starlight, Trixie, Thorax, and most importantly to Fluttershy, Discord was being rewarded the “Pink Heart of Courage” for rescuing the ponies from Chrysalis’ clutches. However, Fluttershy felt a great amount of guilt build up inside her. She had no plans to attend the ceremony, no matter how hard she wished the ceremony was more important. Instead, Fluttershy had a promise to keep and is tasked with finding a Jedi Ship, if she is to learn more about the Jedi and become one. But knowing she’s gonna have to turn her back on her friends in secret made poor Fluttershy wish she had no Jedi Force powers to master in the first place. The guilt momentarily subsided as a knock was heard on her door. The little pegasus opened the door to find Rainbow Dash in a stunning suit.

“I must say, Darling, I think we might be late for the ceremony,” Rainbow Dash said, sounding an awful lot like Rarity. Fluttershy chuckled as she let Rainbow Dash in.

“I think you got the two of them mixed up, Roach,” Fluttershy laughed as the changeling reverted to his newfound orange, green, and blue form.

“Am I really that easy to see through, Master Jedi?” Roach asked as Fluttershy handed him one of the bagged lunches.

“You weren’t even trying to hide. That’s the thing. And besides, I’m no Jedi yet,” Fluttershy remarked as she grabbed her saddlebags full of camping equipment. Fluttershy and Roach headed out the back door as to not be spotted by anything, pony or changeling alike, as they headed for their destination.

“So, are you sure my decoy has gotten me covered? I don’t want anypony to realize I’m gone,” Fluttershy asked.

“Relax. She owed me a huge favor back during Chrysalis’ reign. Nopony’s gonna notice a thing,” Roach assured as he followed Fluttershy into the Everfree forest, pointing out clues and indicators he had made to remind himself of the Ship’s location. The journey was long and hard.

“So, let me get this straight! You’re telling me you actually spoke to a Jedi?” Roach asked to pass the time on the journey as Fluttershy moved a bunch of trees and vines out of the way.

“Yeah. I think you cocooning me actually put me into a meditative state. It helped me understand the Force more!” Fluttershy explained. Roach took the opportunity to learn what Fluttershy learned.

“What was it you found out?” Roach asked, climbing over an ant-infested log.

“So, basically, the Jedi are supposed to be peacekeepers. They use the Force to help and protect people, basically,” Fluttershy recapped as Roach pointed out another hidden indicator, helping the two find their way.

“That much I knew already, to be honest. But nothing outside of that, unfortunately,” Roach asked as Fluttershy led the way up to the base of a large mountain and began climbing the giant formation.

“To be honest, I’m not sure how I would be able to explain all of this to myself. It’s just too convoluted, I can’t...quite grasp it,” Fluttershy said, sitting down upon a firm stone. Roach sat down along with her and tried to help her figure out their situation.

“Hey, I’m not sure if I’m the best pony to explain this to you, but if I were in your horseshoes, trying to figure out a power I don’t understand, then...maybe that’s why there’s training for it. To help you understand. It’s the ‘keeping it a secret’ part I don’t get, honestly. Don’t get me wrong, because I’ll gladly keep this a secret between the both of us. It’s just that if I were you, then I would ask only my friends to help me figure this out. And since you already got to that part with me, you’re already well on your way to becoming Jedi,” Roach advised as Fluttershy looked up at him with a smile.

“Thank you, Roach. I really needed that,” Fluttershy said as the two got up from their rock seats and continued forward.

“No problem. Hey, I think I’m getting the hang of this ‘friendship’ thing,” Roach joked as Fluttershy snickered.

“You get used to it after a while. And this is coming from a pony who’d usually stay inside most of the time,” Fluttershy said, patting Roach on the back. Up the mountain, they climbed as the pony and changeling helped one another climb the stellar formation. That was until they ran into a literal roadblock. A large formation of stones and snow blocked Fluttershy and Roach’s path, directly in the way of their next indicator to the crashed starship.

“Oh no. No, no, no, no. This wasn’t here last time I ventured!” Roach pleaded as he tried to shapeshift into a snake to fit through, but the gaps were too tight.

“I don’t see what the problem is. It’s directly on the edge of the path, and we both have wings. So we’ll just fly around and--yipe!” Fluttershy squeaked as she looked down at how high the mountain was. Flying over or around the rubble clearly wasn’t an option either, because the height could have made even Rainbow Dash a tad bit dizzy.

“It’s no use. I’ve tried every small animal I can think of, but I can’t seem to budge in,” Roach said, lumping down right next to the rubble hopelessly as Fluttershy tried her best to think of some way around.

“We don’t stare at anything to make it do what we want. We let the Force flow through us. So let it flow through you,” Fluttershy reminded herself as if Qui-Gon were reminding her what to do. Suddenly, an urge of energy mustered at the center of Fluttershy’s core, flowing its way to her hoof tips. Fluttershy then realized what was going on. The Force was telling her what to do.

“Can you please move aside? I wanna try something out,” Fluttershy said, focusing the mustering Force energy on the large pile.

“You’re gonna blast it all away with the Force, aren’t you?” Roach asked as Fluttershy smirked.

“Can’t think of any other ideas, so what do you say?” Fluttershy asked as Roach ran behind Fluttershy.

“Worth a shot, ain’t it?” Roach asked as Fluttershy nodded. The energy swirled faster and faster like a raging hurricane in Fluttershy’s center. The young pegasus felt herself control the hurricane in her center, and release it at the large rubble as if throwing it at the boulders. Unfortunately, the shockwave only blasted the snow off of the boulders, which only shook a little.

“That...that’s it?” Roach asked as Fluttershy examined the rubble still blocking their path.

“I don’t understand. I was thinking it’d knock them all off or something,” Fluttershy said, disappointed by the result.

“I don’t get it either, Maybe we should try again? Hope for a different result?” Roach asked as Fluttershy noticed that one of the boulders, sticking out from the side, was starting to break loose.

“I think we should work smarter, rather than harder,” Fluttershy concluded as she returned to her position. She let the hurricane-like energy muster inside her once more and calmed her mind. She concentrated once more on the rubble. But instead of blowing the rubble out of the way, she focused on that one loose rock, breaking through. Her hoof extended slowly as she let the energy slip through it and surround the loose rock. The more Fluttershy concentrated on her connection to the Force surrounding the rock, the more the rock started to loosen even more until it finally broke loose, and the boulders slipped from their formation and down the mountain. Some of the boulders stayed where they stood, but they were not blocking their path as much anymore. Fluttershy took in a group of deep breaths to relax as she felt her forelegs tire and her heart race as if she was pulling the rock out with her own hooves.

“Woah. Fluttershy, that was--”

“Tiring. I know,” Fluttershy said, cutting off Roach and collapsing to the ground.

“I...I was gonna say ‘amazing’,” Roach said, helping lay Fluttershy down by the side of the mountain.

“Oh. Well...I’m glad you think so,” Fluttershy responded as she made herself comfortable, despite the fact she’s resting on stones.

“I think this is a good place to make camp, don’t you think?” Roach said, pulling out the paper bags Fluttershy had packed, and the two opened up their rather small lunches.

“I hope you don’t mind the sandwich. I didn’t know how to put actual love in a paper bag, so…” Fluttershy said, chuckling behind her mane.

“Oh, hey, don’t sweat it. Just because we eat love...well used to eat it, doesn’t mean our diets can’t consist of anything else. Besides, this sandwich is so good,” Roach informed as Fluttershy had a bite of her sandwich. As the two finished up their lunch bags and recovered from their exhaustion, Roach led Fluttershy to the top of the mountain, which featured a giant cavern entrance, and the last of Roach’s little clues.

“Well, this is it,” Roach said, pointing at the cave entrance. Fluttershy looked into the cave to see what was in there. Roach lit the cavern with his horn and revealed a dark seemingly bottomless pit rather than a usual cavern floor. Fluttershy backed away from the dark pit.

“I’m, uhhh...starting to get some second thoughts about this,” Fluttershy said, refusing to look down.

“Can’t be that far down. Watch this,” Roach said, picking up a pebble. Roach tossed the little rock down the chasm and waited for it to land.

...One…

...Two…

...Three…

...Four…

...Five…

Plop! Roach looked back at Fluttershy encouragingly, who felt a little better after finding out a body of water would be able to break her fall. But to truly convince her, Roach decided to leap into the cavern himself. Down, the changeling went, letting himself all for another five seconds, until another plop was heard. Fluttershy looked down the hole and saw Roach lighting up his horn.

“Are you okay down there?” Fluttershy asked, hoping Roach didn’t hurt himself.

“Come on in! The water’s great!” Roach called out, his voice echoing from the bottom of the chasm. Fluttershy took a deep breath and decided to take a few steps back. She took another deep long breath to prepare herself for the drop below as she entered the cavern and leaped in, letting herself fall for another five seconds before she let her wings open up and float herself to the ground. Her hooves and tail dipped into the chilled water as Fluttershy could barely see a thing, except for the light from the top of the cavern and the light from Roach’s horn. The damp, cold air filled Fluttershy’s senses as she shivered, using her wings to keep herself warm.

“Chilly down here, isn’t it?” Roach asked as Fluttershy’s wings struggled to keep her warm.

“J-j-just a l-l-l-little b-b-b-bit,” Fluttershy shivered as Roach led the way down the dark, damp, and musty cavern. Fluttershy looked around the stone walls of the cavern, despite there not being much to look at. All there was to see were rocks, stones, trickles of water, and some odious plant life, but the most unusual thing was that Roach was leading her to, what appeared to be, another cave entrance. The two followed the strange hidden cavern, and almost instantly, every mucky, cold feeling Fluttershy had since jumping into the cavern felt washed away as she laid her eyes on one of the most extraordinary prizes she could ever see.

“Well, Fluttershy? What did I tell you? A crashed Jedi ship!” Roach announced as the two feasted their eyes on a large, metal behemoth. It was crimson red and light grey in color with two large cylindrical engines on the back. The front of the ship resembled a large hammer and was clearly a product of its time, despite that time being long ago. The ship was torn and tattered like an old doll, and was covered in vines and plant life possibly as old as the ship itself. Roach led Fluttershy to the faulty entrance of the ship as the door grated open, much to the dismay of Fluttershy’s ears. The two entered the large cruiser to investigate the alien craft. It was dark and dusty in the shipwreck, with broken electrical parts hanging from the walls and ceilings of the ship. Fluttershy felt pretty unsafe in such an old, fragile thing.

“Hey, how often do you come here?” Fluttershy asked as Roach looked around to find anything of value the two could dissect.

“Every so often. I found this place when we tried to hijack Princess Cadence’s wedding, and I’ve been practically obsessed with the Jedi ever since, so I come back here to try and find out what little I can about them. And now that I’m working with a Jedi in Training, we can learn more together,” Roach explained as he shuffled around some dusty old metal parts.

“So...if nopony has ever heard of the Jedi, then how come you figured out this belonged to them?” Fluttershy asked as Roach’s ears perched up. He found an old rusty metal fragment that had just the answer she needed.

“See this, right here? It has a strange alien alphabet on there, but I’ve been able to notice a pattern in the lettering, and I used that to translate it back into Pony Basic,” Roach said, lending the large metal shard to Fluttershy, who noticed the strange alien language. At least, the only thing alien about it were the symbols. However, Fluttershy’s attention turned elsewhere, as if something called to her, somehow. The young pegasus looked down at a couple of large fragments of metal covered in dust and felt something...dark, something missing. Fluttershy brushed the dust off of the metal and found a sight she’d never forget in over a thousand years. A mummified skeleton, covered in tattered white and brown rags and holding a cylindrical object in its hoof. Fluttershy was horrified by the sight and backed away.

“Hey, Flutters! You found anything?” Roach asked as Fluttershy remained shocked and silent at the horrifying sight.

“I was wondering if you--Holy cow!” Roach said, hoping not to disturb Fluttershy’s little moment.

“How...how could this have happened?” Fluttershy begged as tears started trickling down her eyes. She pondered what could have caused this horrifying death, and Fluttershy’s sudden fear of the dead Jedi slowly turned into sympathy for what could have happened to them.

“I...I don’t know. If I were to guess, they must have died in the crash,” Roach theorized as Fluttershy noted the cylinder in their hoof. She picked up the object and brushed the dust off. It had a chrome color with tinges of orange rust on the base, and hints of dark grey on the base of the cylinder. Fluttershy noticed a small knob in the center and touched it slightly, suddenly springing to life a large white beam surrounded by a green aura. Fluttershy flourished the strange device some more, as if it almost came naturally to her, while Roach spectated in awe.

“...What happens now?” Roach asked as Fluttershy turned the device off and returned it to the dead warrior.

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, we found our Jedi ship, and now you need Jedi Training somehow. What’s our plan for that?” Roach asked as Fluttershy looked back at the skeleton. She had never been in a leadership position like this one before. That was usually Twilight’s job. And for good reason, too. Fluttershy couldn’t lead her way out of a dodgeball match. Even against her animal friends. And even with her Force abilities, Fluttershy felt like she was being put on the spot with her new leadership role, even if her new team consisted of herself and her kidnapper. Fluttershy took a deep breath and let the Force flow through her like it has for her to get here. And with the Force as her guide, Fluttershy could come up with a plan.

