Sunset Shimmer's Saga: Call of the Force

Chapters

Chapter 1: Darkness Rising
Chapter 2: Voices and Visions
Chapter 3: The Heist
Chapter 4: The Lost Planet
Chapter 5: A Day at the Mall
Chapter 6: Answering the Call
Chapter 7: The Force
Chapter 8: Trials of Sunset Shimmer
Chapter 9: Shroud of Darkness
Chapter 10: Wookiee Distress 1
Chapter 11: Wookiee Distress 2
Chapter 12: Fulcrum's Message
Chapter 13: The Imperial Annexation
Chapter 14: Homecoming
Chapter 15: The Original Rebel
Chapter 16: The Initiation
Chapter 17: Assault on the Dome
Chapter 18: The Sith Lord
Chapter 19: Gathering Forces
Chapter 20: ARKUNTAL
Chapter 21: Enlightenment
Chapter 22: Twilight of the Apprentice
Chapter 23: Ascension
Chapter 24: The Path
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away.....

Chapter 1: Darkness Rising

19 BBY
The Colonies, Quellor Sector
Cato Neimoidia

“ So this is how Cato Neimoidia looks like from up here,”, Kara Antra said to herself as she piloted a Delta-7B Aethersprite-class light interceptor, commonly known as a Jedi starfighter as it was always used by the Jedi in missions like campaign assaults and reconnaissance missions like what she and her master were doing now. After a close but nevertheless successful battle in retaking the Neimoidian purse-world and Trade Federation stronghold from the Separatist Alliance, she and her master, together with a squad of Clone ARC-170 Starfighters now patrol the planet’s misty skies, maneuvering its tall and imposing rock arches which were shrouded by the mist, hoping to weed out any remaining Separatist fighters before officially claiming the strategic planet for the Republic. .

“Did you say something, my young padawan? ” Her master Plo Koon said through the ship’s comm-link. “ It’s nothing, master. I was just commenting on the environment of this planet,” Kara replied through the same channel her master had used to communicate with her. Being raised and brought up in the Jedi Temple for most of her life, Kara has rarely ventured beyond the tall walls of the Temple and when she was assigned to Master Plo, she was overjoyed,not only because she has chosen as a padawan to a senior member of the Jedi High Council, a privilege to but a very few, she had the chance to see the galaxy, albeit that meant taking part in the Clone Wars given that her Master is a renowned General in the Republic Military and lead his own battalion, the 104th Battalion, also popularly known as the Wolf-Pack battalion. Being a padawan to a Jedi Master during the war would have meant the apprentice being granted the rank of Commander in the military, a rank given to Kara despite her relative young age and her inexperience in warfare. Despite this, Kara is eager and determined to show that she is up to the task unfairly placed upon her by the existing circumstances. Situated just at the front of her pilot pod, rested her astromech droid R5-D7, issued to her when she first joined the war effort. Kara had found herself an unlikely ally with R5, an irony being that the Separatist War Machine is predominantly made up of battle droids. “ Beep, Boop, Beep” are the morse code-like noises that came out from R5’s internal systems. For someone who does not understand the binary language of a droid, this would seem like random beeps. Of course this is not the case for Kara who, thanks to her education, fluently understood not just binary but other commonly used languages in the galaxy other than Galactic Basic. She’s slightly annoyed by R5’s cynical advice to stay focused on the current mission instead of daydreaming.

“ You should perhaps listen to your droid sometimes,'' said Plo Koon in a mildly sarcastic but yet compassionate voice.“ I’ve not lost focus on the mission, master. As for my droid, I think his internal’s are a bit rusty,” Kara shot back with a not so subtle jab on her droid. “Our Scopes are clear so far. No sign of enemy fighters. We must have driven them off-world.” Captain Jag, the Clone starfighter captain, chipped in. The misty skies were indeed clear, save for a few venator-class destroyers. But from the experience from dealing with battle droids for the entirety of the war, Plo Koon knew better to not lower their guard down even for a second or risk having their entire squadron decimated by a surprise ambush attack. “We shouldn’t be complacent, Captain. In his desperation, Grievous may launch a rash and brutal counter attack in an effort to recoup his losses in this system. We must stay alert and be ready for anything thrown at us,” Plo Koon warned his wingman. “Copy that, General ”, Jag replied swiftly and clearly to his Commanding Officer’s advice . “ Kara, take three fighters under your command and conduct a sweep at these coordinates, while Captain Jag and I will patrol the airspace over the city” “ Copy that, Master Plo. We’ll regroup with your team after we’re done” Kara replied to her master’s instructions.as R5 provided the coordinates sent out by Master Plo and soon sent it to their wingmen under her command. “ Alright boys, You heard what the General said, follow my lead and we’ll get this done and over quickly”. “ We’re with you Commander Antra, ” responded the wingmen under Kara’s Command with full determination and unquestionable loyalty in their tone.

The team led by Kara then departed from the main squadron to conduct a sweep at the provided coordinates as ordered. Just as her team broke off, Captain Jag received a priority incoming transmission via the Clone Communication Channels in which Jedi Commanding Officers were strangely not a part of. “ General, we are receiving an incoming transmission from Coruscant, ” Jag informed the General about the incoming transmission. “ Maybe it's an update on Master Kenobi’s mission on Utapau,” Kara speculated in a reference to Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi’s special mission to destroy Separatist Military leader General Grievous which would bring a swift and victorious end to the war. However, her master did not feel the same optimism as her. Instead, he’s confused, or perhaps dwelled in his thoughts as to why as the transmission which originated from the Republic Capital, had not been routed to him, being the Commanding Officer of the battalion. Just then, He felt it. A great and powerful disturbance in the Force, the cries of countless in pain and agony, were suddenly silenced by blaster fire piercing through their bodies.

Even as a senior and well-experienced Jedi Master, Plo Koon was taken aback by the tremor or more accurately, the wave of pain and suffering that engulfed the Force. Kara too felt the ripples of pain and suffering from the Force . Like her master, she too has never felt this much agony suffered by many at the same time in her lifetime. “ Master, I just felt a great disturbance in the Force. I’ve never felt more pain and suffering like this. I don’t understand. What’s causing this ? ” Kara asked as she sought the wisdom of her master in hopes of finding out what’s causing this much pain and suffering. “ Something terrible has happened, I don’t know..” Plo Koon said as he trailed off to his thoughts. He too was trying to comprehend what he had just felt and for the first time, he could not provide a specific answer to his padawan other than something terrible had happened. Meanwhile, in the pod of his wingman Captain Jag, oblivious to the disturbance felt by his General, accepted the incoming transmission, to which a hologram of a cloaked severely disfigured man, whose cloak was used to cover his disfigured face appeared. The Captain had never seen this person before, but yet what came out from his mouth alone was enough to fall under his command. It was short, but yet clear as to what this cloaked figure had said and it only amounted to three words. “ Execute Order 66” to which he replied without question or thought, “ It will be done, My Lord”.

‘ Good Soldiers Follow Orders’ was the phrase that continuously echoed within the mind of Captain Jag as he trained the starfighter’s laser cannon’s towards his commanding officer’s starfighter ahead of him and started firing at it, without any hesitation and emotion. The other fighters soon followed suit and started firing on the Jedi Starfighter. Plo Koon certainly did not see it coming when the first shots from the Captain’s ship hit his fighter. A feeling of utter shock and bewilderment overwhelmed him as he did not sense the betrayal of his fellow soldiers. Men who he had fought together with since the first battle of Geonosis all these years ago. “ Master Plo Watch Out !!!!” Kara screamed in horror through the comms as she watched the clones fire on her master’s ship. “R5, turn the ship around, we need to help him !!” Kara said to her droid, who replied with a more erratic beeping, indicating his inability to process the unfolding situation. Nevertheless, as the ship’s co-pilot, he did as he was told and turned the starfighter towards the direction of Plo Koon’s fighter. “ Master, I’m coming for you.” Kara cried out to her master, who despite being overwhelmed with a sense of betrayal, attempted to evade the incoming fire by flying towards the opulent gilded bridge cities held by massive rock formations, to find cover from the blaster shots being directed towards him. But even then, Plo Koon knew his time had come. “ Kara, do not come back for me. You must leave now if you are to survive !”. This was his last message to his padawan as the Clone Captain and his men succeeded in shooting down his starfighter. Damaged beyond repair and heading towards imminent crash, the starfighter spiraled out of control upon being shot towards a staging area used by the Clone infantry ground unit. The ship then crashed into the staging area, exploding upon impact and sent out a burst of flames as it did so.[1]

“MASTER !!” Kara cried out loud upon witnessing her master shot down right infront of her own eyes. Before she could grieve, she found herself being fired upon by her own wingmen. R5, which detected the incoming blaster fire, quickly alerted Kara about them. “ I know, I know, there’s too many of them on us, ” Kara acknowledged her droid as she tried to maneuver the rock arches as she attempted to shake them off . For now, there was only one objective in Kara’s mind, which is to survive. Her piloting skills are modest at best, nowhere near her master but even then, her master did not make it. She would have to come up with an effective maneuver fast or she too will share the same fate as the Clone fighters were closing in on her. “ Beep, Boop Beep ?” R5 related to her which in basic translated to ‘what are we going to do’ . They can’t keep evading them forever, eventually they are gonna have to fire back. “ R5, cut the engines at my command,” Kara said to her droid. She was about to try a manouverve that she had learnt from her master which she hoped would work in their favor. “The Force is with me and I am one with the Force” she muttered to herself as she waited for the precise time to cut the engines,

“ And… Now !!!” She said out loud. With that, the astromech droid cut the starfighters turbo plasma engines. The ship, which has lost its forward thrust perpetrated by the engines, fell back, in the mercy of the speed of planetary gravity, falling behind the two Clone Fighters that were on her tail, taking the pilots in surprise as the ship, while spinning vertically, with the internal controls ringing beyond control, but that was what exactly Kara had intended to. “ Turn it on, now”, Kara gave the order to R5, to restart the engines as soon as the ship was behind the fighters. The engines turn back on and restores the forward thrust of the ship, turning the tables around and putting Kara behind their tails with a clear shot. “ I have you now,” Kara said as she started firing the ship’s lasers towards the fighters, sending one of them bursting in flames and damaging the other’s engines, sending it spiraling towards the city below before hitting one of the building structures and exploding on impact. Kara could not believe it, the trick worked. The Force must have been with her today, but there was no time to celebrate. There will be more fighters after her and she will be greatly outnumbered soon. “ That should buy us enough time to get the heck out of here, '' She intoned, to which her droid equally agreed. They would just have to calculate the jump to hyperspace, and they’ll be away from this shocking nightmare.

BOOM !! That was the sound she heard as soon as more Republic Fighters fired from behind, this time successfully damaging the ship’s wings, which soon started burning, releasing a trail of smoke. This sent the internal mechanisms haywire, something R5 tried to frantically point out to Kara. “ I can see that, buddy,” she said as she desperately attempted to control the ship which was failing as every second passed. It seems that the Force was no longer with her. The ship’s steering was failing, including its auxiliary power, firing mechanisms, and everything else which formed a part of it. If that wasn’t bad, the ship also appeared to be on a downward spiral towards the mist covering the planet’s surface, ranging from grasslands, forests or the planet’s infamous acidic oceans. Kara quickly thought of a way to get out of the current predicament, not intending to die from being dissolved by acid. “ Bring us over to that mountain plain over there !” Kara pointed out to R5 to a mountain located not far away for them with a flat enough land to make a desperate crash. R5 further pointed out that they were coming at it at high speed, but that is not of her concern right now. “ Just be ready when I tell you to eject !”. As the starfighter approached the mountain plain, Kara braced for a harsh impact and perhaps a life and death moment. The starfighter soon crashed onto the flat land at full speed. The impact was as rough as expected but wasn’t enough to break its momentum forward towards the clift. The window to eject was closing quickly and she knew she had to act now. “ NOW !!!” Kara took out her lightsaber and ignited it, emitting a blue energy sword from a metal cylinder to cut her pod open and jumped off from the ship, while her droid used its in-built rocket propulsion system and launched itself out of its pod. They both managed to jump out from the fighter just in time as if fell off the cliff to certain doom. However, their nightmare was far from over.

Over at the distance, Kara spotted a Low Altitude Assault Transport (LAAT), or commonly known as a Republic Gunship approaching their location. Kara sensed that they have, however, yet to have spotted them, but she wasn’t gonna wait around any longer for them to. “ We have to hide,” She said to her droid. But hiding space is something that was seriously lacking on a mountain plain. They finally decided to hide behind some large rocks, it wasn't an ideal spot, but with the gunship approaching, it will have to make do. The Gunship arrived at the scene of the crash and fortunately for Kara, none of the Clones disembarked from it for a thorough search of the plain. Kara managed to get a brief look at the Clones on the gunship. They bore phase II armor decorated with bright green markings and equipped with a standard military blaster. It wasn't the Wolfpack soldiers, recognisable from the wolf insignia on their helmet. These clones instead were from the 446th Siege Battalion, a battalion sent to assist her master and their garrison in retaking the system.

“ No sign of the Jedi starship, sir” Said one of the troopers who visually scanned the plain for the remains of Kara’s starfighter from the gunship. “The Sea’s have them now” Said one of the other troopers in a sarcastic reference to the acidic oceans below the mist. Their squad leader, however, with a green pad over his shoulder armor resembling one with a rank of Captain appeared unconvinced. “ Send a Probe to find its remains'', He ordered to his subordinates who followed without question, and from the gunship, launched a medium sized roundish droid with a red center bearing a Republic military insignia to the plain before the gunship itself left to rejoin the remaining forces at the Capital city. The Probe Droid did waste any more of its time on the plain, instead heading straight below the mists to find the supposed wreckage of the ship. With the scene clear, Kara and R5 came out from their hiding spot, and Kara felt slightly relieved. “ That was a close one. Even the 446th have turned on us” Kara sighed. R5, added in binary that all the Clone Comm Channels are issuing only a single directive in repeat, ‘Execute Order 66’. The astromech wondered whether this peculiar directive had something to do with the Clones mutiny. It was a directive which Kara had never heard of before. Indeed she wasn’t familiar with military language and protocol but how could a single directive have the Clones, men whom her master had fought side by side with for years and commanded great respect from, turn against him. “ None of this makes any sense,” Kara grumbled in a hopeless manner, “ Those men fought beside Master Plo throughout this war. He saved their lives countless times before and they just gunned him down like he was the enemy just because of some stupid directive ???” She pointed out to R5, feeling angry and at the same time lost. She just saw her master, and in some ways a parent figure was shot down.

She is now rudderless. Her head was filled with a flurry of emotions and questions. What is she going to do now without her master showing the way forward or giving a helping hand when she’s down ??? Kara was not at all prepared for this, despite her years of upbringing in the Temple. She felt like just collapsing to the ground and cry, and had a thought, though it passed like a fleeing shadow, that she turn herself over, even if it meant being executed like her master. It was at this moment, she remembered her training, that is to trust that the Force will always be with her, no matter how dark things may seem. Her master would not have wanted her to grieve for him, not now. Now, she had to figure out a way to escape and find out what happened. “ We won’t find any answers here. We need to get off this rock first”, Kara said to R5 who immediately pointed out the fact that they don’t have a ship. “ There must be some leftover ships over at the Impound that we could use to get off world.” Kara thought. It was a risky idea, but there wasn’t a better one either.

Going into the city was indeed a very bad and risky idea. With the battle over, the Clones were acting as police force, securing strategic places while at the same time, moving captured war prisoners, mostly Neimoidians, to designated camps. With a city crawling with former allies with the intent to shoot on sight, Kara and her droid were forced to move very quietly and slowly sneak past each patrol, checkpoint and air surveillance to avoid detection. It would greatly slowed them down, but it was better than having to outrun a city of Clones. While heading towards the impound where confiscated starships, ranging from Separatist fighters to luxurious Neimoidian -owned cruisers were kept, Kara came across a Clone briefing being held at the city center. The both of them hid behind a couple of crates within a safe distance away from where the briefing was being held. Over at the city square, lay two gunships, equipped with search lights and a couple of AT-TE walkers. The briefing was covered by 4 troopers while the briefing itself was mostly filled by infantry troops of both battalions. Kara recognised one of the troopers there to be the Captain earlier from the 446th battalion that was searching for her over the mountain plain earlier. They seemed to be discussing matters related to their victory in capturing Cato Neimoidia, a victory that would have not been possible if not for her master . Kara could not make out who it was that presided over the briefing, but he sounded familiar to her. Then again, all of them would, being genetically the same person. Finally the person who presided over the briefing revealed himself to be none other Commander Wolffe. Kara recognised his armor anywhere, being the only Clone officer senior to her in the military other than her master. He was also Plo Koon’s right hand man and second in command of the Wolfpack. She listened in on what else the briefing is about, hoping to get some answers.

“ Did you find the Jedi’s starfighters?” Wolffe asked the team of Clones listening to him. “ We found Plo Koon’s ship crashed over at the staging zone. He’s dead, Commander.”A clone trooper answered. “As for the padawan, the Probe Droid found her crashed ship near the seas but the cockpit was empty and there was no sign of her body. ” said the Clone Captain who was in charge of confirming Kara’s death. “It’s possible she could have survived,” Another clone added. “ I want all of you to pull every resource available in finding her if she indeed survived. Kara Antra has been marked for termination by Order 66. Under this directive, any and all Jedi Leadership must be executed for treason against the Republic. So find her, and do it fast. Our orders come from the Supreme Chancellor himself.” Wolffe ordered to which all of the clones present replied with a fanatical “Sir ! Yes Sir !” to their Commander’s orders, clearing intending to follow them through. The troopers then dispersed in groups bent on finding her. Meanwhile, from the safety of her hiding spot, Kara's heart had sunk in. She had for a brief moment hoped that Wolffe, being the second in command and her master’s most trusted officer, would not turn on the Jedi. But after hearing the briefing that had transpired below, all hopes were lost. Wolffe was like any under trooper now, bent on executing his orders. Kara did not have her questions answered but instead more questions were raised, and this too was echoed by R5, in his language of beeping. Nothing makes sense at all, she thought. One thing was clear, the disturbance she had felt earlier, It was the cries of every other Jedi across the galaxy before they too were coldly executed by their Clone troopers. Her thoughts were soon interrupted as she noticed some troopers getting into the gunships which then lifted up from the ground and turned on their searchlights to start an aerial sweep of the city for her. “ That’s not good”, she muttered.

Meanwhile,
Canterlot Royal Castle
Equestria

In Canterlot Castle, home to the regal ruler of the realm of Equestria, Princess Celestia, who had just finished attending to matters pertaining to the administration of her kingdom together with her advisers. It had been a long and tiring day for her, mediating disputes and keeping the harmony between the different races of ponies while at the same time being a mentor to the students of her school and most of all protecting her people from wild and dangerous magical beasts that are bent on the enslavement of her peaceful and harmonious people. After finalizing matters for the day, she was about to excuse herself to her sleeping quarters when she felt it. Pain, unimaginable pain and suffering. The cries of thousands screaming for help in agony were suddenly silenced. She had felt a shroud of darkness, one far more powerful and vengeful than anything she had ever felt before, rising from that agony and suffering to take. The disturbance was powerful and striking enough to cause the powerful alicorn, who was strong with the light side to collapse onto the floor. The wave of suffering and darkness had struck her to her very core.. A single drop of tear comes out from her eyes, as she places her right hoove on her chest, which had absorbed the shockwaves she had felt earlier. This is indeed something she had never in her lifetime had ever felt. Even the worst and most vile of Equestria’s beasts had never given out a feeling as powerful as the one she had felt. The two royal guards over at the other end of the throne room, both of them being earth ponies cladded with golden armor over their heads which extended down covered a part of their muzzle. Their armor extended over to their chest and the rest of their body with the exceptions being their hooves and tail. The two of them, having been tasked to stand guard over at the Throne room rushed towards the aid of their beloved Princess. The throne room was the unlikeliest place for something like this to happen, but still it was their duty to protect the Princess from any harm, be it mystical or physical.

“ Princess Celestia, are you alright ???” asked one of the guards with a concerned expression over his face while his colleague extends his hoove over to the Princess for her to bring herself up. “ I’m fine. Something horrifying has happened” Celestia whimpered as she slowly pulled herself up. She too was in the unknown on what she had felt, or what had caused it in the first place . “ Did something happen ?” the other guard asked. “ Yes, the dark side, it has never been this strong, ever. ” she replied. It was all she could provide for right now, or what she could comprehend so far. “ What could have caused it ?? Could it be Nightmare Moon ??” the guards asked, in reference to her estranged sister whom she had once ruled together side by side. But Celestia knew better. This could not be the work of her sister. Sure, her sister was consumed by bitterness and hate, but there was still some good in her. She knew it. Besides, even at the height of her wickedness, Luna as her sister was once called could not have caused shockwaves as powerful as this or had the power to do so. No.. this was the work of something far more powerful and deeply embedded in darkness, as if it was considered one of the darkness itself. “No, this is not the doing of my sister. This is something else, something far more powerful and sinister.” Celestia said to her guards, whose expressions changed upon hearing what she had said. The concerned expressions on their face further deepened and coupled with a sense of worry. “ What should we do then ?” they asked, knowing well that Celestia being the one of the most powerful alicorn that has ever lived, their savior and benevolent ruler would know how to deal with this darkness. But for the first time in her life, she could not give an answer they would be expecting from someone of her stature. She knew it, that from the shockwaves she had felt, there was no known way that she could counter it. The Elements of Harmony and the power they carry would be useless in countering this evil. This evil could consume her Kingdom and everything else in their world and the fact she could not do anything to stop it frustrated her greatly. Ponies of all races look up to her, and it would break them if they were to find out that she could not protect them. “ There’s nothing we can do, but only hope that this evil does not find its way here,” she replied, admitting that for the first time, she could not be their savior they expected her to be.[2]

Author's Note

So here we are, the of the first chapter. How was it ? Please let me know down below in the comments. This chapter is solely focused( other than the brief Equestria scene,) on Kara Antra, one of our main protagonists in the overall story. As stated above, We start off approximately around 19BBY coinciding at the very end of the Clone Wars. For those who may not know what 'BBY' means, it stands for 'Before the Battle of Yavin' (The battle depicted during the climax of the first Star Wars movie aka Star Wars: A New Hope) . BBY is used to indicate events set before the said battle as such, this scene takes place 19 years before. Kara who is no more 15-16 years old at the time, is a padawan to Senior Jedi Master Plo Koon. ( Check out this link if you don't know who Plo Koon is: https://www.starwars.com/databank/plo-koon) . One thing you guys should know is that this story will be filled with tons of easter eggs and references, mostly from the larger Star Wars universe but will also include references from MLP: Equestria Girls and other movies as well, though on a lesser scale. The story is based on Star Wars canon as of May 2022 and I'll try my best to keep it as close to it as possible. Given the countless upcoming star wars shows in the coming months, I do hope it doesn't overwrite this. Now, onto the easter eggs,

[1]- Perhaps the most obvious of all is Plo Koon's death. This scene was taken entirely from Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. (1:22.10 to be precise) In the movie, the very brief scene was mostly focused on Plo Koon being shot by the Clone pilots. It's the main reason the first half takes place in Cato Neimoidia. Plo Koon gets sent there to free the planet from the Separatists, and his new padawan Kara joins him. Even the brief 'Execute order 66' dialogue was taken from the movie.
[2]- Indeed, the horrors of Order 66 spread like wildfire throughout the Force, even as far as reaching Princess Celestia who could sense the anguish arising from the massacre and the rise of a New Evil, one she had never before felt in her lifetime. This is the ONLY scene that takes place in the MLP world, with the rest of the story revolving mainly around the EQG world, but don't worry, there will be references about Equestria and the Pony world.

Chapter 2: Voices and Visions

15 Years Later(4BBY),
Outer Rim Territories/Wild Space
Utthar
Sunset Shimmer’s Bedroom

Sunset Shimmer lied on her bed as she snored off in the middle of the night. She’s in a deep sleep, evidently tired and worn out. The past few weeks had taken a toll on her, from presiding over the publishing of her school’s annual yearbook to dealing with a magical accident in which her best friends, those whom she considered family had their good memories of her wiped out, leaving only bitter ones from a time when she herself had lost her way[1]. Sometimes she wondered as to why these magical accidents always involved she and her friends, of all the people in the world. But they were given a tremendous responsibility to protect their home, and it's a duty that she would always answer, no matter what . But today, she felt that she deserved a little rest to replenish her energy bar. Balancing high school life and the occasional hero work was indeed challenging and she needed to be mentally and physically fit to handle it. After all, considering her somewhat magical origins herself, her friends would look to her during any mayhem and she must be in sound mind to deal with it.

In her sleep, she had a rather peculiar and strange dream she never before had dreamt of. In this dream, she sees a vision of a man, or at what she can make out as one, with his face covered with a black cloak with only his yellow burning eyes visibly striking out. It seemed like he was in some sort of deep sorrow, and this was fueling his rage. She had never seen someone with this much hate and anger before. She too had her downs, when she became estranged from her mentor Princess Celestia due to her own greed and ambitions but she had never had this much of hate and vengeance in her, or so she thought. This mysterious man was joined by another cloaked figure who appeared older and whose eyes were also burning yellow, Sunset could barely make out his face to be that of severely disfigured and from the expression he was giving,he was clearly and evidently evil. “ The Force is strong with you, a powerful Sith, you will become” The disfigured figure said to the other person, in a deep raspy voice which would unsettle anyone hearing it. The visions then shifted towards the younger man who was in a rage, with hate flowing through his veins, yielding a glowing blue coloured sword which acted as some sort of weapon that she is alien to and was using it to slaughter no other than unarmed children ! Countless innocent and harmless children were brutally murdered with their bodies pierced and cut through gruesomely with the glowing sword.

Who could do something as cruel and vile like murdering children ?? This was not the work of any normal person, but a monster, one which was not capable of feeling any remorse or guilt in his actions, She thought. She then found herself in a volcanic environment, in which she finds another man, this one, unlike the earlier two did not seem to be imbedded with the dark side. He was instead a middle aged man with blond hair and beard. He too had a blue light sword, and seemed to be engaged in a duel with his corrupted counterpart, who surprisingly to Sunset, had the same skin tone. “ You were my Brother, Anakin !!” he shouted out loud towards his opponent, to which Sunset felt a sense of great disappointment and pain, going by his tone. “ I HATE YOU !” his counterpart screamed back, with nothing but anger and hate inside of him. The two then continued their duel [2]. Sunset then heard another voice, this one much more peaceful and filled with serenity and comfort who said, “ Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering” [3]. It seemed to be some sort of a warning, but before she could give anymore more thought about it, her dreams then brought her to the next location.

Sunset then finds herself in a mythical place surrounded by the openness of space, nothing but the endless amounts of stars surrounding her. This amazes her and at the same time confuses her. She could feel an unusually strong magical aura in this mythical place she’s in, nothing she ever felt before. “ To preserve the balance, you must undo your doing,” Said a spiritual voice, coming from what Sunset deduced to be a female around the age of her early 30’s. However she couldn’t find the source of this voice, only being able to hear it coming from ev everywhere of her surroundings. Right after that voice, followed the previous peaceful, serenity-filled voice who said, “ I sense a great imbalance in you, Sunset Shimmer”. Imbalance ? in her ? That’s not true, she thought. There had never been more clarity in her since the incident during the Fall Formal, when she learnt the hard truth. Whoever this voice was, he had to be wrong, she thought, but then again, is he ??? Maybe there is some imbalance in her, that she herself is not privy to, even after the Fall Formal. Sunset then heard herself, and she was sure it was her own voice and not some doppelganger mimicking her. “ I know what I must do, but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it”

Sunset startled awake from her deep sleep. Her dream ended with an ominous sentence by the same female voice earlier saying “ The Force calls to you, Sunset Shimmer, as it always has' '. Sunset found herself sitting on her bed in the middle of the night, trying to comprehend what she had dreamt of. ‘ What is the imbalance in her bank ? What did that girl in her dream mean that the Force calls to her ? Or more importantly, what is it that Sunset, or more clearly the dream version of her had meant ?’ All these were the questions that were raging inside her head. Her logical mind told her to dismiss it as just a stupid dream, something that is of little significance, but at the same time, her gut was saying otherwise. ‘Should she write to Princess Twilight about this nightmare ?’, she thought for a brief moment before deciding against it, not wanting to trouble the Princess with trivial matters. After all, it could just probably have been a normal meaningless nightmare. Sunset then turned to the right side of her bed, where lied a photo frame of her friends together taken in a photo booth during their time in Equestria Land last summer.[4]

She picked up the frame to cherish it. Her friends were everything to her, and she would do anything to protect them, even if it meant giving up her own life for their wellbeing. She owed them a great deal since the Fall Formal and if not for them, she could not imagined how she would have turned up. ‘There is and will never be any imbalance in her and it is thanks to this group of girls’, she thought. Whatever those voices in her dream said about her, they were wrong. She then placed the frame back on her nightstand before turning her head towards her alarm clock. “ It’s three in the morning. I should probably get back to sleep,” she said it out loud to herself, in reference to the time. As Sunset tucked herself and went back to sleep, something within her had awakened from being dormant. Something that she herself never knew she had within her and it was calling out to her. It was ready to show itself not just to Sunset but to others who share the same power. Power that Sunset could call it as magic, but far more stronger and powerful than the magic she has ever experienced.

Author's Note

Welcome back to chapter 2 of our story. There is a 15 year time jump between the first two chapters, with this chapter taking place around 4BBY( around the same time as Star Wars Rebels in which there will tons of references to the series given that it runs concurrently with the story) Now, onto the easter eggs:
[1] An obvious reference to the memory stone incident with Wallflower Bush seen in the MLP Equestria Girls special Forgotten Friendship. The story is set after the events of the special and is a main cause behind Sunset's paranoia to losing her friends.
[2] The entire one and a half paragraph is once again derived from Revenge of the Sith, particularly Anakin's fall to the Dark Side and the fated battle on Mustafar with his former master.
[3] An iconic line from an iconic Jedi Master from The Phantom Menace (You know who...😏)
[4] A reference to the events seen in MLP: Rollercoaster of Friendship. (I know that Rollercoaster of Friendship was released after forgotten friendship but under the revised timeline for this story, the events in Forgotten Friendship will be set as the latest incident before the story.

Chapter 3: The Heist

The Core Worlds
Corellia
Imperial Naval Engineering Facility, Coronet City

Corellia, a world infamous throughout the galaxy for its massive shipyards more commonly known as the Corellian Shipyards, whereby ships of all sizes and shapes are built from scratch. The world is also infamous as the birthplace for galaxys best pilots and aviators, not surprising considering that Corellians were well known for their wanderlust and desire to travel beyond, a characteristic which led to creation of the shipyards in the first place. For generations, Corellia has been a prime destination for migration as beings from all over the galaxy migrated to seek the countless job opportunities offered by the Shipyards. Its fortunes soon changed when the new Galactic Empire which rose from the ashes of the Clone Wars and succeeded the Republic as the dominant government of the galaxy, arrived and nationalized its shipyards, utilizing them to build their massive fleet of star destroyers and their TIE fighter line. The use of forced labor by the new oppressive regime and low pay turned the once ancient and historical Core World into a faded and overpopulated industrial world, a shadow of its former self, where crime and poverty run rampant on its streets with many of the locals now seeking to leave their polluted home world for a better life.

Near the fringes of the Imperial shipyards in Coronet City, the planet’s capital and largest city, was a large dull structure devoid of any life. The size of the structure was meant to be large as a portrayal of the superior military strength of the Empire to the locals and instill fear and obedience in them. The structure housed the Imperial Naval Engineering Facility, where core internal systems, ranging from basic life support systems to Tractor Beams and hyperdrive generators are built for use in the Imperial Navy. To enter the facility, workers must pass through a security checkpoint, designed to weed out any potential saboteurs or unauthorized personnel which are managed by stormtroopers. Imperial stormtroopers, cladded with imposing white armor covering most of their torso and their legs and on their heads a similar coloured helmet meant to cover the wearer’s face and to portray an emotionless but yet effective soldier. By wielding a standard blaser accorded to them, they patrolled the numerous lines of workers who were waiting to pass through security, inspecting them for any suspicious behavior while at the same time, intimidating them with their mere appearance. The workers on the other hand, mostly kept their heads down,not wanting to attract any unwanted attention as Imperial Propaganda was being played through a large viewscreen attached to the Facility’s outer walls. “Serve your Purpose, Serve the Empire. Enlist in the Corellian Engineering Corporation. Build Imperial Star Destroyers in the name of maintaining order throughout the galaxy,” .[1] The propaganda kept informing the workers of the ‘importance’ of being a patriotic Imperial citizen fulfilling his duty to the Empire to maintain order in the galaxy, no matter the cost . Just then, the routine propaganda was disrupted by the sound of a loud deafening siren coming from the facility.

“ Alert ! There has been a Security Breach in Sector K-1,” an authoritative male voice could be heard from the facility’s speakers before it was interrupted by a large explosion that came from the left side of the facility. The disoriented stormtroopers, still reeling from the shockwaves of the blast, got up and pointed their blasters towards the source of the explosion which was now covered with smoke rising from the fire, anticipating whoever it is who caused the blast to reveal themselves. The other workers, scared and frightened for their lives, quickly took cover, using the nearby barricades to shield themselves from the crossfire as they anticipated a fierce shooting match to occur between the stormtroopers and the intruders. Appearing from the smoke, was no insurgent group or pirates like the stormtroopers and workers had expected but a woman cladded with what appeared to be a simple smuggler attire suited for easy and flexible movement with a blaster holster belt attached to her left leg. She appeared to be carrying a small silver box which bore the Imperial Insignia on it with her left hand and placed it on her right jacket pocket, anticipating a not-so-easy path out from her current predicament. “Blast Her !” Shouted one of the Stormtroopers with the rest following suit and fired their blasters at her.

It has been more than 15 years since Kara Antra survived theevents of Order 66 and has ever since become a fugitive in a rapidly changing galaxy where the Jedi have no place in and had been forgotten by the galaxy at large[2]. A fully grown woman now, she had undertaken a daring break into one of the most secure facilities on Corellia to obtain crucial Military Technology. In what was supposed to be a stealth and quick in and out mission quickly turned south when she was discovered and had to make a not -so -quiet escape from the facility by using small detonators to blast open the blast doors that were closing right in front of her as she attempted to make a run for it through the Officer Priority Entrance Point. The blast helped destroy the blast doors and the surrounding structures as she made her way out, only to be greeted by more stormtroopers with their blasters pointed towards her. She was carrying precious cargo and it was vital that she escape this facility, even if it means having to push through more than dozen stormtroopers to get to the gate, she took out her her blaster pistol and starts firing at the stormtroopers while taking cover from returning fire by using the barricades that were used to separate the industrial workers. She was vastly outnumbered, and she knew it. The stormtroopers, knowing full well they possessed the advantage in terms of numbers and strength, moved closer towards her in an attempt to surround the intruder by sheer numbers.

They were closing in on her and there wasn't much time left for Kara. She had to act fast. “ Where’s Karl when you need him ?” she muttered to herself in reference to her get out ride which till now, was nowhere in sight. She had to improvise and quickly come up with a plan to get out of her current predicament. She took a quick glance through the barricades to see what she was against and it wasn’t looking good for her. She looked for a weak point amongst the closing-in stormtroopers to strike at. She finds one, left side in which the number of stormtroopers approaching were much lesser when compared to the other sides. Stormtroopers only make up for strength in numbers and are especially vulnerable in lesser numbers. Sensing an opportunity to break through their catchment, Kara lunged herself forwards the troopers, using her torso to push through some of the stormtroopers towards the ground while utilizing some self-defense skills she had learnt during her time at the Jedi Temple to knock them out, though not showing off any Force skills. Stormtroopers were exceptionally terrible when it came to hand to hand combat and this gives Kara a huge advantage in knocking them out. At the same time, she also used her blaster to some good use to taking out some troopers who were not in close range. She had managed to push herself through at least six to eight stormtroopers to make it to the Front Gate. The remaining troopers, still vastly outnumbering Kara, finally got their act together and surrounded her, cutting her off from the gate to prevent her escape with their blasters trained towards her. She was back to square one, she thought. The only way out of this mess would be to ignite her lightsaber, a choice she would have to think more than twice before even considering . “Surrender Pirate Scum !” The stormtrooper Sergeant shouted.

Just then when all hope seemed lost, she heard a beeping noise coming from her left pocket, where she kept her comm-link. The beep was immediately followed by a male voice, coming from the comm-link who said “On your left,” .Upon hearing this, a smirk appeared on Kara’s face. “Well my ride’s here. But better luck getting me next time,” She shot back to the stormtrooper Sergeant, her tone iced with a sense of sarcasm and perhaps even confidence as a M-68 speeder[3] barged itself into the facility from the outside and hit four troopers standing by the gate, pushing them off and took the others by surprise. On the driver’s seat of the speeder is a human male, with brown messy hair like it has not been properly tended to for a while and brown iris color who is dressed similarly to Kara and is around the same age as her, give or take. “GET IN !” Karl shouted to her as it would not be long before the troopers started firing back at them. Kara did as she is told without thinking twice. She hopped on to the speeder as the troopers began to fire at the both of them, indiscriminately. Once on board the speeder, Karl hit the pedals hard as hard as he could, giving the speeder the boost it needed to shoot out of the facility and onto the Industrial streets of Coronet City. He did not lift his feet off the pedal till he was certain there was some distance between the facility.

“So I take it that things did not go according to plan ?” Karl asked in a manner that he already knew the answer to. “Since when has that ever happened ? '' Kara answered Karl's rhetorical question in a similar rhetorical manner. “ You got what you came for ?” Kara placed her hand into her right pockets and dug out the small silver box that she had placed inside her pocket earlier. “Here it is, ” She said, revealing the silver small square shaped box to Karl, who seemed indifferent to it. “ All of that, just for this ? It must be of great value,” He said. “It is, for us.” Kara shot back. She also knew that the Imperials will be after them with full force and It won’t be long before they caught up to them.They needed to get airborne as soon as possible. “ Hail Zeko and tell him we’re approaching the pick up location,” Kara said to Karl who replied in the affirmative with
“ I’m on it.” Just then, Kara noticed that they were being tailed from behind. Three Imperial Urban Patrol Troopers riding aboard their specialized C-PH Patrol Speeder bikes[4] with its siren turned on to clear any workers obstructing their way were in pursuit of them. Thanks to their state of the art and more durable speeder bikes, the patrol troopers were quickly closing in on them. The Imperials have caught up to them faster than expected, Kara thought. “ Looks like we got company,” Kara intoned to Karl who turned his head behind to find the patrol troopers behind them with their siren getting louder and louder. “ Thought we’ll have a little bit of a head start,” Karl said in a frustrated tone as he hit the pedal to put some more distance between them. “ You keep your eyes on the road. I’ll handle them.” Kara said to Karl as she took out her blaster to fire on them.

Kara took out her blaster to shoot at the Imperial speeders pursuing them. None of this was going according to plan. The plan was a simple break in and out mission, not a high-speed chase scene through the streets of Corellia. Despite her continuous firing at them, the rides evaded every single shot of hers. The riders utilized their inbuilt blaster cannons to fire back at Kara, who ducked to evade the incoming fire. Unfortunately, the blaster shots grazed the propulsion thrusters, almost severely damaging the engines . Karl nearly also lost steering control of their speeder as a result of the shot to which he struggles to maintain control of. “ What happened to you handling this ?” Karl shouted in frustration. “Little busy at the moment here,” Kara remarked about her current situation as she continued to take cover from the cover fire. Karl noticed a right turn coming up ahead and although it would mean a longer route to the pick up point, he had to shake off their pursuit. “ Hold On,” He said as Karl made a sudden sharp turn to the right, entering a street cutting through the core of the city which was surrounded by larger factories built above the water. The last minute sharp turn also took the Urban troopers by surprise who also made an abrupt right turn to maintain their pursuit. In doing so however, they inadvertently exposed their armor cladded bodies for a clear shot, one in which Kara did not let it pass. She managed to shoot one of the pursuers, sending both him and his speeder crashing into a nearby pole and exploding.

It was a short victory however as there were still two more pursuing them, and they were in open space to make matters worse. “We need a new pick up point,” Kara said to Karl as she got up and started firing back at the Imperials. “ Oh, we definitely do alright,” Karl replied in a rather sarcastic or a frustrated tone. This high stakes chase scene is something neither of them wanted, but yet got dragged into. It was entirely possible that the entire Imperial garrison would be on the full lookout for them, which definitely won’t end well for them. This appeared more likely as Karl notices at a distance, a blockade set up to stop them. The blockade consisted of a standard Imperial K79-S80 Troop Transport[5] positioned in a way that cuts off at least half of the street. The other half consisted of a few set up barricades at a number of stormtroopers situated behind the barricades while another trooper manned an E Web heavy repeating blaster cannon guns trained at them, waiting for them to come within firing range. Stormtroopers were notorious for their horrible aiming skills, and there was a chance that their shots would completely miss them. But Karl wasn't going to take that risk. Time was running out and he had to quickly think of another way to maneuver through this road blockade or face the prospect of crashing into it.

Fortunately, fate has presented another opportunity in the form of a T junction right turn just before the blockade. The only catch was its close proximity to the blockade, meaning that they would have to risk getting close enough to the blockade, exposing themselves to blaster fire. It was a gamble Karl had no choice but to undertake, pressing the pedal as hard as his foot could, driving the speeder as fast as possible towards the blockade head on. Kara, on the other hand, was completely in the dark on Karl’s plan. They were heading in full speed towards the blockade and for a brief second, she thought that Karl was in some kind of suicidal offensive. “ What are you doing !?” She shouted to him as she placed her hand on the speeder’s dashboard and pulled herself slightly down, anticipating them to crash head on. “Take Cover !” That was the answer she got from Karl before he made an instantaneous right turn without changing his speed at the very last second, causing the speeder to drift leftwards for a moment before Karl steered it back right. Some of the troopers in the blockade, had ran into the transport for cover, having anticipated them to crash onto the barricades had a sense of relief, though it was short lived as one of the patrol troopers manning the speeder bikes had little time to break or avoid the blockade altogether, crashed into the transport, leading to a spectacular explosion that took out both the transport, causing it to overturn and burst into flames and the nearby trooper manning the E-Web Cannon, while sending nearby stormtroopers being thrown off a couple yards thanks the explosion. In other words, the blockade was destroyed. The explosion was witnessed by Kara, who just realized this was part of his plan all along. She had to give it to him. Karl can be impulsive at times, but in their line of job, impulsiveness was a good thing. When she first met him, she found this to be his most glaring weakness, often getting him into trouble with ruthless Crime Syndicates. But in time, she learnt to accept his impulsive behavior as it can be useful in times like this. “ Most Impressive,” She acknowledged that his dangerous and reckless move worked, for now. “ Two down, one more to go, How hard can it be ?” He intoned with a fairly cocky expression on his face. After all, he had just destroyed an Imperial road blockade and reduced their pursuers to none. One can say he deserved to hold himself in high regard.

However, while the two of them are giving themselves a small hurrah for the stunt they had just pulled off, they failed to notice the last remaining speeder bike closing up on them. While his colleague had crashed into the transport earlier, he had managed to slow down enough to turn right, narrowly avoiding the fate that befell on his pursuing partner. Despite being alone, he still continued his pursuit, coming closer and closer to the speeder without them noticing. This was also partly due to Karl slightly releasing his foot of the pedal, thinking that the sole speeder bike would have either stopped pursuing or was too far behind. He, of course, was wrong. The lone Urban Patrol Trooper soon caught up and pulled by the side of the speeder, finally catching the attention of both Karl and Kara but it was too late. By then, he already had his scout pistol out and pointing at them, with the speeder bike on auto pilot. “ Pull Over Now !” He ordered in a slightly muffled voice. Kara raises both of her hands up and seemingly surrenders to the trooper. “ Okay, I surrender.” She says, stunning both Karl and the trooper more evidently the latter who was taken aback, seen by his head jolting backwards slightly. He had not expected this. For Kara, this was a simple diversion, to confuse him. She mustered up the Force within her and thrusted her hands forward. The Force answered her call and pushed the lone patrol trooper and the speeder bike off the street and into the water below.

In a galaxy where any remaining Jedi survivors are actively being hunted by the Empire which had labeled them as traitors, Kara had learnt not to overtly show her Force sensitivity in the open to avoid drawing unwanted attention from the Empire. This however does not mean she never uses her abilities in times of need . She had learnt to tap into the Force in a way that is as subtle as possible to avoid prying eyes. Karl however, is flabbergasted as to how Kara Force-pushed the trooper when she had been trying to be as quiet as possible with her powers. Using it on an Imperial trooper was not exactly keeping a low profile. “Did you just..” “I had no choice,” Kara cut off his remark before he could even say it. She knew what was in his mind. She doesn't need to be a Jedi to know what he was thinking. Karl decided to put his head on the current situation now. They were not being pursued for now but the both of them knew well the Empire will not easily give up its search for them. Kara then noticed a small industrial entry gate in which they were about to pass through. As they passed through the gate, Kara used her blaster to shoot the control panels of the gate, causing it to close off the street behind them, potentially cutting off any pursuers.

They were in the clear for now, and this was the moment for them to hail their permanent ride out of here. “ Zeko, trace my signal. We’re here,” Kara said to her comm link, which was replied to by a male voice coming from the comm link’s speakers. “ I have you in scopes. Coming in now,” It said. “There’s our ride out of here,” Karl pointed his finger to a Green coloured S-61 Stinger XL ship[6] appearing from the cloudy Corellian skies and flew down towards the streets they’re on. The Gauntlet, the name given to the ship, their way out of here, comes close enough to the ground for which it extends its ramp down. Its asymmetrical wings, one much larger than the other, rotates in a way to keep the ship in its current position by having both wings in direct opposite of each other. Karl slowed the speeder down till it came to a complete stop for a change of ride. They both quickly got off the speeder and made it towards the Gauntlet and boarded it using the extended ramps.

Once onboard the ship, Karl and Kara made their way towards the ship’s cockpit. Over at the cockpit, an older looking astromech droid with its color slightly decolourised and faded due to prolonged exposure to various natural elements and rust stood by the Co-pilot’s seat with his port stick used to access computer networks inserted into the ship’s Central computer port. The droid was no other than R5-D7 itself, who had stuck by with Kara after all these years in the run, embodying a droid’s unwavering loyalty to its master, a common trait amongst other astromech droids despite their occasional attitudes. Over at the pilot’s seat was the green skinned humanoid being named Zeko.A member of the Ardennian species[7] which known for having six dexterous legs, to which two of the lower ones were used as legs, allowing for extremely agile movements , evident in Zeko’s skills as a capable pilot. R5 beeped and booped about there being a lot of chatter in the Imperial Comms which he was monitoring about two Pirates who broke into an Imperial Facility and issued an alert for all Imperial personnel to be on the lookout for these pirates who are carrying valuable information.

“ You’re right buddy. There is a lot of chatter going around for two ordinary humans today who were supposed to blend in,” Zeko intoned in a satirical manner in response to R5’s assertion. Zeko can have a sarcastic and cynical attitude often doubting stealth missions cooked up by Kara in occasions such as this. “ We had to improvise,” Kara defended herself and Karl as she got to her Co-Pilot seat next to him. “Since when you didn't have to ? ” Zeko shot back. She had to give it to him, he can never be at a loss for words. “ Just get us out of here, will you ?” Karl said in a clearly annoyed manner. He too shared a similar disdain for Zeko’s cocky attitude, although he too could be cocky at times. “ As you wish,” the Ardennian said in an amused manner as he used his four arms to press a few buttons and pull a few levers to pilot the Gauntlet off the ground and shoot off into the cloudy skies. But they were not alone. Coming from the Imperial Airfield over at the horizon were a squad of TIE Fighters, their pilots piloting their fighters to intercept the Gauntlet before it had a chance to leave the system. Their orders were not to destroy the ship, but instead to severely damage their engines which would in turn force them to the ground where the ground boarding party would detain them.

The incoming TIE’s were quickly detected by the Gauntlet’s sensors to which Kara noticed thanks to a beeping red light. “ Heads up, We got TIE Fighters incoming from Bearing point 02.” She said in reference to the angle of which the Tie’s were coming from. “ I’ll go man the cannons.” Karl declared as he ran out of the cockpit to man the ship’s cannons to fire at the incoming Ties. For Zeko, he was instead more focused on outrunning the pursuers. The TIE fighters targeted the Gauntlet’s thrusters and fired at it. The green turbo lasers hit the engines, but the shots were fortunately deflected by the ship’s shields which protected all of the crucial external parts of the ship. The shields deflecting the turbo lasers caused the interior of the ship to rumble and caused a loud explosion noise. Every hit on the shields reduced its overall strength, meaning it can’t be relied on to absorb every shot thrown at them forever. After suffering multiple hits on the ship’s thrusters by the Tie fighters, R5 informed Zeko that the shield strength had been greatly reduced to less than 50% after obtaining it from the ship’s computer systems, distressing the Ardennian pilot. Karl was supposed to be firing back at them, not having this ship become target practice for Imperial pilots to practice their shots on. “Deflector Shields are less than 50%. Are you ever gonna fire back?!” He called out to him. “ I’m working on it.” Karl’s voice could be heard coming from the back of the ship where the back cannons are.

Karl finally got his luck when he shot down one of the TIE pursuers with a single shot right at one of its hexagonal wings which sent it down with a trail of smoke coming from the destroyed wing. Tie fighters were built to be fast and easily maneuverable. As such, the fighter had to be light in weight, thus it lacked common systems found in other conventional starfighters such as a hyperdrive and of a deflector shield, the latter perhaps its greatest weakness yet, which allowed Karl to easily shoot it down. Still their considerably durable speed was something no pilot could take for granted. They were still more on their back with possibly reinforcements on their way. Zeko tried to outrun them by flying straight up into the atmosphere hoping that the drag might slow them down. As the Gauntlet exited the Corellian upper atmosphere, the cloudy polluted skies were replaced by the endless amounts of stars filling up the emptiness of space. The drag had managed to slow the TIE’s but not enough for them to lose their pursuit. But there was another problem for Kara and Zeko to worry about now. A number of Massive Star Destroyers flanked by a couple of smaller Light Cruisers had obstructed their jump point to hyperspace. “ Well things just got a lot more..” “Interesting. The word you’re looking for is interesting,” Kara cut off Zeko’s sentence before he could finish it. Their problems had just doubled when even more Tie fighters were deployed from the star destroyers hangars, all of them heading towards them.

“ I’ll just stick with more. Whatever it is you stole must really be valuable for destroyers to be after us.” Zeko intoned at the manner the Empire is doing everything they could to prevent them from leaving the system, going as far as cutting off their jump point with a fleet of Star Destroyers. Zeko certainly had not planned to go down in Corellia, of all the places in the galaxy. Kara then came up with a plan which was too risky and perhaps crazy that it might just work. “ Head to Point 7-6, that’s where we’ll make the jump into hyperspace” Kara told both Zeko and R5 while pointing to a construction sphere[8] located near the Orbital Construction site, where dozens of star destroyers were being outfitted with their final parts. In a world like Corellia, it was a common sight to find construction spheres that were used to outfit larger starships in orbit due to the limited space on the surface for more shipyards to be built. R5 was at the very least hesitant at her suggestion if not strongly against. Jumping into hyperspace from a construction module was extremely risky, one miscalculation and it would be a spectacular way to end, quite literally. “ Calculate the jump into hyperspace.” Zeko said to R5, reluctantly going with Kara’s plan although he was well aware of the risks buthe is more than willing to take it considering the limited options that are on the table. Zeko piloted the ship towards the construction module's hangar bay where he would make the jump as soon as the droid finished with his calculations. R5 then informed Zeko that the jump calculations were complete, to which Zeko without thinking twice, made the jump into hyperspace. The surroundings quickly turned to blurry blue lines as the ship shot off through the hangar bay, sending everything inside in flames through the sheer force of its passage when jumping lightspeed sent debris out of the hangar in a straight line similar to the hyperspace jump made by the Gauntlet.

Author's Note

Glad to see you guys back at Chapter 3. This time, we return to the galaxy far far away, specifically the ancient Core World of Corellia (https://www.starwars.com/databank/corellia) at the height of the Empire's rule. The description of the planet and its capital is more or less based on its live-action depiction in Solo: A Star Wars Story as an overpopulated and faded industrial world, thanks to the Empire, of course. I apologise for not being able to find a perfect canon photo for Coronet City though. We also see the return of our former padawan turned survivor Kara Antra, this time much older and a fugitive in a changing galaxy, escaping after breaking into an Imperial facility and stealing a *crucial* to her mission with her faithful droid R5 and two new characters, Karl and Zeko who are also protagonists in the story. Kara is now part of the Gauntlet (image provided below) crew which consists of the four of them, R5 included. Initially I had written for Zeko to be a Latero, a similar four-limbed species as the character Greez Ditrus in the game Jedi Fallen Order (there will be further references to this epic game later on in the story) but I later settled on him being an Ardennian like the character Rio Durant in Solo mainly because the latter species is larger in size. Now, onto the easter eggs:
[1] Some typical Imperial Propaganda on the importance of being a model citizen. In planets like Corellia, poverty is rampant and resentment is slowly building amongst the populace against Imperial rule.
[2] The Empire actively hunts down remaining Jedi and anyone caught helping them will be summarily executed. Force-worshipping together with any mention or discussion about the Jedi Order by the general public is tantamount to Sedition. Thus it's natural for the galaxy to have forgotten about the Jedi. Those who do are too afraid to talk about them.
[3] https://www.starwars.com/databank/corellia
[4]https://www.starwars.com/databank/imperial-patrol-speeder
[5]https://www.starwars.com/databank/imperial-troop-transport
[6] https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/S-161_%22Stinger%22_XL
[7]https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Ardennian
[8] https://www.starwars.com/databank/construction-spheres
I know, lots of references to Solo. Well, since this chapter was predominantly set in Corellia, I had to refer to Solo given that its the only time we have ever seen a depiction of the planet and its vehicles, so far. What was it that Kara risked her life to steal from an Imperial facility that is crucial to her mysterious mission. Find out in the next chapter. Till then, tell what guys think of this chapter in the comments.

Chapter 4: The Lost Planet

“ Well, That was a close one. For a moment there, I thought we were done for,” Zeko remarked as he leaned back on his chair with all of his four arms supporting the back of his head while looking into the blue whirling vortex ahead as the Gauntlet traveled through hyperspace. “Thanks to my fast thinking,” Kara took credit for their daring escape they made back there. “ That and mostly because of my undisputed piloting skills,” he shot back at her with a confident smirk on his face. Kara gave herself a small chuckle at the face Zeko was giving. In these dark times, situations like this indeed brought some light to her heart and her surroundings. The last 15 years had been rough and with the future being even more rough and uncertain, Kara must enjoy the little things every now and then. Joining in the childish argument, R5 also beeped and booped, claiming all of the credit for their unconventional escape. “ What ?” Zeko exclaimed with a shocked expression replacing the confident smirk. “ You were reluctant to go through with it in the first place.” Zeko argued back at the droid, who continued to argue back with the Ardennian over who deserves more credit. Not wanting to get caught up in this petty fight of theirs, Kara got up from her seat and headed down from the cockpit to the common room to get herself a drink. After all that action, she deserved one blue bantha milk to quench her dry throat. Over at the common room, she found Karl already there sipping a drink of bantha milk, sas he sat with his right arm resting on the gray rectangular shaped table. As she approached him, he got up from where he was previously seated to obtain another drinking cup from the food storage behind him. He took the cup to the automatic refiller where he filled up the cup with bantha milk with the press of one button. With the cup full, he proceeded to bring the cup over to Kara and handed it over to her. “Thanks,” she muttered in appreciation as she took a sip from the cup. They were soon joined by Zeko and R5, who seemed to have ended their stupid argument about who deseved more credit at the cockpit.

“ So you’re gonna show us what you stole and more importantly why you stole it ?” Zeko questioned Kara about the supposed vital technology she had risked stealing from. The rest of them were clueless as to Kara’s intention. They only knew that it was Jedi-related, nothing more than that. “Before we dive into that, we need to address the rancor in the room.” Karl said out loud as he rolled his eyes over to Kara, directing the attention of the room towards her. “ Why are you looking at me like that ?” She asked him, oblivious to what he was trying to imply. Karl sigheds frustratedly before putting it in simpler and more blunt words since she couldn't get what he was trying to insinuate,
“ Kara used the Force back when we were trying to outrun the Imperials from the City,” “BEEP ??!!” Even someone who wasn’t familiar with binary would’ve understood the droid’s reaction upon hearing that Kara has done something incredibly careless and perhaps even stupid of her. “You did what ??!” Zeko’s voice was filled with a sense of shock and surprise. He had never expected her, of all people, to have been so careless. “Why don’t you tell them what happened Kara.” Karl said to her in a sarcastic manner. Zeko and R5 then turned their heads to her expecting an explanation. She owe them one now, thanks to Karl’s big mouth.

“ I just used the Force a little to nudge the patrol trooper off our backs. He had us at a blaster point and I had to act. It's not that of a big deal.” She admitted and justified her actions to the duo. Zeko however, is far from convinced. “ Are you trying to get yourself killed ? If they decide to take a look in the security tapes and find a stormtrooper being invisibly pushed to the sea with your hands pointed at him, what do you think it would look like ?” Zeko retorted. Zeko has a point, Kara thought. Not everyone could push a speeder bike off the streets by simply waving their hands. “ The Empire is hunting down Jedi Survivors and you’re making it easy for them,” The Ardennian further added “Zeko’s right. We definitely don’t need that Mirialan Inquisitor[ [1] on our backs again. Dealing with stormtroopers is one thing, a red blade wielding maniac, that’s something else entirely,” Karl concurred with Zeko’s concerns. In the past, they had barely escaped the clutches of that Inquisitor but it came with a cost. The Inquisitors were a mysterious group of Dark Side Users who served the Empire in hunting down any surviving Jedi Remnants. They were known for their ruthlessness, killing anyone in their path, be it a soldier or a civilian to get to their target. They were also cunning and masters of deception, deceiving others to help them in their objectives only to cast them aside or worse kill them once they had outlived their usefulness.

Kara understood their concerns well enough. Dealing with an Inquisitor was no easy thing. She too had dealt with one Karl was referring to during a mercy mission to Mygeeto. She had been using her Force abilities in the open long enough to be noticed. They barely survived that encounter, but it came with the cost of the lives of the very villagers they went to provide aid to. However, for some strange reason, they never encountered the Inquisitor again. Either Kara had been covering her tracks well enough or that she is not a priority target, for now. Regardless, it can be safe to assume that there is no one on their backs. “ We haven't faced her since Mygeeto. Maybe she’s not on to us anymore,” she cooly said, but deep down, even she knew that was a lousy excuse at best. “ After looking at the Security Tapes, she might just be again,” Karl shot back in a rather pessimistic manner. “ Let’s get back to the topic at hand.” Zeko interjected, “ What is it that you have brought us ?” He added. Kara owed them an explanation after all that had happened. Her efforts have led them to forgoing more important, meaningful missions like helping oppressed beings in countless star systems suffering under Imperial Rule. She placed her hand in her pocket and pulled out the small silver box she had earlier kept inside her pocket and showed it to them. Zeko, Karl and R5 are in the dark as to what it is she’s holding, only that it is Imperial and this small thing was of great value to the Empire, so valuable they even locked down the Spaceport according to chatter heard by R5. Zeko could not believe it, ‘the Empire threw in a lot of resources to stop them from escaping with this little thing ?’ He asked himself in his head

“Looks Imperial.” Karl commented on trying to figure out what it is. “ You’re right,” Kara replied. After all, Karl had indeed provided the most general answer on it. Seeing that no one else, including her droid, was familiar with what it is she held with her hands, Kara proceeded to explain to them, “This is an Imperial Navigation Software, Military Grade. It’s powerful enough to plot safe hyperspace routes to remote systems, bypassing any Space Anomalies that act as a hurdle to normal civilian navigation computers. It should be compatible with the Gauntlet’s main computer.” “Oh it will be compatible alright,” Zeko said confidently about his ship. “ The question is why do you need a military grade navi computer to chart new routes when there's already existing hyperspace routes connecting the galaxy ?” Zeko further asked. “Unless you’re looking for a new planet ?” Karl guessed based on what Kara had told them about. “ Your hypothesis is correct.” Kara pointed out to him. She was looking for a world, but why ? That’s what R5 asked her too. This was also shared by both Karl and Zeko. “ I’ll show you,” Kara said as she headed towards the ship’s holotable located just behind the cockpit. The circular shaped furniture projected holograms above its surface. The crew commonly uses it in planning their missions beforehand,though Karl occasionally uses it to watch Pod Racing tournaments[2]. Over at the Holotable, she pressed a few buttons over at the controls, in which the table projected a hologram of the galaxy with its millions of star systems scattered across it. Below each planet shown, is the name of the system identified in Aurebesh [3], the standard galactic writing system. Karl and Zeko soon surrounded the table to see what Kara is trying to show them.