“So, first, we give this poor Jedi a funeral. Then we renovate this place to become a sanctuary. We’ll use this place as a secret hideout for my Jedi Training, and we’ll use anything outside of here to our advantage for everything we do inside of here. No word of this goes to anypony outside this cave,” Fluttershy instructed as Roach felt proud to follow her lead, even if leading wasn’t her strong suit.

“Shall we get started then?” Roach asked, as he carefully carried the Jedi Skeleton outside to be respectfully buried. As the body was buried and a makeshift grave planted on top, Fluttershy placed the cylinder device on top of the grave and paid her respects to the Jedi. Even if she didn’t know this Jedi in person, it was the kind thing to do to send them off properly.

“May the Force be with us,” Fluttershy wished upon herself and Roach as they set their plan in motion.

The Chessboard

The sun lowered once more on a bright and sunny day, bringing forth a dark and mysterious night. Celestia watched over the city of Canterlot as the little ponies down below surrendered all their faith to the Princess of the Sun. Celestia pitied them, as they were ignorantly bliss of a dark truth. She headed back over to her throne, facing her seat, and began facing the two royal guards behind her.

“Leave me,” Princess Celestia quietly demanded as the Royal Guards left the doors to the throne room unguarded and went to guard something else. Celestia took a deep breath and focused on her horn. Her horn lit up its usual golden glow as it surrounded the royal throne of herself and her sister. As her magic took hold of her throne, Celestia’s magic changed from gold to purple, and Celestia’s eyes began glowing green, as she unleashed a powerful bit of Dark Magic on the throne. The Dark Magic activated a secret contraption that opened a secret passageway underneath the throne. Celestia took a deep breath to hold herself together as she went down the secret corridor, with the contraption closing behind her.

The passageway was carved in nothing but stones and obsidian and was lit up by ominous blood-red torches, crackling and snapping at the air around them. The passageway led deep, deep, deep into the mountain Canterlot Palace was constructed on, until it led to a large corridor, lit up by more blood-red torches, and protected by strange-looking soldiers. Not anything like Celestia’s royal guards, but instead donned ruby-red armor obscuring anything including their faces, decorated by amethyst-colored cloaks, and wielding large black spears that looked like they’ve seen their fair share of battle, unlike the Royal Guard’s spears themselves.

Celestia passed these guards and walked a mysterious carpet, leading up to an ominous and dark throne, decorated in black and gold, highlighted in red, purple, and yellow. Suddenly, shadows surrounded Celestia and the throne, circling the ominous seat as the strange fog then formed a strange-looking pony. She was Twilight’s size, with a frightening horn and bat wings, blazing yellow eyes that reminded Celestia of candles, had a navy-blue mane almost similar to Luna’s except had hints of dark orange in there, reminding Celestia of a Nebula in space, rather than the night sky, and wore robes of purple, maroon, and black.

“Celestia, my friend. How pleasant to see you again,” The pony spoke up. Celestia almost froze up and began to bow to the pony.

“You summoned me, Lord Edris?” Celestia asked as she walked down the throne to pick up Celestia’s chin.

“Now, now, Celestia, you didn’t need to bow to me like that. I’ll save that for everypony else,” Edris remarked as Princess Celestia got up from bowing down. Darth Edris and Celestia walked over to the other room to the left of the throne, which was decorated with a large cauldron in the center, with magical relics and scientific devices scoured all over the place, like if a wicked witch and a mad scientist married one another.

“Now, what news do you have of Queen Chrysalis?” Darth Edris asked, pulling out a chessboard with pieces all over the place.

“Your plan was a complete success. Our capture motivated Starlight Glimmer and Thorax to overthrow Chrysalis, and now the Changelings are a close ally instead of an enemy,” Celestia informed as Darth Edris moved a white bishop piece resembling Starlight, and then a black pawn resembling a changeling, and then a white pawn resembling Thorax to the edge of the board, turning it into a queen piece, with both Starlight and Thorax’s pieces surrounding Queen Chrysalis as the king piece unable to move.

“And that would be checkmate. You have done well, Celestia,” Darth Edris said, giving Celestia her praise as the Sun Princess breathed a sigh of relief.

“There’s just one more thing,” Edris said, causing Celestia to freeze up in worry. What mad plan had Darth Edris conjured up this time for Celestia to have to endure, or to force Twilight to endure? Instead, Edris took a white pawn piece resembling Fluttershy, to the edge of the board, turning it into another queen piece. It had no effect on the chess game at hand, as it was already over, but Celestia knew Edris well and knew what she was trying to say.

“What have you done to poor Fluttershy this time? Haven’t you given her enough trouble already?” Celestia asked as Edris cleared her throat.

“For once, I didn’t do anything. Instead, she unleashed a powerful blast of Force Energy on her own on her changeling kidnappers. She’s now aware of her connection to the Force, which is just one step closer to her becoming my apprentice,” Edris explained as Celestia was now annoyed at Darth Edris, but still worried for the poor pony’s future.

“So, what next? You just yank her out of bed and bring her here?” Celestia asked as Edris used her magic to make a new chess game, this time with Fluttershy as the white king piece, and with herself as the black king piece.

You know me too well to know I wouldn’t just straight up kidnap someone. If Fluttershy were to disappear in the middle of the night, it wouldn’t be without a trace, and then our secret which we’ve worked so hard to keep would be exposed,” Darth Edris explained as Celestia stared down the smaller alicorn.

“Besides, it looks as though she decided to keep her Force Sensitivity a secret from her friends, which inadvertently keeps us safe. We’ll play the long game like we always do,” Edris explained, moving a white pawn forward, and then a black pawn forward. Celestia wished to leave now but still had other things on her mind.

“You wish to know about Twilight’s future, don’t you? And how this fits into my plan,” Darth Edris sighed as Celestia reluctantly nodded.

“Very well. When the time comes, you and your sister will retire, placing Twilight on the throne. When that happens, she will not only take your place as ruler of Equestria but a valuable piece which I need to help achieve my checkmate,” Darth Edris explained, picking up the black queen piece, showing Celestia how much it resembled Twilight. Celestia wished to object but knew it wouldn’t go well if she did. With Celestia having little to no objection, Darth Edris placed Twilight’s queen piece back in its position.

“What’s our next move?” Celestia asked as Darth Edris levitated a scroll with her magic.

“You are to wait for the Storm King’s invasion. When that happens, you are to feign capture and lead Twilight and her friends to venture outside of Equestria to rescue it,” Darth Edris instructed as she used her magic to send the scroll away.

“You are dismissed, my friend,” Darth Edris said as Princess Celestia left her secret lair the way she came. Edris turned to the cauldron and faced the deathly green substance in the cauldron. Her horn lit up a yellow-ish red and sent a spark of fire into the cauldron, sending green smoke across the room, creating a sort of mirror for Darth Edris to watch anything from afar. The mirror then showed Fluttershy, returning home from what everyone, both changeling and pony thought, was the medal ceremony, and sleeping in her nice warm bed. Edris chuckled because she already knew the truth. A much larger truth that Fluttershy only understood a small part of.

“Oh, sweet little Fluttershy. Do not fret, for I have come with news,” Edris spoke into the mirror as if she were speaking to Fluttershy through, though the mirror did not act as a form of communication.

“The day is coming soon when you will finally embrace your powers and join me at my side. Too long have you been overlooked, cast aside by others, and otherwise mocked by those insufferable children who dare bully you, and even by your closest friends. They can never understand you now. Not in the way I understand you,” the Sith Lord monologued as Fluttershy slept silently in the night.

“And besides, I’ve come to congratulate you on discovering your power. I’ve even been contemplating helping you unlock those powers on my own terms, but the risk of being caught by others was too great. And really? The wait was worth it in the end,” Edris continued, fiddling around with the surrounding green fog creating the mirror.

“And, to be honest, I don’t mind letting you be a Jedi for a little while. It’s much better for a great hero to become twisted and corrupted than it is to start that way. Those who have fallen end up having a greater philosophy of the world for their failures. And by corrupting you, I’ll have not only a strong student but a wise one as well,” Darth Edris finished monologuing, outstretching her hoof, almost trying to offer it to her. In a sudden moment, Fluttershy tossed and turned, and then gasped in the middle of the night. Edris grasped a cylindrical hilt on her hip and cut the mirror in a flash of light, as if Fluttershy could have seen her through the haunted window, quickly replacing the glow of the green fog with the red of Edris’ lightsaber. Darth Edris took a deep breath and deactivated her lightsaber, placing it back on her hip.

Fluttershy gasped and looked out the window. Angle Bunny hopped onto her bed as Fluttershy pat the top of his fuzzy little white head. Fluttershy then looked outside as the moon was still hanging high, and then checked the time on her clock: 10:30 PM. Angel nudged his head up against her, checking to see if she was alright.

“Ye--yeah. I’m alright, Angel Bunny. I just got the strangest feeling, like somepony's been watching me. And I’ve never felt so cold before either,” Fluttershy explained as Angel laid down on Fluttershy’s lap to calm her down. It always did seem to do the trick, in case it was just a nightmare.

“Yeah. Maybe you’re right Angel. Maybe it is just my imagination. Then again, after everything I’ve been through lately, maybe it wasn’t,” Fluttershy worried, staring once more at the moon, and then returning to her deep slumber, hoping for some nice dreams.

“You’ve taken your first step into a larger world. And you’ll just see how much larger this world is to yours in due time, my young apprentice,” Darth Edris commented as she laid her lightsabers down in her workroom and went off to her bed to get a long night’s rest of her own.

The Lightsaber

The years passed long and hard for Twilight and her friends. Between the return of Starswirl the Bearded and the Pillars of Equestria, the Storm King and Tempest Shadow’s invasion on Equestria, Cozy Glow’s near takeover of the newly opened School of Friendship, the attack on the harmony between the three tribes at the hands of the Legion of Doom, and Twilight being crowned Princess of Equestria, Twilight and her friends endured each trial, each one harder than the last. And behind the scenes, Darth Edris orchestrated them all to her grand design. Outside the watchful eyes of her friends, however, Fluttershy trained in secret in the art of the Jedi, practicing her meditation, telekinetic abilities, and skills with a sword with help from Roach.

Fluttershy tended to the animals in the Sweet Feather Sanctuary, tending to their every need and whim, and chatting with Occelus and Smolder, who was just about to leave. As the changeling and the dragon students set foot outside the sanctuary, Smolder accidentally tripped over a moderately large cardboard box with Fluttershy’s name on it. Occelus looked down and picked the box up.

“Hey, Ms. Fluttershy? You got a package,” Smolder informed as Fluttershy put down the birdseed she was feeding the Sanctuary’s feathered residence in to pick up the package for herself. The package seemed to be addressed to her and the sanctuary, and sent by a “Groom R.R. Martingale”. And most curiously, it had a small pendant with Fluttershy’s cutie mark, instantly cluing Fluttershy in on what’s going on.

“Is something wrong?” Occelus asked as Fluttershy examined the pendant.

“No. Nothing wrong. Just...something I need to attend to. Please excuse me,” Fluttershy said as she carried the package deep into the sanctuary. Smoler and Occelus had no idea what had gotten into Fluttershy, as they simply shrugged and left. Fluttershy headed toward a large spruce tree and pulled down on one of the branches, revealing a secret pathway underneath the roots of the tree. Fluttershy went through the secret door and into the path with her package in one hoof, and a lantern in the other. The pathway was long and dark like a city’s alleyway in the night sky, lit only by a lantern.

As she traversed through the long narrow tunnel that went for miles on end, a green flame engulfed her, revealing the little pony to be Roach in disguise, covering for Fluttershy while she was away. Roach, after almost more than an hour of walking down a long, dark, and damp tunnel, finally reached its end to find the long-abandoned cave where he and Fluttershy discovered the crashed Jedi ship. Or, at least, it would be abandoned, had the two not transformed it into a Jedi Sanctuary, with hidden entrances scattered throughout Equestria, including Sweet Feather Sanctuary, Fluttershy’s home, and the Changeling Hive. And the Sanctuary itself has certainly been refurnished since they first saw it.

On the north end of the lair sat a workbench for mechanical needs for Fluttershy and Roach to dissect their new Jedi toys with, as it would give them a better understanding of the Jedi Ship sitting in the middle of their lair. Speaking of, a large canvas tapestry covered the crash side, as if a surprise was kept underneath. On the east side of the cavern sat a yoga mat surrounded by scented candles for Fluttershy to attempt to meditate on the Force on her own. And at the west side of the sanctuary sat a series of small foam balls, a blindfold, and a large wooden stick with a comfortable cloth handle fashioning the branch into a practice sword. And all around the walls of the lair were bits and pieces of Queen Chrysalis’ old throne as a defensive measure against any unicorn intruders.