“ Why are we looking at a holographic image of the galaxy ?” Zeko asked. It's common knowledge for space travelers to know how their galaxy looks like and for a somewhat experienced pilot like Zeko, he knew his galactic geography well enough and it would be a waste of time to just show a hologram of it. “For a while now, I’ve been having visions about this place. It’s like the Force is trying to reach out to me, telling me to go to this place,” Kara explained. “ What do you mean ?” Karl asked, confused as to what she meant. “ To be honest, I didn’t know what it meant either, so I had to seek out a place that is strong with the Force.” “What do you mean seek out ?” Zeko further queried. As far as he could recall, Kara never mentioned anything about seeking out any particular place. He then realized something, there was a solo mission in which Kara and R5 alone did, not too long ago. In fact, it was right before their heist on Corellia. “You and R5 went to Ord Mantell for a meet up with a supposed Rebel informant, that wasn't the case right ?” Zeko theorized. R5 beeped and booped in confirming Zeko’s theory. “He’s right. There was no meeting with any informant. Instead we went to Devaron.” Kara explained in admitting their earlier deception . “ What’s on Devaron ?” Karl asked, slightly incensed over their previous lie. “The ruins of an ancient Jedi Temple strong with the Force,” [4] Kara explained, “ It was the perfect place for me to seek guidance from the Force about my visions''. “ Why didn't you just tell us about going to Devaron ?” Karl pointed out to her. Usually the crew of the Gauntlet undertake missions together as a team, something that Kara strongly emphasized, in applying the importance of teamwork she was taught during her time as a youngling. Thus , it may seem hypocritical for her to had just wandered off without even telling them where she was actually going.

“ We would’ve tagged along with you,” Karl further added in a confused tone. He was unsure whether to be upset or confused at this and Kara could sense it in him. “ I’m Sorry I didn't say anything about this mission, ” She started off by apologizing for her actions first before she continued, “ But I did it for your own safety. For places like this, It was just too risky to go as a team without being caught.” she said in a slightly apologetic manner. Ever since the proclamation of the New Order, any and all remnants of Force-worshiping religions such as Ancient temples, some having stood for over a millennia, were demolished as they were deemed ‘unpatriotic’ by the new Empire and its remnants were closely guarded to prevent trespassers from entering. It was rumored that the purpose the Empire guarded the remains so well was to capture any Jedi survivor drawn to the spiritual energy of the site, a way to draw them out from hiding to their doom. Very few Jedi temples remain, hidden well enough that it became largely forgotten. Karl could not possibly blame her. After all, she was trying to keep them safe. But still, it was his decision to make, not hers. He chose to live as a fugitive, willingly and should have been allowed to face the consequences that come with it. But he decided to let it go.

“So did you gain anything from your guidance in this temple ?” Zeko asked. “ I know where I must go,” Kara answered as she used the Force to find her missing planet, to which it answered her, showing her where the region of space it was located in. She then pressed a button on the control panel to which the hologram zoomed in on the tail end of the galaxy near the outer fringes, showing a binary star system with a holographic image of a blue spherical shaped object which was identified as a planet. Below contained the supposed name of the planet. “This is the binary star system of Utthar. The Force for whatever reason is calling me there.” She said while pointing to the holographic image of the planet. Any Space Traveller would have at one point in their lives heard of the mythical Utthar System, infamous for being completely shrouded and isolated from any hyperlanes by maelstroms and dangerous Star Clusters, a common occurrence in Wild Space. Its extreme remoteness and the absence of any planetary photos or soil samples has rendered the system being labeled a mere legend by space travelers, a lost system where no space traveler, even with the most advanced hyperdrive in the galaxy can set foot on, let alone reach. In short, only a few knew of its existence or even heard of it, with none actually seeing the planet with their own eyes or setting foot on it.

“ Utthar ? haven’t heard of it.” Karl remmarked. No one could find fault with that. As stated earlier, very few have heard of this mythical and largely forgotten planet. “ That’s because it’s beyond the Outer Rim, near Wild Space. It’s a remote system, shrouded by Space Anomalies. Nobody has even set foot or seen this planet,” Zeko explained to Karl. “ If that’s the case, how does one know this system even exists ?” Karl further asked, confused. If such a planet had not been seen, how could it exist in the modern age of space exploration. “ Navigation Probes have in the past shown a planet in that sector of space when plotting hyperlanes to connect the Outer Rim systems but due to its location, it just couldn't plot a course there, no matter how much it tried to.” Zeko answered. “Not with this it can’t,” Kara drew attention to the Imperial Navigation Software she held in her hand. She then placed the navigator into a rectangular socket on the control panel. In what seemed like mere seconds, the imperial software effortlessly charted the safest route to the system and highlighted it in a bright yellow coloured line to the system in the holographic image. Zeko was impressed by the way the Imperial navigation software had managed to chart a safe route to the planet bypassing any anomalies normal navigation computers can’t chart for generations. Then again, the Empire poured in a lot of resources to expand their territories as wide as possible so it was expected for them to have the state of the art technology to do so. “ We now have a safe detour route to our lost planet.” Kara pointed to the route chart.

Karl was equally as impressed as Zeko with how fast Imperial technology managed to chart a route but he was also intrigued as to how this Utthar system was like, how its native species, if indeed there was life, would've evolved considering they’ve not been discovered or known to the larger galaxy. “ Who knows how the native, if any, would have evolved without outside interference ? Maybe they developed technology far beyond galactic standards,” Karl speculated. R5 countered that theory by arguing that perhaps due to its extreme isolation, it was entirely possible that the native species would be primitive in terms of their technological advancements. “And that too,” Karl gave little credence to the droid’s theory which annoyed R5. Zeko had seen enough to be convinced that the Imperial tech is indeed useful. “Alright,” He continued, “I’ll just install it to the Gauntlet’s main computer system, let it sync with it and we’ll be good to go,”. Kara however, did not share his view. “ There is no we, in this mission.” she said, attracting their attention almost immediately. “R5 and I will head off to this system by ourselves. You guys don’t have to tag along in this.”

“ What do you mean ?” Karl asked in a confused manner. She was doing this to them yet again after apologizing for it just minutes before. “ Drop us off at the nearest outline system. We’ll find a transport to take us there.” She said as she turned off the holotable and pulled out the navigator. “And why would we do that ?” The Ardennian intoned in a slightly sarcastic manner. “ I’ve already dragged the two of you for a stupid personal heist earlier.” Kara further explained, “There’s a good chance there could be nothing on this planet. You guys should stay in this Rebellion, not join me in chasing a stupid Force vision,” She urged them to stay back and continue the fight cause it was all that mattered right now. The Rebellion against the Empire, though small and mostly fragmented, was one that was growing in strength. Kara understood the importance of this growing resistance as a symbol of hope to everyone in the galaxy during this period of darkness. However, both of them appeared to be unswayed by her explanation. In fact, they seemed even more headstrong than ever to tag along with her. “ You may be a Jedi Kara, but that doesn’t mean we have to blindy take orders from you,” Zeko shot back in an adamant manner while folding all of his four arms together. Karl on the other hand gave a small hurrah to Zeko for finally speaking what he wanted to say to her for the past few minutes. “That means we’re coming along, whether you like it or not.” He concurred with the Ardennian. “I’ll just plug this in to the ship's computer,” Zeko said as he swapped the navigator from Kara’s hand without much effort and headed off to the cockpit to plug it in. R5 also followed him to help with running the navigator through the ship’s main computer.

For Kara, it appeared clearer than ever that her friends were adamant on going with her to Utthar and there was no stopping them from doing that. She had to admit, a part of her had wanted them to tag along to this lost world and was relieved with her friends' insistence to tag along. However, her thoughts faded away quickly as her mind brought back her focus to her vision, something that she still couldn’t figure out its meaning. Karl noticed Kara somehow bothered by her thoughts. At first he thought it had something to do with their adamant decision but his gut feeling said otherwise. “ You seem troubled by something ?” he asked, going by what his gut had felt. Kara was surprised that Karl had sensed her thoughts, partly because of her troubled facial expression but at the same time, she was glad that he asked. She needed to tell someone about her visions, and the orange skinned girl she had been repeatedly seeing in her visions. “ In my visions, there’s this adolescent girl with red and yellow hair stripes I’ve been seeing. It’s like she’s the reason that’s calling me to Utthar,” She said. To someone who is not Force-sensitive, it would have sounded delusional and Kara fel that Karl would’ve thought that “ I know it sounds crazy but there’s just something about this girl, if she even exists, I don’t know how to explain it,” Kara further added. She was annoyed at herself for not lending more sanity to her visions. Karl however, didn’t seem too bothered about this revelation.“ I guess we’ll find out when we get there.” he said to her as he headed up to the cockpit. Still, Kara could not comprehend her visions. Who was this girl, how is she connected to all of this ? These were the questions raging in her mind. Her visions were vague enough to not answer any of these. It only provided a name to this mysterious bacon haired girl she’s been seeing. “ Just who are you, Sunset Shimmer?” She muttered to herself.

Author's Note

Welcome back fellow readers, so this chapter is just an expansion of the previous chapter but I decided to split it into two as it was too much for a single chapter to take and besides, the important details in this chapter warranted a separate chapter of its own. Finally, the vital technology stolen is revealed to be a Navi computer powerful enough to chart routes bypassing space anomalies and star clusters. Why did she need it for ? Well, it was to plot a safe course to the planet that she had been 'told' to go to : UTTHAR. Now to be very clear, Utthar is the same planet where Canterlot City is in and the where the EQG series takes place. The name Utthar is the name given by galactic mappers when they were mapping out the galaxy but couldn't reach given its isolated location. Of course the locals call it differently. I gave the name Utthar as it would make the name stand out from the common Equine or Equus name's I've read in other stories. Besides from a some long forgotten websites, the legends name for Earth is Utthar, so hence why the name. All I can say for now is that the planet is located in the fringes of the Outer Rim and Wild Space. A more detailed geographical position of Utthar will be provided in coming stories. Now onto the easter eggs :
[1] A reference to the Seventh Sister, one of the main antagonists of Star Wars Rebels Season 2. (https://www.starwars.com/databank/seventh-sister-inquisitor) She was tasked with capturing Kara after she became careless with her Jedi powers and decimated an entire village to get to her, leaving Kara feeling guilty and responsible for their deaths. However, she was soon recalled to hunt after the Spectres and a priority target , setting her up as the antagonist and her first appearance in the said series. Thus the reason on why she no longer hunted Kara.
[2] A nice nod to the famous but highly dangerous race in the Phantom Menace.
[3] The standard galactic writing system
[4] A reference to the temple of Eedit, an ancient Jedi temple/outpost on Devaron and seen during the Clone Wars tv series.(https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Temple_of_Eedit#:~:text=The%20Temple%20of%20Eedit%2C%20also,the%20temple%20was%20built%20on)
That's all for the easter eggs. Our protagonists will soon head for Utthar and how does Sunset Shimmer fit into all of this ? Find out in the next chapter. Tell me how you taught of this chapter in the comments. 😁

Chapter 5: A Day at the Mall

Canterlot City Mall
Food Court

Canterlot City Mall. A place of leisure for the inhabitants of the city to spend their free time shopping for whatever need or desire. Students from the city’s two largest schools, Canterlot High School and Crystal Prep Academy who’d make up the majority of the city’s youth found the mall as a perfect place to hang out with their peers during their free time together. From catching up on the latest hits from Canterlot’s movie studios and catching up over drinks to getting one’s nails done over at the manicure or casual window shopping across the various shops in the mall, Canterlot Mall is considered an ideal spot for teens to be teens. In fact it was where Sunset Shimmer was currently with her six best friends, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy whom she considered her family in this world. They were at the mall’s food court having their lunch together following their weekly band practice. The Food Court had a large advertising screen where current hit albums from singers would be played to entertain patronts. At the moment, the screen was currently playing the hit album ‘True Original’ from pop music duo Postcrush (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJy0NY6ewCg&ab_channel=Letupita725HD%E2%98%85) [1]

While the rest of the girls munched about their burgers and chatted with each other about school life happily like normal adolescent teens, Sunset had been unusually quiet. Instead she had been indulging in her thoughts. The nightmares, they hadn’t stopped and instead have gotten far worse than the ones before. These visions, she had no idea what they meant but she can only figure a similar theme from each dream she’s been having at night. Anger, hate, suffering, fear , feelings she’s all too familiar with manifesting in these horrid dreams. ‘Why is this happening to her now, after all that has happened ?’ She wondered. There was also something else that was troubling her. Whenever these dreams manifested in her mind, she could feel something within her, something that was calling out to her. It was as if this thing was causing the nightmares but at the same time, it was repelling them away acting as some kind of check and balance. She could feel it flowing through her veins, reaching and touching every cell in her body. She thought at first this could be the Equestrian Magic within her. After all, coming from a world filled with mythical beasts and magic and being gifted with magic induced geodes to protect the city from any magical mishaps, this wouldn’t be uncommon for her.

Still, she had never felt this much magic flowing within her except for maybe that time she had turned into a raging she-demon. Sunset hated to think about the events of the Fall Formal or her mean-girl demeanor prior to that [2]. She was too ashamed of herself, of how cruel and mean she had acted not to her friends but to the other students of CHS. Sometimes she wished that she could just take it all back. Everyone else may have forgiven her for her past actions but not her, she couldn't. Back to the subject at hand, even at her lowest point of life, there was a causative link between the surge of magical energy flowing through her and her greed for unlimited power. This time there was no connection. As if this magic in her had awakened after laying dormant all this while. Pinkie Pie, known for her overly cheerful and hyper attitude and at the same time, observant with Pink coloured busy hair, as referenced in her first name noticed her bacon haired friend has not touched her food, simply twirling a fried potato stick over the sauce, bothered with her thoughts, something her stressed facial expression evidently gave out . “What’s the Matter Sunset Shimmer ?” Pinkie asked in her usual high tuned kidd but yet joyful voice.

Her innocent question distracted Sunset from her thoughts, pulling her back to reality for now. She rolled her eyes up to find the others looking at her before training her eyes towards the source of the question, Pinkie Pie, who was seated right beside her on the left with her usual happy-going carefree expression while enthusiastically waiting for an answer. “Nah, It's nothing.” She said in a cool voice hoping to brush off any further enquiries into the matter. However this failed to convince any of her friends, instead of just Pinkie Pie, all of them have now had their attention set on her and after being such close friends for a while now, they didn’t need magical geodes to know that something was troubling her. “Sunset darling you haven’t even touched your food.” Rarity pointed out in a cultivated and sophisticated accent, something she was known for, coming from an upper-class family. “Is everything alright, Sugarcube ?” came a much simpler voice with a thick countryside accent, not surprising considering Applejack was brought up in a farm after all. She had joined Rarity and Pinkie Pie in trying to figure out what was troubling their friend. It was clear enough that their questions had also drawn the interests of the others who had their eyes trained at Sunset with a concerned face, awaiting for what she had to say.

Sunset could no longer dismiss it as nothing. Knowing her friends, they wouldn’t buy it. Heck, even she won’t buy it either. “ It’s just that I’ve been having these weird nightmares lately, terrible ones.” She conceded to them. “Oh dear, How bad are they ?” asked Fluttershy in a quiet and timid voice, expressing concern for Sunset’s nightmares. “I think she just told us that part, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said to Fluttershy in her usual raspy and tomboyish voice, but this time there was concern and seriousness in her tone while munching her hamburger. “Do you know why this is happening to you ?” Twilight further asked with a nerdy voice with a hint of naivety in it, clearly concerned about Sunset, someone who was closest friend whom she owed a great amount of gratitude to. Twilight Sparkle is close with all of the other girls, but with Sunset, it felt she shared a special relationship with her, with each of them having a similar low point in their lives. Sunset had helped her a lot, from dealing with the immediate aftermath of the Friendship Games and helping her face her anxieties.[3] Sometimes Twilight wondered how she would have turned out if not for Sunset or any of the girls for that matter. Sunset didn't know how to answer Twilight. She was dealing with the same scarcity of information as her friends did . “I..” She stuttered for a moment, before continuing her sentence with “I don’t know”, resigning herself to the truth.

“Could this be related to that incident where our good memories of you were erased ?” [4] Fluttershy innocently theorized. The general mood around the table changed drastically when Fluttershy brought it up. The girls were deeply ashamed of how they behaved towards Sunset. Sunset may have been a big meanie in their memories that were retained, but it wasn’t cause for them to alienate her like that. Twilight finally decided to address it with a sense of ignominy in her naive tone. “If that’s the case, we can’t say how truly sorry we all are for treating you like that. It was just so wrong of us,” She apologized with her head down in shame. Sunset sensed that her friends are in deep distress over something that's not their fault. She placed her hand over Twilight’s shoulder in hopes of comforting her. “It wasn’t your fault Twi, or any of you girls. It was beyond your control and you girls deserved to treat me like that based on the memories that Wallflower retained when she used the memory stone.” Sunset said in a comforting soothing voice to her friends. The girls, Twilight in particular, found themselves soothed by Sunset’s calming voice which at times sounded like a descending angel. They still couldn't, however, get over their behavior of being unkind towards Sunset when she needed their help despite she being there for them through thick and thin.

Sunset however did not brush off Fluttershy’s theory instantly. She’ll admit, ever since that incident with the memory stone, one can say she had become paranoid. The fact that she could lose her friends, the very people she considered family with one wish scared her. Even though their good memories of her had been restored with the stone’s destruction having made amends with Wallflower, Sunset had developed a fear of losing them again. It was that fear that constantly gripped her heart whenever they were together. In her nightmares, the fear of losing those closest to you was a constant theme. So it was possible that the incident is related to her nightmares but she couldn’t tell that to them, especially when it was still fresh in their minds. They were already blaming themselves more than they needed to. Her thoughts were once again distrubed this time by Fluttershy. “Maybe you can write to Princess Twilight about this.” She said in reference to Twilight’s pony counterpart in Equestria. Whenever Sunset was at a roadblock, she often consulted with the Princess to get her views on how to proceed, especially when magic is involved. “I don’t want to disturb her from focusing on her responsibilities over a stupid nightmare,” Sunset replied to Fluttershy. Princess Twilight had more important matters to focus on rather than dealing with trivial issues like bad nightmares.

On the other hand, Pinkie was getting restless over all this serious talk around the table. She can be serious when the occasion calls for it, but not forever. “Why the serious sulky face everyone ?” She said in trying to brighten up the mood around the table. It was a crucial part of her personality that nobody could deny. “ We haven’t even started discussing Sunset's surprise birthday party that we had planned for her this weekend !” she said, accidentally slipping up a secret that was clearly not meant for Sunset to hear. “My what ?” She exclaimed, surprised by Pinkie’s unexpected revelation. For a moment there, there was silence around the table as the others couldn't believe that Pinkie Pie had let slip a secret as important as that. They had been planning it as a way to make up for their mistakes. “PINKIE !!” the others shouted out loud towards their hyper bushy pink haired friend for a major slip up such as this. Pinkie loved surprise parties and seemed completely out of character for her to slip out the crucial element, what more for her best friend’s birthday. “You Blew it,” Rainbow sighed in a frustrated tone as she slammed her open palms on her face, feeling defeated that all the secrecy had come to nothing. “Oopsie” she chuckled a bit over her slip up , “I’m Sorry” Pinkie apologized in her usual childish voice. “Is it really that hard of you to keep a secret, Pinkie Pie ?” Rarity asked in a judgemental tone. Nobody could stay mad at Pinkie Pie forever, not even Pinkie Pie herself. As the others scratched heads to come with an explanation to Sunset, she decided to take matters into her own hands, quite literally. Utilizing her geode power of looking into a person’s immediate past, she grabed Pinkie’s hand to see what the surprise party that was supposed to be kept secret from her.

The moment she grabbed her hand, it triggered an empathy flash in which her eyes glow white as she saw into Pinkie’s mind. Instead of seeing Pinkie Pie’s memories, she finds herself in a completely different world, one which was shrouded by a dark mist. Sunset can feel that there’s something terrible behind the mist, the darkness it radiates makes her uneasy like never before . “Where am I ?” She asked herself. This certainly wasn't Pinkie’s mind and whatever this place was, she didn’t have a good feeling about it. Adrenaline spun through her entire bipedal body, in anticipation of whatever that was ahead. The dark mist started clearing itself up for reasons unknown, revealing a hallway with each side lined in what appeared to be green coloured lockers and a small in-built glass cabinet showcasing medals and a couple of trophies. Sunset instantly recognised this hallway. This was the school corridor that she walked through everyday to get to her classes. Everything in this vision was almost identical to the actual corridor at CHS. There was one major difference though, and it was one that sent a cold chill through her spine if there wasn’t already one. The hallway was filled with DEAD BODIES ! She was beyond horrified seeing the bodies of her peers with their blood splattered across the lockers. Sunset Shimmer and her friends had been through a lot of magical mishaps in the past, but she, nor her friends had never seen anything as brutal or gruesome as this. Heck, nobody had even remotely suffered, not even the perpetrators due to their extremely forgiving nature. She knelt down to examine one of the bodies, finding wounds which she had never seen before. The wounds appeared to have been cut horizontally across the torso which would have been the likely cause of death. Sunset felt like throwing up at all of this but she managed to hold it through when she then heard a loud scream coming from a soft voice, a voice which Sunset without difficulty recognised it to be Flutershy’s. The scream was coming from a room at the end of the hallway. She ran through the corridor, coordinating her hearing and visual senses to find the room where the scream had come from, fearing the worst had happened, or was about to.

At the end of the hallway, she found the room where the scream had come from. She turned the doorknob to open the door, revealing it to be the band room where the girls usually have their band practice at. The room was dark, with blood red light coming from the windows. She scans the room, finding Fluttershy and finds her together with the rest of her friends at the corner of the room, who were trembling and cowering in fear together. Sunset could feel it, fear in its most purest form possible. She had never felt fear like this before, what more coming from her own friends. They sat on the floor and as close to each other as possible with their heads down and as such, they didn’t see Sunset entering the room. What was it that was causing her friends to cower with so much fear in their hearts ? Sunset wondered. “Guys, what happened?” She called out to them, hoping to make her presence known. The girls looked up upon hearing her voice with tears flowing like a stream from their eyes. Instead of relief, she sensed even more fear coming from them. It was as if they feared her !. “Sunset please don’t do this,” Twilight cried out to her in distress. Sunset had never heard Twi’s voice filled with so much fear before. “ We’re your friends Sunny.” Rarity pleaded with tears flowing out of her eyes uncontrollably. “That’s not our Sunset Shimmer anymore girls,” Applejack told the others. She was trying to appear brave and strong to the others but she herself was on the verge of breaking down.

“Guys, it’s still the same old me!!” Sunset shouted out to her friends. She was confused and angry at the same time. Confused as to why her friends were fearing her and angry at whatever it was that’s causing them to fear her. There was also a third emotion developing with her, fear. She feared being seen as the old Sunset Shimmer, and this fear was materializing at this very moment. Just then, she felt a cold presence behind her, not like anything she had felt before. There was something, or someone behind her. She could hear heavy breathing coming down from behind her. It was not like anything she has ever heard of. The breathing was like it was being filtered through some kind of machine. It sounded like someone who was suffering from breathing difficulties and at the same time, chillingly menacing. The coldness the figure was emitting made her stand still in fear. “You have done well,” Said the figure in a deep raspy voice that sounded ashmatic but yet enough to give anyone a fright for their lives[5]. She then felt both of her arms, swaying upwards, as if it was positioning itself to strike on the girls, who were trembling on their feet. Her hands weren’t under control, not anymore. She suddenly felt her fight hand holding some sort of cylindrical metallic object. Rising from this object was some sort of bright energy sword. It was similar to the one she saw in her dreams, the only difference being that it was illuminating a red aura, perhaps to symbolize the darkness within, she thought. She could then hear cracking noises, getting louder and louder as if something was breaking. Her eyes glanced towards the windows, not even a small crack. The noises were coming from below her feet, it appeared that the floor was cracking. Before she could even figure out how that was even possible, her arms suddenly swung downwards towards her pleading friends swiftly but before the blade could make contact with Applejack, the ground gave in, shattering like a breaking glass causing Sunset and the rest of her friends to fall to whatever that lies below.

Sunset thought this was the end for her, the day she would finally meet her maker. She shut her eyes as tight as possible bracing herself for a hard impact. She hit the ground, but not as hard as she had expected it to be, only suffering from a bad body ache that resulted from the impact. She slightly struggled to pull herself up, only to recognise the world she had fallen into, Equestria. Confused more than ever, Sunset found that she was still in her bipedal form, still possessing an upward torso with limbs instead of hooves, her true form whenever she set foot in Equestria. She looked around, trying to find her friends who fell with her but instead she found Equestria’s capital city in flames, with death and destruction rampant around her and the smoke from the fire that covered the once clear blue skies. Her friends were nowhere at sight, but She found hundreds if not thousands of slaughtered ponies lying across the blazing city. Sunset felt like just collapsing onto the ground in agony upon witnessing the death and destruction, but the ordeal was far from over. Over at the horizon, Sunset found the Royal Castle which was built on the side of a cliff, raging in fire, releasing thick black smoke. The fire was in the process of consuming the once elegant architectural structure and everything within it. Without thinking twice, Sunset dashed towards the burning castle as if by instinct to save her mentor, Princess Celestia and the pony Twilight, if they’re still alive. She hoped so.

As she entered through the palace gates she found the Royal guards, all of them who lay dead on the ground with the same slash marks she found on her peers back in the school.They must have valiantly put up a fight whatever it was, but it was too much for them to hold their ground. Her hopes slowly started to fade as she found more dead ponies inside the palace. The more bodies she found, the more she lost hope that the pony Twilight and her mentor survived. She made her way to the Throne Room, which she found blazing in flames. The stained glass windows which surrounded the throne room were broken, revealing the burning city below and the smoke shrouded skies. For Sunset, it appeared that a final stand must have been taken at the throne room, because she could see countless dead ponies lying around more than she had seen earlier. She finally spotted Princess Celestia across the sea of dead ponies closer towards the Throne. “Princess Celestia “ !! she cried out loud but it was too late, the alicorn laid lifeless on the floor with the same slash mark as the others. Sunset could not believe it, her mentor and perhaps the most powerful being she knew of laid on the floor, dead. Just then, Sunset heard some cough noises coming from the rumbles of a destroyed pillar. “I’m Coming !” She screamed to the potential survivor as she headed towards the rumbles only to find the survivor to be no other than the pony Twilight herself, who is pinned against the floor by the collapsed pillar. She was fatally injured and was on the verge of dying. Sunset rushed to her side, hoping to lift up the pillar to save her friend. “Don’t worry Twilight, I’ll get you out of this,” She said frantically as she attempted to lift up the pillar. Unlike Applejack she wasn’t gifted with super strength and had to rely on her own muscles to lift it up, which was proving impossible but Sunset wasn’t going to give up.

“Why..why did you do this?” the Princess struggled to say to Sunset Shimmer in her dying breath, leaving her more confused and terrified than ever. She did all of this ? Sunset could not believe it. Even at her lowest points, she had never envisioned her home being razed to the ground with thousands of its inhabitants dead. “Me ?”I Couldn't have done any of this,” Sunset said, disoriented and confused. Just then, she heard a glass shatter behind her. She turned around to find a large shattered piece of glass that had fallen from the remaining stained glass windows hanging on where the windows used to be. On the shattered piece, she saw a reflection of herself, but it wasn't her she was seeing. Her reflection had the same skin and hair color as her but her hair length was significantly shorter. Her reflection had burning red eyes filled with anger and hate, similar to the burning yellow eyes the man in her dreams had. This reflection of her also donned some sort of dark black suit with a strange insignia on her shoulder pads. This other her, she was filled with greed, hate and anger. It could not possibly be her. She had reformed for the better. Sunset looked down at her hands only to find herself wearing the same black gloves her reflection was wearing ! The reflection was her ! Sunset could not believe it. This wasn't possible. She was not like that anymore, she was a changed person. This had to do with some kind of Dark Magic. Just as things could not get any worse, the reflection, as if it had a mind of its own, uttered the words “Embrace Yourself” to Sunset. She couldn’t take it anymore. This dark personality of hers was telling that she was capable of all the death and destruction she had just witnessed and deep down inside her, she knew she could. This frightened her beyond anything. “NO !!!!!!!!!!” She screamed out loud in response to her reflection, instantaneously drawing her out from her vision and back to reality, where her friends and everyone present were startled by her frightened scream. Sunset had just gone through a great amount of ordeal and had no more energy after that. Her mind just needed to rest. She collapsed onto the ground, with her eyelids getting heavier and heavier. The last images she saw were her friends tending towards her, all them appearing concerned and shocked as to what had happened. “Sunset, are you alright there ?” She could hear Applejack frantically calling out but her voice was getting deeper and deeper until vision finally went pitch black as she passed out completely.

Later,
Sunset Shimmer’s Apartment

In her dreams, Sunset found herself for some reason to be at peace. There was a sense of tranquility around her. She then heard a calm voice coming from a mysterious whom she deduced to belong to a much older man. “The Force is what gives a Jedi its power. It’s an energy field created by all living things, it surrounds us, penetrates us and binds the galaxy together,” [6] The voice said, filled with serenity. Sunset then had a vision of some sort of ancient structure in the woods. It was the last thing she saw in her dreams as her eyelids slowly became lighter and lighter, allowing her to open her eyes, albeit steadily. She found herself staring at a familiar blue ceiling she instantly recognised to be her room ceiling and that she was lying on her bed. From her second story bed, she found her friends below in the living room, except for Applejack and Twilight. Rarity seemed to be sitting on her bean bag chair, preoccupied with her cell phone while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were using her gaming console for a multiplayer match. Based on her looks, Rainbow Dash was clearly not happy losing to Fluttershy, of all people who seemed to be immersed in the game. Pinkie Pie on the other hand was at the sidelines, cheering for both of her friends. Fluttershy managed to beat Rainbow by a large margin, which frustrated her even more. “How is it that I lost to you ?”[7] she grumbled as she slammed the controller onto the couch. “Don’t take it so hard, Dashie.” Fluttershy comforts her friend, “You still played very well,” she said as she places her arms around Rainbow who cooled down and accepted her defeat to Fluttershy as a sign of sportsmanship, putting it all behind her as friendship mattered more than some simple ego. “ Guys ! She’s awake,” Sunset could hear Twilight’s voice from behind calling out to her friends. She turned and found her nerdy looking friend sitting at the edge of the bed all along with her eyes fixated on her.

Sunset could hear the footsteps of the others running up her narrow stairs to come to her side. While she wouldn’t admit it, a small part of herself was glad that her friends are concerned for her wellbeing the same way she was for them. “Sunset dear, how are you feeling ?” Fluttershy asked with an anxious tone. “ Okay, I guess,” She answered. To be honest, Sunset didn’t know if she was actually okay. All that she knew is that she had a striking headache and had no recollection of what happened in the mall after that nightmare or how she had appeared in her apartment. “I just have this striking headache and I don’t exactly remember what happened in the mall,” She said. “ You placed your hand on me, then your eyes went all glowy and a few seconds later you screamed ‘NO’ out loud and suddenly fainted, causing a scene at the mall. Applejack carried you on her back to her van and then we all drove to your place where we placed you on your bed and here we are.” Pinkie, in her usual hyperactive voice, summarized to Sunset, recalling the events that had occurred. “That’s basically what happened.” came Rainbow’s typical tomboying voice, alluding to Pinkie’s quick but specifically accurate recollection of events.

It was too much for Sunset to take it in all at once. She then heard another pair of footsteps coming up. It was Applejack, who was carrying a glass of some orange coloured drink on her left hand. “ Let’s give Sunset some space to breathe everyone,” She said with a rational level minded tone as she climbed up the stairs. Applejack was perhaps the most level minded person in their group, always coming up with logical solutions in tense situations. Once she was up, she approached Sunset and extended her hand holding the drink towards Sunset. “ Here, have some homemade Apple Cider, Sugarcube. It should help soothe that headache of yours.” Applejack offered her signature Apple Family cider to Sunset who took a big sip off the glass offered to her. The drink did indeed help bring down her bad headache. ‘Applejack wasn’t exaggerating alright’, she thought. In fact, she couldn’t think of a time when she had even remotely lied or stretched the truth. “ Thanks AJ,” Sunset appreciated the effort taken by her friend. “Ah don’t mention honey. It's the least I could do.” Applejack refused the credit.“ What happened back there Sunset ?” Twilight asked with a bothered look on her face. A face shared by the others too, including Pinkie Pie an uncommon sight for an always cheerful girl.

A part of Sunset wanted to tell them the truth, but how could she ? How could she look into their innocent souls and say to them that they were killed with her own hands ? ‘No,’ she told herself. She won’t tell them what she saw, and that’s final. This was something for her alone to deal with. But still, she had to cook up an explanation to satisfy their curiosity. “ I’m fine guys, really. I guess I’m just a little stressed up with how frequent magical mishaps that have been happening around us this past year and what’s ahead .Maybe my geode felt that and got a little too supercharged for me to handle.” Sunset speculated. “I thought that our geodes were sort of connected. How come ours didn’t super charge ?” [8] Rainbow Dash questioned. “Perhaps it's because her geode powers are more psychological in nature compared to ours.” Twilight theorized on her behalf. She could always count on her geeky friend to have her back whenever she found it hard to explain things. “We’re always here to listen if you feel you need to let some steam out darling,” Rarity added. “If there’s anyone I need to talk things to, it will surely be you guys,” Sunset assured them. She then remembered the talk that led to her using her geode powers in the first place, a surprise birthday planned for her by them. “ First subject that we need to talk about is the surprise birthday y’all have planned for me..”

“ I don’t think it’s a surprise party now thanks to Pinkie Pie.” Applejacks added it with a stare directed towards a cheeky Pinkie. “Guys, you don’t have to waste any effort on planning a surprise birthday party for me. I’m just happy to spend my birthday with my best friends,” Sunset tried to reason with them, however based on their expressions, none of them seem reasoned, especially Pinkie Pie, who seemed more furious than ever, “Preposterous I say !! This Party is happening and that’s final !” She declared out loud. No one could argue with Pinkie at this point. Once she’s set her mind to it, there’s nothing to stop her. “ Darling it's the least we could do to you as your friends.” Rarity added. Sunset gave up in attempting to convince the girls not to throw her a party. She would have said the same things Rarity said if it was her who told her not to throw a surprise party. Sunset took a peek through the window from her bed to notice that it's already dusk outside. Her friends' families would be looking for them if they weren’t not back soon. They were preoccupied with Sunset’s well-being to not notice the evening sky getting darker outside till Rainbow Dash also notices the sky getting darker outside, “It’s getting dark soon. We’ll need to be at our homes soon or our families will be worried.” She said while looking at the time on her phone. “We ain’t leaving anywhere till Sunset Shimmer here is feeling better. I’m sure our families can understand that,” Applejack shot back. “I think you guys should listen to Rainbow Dash on this.” Sunset said to her friends, “ I don’t want you to keep your families waiting because of me.”. “But what about you ?” Fluttershy voiced out. “I’ll be fine. I just need to sleep this through for the night.” She assured her.

Fortunately for her, her friends were convinced that Sunset was alright. They began heading down the stairs where the door was. Sunset followed them down to the door. They exchanged goodbyes with Sunset promising to call them first thing in the morning to update on how she's doing as she shows them the way out. However, being the last person to leave, Twilight stopped by at the door, not entirely convinced of Sunset’s assurance. “ You sure you’ll be alright Sunset ?” She asked with a slightly skeptical tone. “ I’m fine Twilight. You don’t have to worry about me.” She answered her queries. “If that’s what you say, Sunset.” Twilight said, despite she being not fully convinced that she’ll indeed be okay. “ Call any of us if you need anything.” She quickly added as she closed the door behind her. With the door shut, Sunset is now alone in her apartment with her thoughts. Sunset hated lying to her friends but she did it to protect them with whatever that’s she was about to face. That ancient structure in the woods that one she saw in her dreams, it was out there, she knew it. She could feel it calling out to her. “Maybe if I find this place, I can get some answers.” She muttered to herself while looking at the sun setting over the horizon. It was decided, She was going to find this place in the forest, and seek the answers to the nightmares and visions that have been plaguing her. It was time to face her inner demons.

Author's Note

Well, that's an end to chapter 5. This chapter focused primarily on Sunset Shimmer and the rest of the human mane seven reestablishing their relationship (not like it needed to be in the first place,) and sought to build up on Sunset's recurring nightmares and visions, leading up to her visions of a destroyed Equestria and the murder of everyone she knew and cared with her bare hands. Are these visions a premonition of what's to come ? Who's causing them ? All of which will be answered in the following chapter, maybe ? Till then, a little heads up that this story will predominantly focus on Sunset Shimmer. That isn't to say that the rest of the girls won't be appearing in future chapters. Being central figures of Sunset's life, they'll play a big part in influencing her decisions and the overall story but Sunset is the main protagonist in the story. Onto the easter eggs.
[1] A very obvious reference to the events of the EQG Special: Sunset's Backstage Pass where the song was first introduced.
[2] Another obvious reference to the first Equestria Girls movie
[3] A reference to the Friendship Games movie but most importantly, NO SHIPPING ! This story is primarily focused on Sunset's spiritual journey so they'll be no shipping between any characters, let alone flirting. Period.
[4] Another reference to Forgotten Friendship. As stated earlier, the events in that special play a big part in this story and is the main cause of Sunset's anxieties and paranoia.
[5] I could say who it is but it spoil the fun of guessing. You'll just have to wait and see
[6] A reference to Obi Wan's (Alec Guiness) famous first description of the Force in A New Hope. Simple but yet mysterious at the same time. Just imagine the voice saying this as Alec Guiness's voice.
[7] A nice reference to the EQG webseries Better Together (Season 2 Episode 7: Game stream)
[8] Another reference to the Better Together web series (Season 1Episode 6: Overcharged)
That's all on the easter eggs. This chapter contained a lot of callbacks to previous events seen in EQQ shows and movies. Do leave your comments down and Check out the next chapter to see what happens.

Chapter 6: Answering the Call

Later,
Everfree Forest

It was late, that's all Sunset knows as she trekked through the pitch dark Everfree forest to find whatever ancient structure that is supposedly out there in the woods. The brightly lighted stars of the night sky did help shed some light, but was still not enough to keep Sunset Shimmer from getting lost. “ Great, Just Great,” She scoffed at her predicament. The Equestrian counterpart of the forest was known for being mysterious and free from any pony intervention which was not so different to the one she’s gotten herself lost in. Every direction looked the same to her and to make matters worse, she had lost track of the way she came from in the first place. She just stood in the middle, surrounded by tall intimidating trees with insect noises being heard from all places. “I should’ve done this in the morning.” She muttered to herself. Indeed, if she had done it during the day, she wouldn't have to worry about insect bites or getting lost. She could’ve even enlisted Timber Spruce’s help in navigating her way through the forest. Being raised in a camp[1] which is by far the closest settlement there is to the woods, Timber would be more knowledgeable on how to go about through Everfree forest.

But going during the day would have its own complications. For starters, her friends would have insisted on tagging along with her for the journey. The whole point of heading into the forest during the cover of night was to avoid this complication. In fact, Sunset had even taken a bus out of the city instead of asking for a lift from people she knew to steer clear of suspicions. Even if she did manage to sneak out of the city during the day without her friends knowing, enlisting Timber, being Twilight’s boyfriend and terrible at keeping secrets, would have alerted them. That left the night option the only available option. Back to the situation at hand, Sunset was starting to think that this ancient place she’s looking for doesn't even exist. Maybe these visions were be nothing more than a stupid illusion created by her own head and she was a fool enough to believe it. But she could feel it calling out to her soul. It was out there, it has to be,Sunset thought. But where ? That was the million dollar question. One wrong direction and she could end up deeper into the forest and more lost than she is now. Her gut was telling her to focus her mind on the call. It had to be coming from a certain direction and it would reveal itself if the mind is focused on it. It might be superstitious or outright stupid for her to rely that the right way would just present itself but she was out of any other viable options. It wouldn’t hurt to try, she thought.

“Alright Sunset, Just focus.” She said to herself as she raised her hand, pointing at a direction her gut was telling her to, hoping to reach out to whatever it is that’s calling her. She closed her eyes, trying her best she could to focus her mind on it. In a way, it felt like she was reaching out to it, and it answered her. Sunset could feel it, it was coming from the direction she’s pointed her hand to. “That must be the way.” She said as she headed in the direction where the call was coming from, which got stronger and stronger as she headed deeper and deeper. “I must be getting closer to it,” She remarked. Just then, she heard a weird sound coming from above. It was like the sound of an engine propulsion commonly heard in airplanes. She looked up to see what was causing this noise. It was a ship of some kind cutting across the night skies, descending before the sight of it was covered by the tall trees. She couldn’t make out the exact shape of this supposed ship as it was dark but could tell it wasn’t something of this world. Sunset had other matters in her head to worry about some UFO in the sky right now. Just then, Sunset stumbled upon a large Temple-like structure. The structure, not like anything she had ever seen before, appeared very ancient, with there being statues of masked figures standing facing each other across what appeared to be a pathway covered with vine, heading towards the entrance of the Temple. “This has to be it.” She said to herself, awed by her discovery.

There was only one thing Sunset was sure of, that this Temple wasn’t from Equestria, or related to it in any way. It also didn’t seem like it was built during the medieval times she had learnt during history class. Whoever or whatever it was that built this place, it was calling out to her and the answers she sought were in there, so the foreign nature of this place wasn’t going to stop her. Mother Nature had already claimed the surroundings as its own, with tree wines covering most of the statues and its dome. There were also trees, having taken up the surroundings of the temple, shrouding it from the bright night sky above. As she walked on the pathway, Sunset turned on the built-in flash light on her phone to brighten up her way. When she came upon the entrance, it appeared sealed shut with no visible way of opening it. “Is there a lever to open this thing ?” She said as she looked around to see if there’s anything that remotely resembles a lever. On the door, she notices paintings on it which make almost no sense to her. Even as an artistic person, she could not tell what the paintings were trying to say. She could only identify one, a painting of a hand within a circle that had smaller lines branching out of it, connecting the other paintings on the door. This meant that this particular painting is of great significance compared to the others, or so she thought. She placed her hand onto the painting. Just then, as if her hand had given life into it, the circle surrounding it glows, and the glow extends to the other branches, reaching every other painting before dissipating at the other end of the door. Mere seconds later, the door rumbled a bit before opening sideways, revealing the pitch darkness inside mystifying her, who has had experience with all sorts of magic in her life. “ Well that’s not something that happens every day.” Sunset remarked as she entered the Temple, having no clue what she's about to face inside.

Meanwhile, the Gauntlet touched down on the ground not far from the Temple. Kara and the rest disembarked the ship using the boarding ramp. “That’s one small step for me, one giant leap for Galactic Travel.”[2] Zeko added as he stepped onto the earth covered ground. “Seems like an ordinary planet to me.” Karl muttered, indifferent to the surrounding environment which was similar to other temperate worlds. “Maybe that’s because we haven’t seen the local town over the plains West of our current location . Why is it that we landed here instead of the settlement instead.I mean, they could help us find whatever it is we’re looking for.” Zeko explained and at the same time posed a question. “That’s because we’re trying to keep a low profile here. Besides, I doubt they even know whatever it is we’re here for even exists.” Kara answered him. “And you do ?”Karl posed. Kara continued acknowledging Karl’s query, “It’s close, I can feel it.” Although it was unspoken, Zeko and Karl understood that she would lead the way. R5, who was on the ship’s side of the boarding ramp asked in binary whether he should come along with them. “ That won’t be necessary, buddy. Stay back on the ship and watch the scanners for anything suspicious.” Kara said to the droid. “You heard her, back onboard you go.” Zeko mocked R5, who beeps in frustration but complied with Kara’s instructions, heading back in the ship and pulling back up the boarding ramps. “This way” She said as she showed the way forward to the others.

Sunset walked through the dark corridors with only her phone flash light illuminating the path. As if it already wasn’t before, this strange place she's in was starting to freak her out. She had run into at least a dozen spider webs while walking through the corridor and this was starting to get on her nerves. Looking forward, there seemed to be no end in sight, but a void of darkness. ‘Who knows how long she has been walking for?’ She thought to herself. Ahead, she found herself in the center of some sort of labyrinth with four passageways ahead of her, each of them diverting off with its own path deeper into the Temple, each of them potentially vastly different from the other. “A labyrinth, just what I need right now.” Sunset sighed as she furrowed her brow. Her temper was almost reaching his limit, and a labyrinth was certainly helping it touch its breaking point. She took a deep breath before letting it out to cool down her frustration. She was already so close and this wasn’t the time to let her temper go loose. There were four pathways for her to choose, but which is the correct one? She wondered. “I’ll go with this one.” She said, pointing to the third passageway on the right which she chose following her instincts. After all, they're the ones that led her here in the first place.

As Sunset walks through the passageway she had chosen which seemed to go deeper and deeper, she notices hieroglyphics crafted onto the walls of the passageways. She shined her phone flash light on it, hoping to make out what it meant. During her time as Princess Celestia’s student, Sunset Shimmer had learned of many ancient languages of cultures long forgotten, but all of them paled in comparison to this. Even with her vast knowledge of ancient history of both worlds, she couldn’t make out what the writings on the wall meant. “I’ve never seen a language like this before, this place must be more ancient than I thought.” She muttered in amazement. This place could be as old as time, she thought to herself. As she walked, Sunset could hear a soft humming noise coming from ahead. “What is that faint singing noise ?” She wondered. She also noticed a bright light coming from ahead. Without giving a second thought, Sunset sprinted towards the light at full speed. She came across what appeared to be a central atrium.

The light she was after turned out to be moonlight coming from a small opening above. The atrium was shrouded with thick mist, blurring the walls of the atrium. Sunset walked through the mist to the center of the atrium to get a clear perspective of her surroundings.Her thoughts rage as to how it is that an enclosed atrium covered by all sides except for a small opening for moonlight could be shrouded with mist, even so when the outside is clear. There was also something else that was more intriguing. When she entered the Temple, Sunset felt the presence of some magical element. This feeling grew stronger as she ventured deeper and deeper and peaked in the atrium. She could feel the magical presence around her, and it was strong, stronger than she had ever felt, like the mist itself was magical. “ I can feel a magical presence in this place and it’s stronger than I’ve felt before.”She said to herself. “Indeed it is,” came a chilling reply from the mist that rattled Sunset to her core. There was someone else with her, someone who’s voice she was all too familiar with. “Show Yourself !” She shouted out in the direction of the mist where the voice had come from. Deep down, she hoped that this was simply her stupid mind playing tricks with her. This wasn’t the case however, as a figure approached out of the mist towards her. Based on the figure’s posture, Sunset deduced that it was a female around her age more or less. The figure steps out of the mist, revealing her identity. Sunset Shimmer could not believe what her eyes were showing her. It was her own self !!

“Urghh, how much more must we walk ?” Zeko groaned in frustration. “We haven’t been walking for that long, dude.” Karl said to Zeko. “That’s because these feet aren’t built for long walks.” Zeko further moaned. Kara paid little to no attention to Zeko’s moaning behind. She was more interested with the presence she was sensing, getting closer and closer, till they stumbled upon the vine covered Temple. “I guess this must be the place we’re here for.” Zeko intoned. “What is this place ?” Karl asked, awed by the ancient structure in front of him. Kara shines her flashlight towards the structure to get a better look at it. Upon a closer inspection,She recognised the architectural designs “ It’s an Ancient Jedi Temple,” She said. “ How is that possible ? This system is off most space charts. How'd the Jedi find it and build a temple ?” Zeko asked in a confused and surprised manner. This planet was shrouded from most of the galaxy till now. How was it possible for the Jedi to have found this planet and even built a temple on its grounds ? “ I’m dealing with the same scarcity of information as you are.” She said to him, in other words, she too has no idea how the Jedi had found this place[3]. “How Ancient are we talking about ?” Karl further asked. Kara placed her hand onto the vine covered walls of the Temple to connect with it through the Force. “It’s very Ancient from what I can tell. This Temple predates even the Old Republic itself.” She explained to them. “Damm, that’s old alright,” Karl said in an astonished manner. She also found the entrance to the temple open, intriguing her even further. Just then, She sensed a presence inside the Temple. ‘It was her, it had to be,’ she thought. She could also feel the temple rife with activity within. As if it had spiritually awakened after being dormant for centuries. “We’re not alone here.” She intoned, “ What do you mean ?” Zeko asked. “No time to explain, We need to get moving quick” Kara said, in dismissing Zeko’s queries. She ran into the temple entrance, closely followed by Zeko and Karl.

It was very unsettling to Sunset to see her own self right in front of her with her own two eyes. It unnerved her even further when her counterpart wore the same clothing and had the same burning bright eyes from the vision she had earlier. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” the other Sunset said. She was taunting her and Sunset Shimmer wasn’t going to allow herself to be taunted by anyone, not even herself. She put on a brave face, “ You’re not real.” She said firmly. “Sunny, I’m as real as I’ll ever be.” her counterpart chuckled as she referred to Sunset with a nickname. “Your conscience serves you well. The Force is indeed strong in this place,” She further added. Sunset wasn’t going to play this game with her evil counterpart anymore. “What do you want from me ?” She snapped out loud at her. “On the contrary, I’m here to help you.” Her counterpart said much to Sunset’s shock. But she wasn’t going to trust this illusion of hers just because she offered to help her. “Help me ?” She intoned. “ Unlimited Power. We both desired that once upon a time, and still do.” The other Sunset said in a more wicked tone. “That isn’t me anymore.” Sunset firmly said, her rage fueling within her and her fist tightening. “ You can’t keep lying to yourself forever. What happened to the Sunset Shimmer who was ambitious and had a lust for power that can never be soothed ?” The other Sunset taunted her, as she sensed that her anger was building up, just as she had wanted to. “ My friends defeated her with the Magic of Friendship, the very way I’ll defeat you with it.” Sunset snarled back at her. “You pathetic fool ! Your Friendship magic will be your undoing.” Her counterpart snapped back at her. “ THAT’S NOT TRUE ! THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE !” [4] Sunset shouted out loud, more enraged than ever. At this point her eyes were boiling red with tears flowing out of it. Her counterpart had gotten into her head.

“ Search your feelings, you’ll know it to be true. Once your precious friends see me, they’ll abandon you like last time.” Her counterpart continued to taunt her. Sunset could feel the anger inside her reaching a limit. Whoever this was, she had managed to get into her head and was playing with her fears. “You Lie !” She said in anger, with her fist tightening. “ Do I ?” Her counterpart further taunted her, “I am who you thought to have defeated. I lurk in the deepest darkest parts of your mind, waiting for this facade you put up to end so I can return. The REAL Sunset Shimmer will rise once again !!” The mist then starts turning darker, as if a storm was brewing in it. Sunset could see visions of her past manipulative, greedy self through the mists. The visions greatly distressed her and she fell to the ground. Her counterpart, seeing that Sunset was on the verge of breaking, said, in a deep demonic unearthly voice, “ KNOW YOURSELF ! BECOME WHO YOU WERE MEANT TO BE !” That was the final straw for Sunset. She had been holding it all inside of her for too long now. She snapped, unleashing all the anger and hate within her. “ I HATE YOU !!!” She screamed, full of hate in her tone. In doing so, she lashes out an energy within her in all directions.

This energy, drawn from the Dark Side causes the mist to dissipate including her counterpart who appeared satisfied with breaking her. She dons a wicked grin on her face before she too dissipates. Sunset then realized that her counterpart was nothing more than a vision, finding herself alone in the now clear atrium. A sense of both fatigue and anguish overwhelmed Sunset. She collapsed onto the ground wailing. It had consumed her to the extent that she couldn’t be bothered to hear voices and footsteps getting louder from the passageway she had come from. “ It came from over there.” Said a male voice. For her, the fact that the monstrous counterpart was right about her brought her great agony. She had thought she had changed for the better, but it turned out that the old her was still a part of her, no matter how much she had reformed. She let the old Sunset take control of her, her heart filled with despair. Her anguish was then taken over by fatigue, as her eyelid got heavier and heavier. “Over there !” Another male voice, different from the first one. She was too tired to turn her head to see who it was. “ Who is this girl ?” came that voice. The last thing Sunset Shimmer saw before her eyelids before she passed out was a woman with tied up brown coloured hair with a fair skin. She donned a suit which she had never seen before. “ Don’t worry, you’ll be okay” she said to her as her vision faded off. In her mind, Sunset heard a clam voice from an elderly man. It was brief but yet soothing her despaired soul. “ These are your first steps Ms Shimmer.” [5] it said, before She entered her subconscious mind.

“ A girl with yellow and red hair and orange skin, is this her ?” Karl asked. “It’s definitely her.” Kara answered him. Zeko was confused as to who the two of them were referring to. “I’m sorry but who the heck is she ?” “The reason why we’re here, Zeko.” Kara gave a short reply to the confused Ardennian.

Author's Note

Heck of a chapter this was, am I right ? Not only did Sunset realise that her former self still existed within her and was well alive but she had seen her evil counterpart in the flesh. Was this counterpart of hers a mere illusion of her Dark Side or something more ? Let me know what you think below in the comments. This chapter also featured our main protagonists, Sunset Shimmer and Kara (and the rest of the Gauntlet crew) crossing into each others paths, though Sunset had already passed out by then. Kara knew this was the girl that she had been seeing in her visions, but why her ? It was more than coincidence to for their paths to cross into each others. Perhaps it was the will of the Force for their paths to meet. Too many questions but too little answers. One thing was clear though, the Force has awakened in Sunset Shimmer. Onto the easter eggs:
[1] A reference to Camp Everfree a central location for the fourth EQG movie The Legend of Everfree. Timber Spruce is also a central character in that movie. (Not that any of you guys don't know)
[2] A nice simple reference to the real world moon landing of 1969, where Neil Armstrong famously said "That's one small step for man, One giant leap for mankind,"
[3] How did the Jedi find and build a temple on a planet long thought to be lost ? A good question, for another time. All I can say is that this temple is much older than the Galactic Republic, which lasted for 25000 years according to canon.
[4] An infamous line from an infamous scene from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. ( I won't spoil that scene for those has not seen the movie 🙂)
[5] Who do you think it is ? Any guesses ? (Hint: It's from a Jedi long thought to be dead)
That's all for now. Now that our characters have crossed paths, check out the next chapter to see what happens.

Chapter 7: The Force

Everfree Forest
The Next Day,

Sunset Shimmer slowly awakened to find herself still in the forest, with the tall trees, obstructing most of the midday sunlight from her face. Yet still small rays of light managed to get through, shining light onto her face. She slowly stretched her arms, giving a big yawn before pulling herself to a sitting position. She could feel her head aching as if she had fallen down head first or had hit it somewhere hard. But that was the least of her concern now. As she pulled herself up, Sunset found herself in some sort of makeshift camp. On her left view which was slightly blocked by medium sized crates was a large structure which she deduced to be a spaceship. She recognised it as likely the same one she had spotted earlier in the night sky. The ship appeared to have its boarding ramp down, giving her a small glimpse into its interior. Over at the ship’s front, she spotted a woman, who wore a pair of goggles to shield her eyes from sparks that were being shot out from the welding repairs she was doing. The very presence of her gave Sunset a rather strange feeling, one she couldn’t explain or felt before. There was something familiar about her. She recalled seeing her face the night earlier. In fact it was the last image she ever saw before passing out. That would mean that whatever Sunset had gone through in the Temple, that vision of her darker self, it was all real and it was all coming back to her.

“Beep Boop Beep '' a sound that sounded like Morse Code distracted her from her thoughts. She turned to the right of her to find the source of this new sound she was hearing. On her right were two more craters, with the smaller one sitting above the bigger one. Beside them was a strange looking android that would probably be the height of her waist. It was cylindrical in size with its dome being silver, its body plated with both red and yellow color, and it had two metal legs with wheels protruding out of it. It kinda looked like a miniature trash can on wheels. On its head, there were a bunch of different lights coming from different areas, and a small camera-like visor poking out of its head. On its body, there were a number of buttons and switches , and areas that looked like they could open up somehow. Somehow whatever this thing is, it was alive. “Beep Boop Beep '' came again. Sunset knew this beeping was directed towards her but she couldn’t understand what it meant. “ I see you’re awake.” came a male voice from behind her. She turned to find a man, with brown messy hair and fair skin. His voice too sounded familiar to her. He was holding what appeared to be a bottle of some kind on his right hand. “ Here, drink this, you’ll need it after what happened last night.” He said as he tossed the bottle over to Sunset. She catches it with her reflexes, despite having no intention to do so. For Sunset, it was a rather peculiar bottle in which she had never seen the likes of before.the bottle contained water, or at least what she thought to be water. The Cardinal rule is to not accept anything from strangers but Sunset’s throat was in flames, a symptom of severe dehydration and was certainly in no place to be choosy. She takes a big gulp from the bottle to quench her dying thirst. She had nearly choked on her own gulps. “ Guess that you might have been thirsty.” The man said, giving a little hurrah for himself for the correct guess.

“Looks like somebody is awake,” said the woman as she approached Sunset. She had her goggles out this time, revealing her similar brown coloured Iris as the man. She also had the same skin color as him which Sunset found strange. “Who are you people?” She asked. “ My name is Kara Antra, but you can call me Kara. “ She introduced herself, “ I see you’ve already met Karl and my droid R5.” “Droid ?” Sunset intoned out loud and then received her answer in the form of beeps and boops from the miniature trash who identified itself as R5. “ The other guy inside the ship preparing food is Zeko.” Kara added. “Karl, Kara and R5 ? I haven’t heard weird names like this before.” Sunset said in a mild tone. “It's your name that is weird. I mean, what kind of name is Sunset Shimmer? Who in the entire galaxy would name themselves after a literal Sunset ?” Karl shot back at her. “How do you know my name ?” She said, slightly uneased by the fact that they knew her name as she pulled herself up from the ground. Kara sensed the uneasiness in her. “ We’ll talk about that after you eat. You’ll need your energy after that ordeal you had last night.” She said in hopes of easing the tension within Sunset.“ Alright who’s up for some signature Ardennian roasted Mynocks ?” Zeko said out loud as he walked down from the ramp, with his four arms supporting four trays of roasted Mynock [1], a signature dish from Ardennia, his homeworld.

Sunset Shimmer has seen all kinds of weird and unexplained things in her life. But nothing beats seeing a four armed talking alien who could apparently cook well. “ Arghhhhh !!!” She screeched out loud and bounced backwards, startling everyone else, including the droid. Zeko was startled enough to let go of the trays dropping the juicy roasted Mynock onto the mud filled ground. “Great kid. Do you know how hard it was to make this thing ?” He exclaimed at her, clearly dismayed. “WHAT THE HECK IS THAT THING !!! AND HOW IS IT TALKING TO ME ??!” Sunset screamed in confusion, her heart pounding more than ever. “ Calm down there. You’re not doing anyone a favour by freaking out.” Kara said in a calm voice hoping to calm her down. “ You’re acting like this is the first time you’ve seen a different species.” Karl concurred. “ That’s because it is. This is a primitive system Karl.The people here have probably not seen an off-worlder before.” Zeko pointed out. “ An offworlder ? You guys are from space ?” Sunset said as she pointed upwards to the sky. Karl answered Sunset’s question. “ In simpler terms, yes we are.” “So there is actually life out there ?” Sunset asked, slightly amazed. Zeko nodded at her question, “ Kid, you have no idea how much the galaxy is filled with life, both Sentient and non Sentient.” “Sunset, your planet is just one of countless star systems booming with life.” Kara concurred with Zeko. “ Well that’s an eye opener for me,” Sunset said before querying further, “ So what brings you guys to this world ?” “ You did,” Kara’s answer was short but couldn’t be clear enough. “Me ?” Sunset said in a confused tone. How is it that she, a nobody from like what the four armed being pointed out, a primitive system attracted the attention of space travellers. “ I think it's time we have that talk. Walk with me.” Kara said. Sunset nodded back, “Okay I guess.” “ Don’t take too long. The wildlife here is a real pain.” said Karl as Sunset and Kara take off to the words.