Roach placed the package down by the edge of the canvas tapestry and looked up to find Fluttershy meditating inside a changeling cocoon, as per a request. Despite having a yoga mat and candles, Fluttershy could not seem to meditate on her own and requests Roach to wrap her up for better results. By the side of Fluttershy’s cocoon hung a small beautiful hoof-made windchime as a signal for her to leave the cocoon. Roach headed for the top of the cave and poked Fluttershy’s cocoon as if to get her attention.

“Hey, Flutters. I don’t know if you can hear me, but if you’re ready to come on out, please give the signal. Somepony kind of figured out our secret here,” Roach said hoping Fluttershy heard her. Just then, the windchimes behind him rattled as Roach recognized the sound.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Roach said to himself as he plucked Fluttershy’s cocoon from out of the ceiling and carried it right next to the package. Roach poked his horn into the bottom and slid it upward to slice it open, releasing Fluttershy from the cocoon. Fluttershy moaned and rubbed her eyes as if she awoke from a long slumber.

“Hey Roach,” Fluttershy yawned as she scraped the slime of the cocoon off of her.

“Hey, Fluttershy. Learn any new tricks from your latest meditation session?” Roach asked as Fluttershy looked downward in disappointment.

“Well...no. I was...I was just…” Fluttershy said as if she had spent all that time meditating in a changeling cocoon for nothing. Roach recognized this behavior from his partner before.

“You...still miss Twilight, huh?” Roach asked as Fluttershy sighed, letting a couple of tears trickle down her face. It’s been a whole year since Twilight was coronated as Princess of Equestria. And despite Fluttershy agreeing to meet with her friends every month since then as a member of the Council of Friendship, she still felt like her friends were drifting far apart from one another. And the more time she spent training to become a Jedi, the more Fluttershy felt like she was a part of the problem.

“It’s...kind of hard not to,” Fluttershy admitted as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Roach sat down to console and comfort her.

“Hey. Missing your friends can be hard. Change can be hard. I get that. I had to go through Chrysalis being kicked out and replaced by Thorax, and we still weren’t used to it at first. But you also just can’t accept change right away. It needs to take time to process. But once you have finally accepted that change, you’ll be able to see that it’s not just the end of one story, but the beginning of another,” Roach said as Fluttershy smiled at her changeling friend, letting a tear trickle down her cheek.

“Thanks, Roach. You somehow know exactly what to say exactly when I need to hear it,” Fluttershy said as the two got up.

“Now, I wanted to show you something,” Roach said, picking up the package and handing it to Fluttershy. Roach cut open the box with his horn, and Fluttershy opened the package revealing its contents: An old leather journal covered in dry mud, a blue notebook, and a small letter. Roach examined the leather journal while Fluttershy read the letter.

Dear Fluttershy,

I have examined the journal of your mysterious

Griffon Prince and I think I may have determined

his tomb’s whereabouts. A lot of the contents in

the journal seemed very strange, such as mentions

of a weird mystical energy. Also, I couldn’t risk damaging

such an old relic by writing my notes in here, so

I decided to write them in this notebook for you to go

through. Meet me in Griffonstone so we can

begin our expedition to find our prince’s tomb.

Signed, Dr. Caballeron.

“Wait, is that where the Griffon Prince’s journal went? I thought that book went missing!” Roach exclaimed, going through the old leather book. Fluttershy went through Dr. Caballeron’s notebook about the journal and decided to head over to the workbench to add her notes as well.

“I know you might not see it as a good idea, but Caballeron’s a history teacher. Meaning he knows a thing or two about the Griffon Prince’s past. I let him borrow the journal so he can help us find out where it is,” Fluttershy explained, hoping Roach could connect the dots.

“No, I know where this is going, but please, please tell me you didn’t tell him we think the Griffon Prince is a Jedi,” Roach begged as Fluttershy paused for a moment.

“Well, I didn’t tell him that much. Either he probably knows a little bit about the Jedi but thinks they’re a myth, or this would be his first time learning about them, or he just doesn’t know about them. Pick which story helps you sleep at night,” Fluttershy said, going through Callaberon’s notes.

“Plus, had I asked Rainbow Dash and Daring Do to help us out, then our secret would be more at risk,” Fluttershy said, adding to her argument.

“...Alright. Fair enough,” Roach said, taking his turn at examining the notebook.

“So, what do ya say? Ready for a jungle adventure?” Fluttershy said, packing tons of apple lunches, camping equipment, the journal and notebook, and a small saddlebag full of spare parts and machinery that looked like they were saved for something.

“Hey, worth a shot, ain’t it?” Roach scoffed as Fluttershy beamed excitedly about her new adventure.

Out Fluttershy and Roach went, to the edges of Griffonstone, surrounded by the shadowy greens of the forest below the Griffon City. The duo sat at nearby boulders waiting for their archeologist companion to guide them to the tomb of their mysterious prince.

“How much longer until they get here?” Roach asked, who felt like he had waited for hours on his little rock.

“I’m not sure. Just have to wait a little while longer is all,” Fluttershy said as she let the wind brush up against her side to cool her off against the boiling sun.

“Well, wait no longer, my friend,” A voice called out from beyond the hill. A group of stallions, all of which were familiar to Fluttershy, and led by an infamous archeologist, came right around the corner to meet up with Fluttershy and Roach.

“Dr. Caballeron! So glad to finally see you again,” Fluttershy said as Caballeron chuckled.

“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?” Caballeron chuckled as his henchponies chuckled along. Roach chuckled along, but couldn’t find anything funny about the situation, and found the doctor’s helping hooves suspicious.

“I see you got a henchpony of your own. And a changeling for one at that,” Dr. Caballeron noted as Fluttershy went over to introduce Roach.

“I wouldn’t say he’s a henchpony like your friends are. I see him more as a loyal companion. And without his guidance, I don’t think we’d be searching for the Griffon Prince,” Fluttershy said as Roach reluctantly shook Caballeron’s hoof.

“And can you tell us just who is this Griffon Prince we’re searching for again? We weren’t told anything upon heading here,” One of the henchponies objected.

“Well, for short, the Griffon Prince was the crown prince of Griffonstone during a time when the Griffons waged a devastating war on the neighboring creatures. Unfortunately, the Prince’s lover died in the war, and the Prince was so distraught that he left his kingdom to live in exile as a humble hermit. Legends claim that during his exile, he was protecting something very valuable and very rare,” Roach explained, as he flipped through the pages of the journal, explaining the story to the henchponies further.

“That’s not very helpful, honestly,” One of the other henchponies scoffed.

“Well, I’m sorry I can’t think of any other way to explain it!” Roach snapped at the henchpony. Fluttershy jumped in between her companion and the henchpony to stop a fight from erupting.

“Everything about this Prince is shrouded in mystery, so there’s no easy way of explaining him at all. Except we may have unraveled one of his mysteries: the whereabouts of his tomb. And once we find it, there will be so many more answers from there,” Caballeron explained as the henchponies stood down and nodded at their employer.

“Care to lead the way?” Fluttershy asked, giving Dr. Caballeron his notebook. Caballeron nodded and led the troupe of adventurers into the thick forests below Griffonstone in search of the tomb.

The forests ahead were large and dense, populated by practically giant trees with snow-grey bark and covered in blackish-green leaves, sometimes dropping lumps of snow. The air was hostile as it was filled with itchy pollen and freezing cold breezes that made one feel like they could freeze at any moment if they weren’t bundled up enough. And the noises were eerie enough with shadowy crows and ravens cawing at any who dared pass through, mixed with the cold winds made for a very ominous forest. Nonetheless, Fluttershy and her party trudged through the cold, dark, damp forest for miles on end, sometimes encountering ruined camps of those who came before them. As the ponies and changeling marched through the harsh environment, they stumbled upon a rather large stone structure. It looked to be a small castle with a run-down and broken fountain, crumbling pillars supporting the structure, covered in thick vines and moss, providing the castle the only color visible, and guarded by a large statue of a griffon with a large robe and an outstretched claw as if casting a spell.

“Well, everypony. It looks like we made it,” Dr. Caballeron announced as his hoof pointed out the structure. They had finally made it to the Griffon Prince’s tomb. The company entered the establishment as Caballeron lit a makeshift torch and gave Fluttershy a torch as well. The tomb’s interior was rather small but very long, and very dark. It was also rather quiet, with the only noise emanating was the quiet drip of water droplets from the melting snow from above. Fluttershy aimed her torch up against the wall, hoping to find some clue as to the Griffon Prince’s story, and maybe how to connect it to her outcome as a Jedi, but the timid little pony, unfortunately, found no such clue as to indicate anything helpful. As they traversed the dark tomb, the light became clearer at the other end and uncovered a large stone sarcophagus. Fluttershy glided over to the top of the tomb to examine its contents: The Griffon Prince’s skeleton rested silently clothed in old robes and armor and grasped onto the hilt of a weapon, much like the weapon Fluttershy first encountered years ago.

“Guys. I think I found the treasure the Griffon Prince was guarding!” Fluttershy announced, picking up the weapon. Just then, one of the henchponies lunged at Fluttershy and gagged her with a white cloth, much to the surprise of Roach and Caballeron. The rag was coated in a sleeping agent, which made its way up to Fluttershy’s senses rendering her unconscious.

“Hey! We were actually going to help her, not stab her in the back! Didn’t you learn anything last time?” Dr. Caballeron scolded as the traitorous henchpony only let out a sinister grin as he took the weapon from Fluttershy’s resting hooves.

“I’m afraid I wasn’t there last time,” The henchpony cackled as he engulfed himself in a green flame revealing himself to be a changeling. And not a kind gentle changeling, but a nasty, ravenous changeling from before King Thorax took the throne. Roach and Caballeron gasped and backed away before the other two henchponies revealed themselves to also be love-starved changelings. Roach looked back at Caballeron, noticing the surprised fear on his face.

“Don’t look at me like that, I didn’t know they were changelings as well!” Caballero muttered as the lead Changeling fiddled around with the ancient hilt.

“And I must say, thank you for leading my comrades and me to this remote sanctuary, and to this valuable treasure. But really, the honor must go to your friend here,” The Changeling thief mocked as he lightly kicked Fluttershy’s unconscious body.

“Don’t you hurt her!” Roach demanded, before being held down by the two snarling changelings behind him and Caballero.

“Or what? You’ll face me? I’m afraid you just don’t have enough firepower to face me now. Not with my new weapon, anyways,” The lead thief monologue as he found what looked like a couple of buttons on the hilt. He pressed the one closest to his hoof, and out sprung a blade of pure white-hot plasma surrounded by a thick golden-yellow aura. The thief twirled the yellow blade around before pressing the other button, causing another identical blade to pop out of the other end of the weapon. The lead changeling cackled as he twirled the weapon around, before deactivating it.

“What I want to know is what exactly do you plan to do with this weapon, now that you found it?” Caballeron asked as the lead changeling smirked down at the helpless archeologist.

“You say that like I know you’re going to escape,” The lead changeling said, pointing the yellow lightsaber at Caballeron’s chin.

“Trust me, I’ve done this song and dance before with Daring Do. I know how this goes,” Caballeron commented as Roach looked on at the golden blade in curiosity about the changeling’s plan.

“Betcha his plan is to avenge Queen Chrysalis and overthrow Thorax or something,” Roach uttered as the sinister changeling snarled and held the lightsaber at his fellow insect’s neck.

“Lucky guess?” Roach mocked as the Changeling thief prepared to strike before one of the other changelings spoke up.

“We don’t have time for this. The mare could wake up any second now,” One of the changeling rapscallions informed as the leader examined the lightsaber closely. He probably could, and maybe should, strike them all down with his new saber and be done with it. But then he remembered something. He had a deal.

“No. Stick them in the nearest cave and leave them to rot,” The leader said, almost as if under some kind of spell. Roach and Caballeron looked at one another in concern as the two changeling henchmen pushed them along while Roach picked up Fluttershy’s resting body. Roach looked on ahead at the nearest cave they were being stuck in and saw that it was filled with bright, colorless crystals decorating the cave as if they were stars in the night sky. After one final push from the changelings, knocking Fluttershy, Roach, and Caballeron over, Roach looked back to find the lead changeling thief fluttering up to the top of the cave. And with one stroke of the yellow blade of the lightsaber, the cave came crumbling down, blocking their only means of escape, and leaving them behind.

“...What in the world was that?” Caballeron asked as Roach looked around the dark cave, with the crystals being their only source of light.

“A Lightsaber. The treasure of the Griffon Prince was his lightsaber. And we just led these bandits right to it,” Roach explained as Caballeron sat down hopelessly. Roach looked down at the pony historian and couldn’t help but sympathize with him.

“Hey, don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll be able to get out somehow,” Roach said as Caballeron surveyed the situation closely.

“With what? All we have is this bag of scraps you two insisted on bringing! We have nothing to escape with! We have no food or rations, so we’re probably gonna starve in here! It’d take a miracle to save us now,” Caballeron said as Roach looked back at Fluttershy’s still resting body. Roach remembered how a miracle brought them together and unlocked Fluttershy’s connection to the Force. And maybe it’s that same miracle that will save them. Without hesitation, Roach began secreting some changeling gunk, much to Caballeron’s confusion.