Sunset Shimmer didn’t know what got in her head when she agreed to go into the woods with a stranger from space. Her thoughts were raging with questions, mostly about why were they out in the woods alone, what was Kara going to do with her and how did she know about the visions she had back at the Temple. It made her very uncomfortable. They must have been walked a good distance from the campsite as the latter could not be seen from behind anymore. Kara could sense Sunset’s conflicted emotions, simply by reading her facial expressions. She was scared and unsure. “ You don’t have to be afraid.” Kara hoped to assure her. Sunset however, didn’t seem assured of this. “ What makes you think I’m afraid of you ?” She said with a slight tone of stubbornness, trying to seem brave and tough. “It’s written all over your face. But I’m referring to the visions you saw in the Temple last night. I can sense it in you.” Kara said. “What do you mean you can sense it in me ??” Sunset asked her in a more humble tone. Her gut feeling was telling her that Kara was not a threat but instead a friend, as if there was some sort of unseen connection between them both. “ I sensed it through the Force.” Before Sunset could query further they both came across a small cliff with a stunning view of Everfree forest, filled with peace and serenity. Down by the river bay was Camp Everfree, where Sunset noticed the courtyard filled with campers partaking in various camping activities. Parked close to the Camp’s arc were two buses Sunset identified to belong to Crystal Prep Academy, a one-off rival school. “ Let’s sit over here.” Kara said, pointing to a couple medium sized rocks behind them. “ You’ll need a peaceful environment to process things through.” She added. Sunset couldn’t argue with that.

“ What is the Force ?” Sunset asked as they sat on the rocks overlooking the scenic view. Somehow in a way that Sunset couldn’t explain, she felt that she had asked the right question. “ The Force is an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us and binds us all together.”[2] Kara explained this ubiquitous power. Sunset was clearly puzzled by what Kara had said, “ I don’t get it.” She said in a confused tone. “ I don’t blame you. It’s something you must feel to understand.” Kara continued, “ Place your hand onto the ground.” She added. Sunset did as she was told, placing her hand onto the earth. “ Close your eyes and focus.” Kara instructed. Sunset closed her eyes, rendering her vision with complete darkness as she put her full focus to the dirt she could feel with her open palm. If Sunset hadn’t dealt with Equestrian Magic in the past, she wouldn’t have bought any of this superstitious ritual. She could see nothing but complete darkness, but yet, she could feel an energy flowing through her veins, touching every cell in her body. “ Feel the energy flowing through you, through every living thing present here.” Kara said as the Sunset connection to the Force gets deeper. She could feel a connection of some sort between her and the energy of this planet. Sunset had felt Magic flowing through her before, but nothing beats this. It was stronger, but yet peaceful. This energy came from every living thing present in the forest and the planet as a whole. She could feel nature itself flourishing under her palm.

“ I can.. feel it, Light, darkness, Growth..., death… cold and warmth…” She said as she got a clearer picture the energy flowing through. For the first time, Sunset felt as if this energy somehow connected with her, as if it had been waiting for her to answer all this while, “ And between it ?” Kara asked. Sunset could feel that in between everything that’s happening, there exists a delicate balance. This balance is what keeps the harmony, peace and serenity of the planet. “ A balance, I can feel it.” [3] She answered her. “ You can let go now.” Kara said to Sunset, who did so, with her heart and mind filled with tranquility more than ever thanks to her establishing a connection to the living Force for the first time. “ That balance you felt, that is the Force.” Kara said. “ So it’s like some kind spiritual magic.” Sunset intoned in a calm voice. “ It’s up to interpretation, but it all boils down to the same thing.” Kara concurred. “ What about my geode here ? It gives me the power to look into a person’s past by simply touching them. Is it connected to the Force?” Sunset asked as she directed attention to her geode necklace. “Everything supernatural is related to the Force, in a way.” Kara answered her, “ Your geode harnesses a certain aspect of the Force which grants you the ability of psychometry.” [4] In the past, Sunset had always referred to her geode powers as an empathy flash. She had never heard of the term psychometry before. “ Psychometry ?” She queried. “ It’s the ability to look into past events associated with a person. It’s a rare Jedi trait.” Kara described. “ Jedi?? What are they ??” Sunset further asked She had heard of the term before in her nightmares. “The Jedi Order was a group of Force Sensitive Beings that utilized the Light Side of the Force and were guardians of peace and justice for the galaxy.” “ Sounds Noble.” Sunset added before she asked Kara an important question,“ Are you a Jedi ?” “ Yes, I was an apprentice to a Jedi Master before they went extinct.” Kara said this time her tone wasn’t as calm as before, “ What happened ?” Sunset asked, intrigued.

Kara’s expression had turned sorrow almost instantly upon hearing Sunset’s query. She didn’t like to talk about it, the pain and despair she had gone through. Sunset could tell she had touched a raw nerve in her. “ An evil Galactic Organization called the Empire saw the Jedi as a threat to their power and destroyed them all. I barely survived the massacre.” She said, her voice filled with emotion and in a downhearted tone. “ I’m sorry.” Sunset said to her, sympathetic to her loss.It was a feeling she dreaded. Losing your own kind is not something one can endure. “ It was a long time ago. I don’t like to talk about it.” Kara murmured as she attempted to change the topic. There was still one thing that was bothering Sunset, the visions that have been tormenting her. “ What about the visions that I’ve been seeing ?”She asked “ The Force is strong with you Sunset. That’s why you’ve been seeing things.” Kara said to her. “ But why now ?? I’ve never had visions like this before.” She further queried. “ I don’t know why but what I do know is that these visions that are plaguing you stems from the Dark Side. It calls to you.” Kara said to her. Sunset felt goosebumps rising from her skin when she mentioned the Dark Side. She had always tried to distance herself from her past but yet it still calls to her. She didn’t know why, but what she does know is that she will resist it no matter what. “ I will not let it get hold of me..not again.” She said with resolve. But Kara knew better. She knew the Dark Side of the Force had ways of bringing beings into its folds, sometimes in ways that won’t reveal itself until it's too late. “ That’s good to know, but the Dark Side can be tempting and manipulative.” Kara said.

Kara noticed a blinking light on her commlink on her wrist. She answered it, who turned out to be R5 querying on when they will return to the campsite. “ We’re on our way,” She said before turning to Sunset. “ Let’s head back to camp.” She said to her. Sunset agreed with her and with that the two of them got up and started tracing their way back to the Gauntlet. As they walked through the woods, Kara felt that Sunset needed to know what was headed in her way with her extraordinary abilities. “ I’m gonna be honest with you, Sunset Shimmer. You’re gifted with great powers but there will be people, bad people who will intend to use your gifts to advance their own interest.” “What do you mean ?” Sunset asked, concerned by what Kara had meant.
“ There is an imbalance in you, I can sense it. They will use that to manipulate you to do things for their own gain.” Kara answered her. Her face was filled with concern. As for Sunset Shimmer however, she wasn’t the type to let people get in her head, “ I will not let them do that to me.” She said. Kara’s expression deepened further. Through Sunset’s eyes, she could see her younger more vibrant self full of determination, besieged by the daft belief that she could take on anything thrown at her. It was a naive thought of an adolescent girl who had not seen the galaxy as it truly is. “ They won’t give you that choice. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you and this world, but if I could find this planet, the Empire can find it easily given its vast resources.”

The remaining walk back to the Gauntlet was filled in silence and a little awkwardness for the both of them. Sunset was in her thoughts on what Kara said. She was implying something, and she didn’t like it. Back at the now former campsite, they found Zeko and Karl loading up the craters into the ship’s storage unit. Their return wasn’t noticed by them except for R5, who brings their attention to them with his beeps. “ Took you two long enough.” Karl quipped as he wiped his sweat off his forehead while stepping out of the ship. “ So what must I do now ?” Sunset asked, in a way that she already knew the answer to. As for Kara, there was only one way she could think of, but it wasn’t the way she wanted it to be. Sunset would have to leave everything, her friends and family behind to pursue a life of a Jedi. It was how the Order would normally induct members, taking them when they were very young to be raised behind the intimidating walls of the Jedi Temple, never to be seen again by their families. It was how she was introduced to the Jedi, taken from a family she would never know, all supposedly for the greater good. It was the one thing Kara strongly disagreed with and considered it a shortcoming of the Jedi. She felt that while the children should be trained to master their Force abilities, it shouldn’t be at the cost of separating them from their families and home. She hated to tell her this, but there was no other choice.

“ You’ll have to come with us, in which I’ll teach you the ways of the Jedi.” Kara said, with a sense of remorse in her. Remorse for giving her the only option of leaving behind everything she cared about. “ Wait, what's happening here ?” Came Zeko’s voice as he exited the ship and joined Karl, bewildered by Kara’s offer. Sunset somehow knew that she would say this but still dreaded it. “ But I can’t just leave my friends behind. They’ll be devastated.” She said, her voice filled with emotion. “ I wouldn’t be saying this if there was any other way. But it’s what is best for them, for the people of this world and for you. They’ll be safe from the clutches of the Empire.” Kara said in an understanding manner. She really wished there was another way. “ My friends are like family to me, I don’t know if I can make a difficult choice like this.” Sunset replied. She was conflicted within. On one hand, she wanted to keep her friends and the people of this world safe from this Empire, but on the other hand, she would shatter their hearts beyond repair if she were to just leave abruptly. “ Sunset Shimmer,” Kara intoned as she placed her hand on her shoulder to give emotional support. “ The hardest decisions require the strongest of wills, and you are a headstrong person. I know you will make the right decision.”

Sunset thought long and hard about her next course of action. It was perhaps the hardest decision she had to make in her life. It was between the greater good or the feelings of her close friends. “ If that’s what’s best for them, then okay , I’ll come with you and learn to become a Jedi.” She said with a heavy heart. It was the toughest choice she had ever made. “I understand how hard it was for you to make that decision.” Kara said. She hoped it didn’t have to be like this, she really did. Karl and Zeko however, were clueless as to what had just transpired in their eyes. “ So let me get this straight. She’s coming with us now ?” Karl asked. She turned her eyes on him and smirked. “ You got a problem with that ?” “ No problem or anything. Just a little heads up would have been better.” He shot back at her sarcastic remark. R5 on the other hand gladly welcomed Sunset into the crew. “ What about her people ?? Won’t they be looking for her ?” Zeko queried. “ I’ll handle them,” Sunset remarked, “ It’s the least I could do.” She added with a despondent tone. “ Very well, I’ll leave you to it.” Kara said. She heads back to the Gauntlet to where the others were waiting. Sunset pulls out her phone and clicked onto the Rainbooms chat group to inform them. She couldn’t bring herself to call them. Hearing their voices would crush her already broken heart. Sunset had considered herself a strong woman but only today she realized how wrong she was. She broke down into tears, being unable to say goodbye to the group she had become such close friends with. But she had to do it. It was for their own good, and there was no doubt they would have done the same too if placed in her shoes. With a heavy heart and weeping, she started typing.

“ Dear Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle, There’s something I should tell you, and it brings me no joy to say this. For some time now, I have been plagued by a series of terrible nightmares and visions and this was the cause for me fainting at the mall. I’m sorry that I lied to you guys earlier but I didn’t want to bring you girls into my personal problems. These visions and Nightmares were a part of something far bigger than anything else we could imagine and sadly not something that can be defeated by the Magic of Friendship as before. I’ll have to find another way to defeat this on my own and I can only do so by leaving Canterlot City, a choice I didn’t make, but presented. I can’t and won’t have you guys getting involved in this battle which I alone must face. You have been the greatest friends one could have in their teenage years and thanks to the six of you, I now value the Magic of Friendship and will always cherish the moments we have spent together these last few years close to my heart. I don’t know if I’ll ever return, but I sincerely hope we’ll be together again, like the best friends we are. I’ll miss every single one of you and the moments we spent together, and nothing can replace it. Yours truly, Sunset Shimmer. “

As she hits the ‘send’ button on her phone, releasing her lengthy and emotional message to their chat group, she immediately presses the button on the side of her cell phone, shutting down the phone. It wouldn’t be long before countless phone calls and voice messages from her friends would start flooding her phone, and it wasn’t something Sunset could bear to see or hear. Shutting down her phone would also prevent Twilight from tracing her cell phone location. She then proceeded to head up the boarding ramp of the ship, setting her foot on the place she called home for the last time. As she sets foot on the metallic floors of the spaceship, she could hear the ramp doors closing up behind her. Standing in front of her was Kara who seemed to understand what she was going through. “ I understand, more than you realize, how hard it is to say goodbye to someone you’re not ready to leave.” She said as she placed her hand on Sunset’s shoulder. Sunset could only look down onto the ground, trying to hold any tear she had left in her tear glands. She was, after all, leaving behind her best friends whom she had considered as her family, forever. Sunset could then feel the ground she was standing on vibrating a little, causing her to nearly lose her balance, but she managed to hold steady. “ I see we have already taken off from the ground.” Kara said.

The two of them headed to the Cockpit, where Karl Zeko and R5 already are. Sunset was awestruck by the mere looks of it. It was nothing like how science fiction movies portray spaceship cockpits to be. There were a lot of screens with calculations on it while beeping noises came from every direction of the cockpit. Zeko, who was on his seat piloting the ship noticed Sunset’s curiously gazing around the cockpit. “ Welcome aboard the Gauntlet, kid.” He said but went unnoticed by her. Sunset instead had her eyes fixed on the window ahead, open mouthed. Infront of her, was the vastness of space, with millions or perhaps billions of tiny blinking stars occupying every part of the sky, which seemed to never end, perhaps even infinite. Sunset Shimmer had never been as amazed as this in her entire lifetime. “ It’s so beautiful.” She said, with her eyes filled with astonishment. Karl, who was seated next to Zeko and acted as his co-pilot, could see her face filled with wonder. It was quite obvious. “ First time in Space vibes I see.” He chuckled. She couldn’t agree more with him. R5 then beeped and booped to Karl who understood what the droid was trying to say. He then unstraps himself from the seat. “ Why are you getting up ? What did he say ?” Sunset aked, intrigued. “ He said strap in, You’re not gonna wanna to miss the view.” Karl answered . She strapped herself in the front seat Karl had earlier sat in with her eyes eagerly on Zeko as he worked on the controls on the control panel with his four long arms which was followed by several beeps and with the ship’s engines seemingly getting all prepped up for some kind of a big moment that is about to occur.” Making the jump into hyperspace now,” He then pulls the lever located on his right. She could then hear a noise which sounded like a computer start up before the view ahead of her quickly turned to blue lines as the Gauntlet jumped into the vortex of hyperspace. It was the most awestrucking thing that Sunset has ever seen.

Author's Note

Well, here we are. I guess it came as no surprise since I had already mentioned it earlier in the synopsis above. But still, Sunset Shimmer has made the most difficult decision of her life and only time can tell if it was a wise one. I hoped I had perfectly described the reaction how Sunset had felt upon seeing a four-limbed alien life. Let me know what you think in the comments. In another note, I wrote Kara to be analytical and with an independent mindset. While a still a believer of the Jedi Code and committed to the Light Side, she acknowledged and recognised the apparent flaws and failures of the Order on certain matters. This will very much seen and explored in future chapters. Now onto the easter eggs and references.
[1] https://www.starwars.com/databank/mynock
[2] The classic and first description of the Force we have ever heard Ben Kenobi (Alec Guiness) in a New Hope. Instead of creating some complicated explanation, I thought I should just stick with the original description. It's simple but yet mysterious at the same time.
[3] This entire scene is based on Rey's first proper connection with the Force on Ahch-To in the Last Jedi. (I don't understand the divisiveness of this movie. Sure it has its flaws but it doesn't deserve the hate)
[4] Psychometry is a rare Jedi ability of looking into a person/objects past by simply feeling it. Sunset's geode power is very similar to this power. In fact, Sunset may even naturally possess this trait.
That's all for the easter eggs. Not much of them in this chapter. Sunset's journey to become a Jedi has only just begun, with countless challenges and tribulations ahead.

Chapter 8: Trials of Sunset Shimmer

3 Months Later (3BBY)
Cadimenu Sector
Ajan Kloss

Ajan Kloss was an uninhabited jungle covered moon orbiting the gas giant Ajara in the remote Cadimenu Sector in the Outer Rim. Mostly due to its remoteness and being far away from the prying eyes of the Empire, Kara had chosen this place as the perfect training ground to train Sunset Shimmer. Training her wasn’t as easy as she thought it would be. While Sunset was eager to learn, she was impulsive, very often acting without using her head. Perhaps the biggest flaw in her was her lack of patience in learning and her short temper. There were times, she had to teach her the virtues of patience and to cool down her temper. This was achieved by having her meditate through the Force, something that annoys Sunset even more but has borne fruit in bringing her to control her impulsiveness. But one thing Kara had come to admire about Sunset is her sheer determination and willingness to learn, sometimes taking effort to study the ways of the Force herself. In a way, she saw her younger self in Sunset. Her impulsive acting and her desire to learn brought back memories of her time as a Padawan, memories she just wished would just disappear.

She and R5,after having waited with all their training gear outside for more than 20 minutes, headed to the Sunset’s quarters onboard the ship, only to find her still fast asleep, both drooling and snoring at the same time. Kara pulled away her sheets, hoping to wake her up but in vain. She sighed, “ Come on, Sunset, wake up,” Sunset however, appeared irate that someone was trying to wake her up from her beauty sleep. “ Urgh, five more minutes Princess Celestia ?” She blabbered with her eyes closed shut as she turned her body away from Kara. “ Alright, you give me no choice, my young apprentice.” Kara said before turning head down to R5, “ Do what you do best, buddy.” R5 replied with pleasure before utilizing its in-built electroshock prod to zab Sunset with enough electrical charge to wake her up. The sudden surge of electrical charge flowing through her body sent Sunset jolting upwards, bumping her head on the upper bunk. She was now fully awake, and in pain thanks to the shock she received and her bump on the head, nothing permanent. She panted, “ I’m awake..I’m awake !” . “ Good, Now, let's get on with your training.” Kara replied to her. Sunset got up from her bed, with her hand massaging the bumped part of her head. “ What was that for ?” She asked, with her voice mildly filled with pain. “ Cause you won't wake up. So I had to ask R5 for special assistance.” Kara quipped to her. The astromech droid affirmed her account of it. Sunset took a big yawn before answering her master. “ Well, I didn’t get much sleep last night.” “ Let me guess, Zeko and you were up watching the Holonet ?” She guessed. Sunset affirmed her guess, “ Yea, you guessed right. Sounds like mindless propaganda to me. I wonder why Zeko likes to watch it.” “Out here, you don’t really have much entertainment to go with.” Kara said to Sunset as she headed for the door,
“ We should probably head outside now.” to which Sunset nodded.

It has been about three months since Sunset Shimmer had left her home world, to learn under Kara’s wing to become a Jedi and to protect her friends. At first, she’ll admit things were hard for her to adjust to a new life as one with the stars. The type of food, sleep schedules, the technology used and just about everything else required time getting used too. Most of the time, she would reminiscent of her friends back on Utthar, as what her home world is referred to by her new friends. It would bring much sadness to her whenever she thinks about what her friends would be doing back home, probably spending every available time looking for her, something she hoped that wasn’t happening. It was indeed hard, their friendship left a hole in her heart, a void that cannot be filled. Her new friends however, helped get through the sadness and the void in her heart. They had lent her a helping hand in times of need, showing her the way around stuff with Kara was always there to comfort her whenever she needed a shoulder to cry on. While Zeko and Karl can be cynical and sarcastic at times, they meant well.

As regards to her Jedi Training, she had learnt a great deal about the Force and practices preached by the Jedi. If one thing she could say about her training is that it is harder than she thought it would be. For starters, one must give its complete and undivided focus to the energy within to tap into the Force, and this most of the time involves meditation,something she lacked patience for. According to her master, one must have patience and a calm composure to access the Light Side of the Force, virtues Sunset is not known to have. Initially, her impulsiveness and brash actions often conflicted with Kara’s teachings, and often made to meditate in the open forest to find peace within her. While her brash and impulsive actions have indeed reduced since her first day of training, it still manifests whenever she encounters an obstacle in her training. In other words, let's just say her patience and temper was still a working progress. Despite this, her strength in the Force has risen significantly, something that Kara herself has acknowledged and although she won’t admit it, impressed. She had taken her own effort in learning to master her abilities, utilizing R5 to study the ancient texts and lightsaber forms stored in his memory banks. It was a trait she had, even from her days as a student in Princess Celestia’s school. Still, the Force isn’t Equestrian Magic despite the latter being a part of it. Sunset still has much to learn if she is to become a Jedi.

As she walked out of the Gauntlet, Sunset found a couple of crates sitting outside on the open plain where the ship had parked. inside these crates were Training objects Kara had supposedly salvaged from the ruins of the Jedi Temple. While a good part of her training involved physical fitness, the core of her training involved strengthening her connection to the Force. In doing so, one must utilize the aid of external objects for them to set their focus on and visualize. One such object contained in the crate was an orb shaped Marksman H training droid [1]with multiple energy ports covering it. It was probably Sunset’s most hated remote device ever. Its blaster shots, though not lethal, give out a stinging pain when it makes contact with the body which can be even more vexing when stung by multiple shots. Sunset then heard Kara calling out to her, she turned around to find her holding what appears to be a wooden crafted training saber, one she had used before to practice her lightsaber forms. She tossed it over to Sunset, who extended her hand and gave her absolute focus to conjuring up the Force within her which answers her calls, pulling the stick towards her grasp. Kara was slightly impressed by this. “ Not bad, kid.” She intoned. “ I’ve been practicing lately,” Sunset said with a slightly over confident tone. Kara chuckled upon hearing this. “ Let’s test that effort shall we?” She said before pulling out a helmet with a blast shield lowered covering the wearer’s eyesight, from a crate beside her.

Sunset’s face turned sour upon seeing the helmet. She knew well what her master was implying. Her bragging had paid off, just not in a way that she wanted. “ You gotta be kidding me.” She said in a slightly vexing tone. “ Didn’t you say you have been practicing lately ?” Kara shot back at her in a sarcastic manner before tossing the helmet over to Sunset, who caught it without her hand. “ Yea but not for this,” She moaned, “ I’m tired of wearing this thing and deflecting shots with this stupid training saber. I wanna practice my lightsaber duel forms with a real lightsaber for once.” She added. Kara didn’t unsurprisingly seem convinced with her argument, “Patience, just by wielding some laser sword alone doesn’t make you a Jedi.” “ Then what about those guys in the holo recordings stored in R5’s memory banks ?” Sunset pointed out.
“ Those guys started off doing what I’m asking you to do now. A Jedi draws its strength from the Force.” Kara said. For Sunset, it seemed there was only one thing that her master had in mind, “ So there’s no talking you out of this ?” “ I don’t see why you can’t do it.” Kara intoned back at her as she crossed her arms together. “ Fine.” Sunset sighed as she put on the blast shield helmet.

With the blast shield obscuring her vision, Sunset could see nothing but darkness. It was intended to be that way, to deprive her of her optical senses, and have her rely on her instincts instead. She now stood in anticipation of the first shot from the training orb, her hands clenched hard on the training saber which was at ready position. With the orb on her hand, Kara gives out one last piece of advice to her young apprentice before activating the orb. “ Now I cannot emphasize this again but let go of your conscious self to the will of the Force. Let it guide your instincts.” “ Easy for you to say,” Sunset muttered to herself in frustration as Kara activated the orb. “ And the Orb is out.” She said as she released the orb. With her eyesight obscured, she could hear the noise of the orb circling her, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. All of her senses were heightened, as Sunset tried calling out to the Force to enhance them. “Aaah !” A searing painful sting shot through her body that came from her back, breaking her spiritual focus. Frustrated, she swung her saber sideways, hoping to hit the stupid orb but its fast moving and unpredictable moving nature made it near impossible for her to hit it, coupled with her obscured eyesight. It simply continued circling her, finding another weak spot for it to hit. “ Let the Force guide your instincts.” Came Kara’s voice.

Just then, she felt another stinging pain, this time coming to her left shoulder, as if by reflex, she swung the saber to her left side, but alas, she missed the roundish orb by mere inches. With each shot hit as a result of her failing to deflect, she became more and more frustrated. She thought that maybe Kara just liked watching her fail and suffer, as if this was all some game for her. She could hear the sound of someone chuckling, as if amused by her constant failure,which was followed by a male voice,one she knew who it belonged to. “ I see someone is training with that stupid Orb again. This is gonna be fun to watch.” “Shut it Karl.” Sunset called out to him in a vexed manner, “ Why not put on the helmet and try it then ?” “ I’ll just stick with a good old blaster and my eyes.” Karl shot back in a sarcastic manner. R5 seemed to agree with him, beeping as such that one could identify as laughing. There were times she just couldn’t stand his sarcasm. “ Use your instincts Sunset.” Kara called out to her unfocused padawan. Sunset could hear the orb encircling her , waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Bringing herself back to focus, she calls upon the Force to be her senses. She could feel the energy flowing through her, passing every vein,artery and capillary in her body. She resigned herself to the Force within her, allowing it to control her every move. Just then, she could sense Orb, it was on her upper right, and it was positioning itself to deal a blow to its opponent. The tension between her and the Orb was rising as Sunset tightened her grip on the training saber, waiting for the chance to deflect her opponent’s strike. The Orb then fires its stinging shot, which she senses. The Force, now in control of her hands, swings the saber in the direction of the incoming shot, deflecting it away. Then came another, and another, with Sunset successfully deflecting each and every one of the shots away from her, as if she could see the Orb moving about. Instead, it was the Force that was acting as her eyes and ears, visualizing and guiding her hands respectively towards the Orb’s movements.

Impressed with her skills through the Force, Kara pulled back the Orb using a remote back to the crate. Sunset could hear the Orb heading back, which meant that the training was over. She took out the helmet, with her eyes confirming what she heard, Sunset sighed with relief. “Most Impressive,” Kara complimented. Sunset turned jovial upon hearing her master complimenting her, not that she rarely does so. “ Thanks. I could feel the Force flowing through me, guiding my hands.” Said Sunset. “Like I said ,a Jedi's only true ally is the Force, and it is a powerful ally.” Kara said to her padawan. She wouldn’t admit it thanks to her ego but what her master said was true. The Force had helped her overcome the Orb, despite multiple tries of her own. “ Not to intrude on your master-apprentice relationship here,” Karl interrupted, “ But Zeko has made mynock soup, and I don’t know how much longer I can hold your cups.” He added, showing his hands filled with three cups of soup. Famished, Sunset wouldn’t mind some soup to replenish her lost energy.

As Sunset took a sip of the soup, her taste buds were thrilled by how good the soup was. She had to give it to Zeko. The Ardennian certainly knew how to cook well indeed. As they took a mouthful of soup, Kara had R5 show them holo recordings of lightsaber tactics taught by a fellow Jedi. This Jedi, a male who was perhaps the same age as Kara with brown slightly curled hair, seemed proficient in his skills with a lightsaber, using it to deflect incoming shots with ease. Not a single shot managed to get through his skills, as if he had trained for this moment his whole life. Sunset was amazed with this guy’s lightsaber skills, what she did pales in comparison to his skills. “ This guy is amazing.” She awed. “Of course he is,” Kara continued, “Master Skywalker was perhaps one of the best of us all. He rarely lost a battle, and was a famed hero during the Clone Wars.” [2] Sunset has heard tales regarding the galaxy spanning War from the others, how the Jedi led an army of genetically modified soldiers into battle against a legion of battle droids. While she would have been a mere filly in Equestria when the war had taken place, Sunset was nevertheless fascinated by the tales of it. “ Did you take part in the war ??” She asked Kara. “ Almost every Jedi did at some point. I served as a Commander in the Republic Military.” Kara answered her question. “ You were about my age when you became Commander ? What was it like ?” She queried further, curious about the experience she had in warfare.

There was silence for a moment as Kara tried to figure out the words to tell her padawan. It was a topic she rather not talk about, bringing back so many painful memories she rather forget. Sunset could tell that her master seemed disturbed by her question. She felt like changing the topic, but before she could speak, Kara did. “ Battle leaves scars, sometimes not ones you can see.” She said in a sour tone. Sunset couldn’t argue with that. “ Well where I come from, people say that it was the Jedi that caused the war.” [3] said Karl as he finished up his soup. Kara finished up her soup before answering back, “ I suppose that debate is academic now, considering that neither side won in the end.” “ Well you’re still here,” Sunset said to Kara, as she too finished her soup, satisfied with it. She sympathized with her master, having been through a great deal of pain when she was younger. It must have scarred her a great deal. It didn’t feel right to use her geode powers to look into her mind if she didn't want to share it , and not to mention she could easily mentally block it. Kara then got up and picked up her training saber. “Come on,” She said in a less sour tone, “ let's test your lightsaber techniques.” Karl then stretched his legs up and rested on a bunch of crates, comforting himself. “ Oh this is where the fun begins.” He said in an anticipating tone which was shared by R5. Sunset got up and grabbed her saber before proceeding to face her master.