“What are you doing?” Caballero asked as Roach wrapped Fluttershy up in the gunk.

“Cocooning Fluttershy. This should help,” Roach said as Caballeron was confused by the act.

“With what? Sedating her more than she already is? This is getting us nowhere out of here!” Caballero ranted as Roach merely chuckled in response.

“I think it will...from a certain point of view is all,” Roach said as Fluttershy resonated quietly in the cocoon’s fluids, freeing her mind from her body once more into her meditative state.

Fluttershy opened her eyes and lifted herself up to find herself in her meditative realm of the Force. Her head was throbbing from the thug that made her pass out-- the Henchponies!! Fluttershy lightly growled and scolded herself for trusting Caballero’s henchponies and not finding anything suspicious about them. She couldn’t see much of the attacks, but she overheard the entire debacle from Roach and Caballeron. She can’t believe she’d been outsmarted by Changelings! For real this time! If only she had a little more time to practice her Jedi senses, she would have been able to call them out before heading to the Griffon Prince’s tomb! And now the changeling thieves have stolen the Prince’s treasure, and it’s all her fault! Fluttershy’s rage slowly rose as she plunged her hooves into her face in the diamond-clear rivers, scolding herself. And once the young pegasus had tired herself out, Fluttershy could not stop herself from letting a few little tears drip from her eyes and into the river she was previously beating.

“Why are you crying?” A voice called out. Fluttershy wiped the tear from her eye and turned around, though no one was there.

“Hello? Master Qui-Gon? Are you here?” Fluttershy asked, hoping the Jedi Master who introduced Fluttershy to the Force would dispense some wisdom, any wisdom to get her out of this situation. Instead, she found just the being she was looking for.

“No, I’m not Master Qui-Gon. But I am the Jedi you were looking for, if that’s what you’re asking,” the voice responded, coming out of the forest. He was covered in olive-colored fur with some matching feathers, had pale blue highlights on the tips of those feathers, had a bright green tail, wore a bandage on his front right leg and a ruby bracelet on his front left leg. His eyes were as blue as the night sky and his beak was the color of copper coins. Fluttershy could not believe her eyes. She was staring face to face with the Griffon Prince.

“Oh...Oh my...you really are a Jedi,” Fluttershy said, realizing the theories she shared with Roach about him were correct.

“That I am. And I take it you tread the very same path? We’ve been watching your progress very closely, and I must say I am very glad to see how far you have come,” The Prince said as Fluttershy was flustered with the Prince’s words.

“Oh my gosh! Thank you. I...didn’t think anyone would be watching,” Fluttershy said as the Griffon Prince sat down right beside her.

“All the Jedi in here have been watching you since you connected yourself to the Force. Though you failed to answer my question. Why do you seem so upset?” The Prince asked as Fluttershy looked back down upon herself in the river with regret.

“I...I wanted to look into your tomb to help learn about the Jedi, and...we were ambushed. And now the thieves that beat me stole your lightsaber! And it’s all my fault,” Fluttershy said, fighting back tears. The Prince merely chuckled at the remark.

“Good thing they didn’t take the treasure I was guarding,” The Griffon remarked as Fluttershy’s eyes shot up at him.

“But...I thought the lightsaber was the treasure,” Fluttershy asked as the Prince smiled at her.

“Yes, a lightsaber is very sacred in a Jedi’s life. However, dear Fluttershy, my life has already been over for more than a thousand years. I have no need for it anymore. Especially in a place like this,” The Griffon Prince said, placing his paw on the golden-yellow trunk of a nearby tree.

“Then, what was the treasure?” Fluttershy asked as the Prince looked back down at Fluttershy.

“A cavern full of Kyber crystals, the source of a lightsaber’s power. And, correct me if I’m wrong here, this missing piece to yours,” The Griffon Prince explained as Fluttershy’s eyes widened at the Prince’s words.

“An entire cavern of them?” Fluttershy asked as the Griffon Prince chuckled.

“Yes. But I advise that you not to pick just any old crystal. You must let the Force guide you and let the crystal call out to you. If anything, it’s very much similar to those pink butterflies on your flank,” The Griffon Prince explained, as Fluttershy turned to her cutie mark.

“Let the Force guide me, right?” Fluttershy asked as the Griffon Prince nodded. Fluttershy then turned back to her reflection in the river and closed her eyes. She concentrated on the will of the Force, and all sense of anger and guilt she was bearing against herself was blown away in the realm’s wind. Another breath was drawn as she extended herself as she felt the Force blow through her body like a pleasant breeze.

“...any second now,” Roach said to himself as Caballeron growled at the situation.

“It’s been 30 minutes. Nothing happened yet,” Caballeron commented, demeaning Roach’s faith in Fluttershy’s cocooned body.

“Just need a bit more patience is all,” Roach replied as the older stallion scoffed.

“We can’t wait for anything. If we don’t do anything, we’re going to starve or run out of air. If we don’t act, we’re going to die!” Caballeron snapped at the younger changeling. Without warning, however, a small, colorless crystal from the many crystals decorating the cavern snapped from the stone walls, bolted through the cavern lightning fast, and punctured the cocoon like a dart, causing some of the fluids to leak out.

“Well, looks like now’s our time to act,” Roach declared as he further punctured the cocoon with his horn, pouring Fluttershy’s now recovered body out of the cocoon, coughing and sputtering. Caballeron couldn’t believe his eyes.

“You alright Flutters?” Roach asked as Fluttershy cleared her fur of the cocoon gunk still a little stuck on there.

“Yeah, I’m fine. You still got that satchel of parts?” Fluttershy asked as Roach pulled it out. Caballeron shook his head in disbelief as he tried to gather his thoughts.

“Care to tell me what this is about?” Caballeron asked as Fluttershy poured out the spare parts and junk pieces and arranged them in a certain manner. Fluttershy then pulled out the once colorless crystal, which now shimmered a bright, sapphire blue color, and placed it in the center of the arrangement, while Roach spectated.

“The lightsaber wasn’t what the Griffon Prince was guarding. It’s these crystals. He’s been guarding the future of thousands of more ponies like him, ponies like me, and waited for us to come along!! And it’s just what we need to get out of here,” Fluttershy said as she sat down and, as she had done in the spirit realm, let the Force guide her once more.

“I...I don’t...huh?” Caballeron stuttered as, to his amazement, the parts levitated and swirled around in the air as if leaves in the wind, gliding around Fluttershy’s body. Fluttershy monitored her breath as the parts changed it’s orbit from Fluttershy to her crystal, slowly surrounding the tiny blue rock and later encasing it in a cylindrical hilt. The device then slowly landed in front of the ground in front of Fluttershy as she finished her meditation.

“Please tell me what I think it is!!” Roach pleaded with his eyes all puppy-like and a giddy smile like a child opening a present. Fluttershy chuckled at her partner’s eagerness and picked up the hilt of the device, igniting a blade similar to the Griffon Prince’s blade, only with a blue blade instead. Roach danced around in victory at Fluttershy’s new Jedi weapon as Caballeron stood there speechless.

“Well...I’m surprised by the technological advancement and use of magic, but...can we please get out of here now?” Caballeron asked as Roach and Fluttershy nodded at one another. Fluttershy then trotted up tho the stone blockage and breathed deeply, amassing a large amount of Force energy within herself, stirring within her like a whirlwind ready to blow free. And with an extent of her front legs, the whirlwind broke free and knocked the stone blockage away, freeing Fluttershy, Roach, and Caballeron.

The night sky clouded the foggy forests as a trail of burning carnage from the tomb of the Griffon Prince lead to the Changeling thieves who robbed it of the Prince’s saber, who have set up a camp for the night.

“So, remind me of our plan again? Are we bringing back Chrysalis’ reign?” One of the thieves asked as the leader held the lightsaber hilt closely in his hoof.

“Of course not. Remember what the boss said? She said she’ll help us take back the hive and turn it into a democracy! No more kings or queens! All we need is that Jedi pony girl and we’ll be good to go,” The leader declared as the other changeling thief clapped his hooves in response.

“But...didn’t the boss say she wanted the little pony alive? She’s not gonna be happy when she finds out we tossed her into a cave to die,” the lesser thief asked as the leader groaned at the question.

“All part of the plan. Besides, that archeologist guy was right. They’re most likely going to break out of that cave any second now,” The leader explained as fiddled around with the lightsaber.

“How very perceptive of you,” A quiet voice said, startling the changelings. The lead changeling activated the two yellow blades of the Griffon Prince’s lightsaber as the two henchponies huddled behind him. Out of the bushes came Fluttershy, Roach, and Caballeron, ready to face off against the thieves.

“Well, well. Look whose ready for round two,” The lead thief taunted.

“You didn’t even give us round one, in case you forgot,” Roach snarled as the rival changelings snarled back.

“Oh. That’s right. You stupid ponies never know when to keep your guard up. So, this fight should be easy,” The lead changeling said, as he aimed to strike Roach with the yellow light of his saber, but was stopped by the bright blue blade of Fluttershy’s lightsaber, much to the surprise of the changelings.

“I got this one! You get the other two!” Fluttershy commanded as Roach and Caballeron charged after the changeling henchponies, leaving Fluttershy with the lead thief. The lead thief then disconnected their two lightsaber blades and aimed his lightsaber at Fluttershy.

“You really think you can take me? I’ve beaten stronger ponies than you long before I grabbed this blade,” The leader said, attempting to intimidate Fluttershy.

“Oh, I don’t doubt it. What I do doubt is if you know how to use that thing,” Fluttershy said, flourishing her lightsaber. The lead thief snarled and charged at Fluttershy as they exchanged blows and swipes with their lightsabers. The dark moonlit forest soon became illuminated by the blue and yellow blades of each combatant’s weapon. The lead changeling thought Fluttershy’s will was weak and attempted to use an aggressive fighting style to intimidate her. Fluttershy, however, had tons of practice and utilized a lightsaber form that really revealed how much she knew. She began flying circles around him, dodging blows from the changeling’s yellow blades, and striking back with her blue blade. Fluttershy would continue this tactic until she made the thief lose his footing and prepare to finish the duel. However, the thief was prepared and caught Fluttershy off guard by knocking her lightsaber out of her hoof and knocking her down in the process. The lead thief cackled sinisterly as he prepared to make the final blow, but Fluttershy was able to recover in time and blasted him with the Force, knocking him down for the count. Fluttershy sighed as she picked up her lightsaber and the Griffon Prince’s lightsaber.

“Oh. My gosh! That was awesome!” Roach said as he and Dr. Caballeron came out of the nearby bushes with the two changeling goons tied up in rope and changeling gunk.

“I...thank you, Roach,” Fluttershy said, blushing behind her mane. The lead changeling gagged at the friendly gesture but was too weakened by the fight to do anything about it. Dr. Caballeron proceeded to tie up the leader thief in rope along with his cohorts while Roach met once more with Fluttershy.

“So...what’s our next move?” Roach asked as Fluttershy pulled out the Griffon Prince’s lightsaber.

“Disguise yourself as a guard and take these three stowaways to Tartarus. Don’t let them say anything about what has happened tonight. I’ll take this relic back where it belongs,” Fluttershy instructed as Roach’s green flames engulfed him turning him into a stark white pegasus in golden armor, who proceeded to lock the changeling thieves up where they belong.

“And what about me? I take it I now know too much for your liking?” Dr. Caballeron asked as Fluttershy thought it over.

“Well...yes. But I trust you can keep us a secret? Like I trusted you to quit your stealing?” Fluttershy asked as Caballeron smiled at the compassionate little pony.

“You have my word, my friend,” Caballeron nodded as Fluttershy headed back to the tomb. As she stepped into the dark cave, now illuminated by the blue light of her saber, Fluttershy could now feel the Force flow through her steadily as she realized the temple served as a safe house for the light side of the Force. Once she got to the cobweb-covered skeleton of the Griffon Prince, Fluttershy took the Prince’s saber and placed it back into the tomb where it belonged.

“You didn’t have to do that,” A familiar voice called out as Fluttershy turned around to find a spectral image of the Griffon Prince, glowing bright blue and partially transparent, but still there nonetheless.

“A lightsaber is a Jedi’s life, is it not?” Fluttershy asked as the Griffon chuckled at the Jedi-in-Training.

“Yes, but do remember, there are alternatives to fighting. You should know this all too well as Element of Kindness,” The Griffon Prince countered as Fluttershy couldn’t argue with that logic.

“I take it you’ve come to wish me luck on my Jedi training?” Fluttershy asked as the Griffon Prince sighed deeply with regret.

“Yes, but also to warn you the dangers of the Dark Side. There is an everpresent evil within the shadows of Equestria always watching, waiting specifically for you. It was this shadow that sent those changelings after you. I’ve tried to seek out this evil in my time, but they proved much too strong for me. Even killed my husband to weaken my spirit...and it worked. Stay vigilant. Stay on your guard. And beware the shadow, wherever they may be! And may the Force be with you,” The Griffon Prince warned as his spirit disapparated, leaving Fluttershy alone in the tomb.

“I won’t let you down. I won’t let anyone down!” Fluttershy promised, alone with her thoughts.

The Fiendfyre

A calm and breezy morning brushed over the calm city of Canterlot under the rule of Princess Twilight. All the innocent ponies were busy with their day-to-day jobs as Equestria was in such a state of peace that even Twilight could kick back and relax. Of course, this being Twilight, the only way she can kick back and relax is by keeping herself busy with to-do lists and tasks to do.

“OK, so have we done today’s laundry?” Twilight asked Spike as her trusted advisor and best friend looked back at her through the 5th to-do list for the day.

“We’ve done that hours ago, Twilight. Can’t we do anything else? I’m aching all over,” Spike said as Twilight sighed at the young dragon.

“Spike, I’m only making sure everything is all set. I’ve got an important date with Discord and I want everything all set up for when he gets here,” Twilight explained as Spike perked up.

“Ohh, a date I see,” Spike teased as Twilight groaned at the thought.

“Not that kind of date! Discord said he had something to show me with his chaos magic. That’s all,” Twilight said as Spike snickered at Twilight’s explanation.

“Sounds like somepony with a crush would say,” Spike said, continuing to tease Twilight.

“Did I forget to mention Rarity is coming along?” Twilight asked, catching Spike off guard.

“Wait, really?” Spike asked, as his purple scales turned pinkish-red in response. Twilight laughed as Spike’s scales turned back to purple and realized the prank Twilight played.

“Haha. Very funny,” Spike said, going over the list in his hand one last time. As Twilight and Spike were busy setting everything up, a bright yellow light flashed into the room, revealing the entity of mischief and chaos himself.

“Hello again, Princess Twilight!” Discord said as Twilight and Spike were used to Discord’s shenanigans at this point.

“Hey Discord,” Spike said, rolling up the list and tossing it aside.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting up with you about?” Discord asked as Twilight took out Discord’s invitation.

“Oh! You said you had something to show me? Something about using your chaos magic to help others or something. I can’t tell though, your hoofwriting’s a mess,” Twilight said as Discord looked back at Twilight in confusion.

“I...think there must be some mistake. You were the ones who invited me, Although what you’re saying does sound like something I should do, what with all that Grogar business and whatnot,” Discord said, as he snapped his fingers revealing a bright purple envelope matching Twilight’s coat.

“So...you invited each other?” Spike asked as Twilight and Discord looked at their invitations in confusion. Just then, the guards nodded to one another and left the throne room, leaving the three Equestrian heroes alone.

“Quite the opposite. None of us invited each other. Yet these invitations seem...genuine,” Twilight said as he examined Discord’s note. The lettering in Discord’s note matched Spike’s handwriting to a tee, but Twilight most certainly did not remember asking Spike to write this note for Discord. The two headed down the hall for a quick meal as the invitations suggested they do and stopped when they reached the dining hall. Twilight took a deep breath as she opened the large purple-and-golden doors, revealing a darkened dining room, with the only light being the candlestick in the middle of the table.

“Hello, hello, Princess Twilight and friends. I’d be honored if you three could join me,” A mysterious alicorn figure introduced herself as Twilight, Spike, and Discord gasped in almost horror at her presence. The two young royals were confused at who this intruder could be, while Discord’s heart raced in pure terror at what she could want.

“Uhhh...I take it you were the one who brought us here?” Spike asked as Discord shook his head in disbelief.

“I am,” The figure answered as she took a sip from her chalice.

“No. No, no, no. Please, no!” Discord begged as his panic slowly turned to rage as his yellow-red eyes glowed in a fiery manner. The Draconequus then summoned a ball of yellow magic from his lion paw and attempted to toss it at the specter, who retaliated by surrounding the three of them in a ring of fire with a flick of her wrist. The flames caught the ball of fire and burnt it up, causing Discord to tire himself out. Spike huddled behind Twilight as she tried to blast the fire away with her magic, only for the fire to burn the beam up and causing Twilight to collapse in exhaustion, much to Spike’s horror. The figure chuckled sinisterly as she walked through the fire without so much as a scratch on her body, picking up Discord’s chin as she stared the entity of chaos down.

“I know what you want, and I won’t let you harm a hair on her head, Edris! You hear me, you wannabe devil?” Discord shouted trying to cast magic but was too weakened by the fire to do so.

“Oh. I hear you loud and clear. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to stop me,” Darth Edris said as her horn lit up with a red aura that encased Discord’s body, causing pain and agony for Discord before it turned him to stone, much to Twilight and Spike’s horror.

“And as for you, Twilight...” The figure said, looming over Twilight and Spike, overwhelmed with more fear than they have ever felt before.

“Please. Who are you? What do you want with us?” Twilight asked as the figure’s horn lit up and crackled with sparks of red and yellow magic. The magic caused a violet aura to emanate from Twilight’s body and swirl into the figure’s horn, where the aura changed from purple to red. Whatever this spell did, it only made Twilight even weaker than before.

“And now that I have your Element of Friendship, I’ve come to talk to you,” The figure said as Twilight whimpered at the dark figure.

“One, and two, and three, and four, and one, and two, and three, and four…” Roach chanted on as Fluttershy practiced her usual exercises with his help. She had no problem practicing her meditation from within a changeling cocoon, or her skill with a lightsaber. But the one part of training herself to be a Jedi that really made her peeved off was keeping herself physically fit.

“Roach! Please stop! I can’t take it!” Fluttershy begged as she collapsed into a tired, sweaty, stinking mess as her coach looked down at her, realizing he may have overdone it with the physical fitness training for today.

“Uhhh...take 5?” Roach asked as Fluttershy weakly marched over to a nearby spring outside of the Jedi Sanctuary to wash off. As Fluttershy jumped into the pond, letting the cool water brush against her coat and mane like she was giving her whole body a giant glass of water, terrifying visions intruded her mind like an alarm going off. She could hear Twilight, almost even see her. And Fluttershy could hear the sound of fire crackling around her as Twilight screamed in pain and fear. Fluttershy’s head throbbed, hoping and even praying none of this was happening now. But she couldn’t drown out this terrible feeling that Twilight was in grave danger. As fast as she could, she grabbed a nearby towel and rushed over to Roach, who was planning their next few instances of Jedi training.

“Roach! We need to head to Canterlot now!” Fluttershy quietly demanded as Roach was caught off guard and fell over by the unexpected alarm.

“Woah! Whatever happened to ‘Take 5’? It hasn’t even been a minute and a half and you still kinda smell. Anything going on?” Roach asked as he picked himself up.

“I’m sorry if I’m intruding or anything, but I got a disturbing vision in the Force. I highly believe Twilight’s in danger!” Fluttershy said as Roach wondered how bad Fluttershy’s disturbance could have been.

“OK, wait! Hold on a second. It’s much too risky to rescue Twilight like this. For one thing, this could be a trap set up by whatever this evil shadow is or whatever that you said the Griffon Prince warned you about. And second, you’re not exactly ready to rescue anyone yet,” Roach warned as Fluttershy dried herself off and grabbed her lightsaber, ready for the rescue.

“Roach, please! I don’t think we have that many options. I can’t exactly sit here and wait while Twilight suffers! We need to go now!” Fluttershy insisted as Roach admired her bravery, less so her impatience.

“There’s not gonna be anything I can say to stop you, is there?” Roach asked as Fluttershy raced into one of the secret passageways with Roach following close behind.

“Unless this shadow was able to beat the best of the best, I’m gonna say no,” Fluttershy said as the two crawled through the dark tunnel.

“Well, it was worth a shot,” Roach said as the two continued their underground trek.

Twilight struggled to get up after having her energy drained from her by this mysterious enemy as Spike hid behind her, helpless in this unexpected situation.

“Why aren’t you answering me? Who are you?” Twilight begged as the figure diminished the fire and closed the doors, leaving herself, Twilight, and Spike alone in the room with the frozen statue of Discord.

“I am Darth Edris. Queen of Equestria, and Lord of the Sith,” Darth Edris said as Twilight was baffled as she dared call herself a princess.

“No...You’re lying. There’s no way,” Twilight begged as Darth Edris found her disbelief adorable.

“I am not one to lie, as you soon will see,” Edris said as she sat back down to where she was sitting and prompted Twilight and Spike to sit down at the table for a meal with her. The tension was thick in the air as if an awful smell filled the air but no one dared speak up about it. Spike and Twilight quietly looked back at one another and then at their captor.

“Oh, don’t be shy, your highness. It’s not every day I meet ponies like you. Don’t you have any questions for me?” Edris asked, breaking the tension. Twilight’s heart raced as she was forced to speak up about just about anything.

“Yeah. I have tons of questions! What in the world makes you think you’re queen when Celestia and Luna put me in charge? Were you waiting for those two to get out of the way so you could get to me? And what kind of magic did you just pull on me? I want answers now!” Twilight declared, slamming her hoof on the table. Edris was unamused as she put her chalice back down on the table with a sigh.

“You really want to know what’s going on right now, don’t you? Don’t worry. It’ll all be clear soon enough,” Darth Edris said as her horn glowed once more with a violent red aura, this time getting into Twilight’s head and eyes.

“Wait, what are you doing to her?” Spike demanded to know, although an answer would never be uttered from Darth Edris’ lips as both she and Twilight appeared to be in a deep trance.

“Huh? What?” Twilight muttered to herself as she found herself in a far-off, snowy landscape at the edge of a cliff. Twilight shivered and shook as she made her way to the edge of the cliff, where she saw what looked like pony settlers at the bottom of the mountain. Instinctively seeking warmth and shelter, she raced down to the small tribe, where she found the settlers building their houses and setting up their shops.

“Uhh...hello? This is Princess Twilight? I’ve been taken hostage by an evil queen or something,” Twilight said, trying to get the pony's attention, but failing to do so.

“Excuse me? I said--”

“HALT! Who goes there!?” A guard bellows, catching Twilight off guard, who raised her hooves to surrender. Twilight turned around to face the guards, who were actually referring to someone else. Twilight made it over to the guards, who aimed their spears at an oncoming pony dressed in a black cloak. Twilight gasped as she noticed the navy blue mane and fiery yellow eyes under the hood and recognized them as Darth Edris’.

“There! That’s the one! She’s the one who's holding me hostage!” Twilight said, pointing at her, but realizing the guards weren’t listening to her.

“Who are you and what brings you to our newfound settlement?” A very regal and posh voice asked. Twilight turned around to find an equally regal-looking unicorn with a large purple-and-silver crown on the top and noticed how she strangely reminded her of Rarity.

“Wait a second. Princess Platinum!? Then that means--” Twilight said, deducing just what Edris had done to her head.

“I am merely a humble traveler bringing good tidings to the small town which I foresee becoming a great nation. All I ask is for your food and shelter, and I shall grant you the means to make Equestria the great nation I see it becoming!” the Past Darth Edris promised, pulling out a small wooden chest from under her cloak. Edris then opened the chest for Princess Platinum and Princess Twilight to look into. The past unicorn princess was intrigued by the contents of the chest while Twilight could only watch in horror as Edris displayed six small colored crystals: the Elements of Harmony.

“No...No, no, this can’t be…” Twilight wept as the snowy landscape and the pony village that would become Equestria descended into shadow, erasing the illusion.

“Let out all your denial, your highness. It is the beginning of wisdom,” Darth Edris said as Twilight turned around to confront her.

“What makes you think I still believe you and your stupid story? You’re only putting an illusion in my head. You could just be making this up! There’s no way you made the Elements of Harmony! It was--” Twilight argued as Darth Edris stood there unphased and uninterested.

“The Tree of Harmony which I planted and watched grow into one of the mightiest trees I have ever laid eyes upon before you were even born,” Edris countered.

“But they were stored by--” Twilight tried to argue, before being cut off once again.

“The Royal Sisters, who used their power to shape and reform Equestria as I have allowed them to see fit, and then protect the realm with the Elements,” Darth Edris countered once more, frustrating Twilight.

“But...you couldn’t have made them! The point of the Elements is that they bring harmony into the world!” Twilight argued, denying Darth Edris’ claims still.

“Harmony, according to the user and my definition. I wouldn’t call any of the attacks done by Chrysalis, Discord, Tirek, or Nightmare Moon ‘harmonic’, now would you, Princess Twilight? No matter what our enemy’s intentions are, the threat they pose to Equestria is a threat to the harmony we both hold dear,” Darth Edris said as Twilight was left speechless, shocked by what she was hearing. Her entire viewpoint around Equestria and its history had been shattered in front of her very eyes. A few tears trickled down Twilight’s defeated eyes as she feared the worst.

“Alright. You have me. Might as well destroy me while you still can so you can take the throne,” Twilight said through wet eyes and a dry throat as Edris smiled sinisterly and let out a chuckle.

“Oh, you misunderstand. I don’t want to kill you,” Darth Edris said, wiping a tear from Twilight’s cheek.

“Then, what do you want?” Twilight asked, wiping the rest of her tears from her eyes.