“Remember the forms you’ve learnt and apply it, take ready position.” Kara said to Sunset, who did as told, holding the saber firmly at ready position, her eyes set on Kara, waiting for her to make the first move. “ We’ll start slow,” she said to which Sunset nodded. Kara made the first move, charging towards Sunset with her saber going for an upper strike. “Block high,” Sunset lifted her saber to block her master’s saber resulting in the two sabers intersecting with one another. “Good, let’s work on a series.” Kara said, slightly impressed with her block. The two of them continue training, parrying with one another with Kara telling Sunset repetitively to block high, middle and low, as she swings her saber to that position. Sunset continues blocking every strike by her master, each time she blocks a charge, her strength and skills with the saber increases, her connection to the Force getting deeper. Impressed with her durability with the stick, Kara increases her strikes, becoming more often and unpredictable to further test her durability. Sunset struggled to keep up with the tempo of their parrying but she managed to block every charge, even going on the offensive for a brief moment, pushing her master to block her strikes instead. But she loses her momentum and is pushed back by Kara who is back on the offensive. The intensity of their parrying increased further, with Sunset going on the defensive, countering every strike from her somehow revignurated master, who has increased the tempo of their parrying, striking even more than before and sometimes without warning. Fatigue sets in, and with her momentum lost, Kara manages to knock Sunset onto the ground. Having bested her, Kara brings her wooden saber to Sunset’s neck stopping just before making contact with it, “And that’s your head. Come on, you can do better than that.” She intoned. Sunset never liked being told that she could do better in something she had given all of her strength to accomplish. It made her feel that as if the effort she put in will simply not be enough. She was also tired of being bested by her master all the time in parrying. “I’m...trying” She grunted, while trying to catch her breath. Kara did not seem too impressed with her perceived non committal answer. “ Do or do not, there is no try.”[4] Kara said as she extended her hand over to Sunset to bring herself up, in which she takes up her master’s offer.

Sunset found it hard to comprehend what her master meant by there is no such thing as try. How could one perform a certain task if one does not at least try to do it. It was a conundrum. She wasn’t the only one who felt that way. “What does that supposed to mean ?” Karl asked. He was echoed by R5’s confused beeping noises. Sunset found it ironic that a sophisticated artificially intelligent droid like R5 couldn't understand a philosophical quote. “ A wise Jedi Master used to say that all the time.” Kara answered him. Still it didn’t technically answer the question. Before Karl could voice that out he was interrupted by Zeko, “Not to interrupt your Jedi session, but we’re getting an incoming transmission from Fulcrum.”[5] He called out from the Gauntlet’s boarding ramp, partially out of the ship. “ It must be pretty important.” Karl speculated. “ We’ll be in there shortly, Zeko.” Kara said to him before turning her head over to Sunset, “ Our Training will have to be put on hold for now.” After placing the training sabers back in the crate, the three of them head back into the Gauntlet. While walking, Sunset wondered if today might be the chance to see the true identity of Fulcrum. In the time she became the crew’s newest member, Fulcrum had called twice excluding today, and in those transmissions, her identity was never revealed, instead a white marking was used as some sort of avatar to hide his or her true identity.

According to Kara, the term Fulcrum itself was a mere codename used by perhaps multiple secret agents gathering and distributing intelligence regarding Imperial Activities to insurgent groups. Fulcrum agents also acted as a bridge in an attempt to unite the supposedly various anti Imperial groups scattered across the galaxy into a single entity and recruit more to their cause. It was perhaps how they came to know Fulcrum in the first place. While Sunset didn’t know much, what she did know was that her new friends weren’t exactly supportive of Imperial Rule. When they were not preoccupied with her Jedi Training, they would generally attack Imperial Cargo ships, taking what needed to be taken and jumping off into hyperspace right before the Empire knew what hit them. Fulcrum would usually provide targets for such operations by them to be carried out. Such tactics would be more suited for a small motley crew like them,so Kara says. The last mission Fulcrum had provided them with was freeing a political prisoner of war that was being transferred to a secure prison facility. Karl had always justified their actions as somewhat noble in fighting a tyrannical government. While Sunset Shimmer wasn’t very familiar with the Galactic Empire thanks to her naivety in galactic affairs, she had heard stories of how they operate from the others. A military totalitarian Organization, the Empire as it is commonly called ruled the galaxy with an iron fist, occupying thousands of star systems and imposing its will on countless beings through sheer force and fear. Those who dared speak up were charged with treason and are sentenced to life long imprisonment, or worse.

Despite hearing about the countless number of cruel things regarding the Empire, including how they rose up to power, Sunset personally didn’t agree with their actions in attacking Imperial Shuttles for two reasons. Firstly, Kara had taught her that one of the core principles of the Jedi is that they were the keepers of the peace, not soldiers. It would be hypocritical for them to act in a way that soldiers would do, attacking and sabotaging enemy activities while professing peace. Besides that, their actions were tantamount to terrorism, like it or not. Sunset felt that there surely must be another way of fighting the Imperial Regime without the use of violence. Perhaps through peaceful demonstrations or maybe even petitioning to the Imperial Senate itself might help bring about change. Zeko had claimed that the Senate is nothing more than a powerless Assembly, a shadow of its former self, but surely even the autocratic Empire won’t be able to hide or ignore the high amount of grievances voiced out by thousands of lawmakers. However, she had never voiced her opinion to the rest as she felt it was not her place to do so. After all, she was still considered new to all of this and as such, was not in a place to offer an opinion. With Kara always encouraging her to speak her mind, maybe today might be the day She will voice what she truly feels about these missions.

Back in the Gauntlet, Sunset and the others regroup with Zeko, who was waiting for them over at the holotable, the circular shaped furniture projects holograms above its surface. With everyone of the crew present, he played the incoming transmission. With the press of a few buttons a hologram of a cloaked figure appears. This is perhaps the first time and the closest image Sunset would get on Fulcrum’s true identity, however she still could not make up the being’s face, which was fully concealed by her cloak leaving only pitch blackness in the place of where face was visible to the naked eye. The rest didn’t seem too bothered with this. “This is Fulcrum with a mission for the Gauntlet cell.” The figure spoke with a scrambled voice, similar to previous transmissions. This is done in order to prevent any voice identification. “ What do you have for this time Fulcrum ?” Kara asked the figure. “ As you no doubt know, the Empire is brutally occupying the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk, subjugating the Wookiees to slavery. We have reports of one particular Slave Camp called Camp 13 run by the Mining Guild on Imperial behalf in the system.” Fulcrum stated as a holographic of the said planet appeared. “ The Empire runs dozens of Slave Camps across the galaxy, What makes this one stand out ?” Zeko pointed out. “ That’s because this one has another purpose.” Said another voice that came from the transmission. Unlike Fulcrum, this voice wasn’t scrambled, allowing Sunset to recognise it as one that belongs to an older male.

Appearing beside Fulcrum’s hologram was a much older man, with tan skin color and black hair. He was very formally dressed, wearing the kind of clothes usually worn by dignitaries. While this man is a complete stranger to her, the others seem to recognise him almost instantly. “Senator Organa, ” [6] Kara identified him. “Yes, it is me, I believe this mission is of utmost importance for me to explain it to you personally.” The famed Senator from Alderaan, known for his strong commitment to justice and democracy and a harsh critic of the Empire said to them in a humble voice. “ What do you mean that Camp 13 has another purpose, Senator ?” Karl humbly asked, having a great amount of respect for the esteemed Senator. Bail stroked his chin for a moment before answering. “ That’s because the Wookiees in this camp are prisoners of war. They belonged to the Wookiee Resistance Movement.” As the Senator spoke, a holographic image of the camp, followed by its coordinates and air defenses appeared. “ Our sources report that this particular camp primarily acts as a deportation port. They say that the Wookiees are being transported off-world.” The Senator further added. “ Off world ? Where ?” Kara wondered. “The exact location that they were being sent to is highly classified by the Imperials but what we do know is that they’re going to be used as forced labor.” Organa replied. “It’s probably that they’re being used to construct something for the Empire.” Karl theorized. “ That’s the working theory.” Fulcrum chipped in. “ If you can help free those wookiees, Rebel Intelligence may be able to gather more information from this secret project the Empire’s working on. We can also help show the Wookiees that they are not alone in this fight.” the Senator said in a hopeful voice. “ The Wookiees have stood by us since the days of the Republic, it's time we do the same for them.” Kara said in agreeing to the mission. “ So I suppose you accept this mission ?” Fulcrum asked. “ You can take that as a yes.” Zeko concurred. The Senator appeared jovial upon hearing this, “ I knew you would say that.” He thanked them. “ The coordinates for the Camp and its layout is enclosed in this transmission. Make good use of it, and best of luck for your mission.” Fulcrum said before the transmission ended.

“I’ll set a course for the Mytaranor Sector at once.” Zeko commented following the end of the transmission to which R5 replied in the affirmative. Sunset however, didn’t seem too happy about this. “ So we’re not going to talk this through ?” Sunset queried. “ Uhh, what's there to talk about exactly ?” Karl pointed out. A part of her wanted to brush it off, but Sunset felt that the time had come for her to voice out her opinion after staying silent for far too long. “ I mean about this mission. I know the Empire is bad and all, but isn’t what we’ve been doing all this while a crime ?? Not to mention that it is against the Jedi way.” a sense of silence filled the room as everyone exchanged glances with each other, completely taken off guard by what she said. After being a member of the crew for slightly over two months, they had thought that Sunset would have been accustomed to their practices and supported it. While she had taken part in their missions willingly, it didn’t occur to them she had a differing opinion on it. “ Never knew you looked at it that way.” Karl said incredulously. Kara turned to her padawan and addressed her directly. “ Walk with me for a moment.” Sunset nodded at her request, and as she accompanied her to leave the ship, Kara turned over to Zeko and Karl. “ Get the ship ready for take off for our return.”

As the duo walked out of the Gauntlet to the forest, Sunset felt her stomach churning throughout the walk. Maybe she should have just her opinion to herself and played along like always. She had never seen Kara’s angry side before, the most was when she was annoyed but never angry, and she doesn’t intend to see it. Finally she pulled herself to ask her the million dollar question. “ Are you mad at me or something ?” Judging from her facial expression, she didn’t look annoyed even at the slightest. Instead she was amused by her question. “ No, I'm not mad at you for voicing your opinion. I’ve always been encouraging you to speak your mind and it would be hypocritical of me to be mad at you for doing that.” Sunset’s heart sank in relief. But it still doesn’t answer why they are out here. “ So why are we out here then ?” She asked. Kara took out a circular shaped object which she identified to be a holopad. “ To give you a proper explanation on what we do and who we are. And to do that, we’ll need to be free from distractions for you to listen to this.” Kara said. “ Listen to what ?” Sunset asked her master. “To this message.” Kara answered her as she turned on the holopad, which in turn projected a holographic voice recording. Although the owner of the voice was not pictured in this recording, Sunset could easily identify it to belong to a male around her age, maybe even slightly younger. His voice while it was filled with sadness and despair, it yet sounded hopeful. As he went on, the hopefulness turned into a sense of determination. This boy said,

“ We have been called criminals, but we are not. We are rebels, fighting for the people, fighting for you. I'm not that old, but I remember a time when things were better on Lothal. Maybe not great, but never like this. See what the Empire has done to your lives, your families, and your freedom? It's only gonna get worse…unless we stand up and fight back. It won't be easy. There will be loss and sacrifice. But we can't back down just because we're afraid. That's when we need to stand the tallest. That's what my parents taught me. That's what my new family helped me remember. Stand up together. Because that's when we're strongest—as one” [7]

The transmission seems to have ended abruptly, it wasn’t Kara’s doing but instead the recording itself had an abrupt ending. “ Call us Terrorists, Criminals, Warmongers or Rebels, but we’re simple people trying to make this galaxy a better place for all beings to live in.” Kara said as she tugged the holopad back from the same place she pulled it out from. Sunset’s head was filled with dozens of questions after listening to that holo recording. She wanted to launch a barrage of them at her, but settled for the most obvious and simple question, “ Who was that boy in that recording ?” “ That recording came from a boy around your age. This message brought about hope across the galaxy and it's what inspired many of us to rebel against the Empire.” Kara answered her question, but Sunset wasn’t done yet. “Rebel ? What do you mean ?” She asked. “ A Rebellion against the Empire. We are just one of many groups scattered across the galaxy that is fighting the Empire. Agents like Fulcrum act as middlemen in hopes to unite the various cells as one single entity with a common purpose.” Kara continued, “This Rebellion is growing everyday Sunset, it is a symbol to the less fortunate that there is still light in this galaxy filled with darkness.” [8] Kara had a point, Sunset thought to herself. Still, this meant taking part in an armed conflict against the Empire, which was still contradicting the ways of the Jedi. “ But being a part of this Rebellion goes against the Jedi way. I thought the Jedi were meant to be keepers of the peace, not starting a revolution.” Sunset said to Kara.

While she did not say it, Kara was impressed with Sunset’s intellectual thinking. Perhaps there was more to her than she realized. “ You’re right.” She admitted, “ But, I also taught you that more importantly, that the Jedi were the guardians of justice and freedom, did I not ?” “ Yea, you did.” Sunset concurred, unsure of where this conversation was headed. “ The Empire is nothing more than a totalitarian dictatorship built on fear and oppression. Doesn’t this contradict what the Jedi stands for ?” Kara pointed out. Sunset couldn’t deny it. What the Empire does completely goes against what the Jedi stand for but at the same time, if they were to act, it would result in them breaking a sacred value. In short, they can't fulfill one rule without breaking the other. “ I guess we’re stuck in a conundrum then.” Sunset replied to her. “ Indeed we are,” Kara said to her as they started walking back to the Gauntlet. “Kid, as Jedi, we must learn to be a bit more flexible if we are to bring about change in times like this.” Sunset was confused as to what her master meant by flexible. “ What do you mean ?” She queried further. “ During the War, the Jedi Council had chosen to prioritize and uphold its servitude to the Republic. As such, the Jedi became military leaders, taking part in battles. In doing so, injustice and chaos spread as a result of war and we neglected the very innocents we had sworn to protect. It brought about resentment and dissatisfaction towards the Jedi Order, making it easier for the Emperor to exterminate the Jedi from a galaxy who didn’t view them as favorably as before.” Kara narrated. Sunset could only listen as to what her master was trying to say. “ What I’m trying to say is that in our case, we are the protectors of peace and justice on top of everything else. It is what defines us as Jedi, not ancient beliefs that are redundant in these trying times. We’ll have to adapt to these changes if we are to survive.” Not a word came out of Sunset during their short walk back to the ship. As they approached the doorsteps of the Gauntlet’s boarding ramp, Sunset had finally come to a decision. “ Let’s go free those Wookiee slaves.” She said, accepting Kara’s reasoning.

Author's Note

So that's a wrap for Chapter 8. Sunset Shimmer certainly has her work cut out to become a Jedi and the challenges ahead. She has the will to learn, but her rash and sometimes impulsive actions often get in the way. This entire chapter takes place on the lush moon of Ajan Kloss which would eventually become the Resistance base seen in the Rise of Skywalker. (https://www.starwars.com/databank/ajan-kloss). It has been also three months since she had left her home, coinciding with the year 3BBY( which means that the earlier 6 chapters had taken place at the tail end of 4BBY) This chapter perhaps dealt with a lot, ranging from Sunset's training to her reservations about the activities carried out by the Gauntlet crew. Not that she's against fighting the Empire but instead felt that the virtues of the Jedi which Kara had thought her forbid them from taking part in this Rebellion. This minor conflict, although resolved quickly showcases Sunset's independent and mature thinking skills. Her views were based the arguments that the Jedi should not have gotten involved the Clone War due to their role as peacekeepers, not soldiers, a view shared by many other Jedi in that time. This, to a certain extent also reflected on Kara's views as well about the Jedi's view about going into war and becoming military leaders, forgoing their long established role. I based Kara's opinions and views on Barris Offee's regard of the Order at the end of the war ( Check out the Clone Wars season 5 episode 20- https://www.starwars.com/series/clone-wars/the-wrong-jedi-episode-guide) Now onto the easter eggs:
[1] Who could not forget the classic Jedi training obb, first seen in a New Hope. It's an essential object in jedi training apparently. (https://www.starwars.com/databank/training-remote)
[2] A reference to Anakin Skywalker, one the best warriors of the Jedi ever had but had one glaring weakness which led to his fated downfall.....( I'm sure everyone who's reading this knows but for the sake of suspense and for those who might be unfamiliar, no spoilers 😉)
[3] Some citizens had viewed the Jedi Order as the cause of the war in the first place and blamed them for the destruction it caused, even more after Order 66.
[4] Perhaps one of the most recognisable lines from Star Wars, first mentioned by Yoda in the Empire Strikes Back during Luke's training.
[5] Fulcrum is the codename used by Rebel spies to distribute and gather intelligence amongst rebel cells across the galaxy and recruit more people into the cause, first mentioned in the Star Wars Rebels Season 1 episode: Out of Darkness. We would also find out the eventual identity of Fulcrum later on in the series. As to the identity of our fulcrum agent, well that's a reveal for another time. 🙂
[6] One of the most recognisable members of the Rebellion. https://www.starwars.com/databank/bail-organa
[7] The most glaring and obvious connection/reference to Rebels so far, particularly season 1 episode 13Call to Action. In this episode, the spectres, particularly Ezra Bridger hijacked an Imperial communications tower and broadcasted his 'message of hope' throughout the galaxy, inspiring many to rise up against the Empire. This is a recording of the message which they transmitted.
[8] At this point in the timeline, the Rebellion is mostly disorganised and made up of multiple cells, and agents like fulcrum work to unite these cells together. According to canon, The Rebel Alliance won't be officially formed until around late 2BBY.

Well that's it for the easter eggs/reference. I know there's a lot of them in this chapter. You might be wondering why we haven't met our antagonists yet despite being already 8 chapters in. Don't worry our antagonists will be introduced in the next chapter (Spoiler alert: It's the Empire, obviously)

Chapter 9: Shroud of Darkness

The Core Worlds
Coruscant
Imperial Capital Planet

Coruscant, an ecumenopolis planet located in the Core Worlds, has played a major role in galactic history, being the capital of the Old Republic since its establishment more than 25000 years ago[1]. Although disputed, many historians and biologists generally hold Coruscant as the true homeworld of humanity. Due to its prime location being the confluence for major hyperspace routes, the planet is regarded as the heart of galactic culture, arts, politics and technology. It was for this reason it continued to serve as the Capital for the Empire and was referred to by the Imperials as the Imperial Center. Emerging from the vortex of hyperspace is an Imperial Lambda class shuttle carrying an important figure to the Empire as it heads towards the city wide planet.

Darth Vader stood on the bridge of the shuttle overlooking the planet as it descended into orbit. The Sith Lord was summoned back to the Core by his master for reasons he has yet to be aware of. But when his master calls, he answers it, with no questions asked. The two Imperial pilots that sat before him waited nervously for their Codes to be cleared by the Imperial Planetary Command. They could hear the intimidating heavy breathing coming from the mask that concealed his face, getting heavier with each passing minute they lingered in orbit. They didn’t want to keep him waiting as much as they could, after all they, like many other lower Imperial officers, were well familiar with the fate that befell those who had failed him. They quietly sighed in relief upon receiving the green light from Command. It appeared that luck was on their side, for now. As the shuttle entered the Coruscant atmosphere, The tall futuristic towers could be seen standing out from the evening clouds that covered the ground below. The shuttle descended further, going through the clouds, revealing the sprawling city below. The Shuttle headed to the Federal District of the city, where most of the Empire’s executive offices were based at, its destination being the focal point of the district, and perhaps the Empire as a whole, The Imperial Palace.

As the Shuttle headed towards the Hangar Bay where it prepared to land, Grand Vizier Mas Amedda [2] stood waiting to greet the Sith Lord, flanked by two Royal Guards, cladded in their signature blood red robes and scarlet mask which were featureless that served to conceal their faces[3]. They each wielded an electrostaff which they held upwards. The Shuttle finally made landfall in the Hangar bay. As the ramp extended downwards, Darth Vader walked down, making his appearance known and the cold feeling which followed him felt by everyone present in the hangar bay. “ Welcome Lord Vader,” He paused for a moment as he waited for him to finish walking down the ramp,“ He is expecting you.” The blue skinned Changrian male with blue eyes added in a booming voice, unfazed by the cold feeling that came about from the Dark Lord. Vader paid little to no regard to the Grand Vizier as he coldly walked past him and the two Royal Guards who proceeded to escort him and Ammeda.

Vader often felt inferior in the presence of the Grand Vizier, who held a staff which symbolized his political role and power. Vader’s disdain for him ran deep, he considered the Changrian nothing more than a relic from the corrupt Republic, one that served no usefulness in the Imperial Regime. It also further frustrates him that the Changrian had not even once shown him the respect he well deserved. Despite this and having the power to easily rectify and teach the arrogant Ammeda a lesson, Vader refrained himself from doing so, knowing well that his master would not be happy if he did. His only real purpose was to serve as the public face of the Imperial Administration, a purpose which his master was personally satisfied with. As they walked past the corridors of the Palace, hidden behind massive pillars decorated with a crimson red flag bearing the Imperial Insignia, with Royal Guards stationed at the gaps between the pillars, Vader recalled a time when these very corridors were once filled with Jedi Masters and their padawans who were either on their way to briefings, training or just catching with their fellow comrades and friends after being away in missions. Now it’s filled with high ranking Moffs, stormtroopers and Royal Guards,with the feeling of serenity that filled that air replaced with a sense of dullness and authoritarianism with traces connecting to the former Jedi religion erased.

Prior to the days of the Empire, the Palace was known throughout the planet and the galaxy as the Jedi Temple, the home base of the Order itself. Any and all Jedi would have come to this sacred temple at some point of their lives, with most of them having grown up within its walls. When walking past these corridors, Vader could feel a sense of dreadedness rising inside of him. He dreaded this place as it brought back memories from his days as a Jedi Knight, an era which he didn’t like being constantly reminded of. This place also brought back memories of a time when he was nothing more than a helpless young boy taken from his mother and raised behind the tall intimidating walls. He had done all he could to keep memories about his former life locked away from distracting him but being in a place where he had spent much of his childhood growing up and has a personal touch to it doesn’t help. Publicly, his master cited the lack of available space on Coruscant for a new structure to be constructed from scratch, when he had chosen the former Temple as his official residence. But Vader knew better. He knew one of the reasons his master had chosen this place to be his Palace was to desecrate the extinct religion. Nothing can be more humiliating to the Jedi when their most sacred Temple in the galaxy is turned to a Palace by the very architect of their destruction. It was the ultimate triumph.

There was also another reason, one known to a very few who knew the Emperor’s secret identity. Located below the Temple, was an ancient Sith shrine built over a thousand years ago. The Jedi had constructed their Temple over this shrine in hopes to neutralize the Dark Energy emitted by the shrine. However it is said that the malevolent energy of the forgotten shrine had slowly permeated the collective use of the Force by the Jedi for over a millenia, contributing to their eventual fall and extinction. Choosing the former Temple as a Palace would grant his master access to the Dark Energy permeated by the shrine deep within. [4] Vader followed the Grand Vizier with his Royal Guard escort over to the Royal War Room. As the metallic doors of the elevator slid open, revealing two more Royal Guards standing beside the elevator and the War Room itself, a large formal Military Command room with a large window behind that opened out into the Coruscant Skyline, where light from its Sun provided luminosity to the room. Vader and Mas Ammeda took a few steps up above the floor in which the elevator laid to the floor where the rest of the Room laid level.

Ahead, Emperor Palpatine could be seen standing beside a large black holographic table, overseeing a hologram of a planet of some sort. The Emperor, dressed with heavy robes with a dark cowl that only partially covered his head, revealed his severely disfigured face with his striking bright yellow eyes. Vader knelt before him with his head down. “ You summoned me, my master ?” He said in his deep cold heavily modulated voice. The Emperor turned his head over to his apprentice, “ Ahh, yes Lord Vader, I’ve been expecting you.” He said in a raspy papery somehow like a rustling of ancient parchment of a voice that would send shivers down a person’s spine by merely hearing it, “ Join us, please.” He invited his Chief Executioner. He was not alone. Joining them in through hologram was an older human male who had gray auburn hair and stood at 1.85 meters in height. His face gave off a sense of ruthlessness. Vader instantly recognised him as Grand Moff Tarkin, the merciless Governor of the Outer Rim Territories and one of the Emperor’s closest military advisors. He had seemed to have been advising his master on an important matter before he was abruptly interrupted by his entry. Vader followed through his master’s invitation, joining them by the holotable. The Grand Vizier also did the same, with the two Royal Guards standing by the short stairs.

“ Before we proceed, what is the status of the Jedi insurgency in the Lothal Sector ?” the Emperor asked Vader. “ The Inquisitorious have reported that they have tracked the insurgents to the port system of Garel where the Phoenix Rebel Cell has been in refuge. They’re in the midst of launching an assault on the planet to crush them and capture the rogue Jedi.” [5] Vader answered, his voice laced with a subservient tone. The Emperor was the only person in the Imperial Hierarchy he would blindly take orders from. A grin smile appeared on the Emperor’s face as he absorbed the news given to him. “ Good. Soon we shall have our key to destroying the Jedi once and for all,” He sinisterly remarked. “Glad you could join us, Lord Vader.” Intoned Tarkin. Vader merely nodded in return to the Grand Moff. Tarkin was perhaps one of the very few high ranking military leaders in the Empire he had grown to respect. He found his ruthlessness, intelligence and authoritative demeanor a trait that rightfully deserved commendation. Vader had often agreed with many military decisions undertaken by Tarkin, seeing that only swift and relentless military tactics without mercy would bring about victory for the Empire. He was also a strong proponent of the doctrine of fear, a doctrine that Vader equally strongly emphasized on. In other words, the two strongmen of the Empire shared mutual respect for each other, being very similar in terms of opinions and tactics.

“Please continue, Governor.” Palpatine said to Tarkin with his raspy voice. Tarkin nodded at the Emperor’s request and followed through with it, “ As I’ve stated earlier, our scout droids have provided us with a preliminary scan of the new planet bordering Wild Space known as Utthar.” As Tarkin spoke, a holographic image of the said planet was projected by the holotable, with details of scan further provided below it. “ It’s a cool and temperate world with a Type 1 atmosphere located about 3 parsecs away from the Mon Calamari System, shrouded behind the once impenetrable Calamari Maelstrom [6]. Thanks to our navigation technology, we have managed to plot a safe hyperspace route bypassing the Maelstrom to our concealed planet.” Tarkin highlighted a route through the Calamari Maelstrom in the hologram. Just then, the hologram shifted to an image of human-like beings with varied skin color and hair color. “ As you can see here, the native sentient inhabitants of this world, while human-like in nature, have unique skin colors that differ completely from each individual based on what our scout droids reported. There is no coherency in their unique skin and hair color, perhaps something that is determined by their genetics. Based on what we have gathered, they are a primitive race that has yet to develop deep- space travel.” Based on what Tarkin had described so far, Vader found nothing of great significance that warranted his presence here. This was more of a job for the Imperial Exploratory Corps, not a Sith lord like him. But fact is, his master wanted him here to hear out what the Grand Moff had to say whether he liked it or not. His master had some sort of an interest in this particular world that Vader has yet to see.

“ What value or usefulness does this world bring to the Empire ?” Vader asked. Even a non Force user could tell that he was getting restless based on how he had expressed his question. Palpatine turned to his apprentice, “ Patience my old friend.” He said in a slightly more humble tone but yet filled with his papery sinister voice before allowing Tarkin to continue his analysis of the planet.“ The value this world brings about to our Empire comes in the form of its natural resources. Soil samples taken by the probes reveal that the planet’s core is rich with natural resources, various types of metals, a large stash of coaxium and rydhonium fuel. The natives have no idea the amount of resources beneath them.” Tarkin further added “ So I suppose these resources can be used to fund our expanding Naval fleet ?” Ammeda intoned. “ That could be the case, Grand Vizier but there’s something else beneath the surface, something far more valuable to the Empire than the other resources combined.” Tarkin stated as holotable projects a holographic image of a large crystal that Vader and his master recognised almost instantly. “ The Core of the planet has a high deposit of Kyber Crystals, one that rivals the deposits seen in Illum or any other planet with Kyber deposits.[7] Tapping into these deposits would guarantee an almost constant supply of fuel for Project Stardust.”[8] The room was briefly filled with silence the moment Tarkin had mentioned Stardust. A grin smile shot across Palpatine’s face, as if he had heard the news he had been longing to hear. “ Interesting, What does Director Krennic have to say about this ?” “It was his opinion that I shared with you, Your Majesty.” Tarkin continued, “ While I usually do not see eye to eye with Orson Krennic [9], I must concur with his view on the tremendous benefits this planet brings about to Stardust.” Vader could only offer silence as he listened to his master and Tarkin discuss their pet project. While he did not express it, Vader personally detested the project. He felt that investing large amounts of resources and time towards a massive superweapon in hopes that it would be a testament of the Empire’s strength wouldn't be militarily strategic and could easily backfire . On the other hand, pouring in the same amount of resources into developing more advanced TIE fighters and star destroyers would do well for the Empire in the long run. However, it was not his place to voice an opinion, let alone have one. He couldn’t imagine the brutal consequences that would befall him if he had told his master that his pet project wasn’t a sound strategy.

“ I trust in your judgment, Grand Moff.” Palpatine continued, “ We must annex the planet and secure its resources. Can it be done ?” Tarkin gave a good look at the holographic image of the planet as he massaged his chin, giving the Emperor’s question a good thought before answering, “Judging from their primitive state, a simple fleet of Star Destroyers would suffice. Fear of our technological might will have them submit to us.” The Emperor contemplated what Tarkin had said. As he indulged in his thoughts, the rest could do nothing but wait for his decision. “ Very Well, Moff Tarkin. Do what must be done.” Palpatine concurred. “ Mas Amedda however, didn’t seem too happy with his decision. “ Your Majesty, might I point out that the legal issues surrounding this invasion will not go unnoticed in the Imperial Senate.” Governor Tarkin’s brow furrowed, “With all due respect Grand Vizier, military matters such as this fall under my purview as Governor of the Outer Rim. I’m answerable only to the Emperor. The Senate has no jurisdiction here.” Amedda was about to protest when Palpatine lifted his hand at his deputy and he fell silent, retracting whatever it is he wanted to voice out. “ It is of no concern, Vizier Amedda. They will be taken care of.” Palpatine said, his voice simmering with nothing short of wickedness. “ Governor Tarkin, oversee preparations for the annexation fleet.” He said before addressing the Grand Moff and Amedda together. “ I would like to be left alone to discuss some other matters with Lord Vader.”