“It’s not what I want. It’s what all ponies want. What all beings want. Power. Everyone seeks power in some way, shape, or form. Whether power comes in the form of a gauntlet, an equation, a ring, a wand, even something as small as a promotion is enough to grant one immense power that drives them mad, even if for a short time. In fact, you too are guilty of craving power,” Darth Edris explained, infuriating Twilight.

“That’s not true!!!” Twilight said, raising her voice at the Sith Lord, hoping to intimidate her. Darth Edris, once again, was unamused by Twilight’s theatrics.

“Oh, dear Twilight, you misunderstand. Your friends were the key you needed to unlock the power within the Elements of Harmony and defeat Nightmare Moon. And when Discord took your friends away, you were powerless without them until you had them back. If it weren’t for them, you wouldn’t become Princess of Equestria. Oh, Twilight. You are guilty of craving power. Power in the form of your friends. And Twilight, you’ve made many friends over the years. But answer me this,” Darth Edris turned her back “Was it out of the goodness of your heart? Or did you do it to keep Equestria from falling apart?”

The Assassins

It was a dark night outside the deserts beyond Equestria. A couple of scavenging vultures were camping out in the sand by the bright warm fire as they examined their loot. However, their peace and quiet would come to an end as a dark shadow swept over the sands and extinguished their fire, bringing their attention to a bright magenta flash of light, and the two mysterious alicorns that appeared from it. The vultures gasped in awe and terror as their eyes were fixated on the mares.

“Why are we stopping here? Where are we even?” Twilight asked as her fellow alicorn wished to show her something.

“We are in the desert outside of Equestria. You walked these very sands to escape the Storm King, remember?” Darth Edris explained as her eyes scoured the sands, looking for something.

“I’m pretty sure everypony remembers the Storm King. It’s kind of hard to forget trekking the desert to escape,” Twilight countered.

“No, I mean we are standing on the very path you and your henchponies took to escape. And not by coincidence,” Edris traversed as she noticed the Vulture scavengers looking on at the two.

“Uh...hey ladies. Might we interest...you with some...junk?” The Vultures asked, shivering as if they were looking at a ghost of some kind. Edris scoffed as she raised a hoof at them.

“No. I don’t think I will,” Darth Edris responded as she hoisted the Vultures up high in the air, choking their windpipes telekinetically.

“What are you doing? Put them down! They have nothing to do with this!” Twilight protested in horror as Edris pushed Twilight aside to continue her torture on the scavengers.

“I can’t risk eyewitnesses, Twilight. They’ll endanger our whole mission!” Edris argued as Twilight got up from the sand.

“Your whole mission. You only roped me into it,” Twilight argued as Darth Edris snarled from under her breath.

“And you became a part of my mission the moment you became a princess. Never forget you’ve always been my pawn,” Darth Edris said, forcing Twilight to stand down. As she turned her attention away from Twilight and toward the Vultures, who stared down at Edris in horror as they held onto their choking throats, Edris’ horn lit up as a small black hole formed in between the two of them, sucking up their camp and the nearby sands as the Vultures could barely fit inside the tiny portal until it warped their bodies beyond recognition and sucked them out of existence, much to Twilight’s horror.

“Now, where were we?” Darth Edris asked nonchalantly, disgusting and angering Twilight greatly. But after remembering what Edris did to her, to Discord, and now to those innocent lives, she forced herself to back down, not wanting to risk her wrath any further. Meanwhile, Edris brushed her hoof against the sand a couple of times until she found a stone button with a symbol. Edris smiled sinisterly as she pressed down on the button hard, shaking the sand below, opening up a large sandstone staircase into a large set of catacombs.

“Now where was this when I was running for my life?” Twilight asked as she followed Edris down the stairs.

“It was always right here, hidden beneath the sands. The only reason you didn’t notice it is because you had no reason to notice it, like with all of my handiworks. Honestly, I’m surprised your friend, Fluttershy, hadn’t noticed anything,” Darth Edris explained as Twilight’s ear perked up. The catacombs were very dark, decorated in mysterious runes and hieroglyphics telling tales of battles from the Sith Lords of old, only lit up by dimly lit orange torches and the much brighter purple light from Darth Edris’ horn.

“I...don’t recall Fluttershy having anything to do with this,” Twilight commented as the two alicorns came across tons of lit torches lighting the dark hallways.

“For somepony guilty of craving your friend’s power, you sure did sleep on them,” Edris mocked, further confusing Twilight.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Twilight asked as the ponies paused their trek down the dark catacombs.

“As I’ve said before, all beings crave power in different forms. The power you crave comes in the form of your friends. The power your friend, Fluttershy, craves, is something much stronger that can tear your friendship apart. If Fluttershy gains control over this power, she may become strong enough to tear your empire of friendship down with a wave of her hoof,” Edris explained as Twilight could not bear what she was hearing.

“You’re…you’re lying. You have to be! Fluttershy would never keep something like this from us!” Twilight cried out in denial.

“Shows how much you truly know, even with me around,” Edris remarked, hurting Twilight further. Darth Edris let out a little sigh as Twilight’s denial and mistrust began swelling in her as the Sith Lord conjured an amethyst mist from her horn.

“Here. If you do not take my word for it, perhaps some more proof,” Edris said as the mist formed a window for Twilight to peer through. In the window, she could see Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash by her side as they ran into Starswirl the Bearded. Fluttershy appeared to be in a hurry and headed to Canterlot Palace, but was redirected, almost motivated to leave, by whatever it was Starswirl had to offer her.

“What? What is this?” Twilight asked. Darth Edris turned to keep Twilight walking down those dark, damp catacombs.

“It’s the truth that I’m trying to tell you. All beings, weak or strong, are motivated by power. And Fluttershy left you to gain it,” Darth Edris explained. Twilight tried to find a way to fight back.

“She had to be lying! She just simply had to!” Twilight thought to herself. But after learning everything Darth Edris showed her, there was simply no way of proving that to be the case. As the two alicorns marched down the dimly lit secret hallways, Darth Edris diminished her light as the two entered a giant chamber, built to be an arena of sorts, carved entirely out of stone, and lit by much brighter torches and the red blades of lightsabers carried by servants of Darth Edris and the Dark Side. The arena was filled with warriors of all kinds of species clad in various black robes and armors and dueled each other with their fiery red lightsaber blades, each of them vowing to become the superior warrior.

“Ah, Master. You’ve returned,” A dark side hippogriff remarked in an almost cowering voice but mashed by a sense of pride and loyalty, bowing before Darth Edris’ presence. The hippogriff had a darkened brown coat, a teal mane resembling a crashing tidal wave of water with a matching beard surrounding his beak, and a scar across his right cheek. Though it was hard for Twilight to tell under his black, teal, and golden robes.

“Ah, good to see you again King Merica. Gather your best assassin. I have a mission for them,” Darth Edris ordered as the dark sider bowed before his master once more before heading out to his task. Darth Edris led Twilight aside, who was astonished to see the giant stone behemoth of an arena sitting below the hooves of everyone on the surface without anyone even noticing. The two ponies entered a small chamber sitting far off to the left of the dangerous arena. The chamber only has a table sitting in the middle with cushioned seats surrounding it. Edris took a seat at the front of the table while Twilight sat by her right.

“Ah, yer highness. I be t’ glad I get th’ chance to bask in yer beauty once more,” a vile creature greeted himself bowing before Darth Edris as he entered the room, much to the disgust of Twilight. The creature has the appearance of a pig with dark blue skin, messy pale hair, rotting yellow teeth, bulging green eyes, a horrid mess of feathers for wings, and dressed in torn rags that could resemble clothes topped with a sailor’s tricorn hat.

“A pleasure to meet you again, Wart Hawk. Twilight, this is Wart Hawk. He’s been my loyal eyes and ears for dealings outside of Equestria,” Edris explained as Wart Hawk’s eyes were fixed onto the Princess.

“And do me eyes deceive me, or did ye bring Princess Twilight into all of this?” Wart Hawk asked as he picked up Twilight’s hoof for a gentle kiss. Twilight couldn’t help but gag at the foul odor Wart Hawk emitted as she yanked her hoof away from his filthy lips. Wart Hawk scoffed at the princess’s rejection and sat to Darth Edris’ left.

“As a matter of fact, yes. I have brought Twilight here for a very important reason,” Darth Edris said as the foul pig nodded at Edris’ claim.

“Ah, yes. Yer beloved ‘Checkmate’. How much longer does yer crew have t’ wait before that time comes?” Wart Hawk asked as the hippogriff acolyte, Mercia, returned with a suitable assassin.

“Not very long,” Edris informed as she and Twight turned to face the assassin. He had the appearance of a fox with a slender build, silver fur, fiery yellow eyes, navy purple hair tied up into a knot, a pitch-black cloak, and a sentient crimson scorpion tail sticking out of the back.

“I live to serve you, my lord,” The assassin bowed as his tail let out a sinister cackle, much to Twilight’s discomfort.

“Your name, please?” Edris asked as Twilight hid behind Darth Edris like prey.

“Tailgrave’s the name. You asked for only the best assassins, did you not?” Tailgrave asked as Edris stared down at the fox judgingly. Tailgrave then moved around the table to sit next to Wart Hawk.

“I did. But I have a very particular case for you two,” Darth Edris explained as Wart Hawk and Tailgrave’s ears perked up like beasts to a dinner bell. Darth Edris’ council of five sat at the meeting table waiting for Darth Edris to brief the mission.

“For three thousand years, have I waited for the perfect moment, for the right moves to make to perform my checkmate. And now that time has come,” Edris explained as Twilight could only guess where this was even going. But by the looks on everyone else’s faces, they seem to already know what Edris has been planning. And it will only be a matter of time before she learned as well, so the best she could do was pay attention. And as Darth Edris’ horn lit up, emitting a purple fog forming a crystal ball, Twilight was shocked by what she saw. She saw the same vision Edris had shown Twilight earlier, of Fluttershy and Starswirl the Bearded in Canterlot.

“Mercia, Talegrave, and Wart Hawk. I want you to take some Silencers and lure Fluttershy out to the deserts. Eliminate any companions she may bring. But bring her to me alive,” Darth Edris relayed as the two Sith Assassins bowed before their masters' wishes while the vile pirate saluted in response.

“And what about me?” Twilight asked as Edris and her fellow council members turned to Twilight.

“You have a very important part to play, your highness. We need you as the bait to lure your friend out here,” Edris explained as Twilight believes she had finally figured it all out.

“I knew it! You don’t actually see me as an important piece of this puzzle. I’m just a hostage forced to play the part of a simple pawn in this deadly game of yours!” Twilight declared while Edris sighed in annoyance.

“Well, in actuality, your highness, you’re more of a queen piece than a simple pawn. Pawns are expendable. Edris sees you as more important than that,” King Mercia commented as Twilight referred back to the crystal ball, still showing Fluttershy.

“Then why is she after Fluttershy? If I’m so important to Edris’ plan, then she would have already won by simply having me here,” Twilight commented, remembering all the times every threat that has faced Equestria has fought through her friends to get to her. It can’t be as simple as the normal scenario being the other way around, if she could even call “Saving Equestria countless times” normal, that was.

“I’ll give you this, Twilight, you are right. She is important to my plans. Without Fluttershy, I cannot have myself an apprentice to rule alongside. And as long as she trains herself as a Jedi rather than my apprentice, then she is the enemy. And as long as she is my enemy, she is yours as well,” Darth Edris said, summoning her chessboard showing Twilight the progress she has made in her plans. Twilight picked up the black queen piece and noticed it resembled her and realized that Fluttershy is in the form of the white king piece.

“You’re not using me as a hostage, are you? You’re gonna use me…to fight one of my best friends?” Twilight said, with a single tear running down her cheek.

“Fluttershy is no longer your friend, Twilight. If she still was, she would have told you everything she has learned,” Edris argued as Twilight thought over the Sith Lord’s words. She had to admit that Darth Edris did have a point. If Fluttershy was more honest and revealed what she had discovered, Twilight would have been more than happy to help her. Everypony would have been more than happy to help her. Why didn’t she say anything about this? Why did she lie?

“Well, your highness? What say you?” Tailgrave asked as Twilight looked back at the board and felt frustration, and then anger at her best friend’s deception.

“I want answers. From Fluttershy about this whole thing. She has a lot of explaining to do about all this,” Twilight said as Edris nodded encouragingly.

“Then come with me, your highness. We have work to do,” Darth Edris said as she led Twilight and the assassins out of the council’s conference room and out of the hidden dark side temple. Twilight couldn’t believe any of it. She was turning her back on her closest friend.

“No,” Twilight thought to herself. “She turned her back on me!”

The Master

Chaos erupted in the skies above Drommund Kass. Republic fighters and cruisers battled against the Empire’s fleet of destroyer cruisers and fighters. And on the ground below, Republic Soldiers, led by brave Jedi Knights and Counselors, led a ground assault across the city grounds. Among these heroic Jedi fighting valiantly against the Sith was a Zabarak Jedi warrior named Rola Blix. She had peach-colored skin with tattoos across her weathered face resembling the wind and water. She wore a yellow-and-brown tunic covered in a flowing white-as-snow robe billowing in the wind as she held her Jedi weapon aloft. Her lightsaber, in question, was of unusual design as it sported unstable vents and the insignia of the Jedi Order along the emitter resembling a crossguard and housed a cyan kyber crystal, an uncommon color amongst her fellow Jedi. The Sith Empire’s forces held off against the Republic’s armies, but the Jedi proved too strong for them and quickly scattered.

“Master Blix! We found Darth Edris’ Laboratories!” A young Jedi Padawan cried out as Rola turned her attention toward the student.

“Lead the way. The rest of you, form up behind me! We’ll finally put an end to this Sith Mastermind’s schemes!” Rola Blix announced as her fellow Jedi followed Rola Blix and the Padawan across the war-torn battlefield and into the buildings, where the Dark Lord of the Sith was hard at work. The buildings were darkened and dimly lit by the windows clogged by the fog of war and the light of mad science just down the hall.

“Just a little more power!” Edris demanded as the Imperial Scientists turned a knob, increasing the power of what looked to be a giant portal large to fit a large ship in. Just as the experimental portal began springing to life, the Sith soldiers opened fire outside the doors of the lab, only to be struck down by the Jedi Interlopers. Left unguarded, the brightened silhouettes of ten whole Jedi flooded the room as the scientists were left in shock.

“In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you are under arrest Darth Edris,” Rola Blix announced, aiming her cyan blade at Edris. The Imperial Scientists were shocked by the Jedi’s interruption and promptly surrendered. But, unphased by the interruption, Darth Edris simply sighed and turned to face her enemy.

“Why must the hero rushing to save the day always be too late?” Edris asked as she stepped closer to Master Blix until the blade of the Jedi’s lightsaber was just an inch from her face. Rola Blix sternly faced down the Sith Lord as Edris just smirked at the gesture. The various colors of the other Jedi lightsabers surrounded Edris as the Jedi closed in to sit her still and put an end to stop her nightmarish schemes. Then, before anyone could react, Darth Edris ignited her twin lightsabers and clashed the many various lightsaber blades of green and blue with her own red and yellow, and cut down a couple surrounding Jedi to give herself an opening.

Rola Blix, shocked and enraged by this resistance, engaged in combat against the Sith Lord and began to duel Edris herself. The quick strikes and flashes of red, yellow, and cyan light dashed at one another, trying to knock each other off balance, but to no avail. For as good of a duelist Rola Blix thought herself to be, she had to admit Darth Edris was a formidable fighter. And Edris, in her own head, began thinking the same thing. Rola held off Edris’ advancement while another Jedi came to her aid. Darth Edris raised her guard against the two Jedi and juggled her stance against the two Jedi. Master Blix was hoping the two of them would be too much for the Dark Lord, but Darth Edris began swiftly dodging strike after strike until she cut the opposing Jedi down. Rola Blix cried out in anguish at the loss of her fellow Jedi, and Darth Edris found the chip in Blix’s armor. Before long, Edris used the distraction to strike a blow into Rola’s right arm, and attacked Blix with a barrage of bright violet bolts of lightning, entangling Rola’s body like a web of pain.

“I believe I’ve had my fun. But know that I won’t try and stop you from crossing my portal. Feel free to join me on the other side,” Darth Edris said to the fallen Blix as she reached out through the Force and pulled an abandoned switch, bringing the unstable portal to life. The giant gateway crackled and sparked in mysterious blue energy that surrounded the behemoth of a device like a very thick web of plasma and fire. Edris marched toward the portal, cutting down the remaining Jedi one by one as they tried to stop her from crossing. By the time she made it to the entrance of the portal, all of the Jedi have been bested, leaving no one to thwart her. And then, the moment of truth came. Darth Edris took a deep breath and walked into the bright blue portal into another world. Edris’ limbs felt funny. Like they were becoming mutated. Edris felt her fingers vanish and become what she would assume was a hoof of some kind. Still, Edris trudged right on through and decided to accept any side effects that came with her experiment. Rola struggled to recover from the pain of the lightning and the jab on her arm but felt more pain from being the only survivor.

“Master Blix! Status update on capturing the Sith Lord!” A Republic Commander asked through a communication device as Rola Blix regained her composure.

“We’re too late. Darth Edris opened the portal but left it open. I’m the only one who can stop her!” Rola Blix responded as she limped toward the portal after Edris.

“Are you sure, General? I can send in a squad of soldiers and--”

“There’s no time! Mere soldiers won’t stand a chance. I’m the only one who can!” Rola Blix reassured her soldiers as she shut her communication off. Role Blix stuck her hand in her portal and pulled it away as she felt her hand almost vanish. The look of terror on her face as her arm morphed into a hoof-like entity was very unbefitting for a Jedi. But there was too much at stake for something like this to stop her. Determined to stop the Sith Lord, Rola Blix swallowed her pride and stepped into the portal. She felt her body morph and change beyond comprehension as she was blinded by a very bright light, and then watched as it all faded to black.

“Is…is she alive?” A quiet and timid voice asked as an elderly voice assured her everything would be all right.

“I’ve never seen any kind of pony look like this. Even if we expected them to look more…well…alien,” another voice, one more analytical, noted. The pitch-black darkness that clouded Rola Blix’s vision was fading away as she finally got a glimpse at this new world. Rola Blix saw that she was no longer the Zabarak that she used to be, but rather a small equine replication of one. She became a pony. As she recovered and at least tried to get used to her new surroundings, she saw three other ponies. One of them was a small shy pegasus with a yellow coat and a pink flowing mane. The second older one, a unicorn by the looks of it, had a grey coat with a silver mane and beard and was adorned with a blue cloak and hat. The third one looked more like an orange insect than he did a pony, but there was a lot about this new world she had yet to learn about.

“Welcome back, old friend,” The elder-looking unicorn said, confusing the Jedi.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” Rola Blix asked as the three ponies looked on in surprise and began to discuss amongst themselves.

“You said you knew this Jedi personally,” Roach said as Starswirl looked on in shock.

“I did. At least, that’s what I remember,” Starswirl explained, as he rubbed his noggin through his hat.

“I mean, how much do you remember of her?” Fluttershy asked Starswirl as the wizard began to think on that question.

“Mmm…not really much, now that I think about it. But I do remember seeing her face around three thousand years ago, and what she told me about the Jedi, but I can’t really remember her mission,” Starswirl said as Fluttershy and Roach looked on at one another with a hint of concern, but another hint of satisfaction.

“Well, do you guys think whoever messed with Starswirl’s memories also messed with our Jedi friend’s memories as well?” Fluttershy asked as Roach took the idea into question.

“It’ll be our working theory until we can get more clues. But for now…” Roach said as Rola Blix dropped some eaves into the conversation.

“Might I ask what is going on here?” Rola Blix asked as Fluttershy decided to explain everything so far to the poor clueless Jedi Master.

“Umm…Hi there. My name is Fluttershy, and I wish for you to train me to become a Jedi Knight,” Fluttershy explained as Rola Blix’s eyes widened at Fluttershy’s request, almost in disbelief and fury at what she was hearing.

“You dare ask for my teachings in such a crude matter? Your timid demeanor would make for a poor warrior, and your ignorance as to what the Jedi are would disgrace the Order!” Rola Blix snapped back, shocking Fluttershy and almost causing her to tear up at the Jedi Master’s harsh words.

“Now you listen here! I’ve been helping Fluttershy train to become a Jedi for the past four years, and she has been one of the best Jedi I have ever met! You really have no right to say she’d be a bad Jedi unless you actually saw it for yourself!” Roach bellowed in Rola Blix’s face.

“I see. And you are?” Rola Blix asked as Roach stared down the wizened Jedi.

“My name’s Roach. I’m Fluttershy’s training assistant,” Roach explained as Rola Blix scoffed at the changeling’s claim.

“Training assistant? Have you properly had this poor excuse of a padawan memorize all 7 forms of lightsaber combat?” Rola Blix questioned, much to Roach’s shock.

“Well, I--” Fluttershy stuttered before Rola interrupted.

“And has she memorized the Jedi Code by heart?” Rola once again questioned as Roach huffed at the question.

“Then you’re a poor mentor, Mr. Roach,” Rola Blix finished as Roach sat beside Fluttershy and pouted at the accusation.

“Well…that’s why we need your help. For as much of a good teacher Roach has been,” Fluttershy said, comforting her changeling friend “we still don’t know everything there is to know about the Jedi. So…could I please be your apprentice?” Fluttershy asked as Rola Blix huffed at her insufferable begging.

“If you insist. But hear this: It will be tough, it will be tiring, but once I’m through with you, you’ll never again be a poor excuse of a Jedi,” Rola Blix said as Fluttershy was worried by her wording. It sounded a bit too much like how Iron Will talked her into being a bully years ago.

“If you say so,” Fluttershy said as she felt a sense of regret.

“Then it’s settled. Once Fluttershy is all trained up, the four of us can face up against this Dark Shadow,” Starswirl the Bearded said as Rola Blix’s attention shot toward him, as she had just remembered her mission.

“Dark…Shadow? You don’t happen to be referring to Darth Edris, do you?” Rola Blix asked as everyone’s attention turned to the Jedi Master.

“I think it might be. But one question, who is Darth Edris?” Roach asked, hoping it’s not the worst-case scenario.

“A very dangerous Dark Lord of the Sith, the enemy of the Jedi, and a mad genius from my world who built a portal into…what looks like yours. The last thing I remember before ending up here was…following Darth Edris through her portal. Next thing I knew, I woke up in this…strangely furnished cave,” Rola Blix explained. Fluttershy could practically feel the Dark Side of the Force oozing from Rola Blix’s mouth as she uttered the Sith Lord’s name as if a curse had been placed on her name. Not even Grogar, Sombra, or Tirek’s names struck as much fear into her as Edris’ did. It was unsettling to think about.

“But, since it was only a few moments ago after her, we still have time to stop her before she takes over your world,” Rola Blix said, not realizing one small problem.

“Uhh…It’s been 3,000 years since I last saw you,” Starswirl said, as Fluttershy began to think everything over. And she did not like what she was thinking.

“I…may need to meditate on this if you’ll excuse me. Roach, if you could cocoon me so I could…” Fluttershy suggested as Roach followed her to a small quiet place so he may wrap her up for meditation. Starswirl was more or less confused as he never heard a pony let a changeling cocoon her, but as these Jedi matters were a little beyond him decided not to question it.

In the shining Spirit Realm of the Force, where Fluttershy arrived from within her cocoon, the young Jedi sought out the Masters of the Force so they may shed some light on the peculiar situation.

“Hello? Masters? Anyone?” Fluttershy called out, hoping they can hear her. And as soon as she called, the familiar visages of Qui-Gon Jinn and the Griffon Prince appeared to her. Fluttershy let out a smile of relief at their presence.

“Hello again, Fluttershy. Have you come to seek our wisdom once more?” Qui-Gon asked as Fluttershy nodded at the question.

“Roach and I have found a Jedi Master to train me. Her name is Rola Blix, and she claims to have come here through a portal a few thousand years ago, but her memory just sort of blanked after that. She also mentioned something about a Sith Lord named Darth Edris. Do you know anything about this?” Fluttershy asked as Qui-Gon and the Griffon Prince looked at Fluttershy and then one another with a twinge of fear, worry, and guilt. The silence was broken when the Griffon Prince took a sigh of defeat.

“Fluttershy, it’s time you learned the truth,” The Griffon Prince said as Fluttershy knew instantly by the tone she was gonna learn something she wished she didn’t.

“Darth Edris…is responsible for everything in your world. Everything you know about Celestia and Luna, about all the friendships you forged, about all the enemies you faced, and most importantly, your Elements of Harmony were all because of Darth Edris! She is the shadow I warned you about back at my tomb,” The Griffon Prince said as Fluttershy looked up at the Prince in shock and dismay. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“I…I can’t…Why couldn’t you have told me from the beginning? I already know as much as I do now,” Fluttershy asked as Qui-Gon stepped up to the little pony.

“She is the reason I warned you to keep your connection to the Force a secret all those years ago. Had you revealed your discovery to your friends, Edris would have swept in and captured you for real, turning you to the Dark Side of the Force a lot quicker,” Qui-Gon explained as the Griffon Prince fluttered to Qui-Gon’s side.

“Trust me. I know it’s hard for you to believe. I could hardly believe it myself when I first learned the truth. It truly is a difficult burden to bear, knowing the truth could break the very foundation of what ponies believe to be real or not. And while it does mean we have very few options, it does not mean we are out of hope,” The Prince reassured Fluttershy as she took deep breaths back and forth, allowing herself to regain focus and letting the Force flow through her to regain her thoughts.

“Well…I have my Master now. What’s my next move?” Fluttershy asked.

“If you are to face off against Darth Edris, then your mission is to find any weakness Darth Edris may possess. She has a cult of assassins past the Equestrian deserts just outside Klugetown. They may know something,” Qui-Gon said as Fluttershy thought the mission over.

“Wait, if I’m the one Darth Edris wants…won’t I be walking into a trap?” Fluttershy asked as the Griffon Prince once more turned to Fluttershy.