“ As you command, My Emperor.” Tarkin bowed to Palpatine as a final show of respect as his holographic image soon dissipated. The Vizier acted similarly, bowing his head before he left the room, followed by the Royal Guards. Now left alone in the room with his loyal apprentice, Palpatine turned to Vader,“ Walk with me.” Vader did as his master wished, walking beside him as they both headed towards his private elevator located at the other end of the War Room. “ I sense something more to this meeting.” Vader said in a subservient tone. Palpatine turned to Vader with a grin over his disfigured face. “ Your insights serve you well, Lord Vader, despite your apparent injuries.” Palpatine subtly mocked Vader, who could do nothing but put his head down and offer no reply. Vader was cursed into wearing the damned cybortic suit for the rest of his life after a fated duel with his old master that left him severely scarred and injured, the breathing suit being his only way of living. He swore vengeance against his old master for that day. It was moments like this where Palpatine’s secret identity, the nefarious Sith Lord Darth Sidious would be revealed.Only very handful knew of this, and Vader was one of them, being his apprentice. It was the only rule of the Sith, there is always two, a master and an apprentice, no more, no less.

“ There’s been an awakening on Utthar, coming from a nexus point of the Force which has long been dormant.” Sidious mentioned his apprentice. “ Who could have caused such tremor ?” Vader asked. He had expected that to cause ripples in the Force with such magnitude, it had to be a Jedi, perhaps it could be his old master finally emerging from the shadows. “ It was by a girl, called Sunset Shimmer, who had just discovered her newfound Force abilities which caused the nexus point to have awakened in the first place.” Palpatine intoned. “Is she a Jedi ?” Vader queried further, his interest on the matter gaining. “ No, But the Dark Side is strong with her. I could feel it running through her blood when I felt her presence awakening the nexus point. I conjured up an illusion of her worst fears to assess her strength in the Dark Side and it calls to her. Jealousy, greed, anger, it's all within her, waiting to be unleashed with the slightest push.” He gave an answer to Vader. Palpatine was a master of manipulation, having orchestrated an entire war, playing both sides to achieve ultimate power. Vader knew it well, himself being a product of his manipulation. But why his master was interested in this particular girl eluded him. Sure she was strong in the Force, in the Dark Side especially, but nothing exceptional. At best, she has the qualities worthy to become an Inquisitor, after a course of intense torture and being made aware of her place by him.

“There’s something more to her, something far more valuable.” Palpatine said to his apprentice. “What could that be, my master ?” Vader asked as they approached the elevator at the end of the room. Just before entering the elevator, which had both of its metallic slide doors open, Palpatine stopped and turned over to his apprentice who kept his head down like a loyal dog. “ She contains knowledge, Lord Vader, knowledge about a world that is not located in any star charts. Sith legend, one passed down from my master Darth Plagueis and from his master before him as I’m to you right now, tells of a world shrouded from the rest of the galaxy, one which contains raw untamed power never before seen in the galaxy.” Sidious described. “ The Force must be strong with this world.” Vader intoned. It wasn’t the first time he had heard of such places. “Indeed it is my apprentice.” Palpatine paused for a moment, “ The Force runs very deeply in the veins of the natives, with most if not all of them being Force users of unimaginable power. Ms Shimmer is a former inhabitant of this world, having made her way to Utthar through an ancient pathway between the worlds.” Vader had never heard of a channel between worlds before. He admitted his knowledge about the Cosmic Force is limited but to think it could create bridges connecting two separate worlds, Vader could have never thought of such. Just how much more wonders of the Force is his master hiding from him ? Maybe the power to revive the one he had ever truly loved ?

“How is this possible ?” He asked. “ The Force is indeed filled with mysteries, my friend. Some that cannot be easily explained. The power in this world must be subdued to our cause, for which I can command an army of Force Wielders, one that answers only to the Sith.” Palpatine said with a wicked tone. “ No one will question your rule, my master. You shall reign supreme.” Vader sang praises to his master’s plan. “ Indeed, those who dare resist my rule, shall suffer in the hands of the Sith army.” Palpatine said in a more papery voice, simmering with pure evil as he entered into his personal elevator. Vader did not join him, having stood his ground just a step away from the elevator. “ Go with Governor Tarkin to the Utthar system, and bring me the girl. Through me, she will give in to the Darkness within her and reveal the location of the hidden world and how to get to it.” “ As you wish, Lord Sidious.” Vader said as he bowed in respect to his master as the sliding metallic doors of the elevator came between them and closed, leaving a wicked grin on Palpatine’s disfigured face, the last expression of his master Vader saw before the doors closed, cutting both master and apprentice apart. Lord Vader heads back to the other side of the room where his elevator awaits, with a new will to execute.

Author's Note

Finally the antagonists are introduced and it is no other than Darth Vader himself other than Grand Moff Tarkin (however he's not the main villain in the story). If you don't know who Vader is then I seriously recommend you read up on pop culture a bit. The Emperor also makes an an appearance in this chapter and is the big bad guy overall (As in other Star Wars content) but don't expect him to appear very often. Now onto the easter eggs/references,
[1] The estimated age of the Old Republic, according to Wookieepedia.
[2]https://www.starwars.com/databank/mas-amedda
[3] https://www.starwars.com/databank/imperial-royal-guard
[4] In the aftermath of Order 66, the self proclaimed Emperor Palpatine chose the former Jedi Temple as his new Imperial Palace, as a final way to desecrate the Jedi and to gain access the ancient Sith Shrine that was built underneath the temple ages ago. You can read more about this in wookieepedia. https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Shrine_in_the_Depths
[5] A reference to the impending attack on Garel seen in the Rebels season 2 episode 11 Legacy.
[6] A more detailed geographic location of Utthar as promised.The Mon Calamari System is located at the fringes of the Outer Rim, with Utthar located just 3 parsecs away in Wild Space but isolated due to the Calamari Maelstrom. you can view the the galactic map on this website http://www.swgalaxymap.com/ for you guys to know more or less get a better understanding of its location.
[7] https://www.starwars.com/databank/lightsaber-crystal.
[8] The secret codename for the Empire's ultimate super weapon, one designed to bring fear and submission. I'm pretty sure you guys know what it is. It appears that Utthar has the necessary materials needed for the Emperor's pet project.
[9] The Main antagonist in Rogue One, who was tasked with the completion of Stardust. https://www.starwars.com/databank/director-orson-krennic.
Unfortunately, Utthar has attracted the attention of the Empire for its rich resources, well needed to complete its super weapon, with Sunset Shimmer especially attracting the Emperor's attention who has dispatched his apprentice to bring her to him. In the meantime, The next chapter will focus on our protagonists mission to free the Wookiee slaves.

Chapter 10: Wookiee Distress 1

The Gauntlet
Traveling Through Hyperspace,

As the Gauntlet traveled through the vortex of hyperspace, Sunset couldn’t have marveled more at the blue swirling tunnel of stars she was traveling in. While this wasn’t her first time traveling through hyperspace, the feeling of crossing countless star systems, maybe perhaps the galaxy itself in speed faster than light itself fascinated her. The beauty of it was immeasurable. The feeling of it only pales slightly by comparison to her first hyperspace travel from her home world, after which she had what the others called as hyperspace sickness- a sickness one would get when traveling faster than the speed of light for the first time, but it was worth it. Her stomach had now grown accustomed to hyperspeed travel. Being a curious person, Sunset had wondered about the true nature of hyperspace.What is the blue vortex they’re when they’re past light speed ? How does one achieve hyperspace travel ? She had directed these questions to the others but alas, even Zeko, an experienced pilot could not give the answers she was looking for. For them, hyperspace travel is nothing more than a commodity to travel between worlds. Kara had told her that the hyperspace itself remains a mystery to many, even the Jedi themselves. So the secrets of hyperspace remain a mystery for now.

Her thoughts were interrupted by R5’s binary beepings. The droid, which was plugged into the ship’s central computer near the co-pilot seat where Kara sat, seemed to be informing the rest of their current trajectory, or so Sunset interpreted it to be. Her grasp of the Binary language is still a working progress and rusty at best. Fortunately for her, her interpretation of the beepings was affirmed by Zeko. “ We should be approaching Kashyyyk soon if we stick to the current course.” He intoned as two of his four hands were on the steering while the other two were busy pulling levers on the upper control dashboard. With their mission target approaching, Sunset wondered how these Wookiees, the group they’ve been tasked to save, looked like. “So what do these Wookiees look like in the first place ?” She asked the others. Karl, who was seated right next to her, turned his head over to her, “ Well, they’re a tall and hairy species. Kinda looks like a walking carpet.” He described them. “How tall are we talking about ?” Sunset further asked. “ About 3 meters in height, give or take.” Kara, who joined in on the conversation, gave a rough estimation. Sunset’s jaw had slightly dropped upon hearing this. “3 meters tall ?! That’s insane.” She exclaimed.

“Yea, they're a strong tall fuzzy race alright.” Zeko continued, “Piece of advice kid, never piss off a Wookiee.” Sunset had never thought of angering a wookiee in the first place, but thanks to Zeko, she wondered what would happen if she did. “ What do you mean ?” She asked. “When angered, Wookiees are known to rip off a person's limbs with their bare hands.” Karl said. Sunset gasped in horror. Ripping a guy's arms off just for pissing them off ? These Wookiees must have unimaginable strength to rip a person’s arms off, perhaps even more compared to what Applejack’s geode power provided her. Still, that’s barbaric to say the least. “But that’s cruel and not to mention violent,” Sunset exclaimed. Karl however, seemed unfazed by this. “ Tell that to them. Wookiees are a prideful race and they have a pretty bad temper.” He sarcastically remarked. “ If that’s the case why are we even helping them in the first place ? Surely if they’re that prideful, they don’t need our help ?” Sunset muttered incredulously.. “Because that’s what we do. We help people who can’t help themselves.” Kara reasoned as she continued, “Keeping aside their bad temper, the arm ripping part and their appearance, Wookiees are known to be a very helpful race and their unwithering loyalty to anyone or anything they commit to. Back in the war, they were fiercely loyal to the Republic and many of them fought side by side with us. You can always trust a Wookiee to have your back at all times.”

“Also don’t let their appearance fool you Sunset.” Zeko warned, “ They’re as sophisticated and intelligent as one can be.” Sunset however, wasn’t paying attention to what Zeko was saying. She instead dwelled in her thoughts about Rainbow Dash, how she, like the wookiees, was always loyal and trusting. She could always count on Rainbow to have their backs at all times, no matter what. The more she thought about it, the more a guilty feeling developed inside of her. She felt guilty for leaving her friends behind, she missed them, and it always brought her down whenever she thought of them, what they’re doing at this very moment and how they would feltl about her actions. Perhaps feeling betrayed ? Yet again, her thoughts were interrupted. “ We’re coming out of hyperspace now,” Kara said as she referred to the ship’s navi computer. Zeko affirms her by using one of his four hands to press a couple of buttons, which orderly disengaged the hyperdrive.

The Mid Rim
Mytaranor Sector
Kashyyyk

The Gauntlet comes out of hyperspace to the lush tropical planet of Kashyyyk, the native homeworld of the Wookiees. From space, this world wasn’t much different from Ajan Kloss, Sunset thought. They had the same climate, terrain and lushness based on its appearance from space. Kashyyyk only differed in terms of size, being slightly bigger than Ajan Kloss and how spread out the continents were. Perhaps the most glaring difference of all, was the amount of massive starships, which seemed to be suited for military purposes on the planet’s orbit. They were enormous, suited for a large crew, and were numbered in at least 4 based on what her eyes could count. Sunset almost instantly recognised them. “ Are those Imperial Star Destroyers that you told me about ?” She gasped. Zeko, who was piloting the ship, turned to her, “ In the flesh, kid.” He said. From what she has been told by the rest, Star destroyers, numbering in at least in the tens of thousands were true showcases of the Empire’s military strength, hovering above occupied worlds to instill a sense of fear amongst its subjects, fear for those who dared disobey Imperial Rule. While she was told by them about star destroyers, she never expected it to be as massive when seeing one with her own eyes.

“ They’re much larger than I expected them to be, and somewhat intimidating.” She said with an awe in her face. “ That’s their job Sunset. To be intimidating.” Zeko intoned with his usual sarcasm. This was the first time she had come face to face with a destroyer. In their previous missions, they mostly dealt with Cargo ships and at most, Light Cruisers. “ Why are there so many of them on orbit ?”She wondered out loud. “It’s an orbital blockade. The Imperials are cutting the Wookiees off from the rest of the galaxy.” Kara pointed out to her padawan. “ Only way you could get in is if you’re some high ranking Moff or a slave trader.” Karl further added. In doing so, Sunset was presented with another question. They weren’t exactly in the Empire’s good books and as far as she knew, they weren’t slavers either. They were walking into their destruction, Sunset thought and shriveled at the mere horror of thinking about it. “ Uhh, I have a question here.” She voiced out, “ How exactly are we gonna get past the blockade if we don’t fall into either of the categories Karl mentioned.” She had expected them to at least show some concern to her question but all of them, including Kara didn’t seem too bothered by her question. In fact, they seemed quite unfazed by it. It was as if they already had a solution all along. “ Don’t worry Kid,” Zeko said in a confident manner, “ The Gauntlet can scramble our signatures.”

“ What’s that supposed to mean ?” Sunset was confused by what Zeko had meant “ The Gauntlet can mask the ship’s signal from Imperial scanners. That way, we can just fly past them without them even knowing of our presence.” Kara clarified to her. Sunset admitted she was impressed by this. The technological wonders of the galaxy never ceased to impress her. R5, who had successfully scrambled the ship’s signatures, beeped the all-clear signal at Zeko who responded to him. “ And we are officially now invisible to the Imperial scanners.” He declared. As they flew past the massive destroyers, Sunset grew fascinated on how a simple scrambling can mask small ships like theirs from the large sophisticated star destroyers. “ Can’t they see us from their command decks ?” Sunset asked, pointing out to the command decks of the destroyers. “ Not really. We’re small enough to avoid visual detection.” Karl said. Sunset couldn’t argue with that. They soon flew past the blockade and headed towards the planet’s atmosphere.

As they descended past the planet’s atmosphere, Sunset was given a view of the ground beneath her as they flew. Similar to Ajan Kloss, the surface was covered with tall trees. From up above, the trees appeared to be huge, much larger than the ones on Ajan Kloss, with mountain ranges shaped like half broken cones in the horizon. They weren’t the type that Sunset was familiar with, being mostly covered with trees with small gaps of mountain rocks exposed. They definitely weren’t similar to the ones on Utthar, which had tall and covered snow caps. Perhaps the only similarity between the two worlds was that the mountains on Kashyyyk were mostly shrouded by clouds. As they continued to fly past the mountain ranges, Sunset noticed plumes of thick black smoke being released from numerous large man made structures on the surface through the funnels leading out from it, polluting the atmosphere with toxins and pollutants. These structures were scattered, with their surroundings being cleared of trees and replaced with black mold and other industrial wastes being disposed of into the surrounding environment. Sunset assumed these structures to be some sort of industrial factories with no interest in preserving the lushness surrounding them.[1]

“ What are those structures ? Some sort of Industrial factory ?” Sunset pointed out to them. “Imperial Mining Refineries. The Empire’s devouring Kashyyyk’s natural resources to build their war machine.” Karl said, slightly agitated at the sad state of things. “ The Wookiees have been enslaved to work in their Refineries, or displaced from their ancestral homes by them.” Kara further added. Sunset didn’t have to ask to know that Kara was disturbed by this, and to a certain extent, Karl too. They were not happy at what the Empire was doing to this world. In fact, why should they be ? The Imperials were practically polluting the lush world with their industrial waste. They were slowly killing the planet and It greatly disturbed her too. “ What they’re doing here,,,” She tried to find the proper words to describe how she felt. There wasn’t a simple word to describe how she exactly felt, it ranged with emotions, from anger, to unhappiness and being extremely disturbed. She finally settled for horrible. It was the simplest and straightforward term to describe the Empire’s actions. “Tell that to the Imperials kid. This is how the Empire repays the Wookiees for their loyalty.” Zeko said with his usual sarcastic voice, “ By sucking their world dry.” Before Sunset could comment further, R5 informed the rest of the crew through his beeping that they were approaching their target. “ We’re approaching the Slave Camp.” Kara said after she confirmed R5’s calculations by checking their trajectory to the Camp’s coordinates.

Indeed, they were close to the camp. As Sunset looked ahead, there it was. A large military concentration camp which also acted as a refinery of some sort. The base was massive, with a large amount of land dedicated to the camp itself. Sunset saw the camp mostly filled with tall furry beings who Sunset identified them to be the Wookiees which Karl accurately described them to be. They were arranged in a straight line, with their heads down and their feet and their fur covered with mud. They were forcefully directed towards a landing platform at the other end of the camp, where a Zeta Class Heavy Cargo Shuttle stood. That must be the ship that’s taking them off world, she thought to herself. One didn’t have to be a Jedi to know the suffering and agony that the Wookiees were feeling. Hundreds of them were stuffed into narrow lanes, only separated from each other by an electric fence taller than already intimidating height. Describing the camp’s conditions as harsh was an understatement. The Wookiees were made to breathe heavy polluted air filled with toxins from the nearby refinery and the lanes filled with filth and black mold. They were being overseen by stormtroopers, ridiculously loyal Imperial ground soldiers with their blasters pointed right at them. While the helmets shielded their facial expressions, Sunset could tell that they were indifferent to the suffering and plight of the Wookiee prisoners. It was as if it brought them pleasure to see the Wookiees suffer.

If there were any doubts by Sunset on how cruel the Empire is, those doubts would have been cleared now after seeing the atrocities being committed towards the Wookiees. Sunset Shimmer has heard of slavery in the past but it was another thing to witness it occurring with her own two eyes. A combination of both anger and distress surged through her. She finally understood why Kara and the others had been acting as vigilantes. What the Empire was doing here was just unspeakable and no amount of diplomacy could justify or stop this. “Now you see why we fight the Empire, Sunset.” Kara said, “ It’s because of practices like this.” She couldn’t argue with that. “ Looks like they’re preparing to transport the Wookiees off-world.” Zeko pointed out to the Imperial shuttle on the platform. “ Where are they being taken to ?” Sunset further asked. “Probably to work in the Spice Mines of Kessel or some other forsaken Imperial construction site.” Karl speculated. Sunset could only imagine the horrid place they were being sent to. She also noticed the Wookiees were outfitted with some kind of white collar. “What is that white collar they’re wearing ?” She pointed out, a part of her hoping not to get an answer to that. “ Shock collars. Sends a couple of thousand kilowatts through their bodies, bringing great pain. The Empire uses them to keep the Wookiees in line.” Karl answered her, much to her feared guess.

“That’s just cruel.” Sunset exclaimed incredulously. Just then, she spotted a humanoid being with red smooth scaly skin with thin arms that stretched long and ended with three claw-like fingers. It had a pointed skull, with its eyes set back and its jaw was filled with pointed teeth. They were also barefooted with similar claw-like feet. It looked like some sort of mutated lizard, Sunset thought, a slimy disgusting looking one that is. It stood on top of a platform that was raised slightly higher from where the Wookiees were. He pulled out from his belt what appeared to be some cylindrical object that Sunset first thought to be a lightsaber. She was proven wrong when the thing activated it, unleashing an electric whip which it uses to subdue the Wookiee slaves, striking them at their backs. The Wookiees moan in pain, something while Sunset could not hear due to her being inside the Gauntlet, she could feel the pain coming from them. “What is that creature over there ?” She pointed to the reptilian creature. Karl turned his head over to the creature that Sunset pointed to and recognised it. “ Trandoshan Guild members.”[2] He replied to her, “ Nasty lizards alright.” “You can say that again,” Sunset concurred with him about his description of the ulgy reptilians lizard-like beings. “ We’ll need to destroy that shuttle before they start loading them.” Zeko directed attention to the Imperial Shuttle at the platform. They were preparing to start loading the Wookiee prisoners on board. Karl turned his seat over to the ship’s weapons control systems. “I’ll charge up the proton cannons.” R5 then beeped over to Kara that the Gauntlet had been detected and was on the receiving end of an incoming transmission. “ We’re being hailed.” Kara said before putting through the transmission.

Coming from the transmitters of the ship’s communications radio, was a voice, that while it sounded that it came from a male, it also sounded as if it came from a lizard, with all the hissing noises. “ Hissssss, This is a restricted fly zone. Identifyyy yourselves.” The voice hissed. Kara pressed a button before speaking through. She quickly came up with an excuse, “Uhh, we’re bounty hunters with orders to deliver some Wookiee renegades we had captured to this camp.” “ This is highly unusual. You’re not in the manifest,” the voice said, indifferent to Kara’s statement. “ That’s strange, we have orders from the very top to deliver them here in which we’ll get our bounty paid off,” Kara continued, hoping to persuade him. “Unlikelyyy, What’s your operating number ??” The voice on the other side said, unconvinced of Kara’s claim. Frustrated that the Trandoshan didn’t buy their story, Zeko uses his second pair of hands to end the transmission. “Heck of a conversation that was.” Sunset scoffed. “ That conversation wasn’t going anywhere to begin with, kid. It’s more of a distraction instead.” Zeko said before bringing his attention over to Karl instead. “ Are the proton cannons fully charged ?” Karl gave a look through the monitors of the weapons system before answering him. “Up and ready to fire.”

Before Sunset could even comprehend what had just happened, the Imperial Zeta class shuttle was up in flames with its parts scattered everywhere and the Camp siren’s was up with full volume and the camp was basically in chaos following the explosion of the shuttle. Zeko, without any hesitation had fired the proton torpedoes towards the shuttle, blasting into oblivion, sending shockwaves that threw the nearby troopers and Trandoshan slavers away with the blast itself engulfing the stormtroopers that were standing beside it. Now, the whole base and perhaps the entire Imperial Garrison on this planet were aware of their presence here. This wasn’t the stealth or lowkey missions they had done in the past, this time they’re breaking in the front door. “ The Wookiees won’t be going anywhere now,” Zeko said, in a way which one could say he was giving himself a pat on the back. His small hurrah however, had to come to a quick end as the stormtroopers were quickly recovering from the blast and getting back on their feet. They had to act fast if they were to keep up their momentum. “ Zeko, bring us down over there.” Kara pointed out to a platform which was raised above from where the Wookiees were being held.

Zeko brought down the Gauntlet to the place where Kara had pointed it out to. She turned her head over to her apprentice who was seated behind, “This is our stop,Sunset.” She said as she too got off her seat and headed to the back. Sunset merely followed her down, leaving Zeko and R5 back at the cockpit to man the ship.
“ We’ll stick here and provide air support.” Sunset could hear Zeko calling out to them. Karl was waiting over at the ship’s boarding ramp with a bunch of blasters. “Here you’ll need this.” He tossed a simple blaster over to Sunset who caught it. While Sunset had been trained to use a blaster thanks to Karl and Zeko, she still had not yet mastered the use of it. She also preferred not to use one if given the chance. She firmly gripped the blaster, not wanting to drop or misfire the delicate weapon that could cause much damage in a confined space. Just then, the Gauntlet’s boarding ramps extend downwards, revealing the chaotic base outside, with an ash of smoke rising from the site where the shuttle previously stood with a loud deafening siren. Sunset took a deep breath, “Here goes nothing.” She says to herself as the three of them dashed out of the ship and onto the platform. The Camp was in complete chaos ! Bright red streaks of laser fire were being thrown in all directions, but mostly directed towards them. The stormtroopers, those who were still standing, which was a good number, were firing at them. They immediately took cover behind the railings and returned fire to the stormtroopers. Sunset managed to shoot one right in the chest. She didn’t know if the white armour the trooper wore protected him from her shot but what mattered was that he was down, so she assumed it didn’t.

Back in the Gauntlet, Zeko remotely pulled up the boarding ramps before pulling the ship up. Their job was to provide air assistance to Kara and the others below. He had targeted the anti-air cannons and the Refinery’s power cells when was about to press the fire at them before R5 interjected and pointed out that there were several objects approaching their location in air. The Ardennian took a look on through the ship’s scanners only for it to confirm the droid’s warning. “Carabast !!” He cursed out loud, “We’re gonna have to go for plan B.” Back on the ground, the rest were in the midst of fending off the Imperials when Kara heard a repeatedly beeping noise coming from her fight pocket. She pulled out her comm link, which was beeping in a bright red light. It meant that it was receiving an incoming transmission. “What is it, Zeko ?” She spoke through it. “Change of plan,” Zeko’s voice could be heard coming from the comm link. “I have TIE fighters coming after me. I’m gonna have to shake em off.” “ I don’t see any fighters.” Sunset reckoned. Just then, Sunset and the others spotted the Tie fighters numbering in a squadron of four approaching the Gauntlet from the South. Zeko turned the ship around and flied off, but not before firing a couple torpedoes towards the anti air cannons, sending them into a blast of oblivion and causing more damage and chaos in the base. The blast also took out a small portion of the power cells, but not enough to severely cripple the electrical systems of the Camp.

As Zeko flew off, the Tie fighters pursued him, firing bright streaks of laser fire towards the ship. Now left alone on the Camp with no air support and heavily outnumbered by Imperials and Mining guild members alike, the team had no choice but to improvise. “What’s the plan now ?” Sunset asked while firing back at the stormtroopers that were coming from the left. “Yea, we’re a bit outnumbered here.” Karl concurred with her. The troopers were closing in on them, together with Guild members. “We stick with the original plan. Free the Wookiees.” Kara said. “And how is it that we do that now ?” Karl questioned. She thought about what Karl had said. Their initial plan was to have Zeko overwhelm them with heavy air support, destroying the camp while the ground team lead by her took out the smaller targets and free the slaves. With Zeko now preoccupied with the Tie’s and the entire base onto them, they have the burden of doing everything themselves. She poked her head out amidst the blaster fire coming from all directions to establish a plan. “Over there.” She pointed to a Control Room located at the other side of the room, “ That Control room manages their shock collars and the Gates. We’ll need to destroy it.” “That way the Wookiees will be able to join the fight.” Sunset concurred with her master, “Good plan. When do we move ?” She asked. Kara looked around for a moment. There were more troopers heading towards their location. They would be vastly outnumbered soon. It was now or never. “ Now!” She shouted to the others.

Kara jumped out of cover and charged forwards towards the Control Room. Karl and Sunset follow her charge while at the same time providing fire to the stormtroopers. While she certainly wasn’t enjoying this, Sunset was beginning to get the hang of it. Each of her shots were more precise than the other with some shots being a headshot. As they pushed further, the more troopers they had on their tail. They did their best to fend them off and push on to the base. Beside the continuous noise of blaster fire, Sunset could hear growling noises coming from below her feet. She assumed them to belong to the Wookiees, who must be watching the battle happening above them with relief, relief that someone is here to rescue them or maybe because they weren’t being targeted for once. They were soon close to the Control Room, being only a couple of feet away from it. They were successfully pushing forwards against the troopers, who despite their vast numbers were heavily disorganized and were on the defensive. Just then, a Scout Trooper, bearing camouflaged armor suited for tropical climates threw a grenade in their direction. The grenade landed between Kara and Sunset dividing them both. Before they could react, the grenade exploded. The explosion causes the platform railing that they were standing on to break and collapse, taking them down with it. Kara manages to head to the other side, just before the platform broke in half, however Sunset and Karl weren’t lucky enough to head to the other side on time.

The last thing Sunset could remember before everything went dark was that she and Karl were running from a collapsing railing. She found herself lying flat on a dark muddy floor, with her head aching probably from falling flat on the ground. She could hear a pinging noise coming from both her ears. Sunset managed to pull herself up, her legs still wobbly, and disoriented. She deduced that she must have fallen from the damaged platform , which was hanging above them. She found Karl, who was lying beside her unconscious. Sunset searched her vest pockets to find her commlink to contact Kara. She wasn’t sure whether the commlink was still in her pocket or had fallen off. However, she soon sensed she was not alone. She turned her back to find a dozen Wookiees standing behind her. They looked much taller when standing face to face with them. They gave out a pungent stench, coming from their fur which was covered with the dark filthy mud. Their tall furry appearance reminded Sunset of the sasquatch, colloquially known as Bigfoot, a famous folklore mythical beast in her home world. The Wookiees, however, didn't take too kindly to their new guests. They collectively growled menacingly at the intruders.

Sunset Shimmer didn’t need to use the Force to know that the very beings that she was supposed to rescue were treating her as hostile. Sunset couldn’t blame them. From their perspective, she could be a pirate, taking them from one hell to another. “ Don’t worry.” She said to them in a claiming demeanor, hoping to placate their rage and bring down tensions. “I’m here to break you guys out.” The Wookiees, as if they could sense the sincerity in her, lowered their hostilities. They each exchanged looks at each other before one of them, as if chosen to speak on their behalf, came forward and purred, in a throaty but high-toned guttural manner. It was as if the Wookiee was trying to communicate with Sunset. To her, it sounded like a series of growls and purrs that made no sense. “ What does that mean ? Say something.” She said in an irritated manner. Her question was greeted by a sarcastic chuckle that came from Karl, who was pulling himself up. “That’s how they communicate, genius. Wookiees can’t talk like we do. They’re physically unable to do so.” He sarcastically remarked. “Great, just great.” Sunset scoffed incredulously.

Just Then, came a red beeping noise from the ground. Sunset looked down and found her comm link on the ground. It must have fallen off from her vest. She picked it up and answered it. “Kara, are you okay ?” “I’m okay. I’ve managed to escape the platform. How about you guys ?” Came Kara’s voice from the comm link. Sunset looked around her surroundings to get a better picture on what to tell her master. “ Karl and I have fallen below to the Wookiee holding cells. We’re fine.” She spoke through the comm link to Kara. “ What’s the plan now ?” She further asked. There was a brief silence from the comm link, before Kara spoke, “ Bring the Wookiees over to the Main Gates. I’ll have them open from the Control Room,”. “Copy that.” Sunset intoned before she placed the comm link back inside her vest and turned to Karl. “ Kara wants us to bring the Wookiees to the Main Cell Gates.” She said to him, who appeared indifferent to the plan. Probably because there wasn’t a better one to counter it. The Wookiees however purred in a manner that Sunset assumed to be either that they were in agreement to the plan or expressing skepticism to it. It didn’t matter to her what they thought. It was already vexing enough that she couldn’t understand their language which seemed like random growls and purrs, she definitely didn’t need to have a debate with them at this time. “We’ll talk this through later. For Now, we need to move fast !” She snapped at them. The Wookiees nodded at each other, seemingly agreeing with her. Just then, a trooper from above trained his blaster towards the Wookiees but Karl manages to shoot him down. Sunset and Karl then lead the way forward, with the Wookiees right behind them.