“The Force will protect you. Good luck,” The Griffon Prince relieved her as Fluttershy simply smirked.

“Well, if that’s the case, there’s no such thing as luck in my experience. I’ll be on my way,” Fluttershy said as she concentrated on the Force and was enveloped in bright light, bringing her back to the waking world.

As Fluttershy awoke covered in green slime, she was once again met with the smiling face of Roach, as well as Starswirl and Rola Blix who waited patiently to hear what she had learned. Fluttershy shook the gunk off of her and prepared to share what she had learned with her cabal.

“Padawan. Report what you have learned!” Rola Blix demanded in a tone most unbefitting for a Jedi as Fluttershy scowled at her rather harsh teacher.

“I’ve learned Darth Edris has not only been around for the past three millennia but she’s been controlling all of Equestria for all this time,” Fluttershy reported as Roach and Starswirl gasped at the news and turned to one another in shock.

“All this time? That explains our memory loss,” Starswirl theorized as he stroked his long beard, contemplating what else she could have done.

“Did they say anything else?” Rola Blix added as Fluttershy remembered the information Qui-Gon and the Griffon Prince told her.

“They said Edris has minions outside of Equestria. They must know of a weakness Darth Edris may possess,” Fluttershy said as Rola Blix began hatching a plot.

“Then it’s settled then. Tomorrow at dawn, we head outside of this place and hunt for these assassins,” Rola Blix said as Roach scowled at the Jedi Master.

“Begging your pardon, Master Jedi,” Roach said, clearly mocking Rola, “But Fluttershy’s in charge, not you,”

“Begging your pardon, insect, but a Padawan has no right to lead. Besides, I’m an esteemed military veteran while your friend is a pacifist! She’ll lead you to disaster!” Rola Blix warned as Fluttershy was clearly hurt by those words, but did not speak up against them.

“What do you say, Flutters? Should we put her in charge,” Roach said as Fluttershy was barely paying attention.

“We’ll do it your way, Master Blix,” Fluttershy said with a sigh in defeat, as Roach was shocked by Fluttershy’s decision while Rola Blix stuck her nose up triumphantly. With his best friend in defeat, an arrogant relic taking charge, and a mission outside of Equestria, Roach only had a few words to say:

“I have a bad feeling about this…”

The Train

A busy day at the train station dawned on the ponies as Fluttershy and Roach hustled their way onboard the first train to Canterlot. As to keep the true nature of their mission a secret, Roach had disguised himself as Rarity to make the trip more believable.

“Excuse me. Pardon me,” Fluttershy squeaked as the ponies moved out of the way for the shy pony, allowing the secret Jedi and her partner to get to the train on time. As the two made their way towards the train, the infamous robed figure of Starswirl the Bearded was on their trail and decided to follow them.

“Morning ladies! First train to Canterlot, I take it?” The conductor asked as Fluttershy and “Rarity” presented their tickets to him.

“Yes please,” Fluttershy responded, having been used to this routine since she first started going on adventures, as the conductor nodded and took the tickets from them.

“Sure do miss Princess Twilight, huh? Boy, one whole year, and I kinda miss seeing her drag you two along for the ride,” The conductor laughed as Fluttershy smiled along. The two ponies then hopped on board with their luggage as the train moved quickly toward Canterlot. As Fluttershy and Roach loaded their luggage on the seats opposite of them, the two sat down and relaxed, waiting for their destination.

“So...are you still sure you’re ready to face whoever’s behind this?” Roach asked through his Rarity disguise as Fluttershy took a deep breath.

“I...I don’t think I am, to be honest. But I’m not sure if we have much of a choice. Twilight’s in Canterlot, in danger, and I’m the only one who could sense it. I can’t just ignore this feeling,” Fluttershy reaffirmed as Roach sat back down and twiddled his hooves, hoping to find some way to help the situation.

“You really think we can figure this out in the end?” Roach asked as Fluttershy once again turned to her changeling companion.

“All we can do is hope,” Fluttershy sighed as Roach couldn’t think of what to do next if this doesn’t work out. Roach took a sigh himself and got up from his seat to get a snack from the next train car over, only to notice one small flaw in the overall plan. They forgot to account for the chance the real Rarity would be boarding the train. With a slight squee in his impression of Rarity, Roach sheepishly sank back into the train car with Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy, darling. Might you accompany me, a fellow darling, to the bathroom for a moment, darling? We...really need to go. Like, now, darling,” Roach said, trying to clue Fluttershy in while keeping their presence undetected. Although the overabundance of the word “darling” certainly helped.

“Roach, what are you--?” Fluttershy asked as she nudged her head out the car door and found Rarity along with Pinkie Pie. And they were headed in Fluttershy and Roach’s direction, causing alarm in the hidden Jedi and disguised changeling.

“Right. Bathroom it is,” Fluttershy said as she and “Rarity” rushed in the opposite direction, much to the alarm of the other ponies.

“Scuse me. Pardon me. Sorry!” Fluttershy said as she and Roach accidentally kept on knocking into ponies on the train, hoping to find someplace to hide for just a few seconds. And then finally, after five cars in, they found the little pony’s room and crammed themselves in, all the while the real Rarity and Pinkie Pie tracked Fluttershy down, much to their confusion.

“Fluttershy? Is that you in there, darling?” The real Rarity asked as she knocked on the bathroom door.

“Ummm...no?” Fluttershy said as she couldn’t think of a better lie.

“Then why do you sound like Fluttershy? You two look and sound exactly the same,” Pinkie Pie argued as Fluttershy muttered something to herself, trying to think of something while Roach needed to buy time to switch to a new disguise. As she slowly ran out of options, Fluttershy thought now would be a good time to put that good old Jedi training to use.

“Maybe it’s...just a massive coincidence,” Fluttershy said, waving her hoof around she felt a gentle breeze brush against her hoof. A solid four seconds passed before a response came from the other side.

“I dunno Rarity. Maybe it’s just a massive coincidence,” Pinkie Pie replied, much to Rarity’s surprise.

“Darling, a lot of ponies are saying they saw another me on here with Fluttershy, and I can very much tell that’s Fluttershy on the other side of this door. Now could you please tell me what’s going on?” Rarity ranted as Pinkie Pie watched on. Fluttershy gritted her teeth worried that Rarity is on Roach’s tail, putting the whole Jedi mission in jeopardy. But as worried as she was, she was relieved her mind trick was able to work. Now she needed to use it again and convince the both of them there was no funny business going on.

“Look, it’s been a long day, and we’re all a bit tired. Maybe you’re just seeing things is all,” Fluttershy replied, waving her hoof once more. And like clockwork, Pinkie was under its effects.

“Yeah, I think we’re just tired and seeing things. Come on,” Pinkie said as a confused Rarity followed a mind-tricked Pinkie Pie down the train cars back to their seats while Fluttershy and Roach both breathed a sigh of relief.

“I guess the coast is clear now,” Fluttershy said as Roach felt free enough to change his disguise to Rainbow Dash, now knowing full well that the real Dash isn’t on the train.

“Thanks. Now I owe you one. Also, great work on the mind tricks,” Roach said as Fluttershy blushed with pride.

“Well, you were the best practice dummy to test it on,” Fluttershy said, waving her hoof.

“Well, what can I say? I was the best practice dummy to--Hey!” Roach said, almost parroting Fluttershy’s wording before catching himself under the mind trick. Fluttershy let out a cute little laugh as Roach rolled his eyes like a brother watching his sister play around. The two ponies headed back to their car seats before once again bumping again into a familiar face.

“Oh! Pardon me, little pony,” Starswirl the Bearded said as Fluttershy picked herself up after knocking into him.

“Starswirl?” Fluttershy asked as she didn’t expect to see him here.

“Hey, what brings you here?” Roach asked as Starswirl knew something was up about “Rainbow Dash”.

“I was only doing a few errands. And I must say, that was an impressive showcase, I must say, little pony,” Starswirl complimented as Fluttershy and Roach raised an eyebrow at him.

“Thanks?... I guess?” Fluttershy said as she tried to scooch by Starswirl so they could get back to their car in peace while they wait for the train ride to end.

“Oh. And you might need this for wherever you’re going, Master Jedi” Starswirl said, holding up the hilt of Fluttershy’s lightsaber, shocking the two of them in place. Before she could react, Fluttershy snatched her lightsaber with the Force before anyone would notice.

“Where did you find this?” Fluttershy asked as Starswirl let out a merry little chuckle.

“You dropped it while you and your changeling friend headed to the little mare’s room. Quite scandalous for a gentle-colt like you to sneak right on in. And you weren’t even subtle about your disguise,” Starswirl deduced, much to Roach’s shock. Fluttershy and Roach headed back on into their car and brought Starswirl with them so that what’s said in the car stays in the car.

“OK, so you know I’m trying to become a Jedi, and you know Roach is a changeling helping me do that. My question is: How do you know what the Jedi are?” Fluttershy asked as Roach and Starswirl sat apart from one another on the train car.

“I...honestly wish I knew. Everything before my disappearance into the void with the other pillars is starting to become hazy. I theorize my memories have been tampered with,” Starswirl explained as Fluttershy and Roach looked at one another with concern.

“Okay, memory tampering is obviously never a good sign,” Roach commented, stroking his chin.

“But...if your memories have been tampered with, then someone must not want you to know about the Jedi, right?” Fluttershy asked as Starswirl perked up at Fluttershy’s question.

“Yes. I suppose you’re right,” Starswirld replied.

“Then, how do you know, if you’re not supposed to?” Fluttershy asked as Starswirl removed his pointy hat and rubbed the temples on his forehead around his horn.

“After a thousand of years in the non-existent world between universes, I believe the memory theft is starting to wear off. But I haven’t fully recollected them yet,” Starswirl said as Fluttershy listened in on the old wizard’s words.

“Well...if you want to help me figure out my path as a Jedi, then everything you know about them would be pretty handy. So...you wanna join me and Roach?” Fluttershy offered as the train neared Canterlot.

“You sure about this guy? I don’t doubt your judgment, but I smell something fishy about if we do let this guy in,” Roach said as Fluttershy hushed him.

“Don’t worry. He’s one of the Pillars of Equestria. If all goes well, I’m sure he’ll be great at helping us beat this shadow,” Fluttershy said as Starswirl’s ears perked up.

“Shadow? What shadow?” Starswirl said as if he heard something that reminded him of a nightmare. Fluttershy and Roach turned back to their wizard friend and noticed he began behaving oddly.

“Well, we believe there’s some sort of shadow that kidnapped Twilight, so we’re about to go--” Roach explained before being cut off.

“NO! Don’t go! Not now! It’s too dangerous!” Starswirl warned, catching Fluttershy and Roach off guard.

“You know, I was just trying to say the same exact thing,” Roach commented as their train sped closer and closer to the Canterlot station.

“Why shouldn’t I go? Do you know something about this shadow?” Fluttershy asked as Starswirl groaned and fussed to himself.

“No! I can’t remember anything! My horn aches every time I try to remember. You must heed my warning, young one. You’re not ready!” Starswirl warned as the train docked at the station and the ponies came out of the train one by one.

“Well...is there anything I can do to get ready?” Fluttershy asked as Starswirl rubbed his head and stroked his mane, trying to recollect what he can from his recovered memories.

“I...think there’s someone I know who can help. A Jedi with much more experience than you who is stuck in the Void. The same void I banished myself in. That’s...all I can remember, unfortunately,” Starswirl said, upset he couldn’t remember anything else.

“Wow. The one thing you can remember is the one thing Fluttershy desperately needs. Man, are we lucky or what?” Roach asked as Fluttershy and Starswirl turned to Roach.

“Since when are we ever lucky with the Force guiding our path? I believe we might have been brought together for this very reason,” Fluttershy theorized as he turned to the partially amnesiac wizard.

“Excellent! So it’s official that I am a part of your little cabal?” Starswirl asked as Fluttershy and Roach turned to one another and nodded at one another.

“Yep! You’re in! Welcome aboard,” Fluttershy announced as she shook hooves with Starswirl.

“Huzzah! So, I say we should head to someplace quiet to summon this Jedi to help us!” Starswirl recommended as Fluttershy noticed they were already in Canterlot City.

“Hey, we know of a place. It’s where we’ve been training for the last four years, and it’s pretty much our hideaway. It’s perfect for summoning her,” Roach recommended as Fluttershy looked up and noticed the Castle embedded inside of the mountain. She could sense the Dark Side of the Force emanating from the majestic building now more than ever. Fluttershy could only get the feeling something terrible is happening, and she just has the need to investigate.

“Well, since we’re already in Canterlot, I say we--” Fluttershy deduced as the three of them hopped off the train to make their next move.

“Sorry, Flutters. You’re outvoted two to one on this one. I promise we will come back for Twilight though, OK?” Roach suggested as the trio headed away from Canterlot Palace to commit to their new plan. Fluttershy looked back at the palace and felt an overabundance of guilt in her soul.

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Fluttershy wept as she followed Roach and Starswirl to the Jedi Sanctuary.