Meanwhile, Kara pushed through stormtroopers in an effort to reach the Control Room to open the Main Gates. In that short moment that she was knocked out from the blast, the stormtroopers had the opportunity to regroup. While using the Force would be easier to defeat the troopers, it was important that she conceal her powers, especially in a place as open as this. Besides, her skills with a blaster were equally proficient compared to when wielding the Force. Eventually, she made her way to the Control Room. Just then, as she entered the room, as if by instinct, she quickly ducked as a red streak of laser fire shoots past her, missing her by mere inches. She looks up to find the source of the blaster fire, only to find a blaster pointed right at her face. Wielding it was a green scaled Trandoshan cladded with a yellow coloured space wear with a whitepad at the center. It differentiated him from the rest, for he was a bounty hunter, a hunter Kara knew too well for he had been on their tails for some time, with hefty bounties from Crime Syndicates. “ Bossk,” [3] She muttered out loud.

Author's Note

Looks like the Gauntlet crew's mission to freeing the Wookiee slaves has hit a road bump in the form of a dangerous Bounty Hunter. This Chapter and the following one is kinda independent from the overall story but is crucial as it seeks to establish Sunset Shimmer's new role and her place in the larger Galaxy, and will shape the way how she views the Empire as a whole. This chapter is also a showcase of the rebel activities that the Gauntlet crew often partakes in, similar to how other rebel cells operate in this part of the timeline. Now, onto the easter eggs,
[1] The photo of Kashyyyk with Star Destroyers orbiting it together with the description of the surface filled with mould releasing is based on Jedi Fallen Order.
[2] Members of the Mining Guild, who happens to be Trandoshans, the Wookiee's most hated enemy. Trandoshans and Wookiees historically have bad blood with each other.
[3] An appearance of the infamous bounty hunter Bossk (https://www.starwars.com/databank/bossk) Initially in my draft, I wrote a completely new Noghri bounty hunter to face off with Kara. But I soon decided on using a familiar name instead and who else would be better suited for the scene if not Bossk, a Trandoshan bounty hunter with a disdain for Wookiees.
Well that's all for the easter eggs/references. There aren't many in this chapter given its stand alone nature. Check out the next part to see what happens.

Chapter 11: Wookiee Distress 2

Bossk stood there with his weapon pointed towards his bounty. He gave himself a small hurrah in the form of a growl, “ Pleased to see you here too.” The Trandoshan acknowledged Kara in a scratchy reptilian voice. “ How did you track us here, bounty hunter ?” a furious Kara asked, surprised to find him here, of all places. “ I didn’t. I was here in Kashyyyk doing a little community service for my people when you and your friends just happened to reveal yourselves.” Bossk said with a grin shooting across his pointed skull-like head. “ You’re not going to stop us from freeing the Wookiees.” Kara said, her jaw tightened with her voice iced with controlled anger. She wasn’t going to let the infamous Trandoshan Bounty Hunter, who’s been after them for a while now, get in the way of the mission. “ You’re not in the position to make any threats.” Bossk intoned, unfazed by her. She wasn’t expecting him to. She shot her legs upwards, kicking his blaster off the grips of his claws and sending the unsuspecting Bossk stumbling backwards, deprived of his signature weapon. In the moment, Kara quickly pulled herself up, to face the green skinned Trandoshan, “ Looks like I am now.” She quipped. His weapon was within a far reach from him but Bossk doesn’t need no blaster to bring in a bounty, his reputation alone speaks of it. Just that it’s going to take longer without one. He gave a hiss either in anticipation of a one and one fight or annoyance of it, or perhaps maybe both. “Blaster or not, I can still take you on, you stupid girl.” He said as he brought his fists up.

Kara made the first move, she charged towards him, launching her fist to deliver the first punch on him in the jaw. However, He saw it coming and ducked both of her punches. It sometimes amused him that the normally weak humans thought that they could take him on single combat. He clenched his fists before delivering a punch right to her gut. Kara wasn’t able to evade that punch even though she saw it coming. Bossk then places his arm firmly around her head, holding it in an unyielding headlock. She struggled to break free of Bossk’s strong arms. She eventually managed to break free of his headlock by giving the Trandoshan a good kick in the gut. It perhaps angered him even more as he gave off a growl and charged towards her. Kara was ready for what was coming in her direction. As Kara and Bossk continued to engage with one another, Sunset and Karl continued to lead the Wookiees to Cell Gates. As they pushed forward, they faced heavier resistance from stormtroopers firing on them from above. The two of them did their best to fire back but the overwhelming blaster fire from the stormtroopers kept them constantly in their legs. The Wookiees, despite their muscular strength, capable of literally bringing down the entire platform with a single punch, were subjugated by their shock collars around their necks. Sunset couldn’t blame them. The moment they were to fight back, the collar would activate, sending a painful and agonizing shock throughout their bodies.

“ Kara better have that Gate open by the time we get there.” Karl said as they pushed their way through the barrage of laser fire. Sunset shoots one stormtrooper off the platform railings before turning her attention over to Karl, “ What happens if she doesn’t ?” She asked. “ Well then this is gonna be one short lived mission alright.” He scoffed without turning his head over to her to make eye contact. He was too distracted with the stream of troopers firing at them from above. They couldn’t stay in one spot forever. They had to keep moving fast. As soon as they were cleared of stormtroopers, they continued their way towards the gates. Just then, they had their path blocked by a Yellow skinned Trandoshan guild member wielding an electro whip [1]. He had jumped from the above platforms to their way, keeping them from going any further. His height was almost if not equal to that of the Wookiees. It was almost as if both Trandoshan and Wookiee were an equal adversary of each other. “ End of the line, Rebels.” He said boastfully. Sunset couldn’t care less about the boastful manner but rather the ugly disgusting face that was standing in front of her. “They’re even uglier up closer.” Sunset revolted. The Slave Master clearly didn’t take her words too kindly, “I’ll show you who’s ugly.” He unleashed his electro whip before lashing it onto her. Sunset had little time to react before the whip came lashing onto her, wrapping itself around her. The whip exerted both pressure and pain. She could feel at least a thousand volts of electrical charge flowing through her entire body. While it wasn’t the worst pain she had ever felt in her life (that spot goes to the time she transformed into a she-demon during the Fall Formal), it was enough to bring her down to her knees.

Karl and the Wookiees tried to intervene, but the foreman had his own reinforcements. With the flick of an activation button, the shock collars that the Wookiees had around their necks activated, sending shockwaves of unimaginable pain through their bodies. They wailed in extreme agony before collapsing to the floor, unable to bear the pain. Sunset could only watch helplessly as the Wookiees were subjected to more immense pain than what she’s going through. It brought great pleasure to the Trandoshan, as if their suffering is his entertainment. Karl, the only one who hasn’t been incapitated yet, pointed his blaster to him, hoping he might let Sunset go and stop the Wookiees suffering, but just then, he himself was electrocuted from behind by a stormtrooper wielding an electrostaff. He collapses to the ground, still conscious, looks above to see that they were surrounded by blister wielding stormtroopers from above on the platform, they were pointing their blasters towards them and the Wookiees. Three more electrostaff wielding troopers also appear on the ground, encircling the subdued Wookiees, using their staff to inflict more pain onto them. Sunset could only watch helplessly from the wraps of the whip herself. This mission was over sooner than expected, she thought.

Meanwhile back in the Control Room, Kara and Bossk continued to spar amongst themselves. Thanks to his massive size and imposing height, Bossk had an unfair natural advantage to Kara, who often found herself in the defensive, having her arms blocking off repeated punches thrown by Bossk. She had tried to go on the offensive, throwing a few punches towards the bounty hunter, only to be pushed back by him. They both then engaged in some kind of pushing match, with both of them having their arms on the other's shoulder with their heads locked on together. Bossk could keep giving the illusion to his bounty that she had a chance of defeating him, but he had run out of time and patience to play games. Using his strong thin arms, he grabbed Kara and slammed her to the metal walls. She hits the walls hard, before collapsing to the ground. She feels a striking pain coming from the part of her head that had made the most contact with the wall. Her back was also aching with pain. As she pulled herself up, she placed her hand at the back of her head, giving the source of the pain a small massage. Her skull might have cracked due to the impact but she brushed this thought aside. There was still enough fire in her to carry on, and she wasn’t going to let some simple pain dampen it. The Wookiees' freedom depended on it. Bossk’s face was beaming with confidence seeing his bounty on the floor, on the verge of defeat. He thought of the hefty bounty he would receive for bringing her and the others in. “The Pyke Syndicate [2] will pay me well when I bring you and your friends in.” He boasted.

Kara wasn’t going to give up just yet. She brushed aside the pain and pulled herself up and positioned her arms in a ready position. “Come and get me, then,” she taunted him. The beaming confidence on Bossk’s face was soon replaced with a vexed one. She must have hit a raw nerve in him. Kara charged towards the Trandoshan and another round of fighting between the two of them ensued. She threw a good punch on Bossk’s face, hitting it hard, which seemed to further agitate him. He managed to dock two other punches that were thrown at him before he realized that he was being pushed to the defensive. Bossk then goes on the offensive, launching himself on the unsuspecting Kara and brings her down to the ground. Before she could pull herself up, Bossk pounces on her and attempts to tackle her from getting back on her feet. Kara struggled to grapple with Bossk’s superior strength and size. She was being tackled by him and at this point it would seem that he would after all get his bounty payment from the Pykes. But she wasn’t out of tricks yet. To her far right, she finds a couple of electro batons stashed in a weapons crate which she happened to have not noticed all this while. This fight would have been over by now if she had noticed it earlier, she thought to herself. It still wasn’t too late though. She extended her right palm,reaching out to the Force to pull the baton towards her. It answered to her and the baton came flying straight to her palms. Bossk had little time to react before he was zapped by it, sending thousands of kilowatts, reaching every part of his body. It was enough to bring him down. Bossk collapses onto Kara in an unconscious state. She struggled to lift the heavy Trandoshan off her, his weight compressing her body. As soon as she managed to pull herself up, Kara went straight for the control panels to disarm the shock collars and open the Cell Gates, paving the way to freedom for the Wookiees.

Meanwhile, Sunset thought they were done for. An ugly hybrid lizard creature had some sort of electric whip wrapped around her, bringing her down to her knees with the Wookiees incapitated with pain not to mention being surrounded by stormtroopers from all angles. Just then, the deafening agonizing cries of the Wookiees came to an abrupt stop. Sunset had feared for the worse only to find that the shock collars that had been subduing them had been deactivated. Even better, its locks were released, allowing them to pull out the torture device off their necks. Both Sunset and Karl stared incredulously at what just happened. This clearly wasn’t their doing. The foreman and the troopers, equally incredulous on what just happened, could only stare at the fallen collars, speechless. The Wookiees then rose from the ground, growling angrily at the stormtroopers who stepped back in fear, their hunger for revenge has never been louder. No longer held back by the shock collars, it was their turn to have fun. A number of them charged towards the troopers on the ground, grabbing them by the head with their strong arms and throwing them to their fellow peers on the ground, knocking the both of them out without any difficulty. One of them launched himself towards the Trandoshan foreman, knocking him off from the electro whip. With his grasp of the electro whip now no more, the whip contracts, freeing itself off Sunset Shimmer. Now Freed, Sunset gets back to her own two feet only to immediately take cover from blaster fire coming from the above stormtroopers. Some of the Wookiees used their body strength to ram into the pillars holding the platforms. Thanks to their strength, the pillars fail and the platform holding the stormtroopers collapses onto the ground. Chaos ensued as the Wookiees started grabbing and stomping on the stormtroopers, some who were running for their lives away from the Wookiees' rage which until now, had been kept locked up inside. Sunset then turned her head to find the Trandoshan forman engaging with the Wookiee who had saved her. He tackled the forman down to the ground before stomping on his face, effectively knocking him out if not killing him. The Wookiee then let out a victory growl.

In the ensuing chaos, she rushed to help Karl, who was still on the ground unconscious. If he didn’t get up soon, it would be very likely that he would be trampled to death by the Wookiees. Luckily enough, he was in the midst of pulling himself up by the time Sunset approached him. She gave him a helping hand to pull himself to an upright position. “Thanks” He muttered in appreciation to her. Once upright, he got a good look at the mayhem unfolding, with Wookiees beating the wits out of the stormtroopers and using their Imperial blasters to fire on the other remaining troopers.“ What do you think is happening ?” Sunset asked him. Karl took another look at the events unfolding before giving an answer. “Looks like the Wookiees are having some sweet revenge at last.” Before Sunset could answer that, several Wookiees approached them and for a second Sunset thought it was now their turn to suffer their wrath but instead they seemed to lower their hostilities around them. One of them spoke in growls and purrs which Sunset, right or wrongly construed it to be a call for her to continue leading the way. “You’re right. We gotta keep moving,” She said in response to the Wookiee, who only nodded at her. She supposed her gut feeling was right then. With that, Sunset and Karl continued to lead the way for the now armed and revenge thirsty Wookiees.

Meanwhile, Kara headed out of the Control room, only to hear the noise of blaster fires being fired from every corner followed by the sounds of screeching stormtroopers and the aggressive growls of Wookiees. Giving herself a small hurrah for starting a slave uprising, she continues to head to the rendezvous point she told Sunset earlier, taking out any stormtrooper in the way. She also took out several Sharp Troopers, who were using their vantage point to fire upon the Wookiees below. As she continued to make her way, her commlink started beeping, indicating an incoming transmission. She took it out and answered it, “Talk to me.” “ Imperial Chatter has it about some Wookiee slave uprising happening in a particular Slave Camp.” Came Zeko’s sarcastic voice from the comm link. “ Thanks to me.” She said in a deadpan manner, “ We could really use a fast pick up though” She continued. “ Send me your location quickly. I’m all clear of TIE’s but it won’t stay that way for long.” Zeko remarked. “ Head for the Main Gates. We’ll meet you there.” There was silence on Zeko’s end for a few brief seconds before he answered, “Copy that.” With that, Kara placed her comm link back into her vest and continued to make her way to the rendezvous point. She didn;t encounter much stormtroopers or guild enforcers at this stretch as they’re either busy subduing the slave revolt happening below or died trying too. They should have known that it is futile to placate a Wookiee’s rage, more so when they have been subjected to slavery and treated as non Sentients. As she could hear the agonizing screeches of stormtroopers below, Kara almost felt sorry for them, almost. Then again, they brought down this upon themselves when they had chosen to brutally occupy their home planet and treat the Wookiees as nothing more than animalistic slaves.

Sunset Shimmer and Karl continued to lead the Wookiees to Cell Gates. This time though, their progress was much faster thanks to the help of the Wookiees themselves, who no longer restrained, teared through anyone, be it stormtrooper or Guild members who got in their way. They were unstoppable. They especially took great pleasure in breaking the necks of Trandoshan Guild members who came in their way. Sunset initially deduced it to be mainly revenge for their mistreatment but seeing how they furiously and mercilessly stomped the Guild Members, she thought it could be due to their species' hatred for each other, like what Karl had mentioned earlier. Just ahead was the Main Gates which was wide open, leading out to the tall wroshyr jungle forests, where freedom awaits. There were several stormtroopers that were in charge of guarding the gates who were taken aback when the gates opened revealing a large group of armed Wookiees approaching. They were, of course, quickly dealt with a couple of streaks of red laserfire to their white armored chest by them. With that taken care of, there was no more resistance between them and freedom. They finally exited the gates and when the moment came, the Wookiees let out a combined growl into the air. It was one filled with a sense of happiness, the euphoria of being liberated from the confinements of slavery while at the same time throwing their arms up in the air. Deep down, Sunset Shimmer felt nothing but pride in herself for being responsible for bringing it about. She felt like it was the most righteous act she has ever done.

Just then, she could hear the sound of a ship coming from the sky, getting louder and louder with each passing second. “ It’s Zeko.” Karl pointed out to the Gauntlet which was approaching them. Zeko landed the Gauntlet on the ground and released the ship’s boarding ramps to the ground for them to board. However, there was still one person who was yet to join them. “Wait.” Sunset called out to Karl, “ Where’s Kara ?”. “I’m right here.” Came Kara’s voice from behind. Sunset turned her head behind to find Kara standing on the guard railing. She leaped down from there, landing almost perfectly on her two legs. She had used the Force to mitigate her impact onto the ground. “What took you so long ?” Sunset asked. “ I got a little caught up with something.” Kara vaguely answered her. “What do you mean ?” Sunset further queried, intending to know more. Before she could answer that, a red laserfire streak came shooting, striking the Gauntlet, missing Kara by only a few inches. It seemed like it intended to be that way. She turned her to the source of the shot to find Bossk, with his blaster pointed at them from the railing which she had earlier jumped from. “That’s what I meant.” Kara pointed out to the bounty hunter. Bossk leaped from the railing to the ground, leveling out their previous height differences, with his blaster still pointed right at them. “Bossk ?” Karl intoned.

“We’re not done yet, Jedi.” Bossk hissed angrily at Kara. he clearly was pissed at getting stunned earlier. What concerned Kara and the others more was that Bossk knew of her little secret, and Bossk could see their concerned expression on their faces let alone sense it. “You didn’t think I would notice that little magic trick you pulled back there ? Thanks to you, my bounty price for bringing you guys in has just tripled.” He hissed in a somewhat boastful manner, with his blaster at them. Sunset had no idea who this new lizard guy was that was pointing a blaster at them and was dressed differently than the other Trandoshans earlier. Kara however seemed indifferent despite being cornered by Bossk. Instead she seemed like she instead had the advantage. “ You might wanna tell that to them.” She pointed out to at least a dozen of armed Wookiees who Bossk had failed to notice standing behind him. The Trandoshan was startled and was quickly outnumbered by the enraged Wookiees behind him. His earlier angry expression was replaced by an unsettled one. Heavily outnumbered by enraged Wookiees who would take pleasure in beating the infamous Wookiee hunter to death, Bossk quickly fleed to the jungle, heavily pursued by the Wookiees, except one who stays behind to thank the Gauntlet crew for freeing them from slavery. He conveyed this by extending his hand forward for a handshake. Sunset reciprocated by extending her hand. “Go,” She said to the Wookiee while shaking his hand, “You people are free now.” The Wookiee again purred, expressing his gratitude to them. “ We gotta move fast, The Empire will be sending more TIE’s after us.” Karl called out to Sunset and Kara.

Realizing they couldn’t be here any longer, Sunset and Kara quickly boarded the Gauntlet, but not before Sunset wished luck to the Wookiees. As soon as they boarded the ship, the boarding ramp pulled up before the doors sealed themselves up. With the doors shut, Zeko immediately lifted the ship from the ground and pulled it up to the air, flying away from the Camp as fast as possible. “What took you guys so long ?” He asked while his four arms were working overtime to pilot the ship to get away as far as one could from the camp. Their trajectory was set to open space, where they could make the jump into hyperspace. “We got a little side tracked by Bossk.” Karl answered him. Before he could say a word, R5 interrupted, beeping in binary to warn of incoming Tie’s approaching their back. “I’m on it.” Kara intoned to the droid’s warning as she quickly dashed behind to man the weapons turrets below. Sunset quickly seated herself and buckled the belt. This was gonna be a rough ride out. “Bossk ? How the heck did he track us here ?” Zeko continued his original query, joined by Sunset who asked her own question. “ Wait, who is this Bossk guy ?” “He’s a bounty hunter who’s after us.” Karl answered Sunset before turning his head over to Zeko, “ And I have literally no idea on how he found us.” He continued.

“ There’s a bounty hunter after us ?” Sunset exclaimed in a confused and surprised manner. She could only wonder what warranted for a bounty to be placed on them in the first place. “ One of several actually,” Zeko corrected her before turning his attention back to piloting the ship away from incoming TIE fighters. “ Yea, there’s Embo, Dengar, Zuckuss, IG-88, Boba Fett….. And those are just the big guys who are after us.” [3] Karl said, concurring with Zeko. “ You can thank him for that.” Zeko pointed out to Karl as the Ardennian increased power to the engines, giving them a boost for the Gauntlet to shoot upwards steeply, breaking the sound barrier, heavily pursued by TIE fighters. One of the Tie’s fired at the ship’s back, with its shots being deflected by the deflector shields. However, this caused the interior to rumble as if it was hit by an earthquake before being joined by a loud explosion sound coming from the back. “ What the hell are you doing back there ?” Zeko shouted to Kara who was supposed to be manning the cannons, “Are you ever gonna fire back?” He sarcastically said. “I’m working on it. Fly us into space fast !” Came Kara’s voice echoing from the back. As Zeko continued to fly upwards steeply, Sunset soon noticed that the blue Kashyykian sky was slowly getting thinner and thinner, being replaced with the dark star filled void of space. As they flew higher into orbit, she noticed the star destroyers in orbit were closing in on their trajectory, as if it was attempting to block their way. “Uhh, those Star Destroyers are closing in on each other.” She anxiously pointed out. “They’re trying to cut off our escape into hyperspace.” Karl said to her. Zeko, however, was indifferent to the destroyers closing in on them. “That’s laughable.” He brushed it off before turning to his astromech co-pilot, “ Is the hyperdrive set ?”. R5 responded in the affirmative. A smile shot across Zeko’s face as he primed the hyperdrive up with one of his arms before his other arm pulled the hyperdrive gear backwards, sending the Gauntlet full swing into hyperspace, narrowly jumping past the closing in Star Destroyers.

Meanwhile,
Rothana
Imperial Outer Rim Shipyards

On the Icy Outer Rim planet of Rothana [4], a fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers, known collectively as the 5th Fleet, was in process of running diagnostics and making their final calculations for hyperspeed. They were preparing for deployment and subsequent annexation of the remote Utthar system. Their orders were to force the locals into submission by the sheer display of strength and force. On the Command bridge of the fleet’s flagship destroyer, The Repulsor, Grand Moff Tarkin had a good view of the rest of the fleet from the deck. He was then joined by fleet Admiral Katz, a human male dressed in the standard gray coloured Imperial uniform with his right covered with a blue and red coloured insignia which denoted his rank.Being Governor of the Outer Rim Territories, Tarkin had chosen his fleet to annex the new planet for the Empire’s interests, a momentous burden for the Admiral, one which he did not plan on failing under Tarkin’s watch. “What is the status of the fleet, Admiral ?” Tarkin asked, indifferent to the Admiral’s presence. To him, Katz is just one of thousands of inferior fleet admirals serving the Imperial Navy. “We're in the process of making the final calculations for the jump into hyperspace as per the provided trajectory, Governor.” Katz said with his bowed down as a sign of respect to the Grand Moff.

Just then, the ominous breathing noise of Lord Vader could be heard echoing throughout the deck. The Sith Lord had entered the deck through the main blast door which was flanked by two Imperial Purge Troopers[5] , troopers specialized with hunting down Jedi survivors while serving the Inquisitorius legion. Cladded with black armor with the Imperial insignia on their left shoulder pad with a black helmet design that differs greatly from the common stormtrooper armor with the notable difference being its color and a red narrow eye lens that stretched from one side to the other. Like their armor, the weapons they wielded have been designed specifically to counter the abilities of the Jedi in an effort to level the playing field. Purge Troopers were originally made up of former selected Clones with their inhibitor chip activated, but has since been heavily replaced with conscripted indoctrinated soldiers, with Clones making up only a very few of the overall legion. Vader's breathing rattled even the technicians situated at the two elongated pits below floor level, who stared in fear as the Sith Lord made his way to Tarkin and the Admiral. For many in the lower Imperial hierarchy, Vader’s existence has been a myth, with stories of the deadly consequences that would befall on those who displeased him.

“Admiral Katz, has my Purge Trooper squadron been accounted for ?” He asked in his deep voice that would send shivers down anyone’s spine and Katz was not spared of this. He too has heard of the fate that befell on officers who failed him and he certainly did not want to join them. “ They are, my Lord.” Katz kept his head down as he answered him. “Very well Admiral. As soon as you’re done with your calculations, make the jump into hyperspace.” Tarkin dismissed him. Katz nodded before leaving the two Imperial Strongmen to themselves. He then turned his attention to Vader, “ Enlighten will you, Lord Vader,” He said in a heavily aristocratic accent, “ What other value does this primitive world bring other than its vast resources that the Emperor has sent you personally to deal with ?” “There is a girl on this system that my master seeks for me to apprehend.” Vader answered Tarkin. “ A girl ? What does a simple primitive girl bring to the Empire ?” Tarkin opined incredulously. “Do not underestimate this girl, Grand Moff,” Vader slightly raised his deep voice that was bound to get his attention. “She serves a greater purpose to the Emperor more than you realize.” Tarkin stood in silence for a moment. He knew what Vader had meant, being one of the very handful of people who knew of the Emperor’s true identity. “If that is what His Majesty desires, then it shall be done.” Tarkin intoned. Vader was slightly relieved to know that both him and Tarkin were back on the same page. They stared through the Command Deck’s as the The Repulsor, together with the rest of the fleet jumped into hyperspace, their next location: Utthar.

Author's Note

Well, that's an end for the back-to back chapters about the Gauntlet crew's mission to Kashyyyk. Like I said previously, these two chapters are independent of the overall story(except for a few mentions later on) but serves to explore more about their rebel activities and for Sunset's character growth, from a high school student to a rebel fighting for a cause and her quest to become a Jedi. We also learn more about Karl's previous entanglements with bounty hunters who are after them, thanks to bounties from crime syndicates. We return to the main story in the second part of the chapter where our antagonists are preparing to head for Utthar. While not connected to the Wookiee Distress story in any way, I still included it as the scene was too short for it to be a chapter of its own. Now onto the references,
[1] Based on the Trandoshan foreman in the Rebels Season 4 episode Crawler Commanders.
[2] The notorious spice trafficking crime syndicate . ( https://www.starwars.com/databank/pyke-syndicate) They're actually one of several crime syndicates who has placed bounties on the Gauntlet crew (Karl specifically).
[3] A nice name-drop of several other famous bounty hunters in the star wars galaxy who are after them.
[4] Home to Imperial's Outer Rim shipyards. I got the photo from legends material since there's nothing much about the planet in canon other that it houses the shipyards.
[5] A specialised trooper squadron first introduced in Fallen Order, where they were heavily featured. As stated above, Purge Troopers are troops designed to combat the abilities of the Jedi and hunt them down.
Well that's all for now. We'll be back to the main story in the following chapter.

Chapter 12: Fulcrum's Message

The Gauntlet
Open Space

“Cheers !” Zeko Karl,Kara and Sunset Shimmer raised their cups of bantha milk and cheered amongst themselves at the common area in the Gauntlet. Even R5 raised his metallic hand to join them in their toast. “Here’s to another successful mission.” Zeko raised his cup before drinking it. While she wasn’t exactly sure whether she was of the legal age to drink this strange drink- if there was one under galactic law, but as soon as she took a sip, her taste buds could feel the refreshing taste of the blue milk[1], coupled with a sweet taste feeling. Sunset had never felt more refreshed and reinvigorated, all thanks to a simple blue coloured drink. “ So let me get this straight, You were actually born as a horse ?!?” Karl shot as he took a sip from his drink. Since Being a part of the Gauntlet crew for over three months now and after valiantly risking their lives earlier to free the enslaved Wookiees, Sunset Shimmer had realized that she never actually told her new space friends of her actual origin story, other than being a teenage girl on Utthar. As she narrated her time as a unicorn on Equestria, how she traveled through a portal to Utthar and her new life on Canterlot City. She didn’t leave out any key points, even including her former manipulative self up till her reformation during the Fall Formal and her efforts to become a better person.[2]

At first, Karl and Zeko thought she was kidding with them, even R5 for that matter beeped in an amusing manner. But as she continued on, their smiles on their faces were replaced with a confused expression, one that Sunset had expected. Even Kara was bewildered by her story but she had chosen not to show it instead. “I’d prefer the term pony from another dimension..” Sunset abruptly stopped for a moment.She thought, after all she’s witnessed about the galaxy, could it be that Equestria wasn’t a different dimension but instead another planet of its own ? It’s quite plausible considering how large the galaxy is that Equestria is actually another world of its own that is shrouded by the cosmos or maybe in another region of space undiscovered by the larger galactic community, like Utthar. After all there is a region of space called the Unknown Regions. The more she thought about it, the more questions she had in her mind. “ At least that’s what I thought it was.” She ended her sentence in a unsure tone. “I’ve never been so confused. Might wanna shed some Jedi wisdom on this Kara ?” Karl turned his attention over to Kara, hoping that she could provide some clarity. Kara was silent for a moment, she thought about what she had to say. She took a sip from her cup before she spoke, “ The Force works in many mysterious ways, sometimes not ones you can easily understand.” Sunset let out a quiet chuckle as she found it amusing that even Kara couldn’t give an explanation to her confusing story. “I know how confusing and crazy it sounds. Believe me, you guys are not the only ones who felt like this after hearing my life story.” She quipped, hoping to placate the raging confusion that everyone was feeling.

“And here I thought the weirdest thing in the galaxy were purgills.” [3] Zeko remarked as he placed his cup onto the table, which was then followed by a loud and rather unpleasant burp. “Enough about me, What about you Karl, what’s your origin story ?” Sunset asked, in an attempt to divert further scrutiny from her life story. Her innocent question however, prompted laughter from Zeko. “Oh boy, Karl here, has a very interesting backstory alright.” He said delightly as he pulled an embarrassed Karl close to him with his first pair of arms. “This guy started off as afreshman in a prestigious university on Hosnian Prime before he decided that staring onto a holodesk all day wasn’t his thing and abandoned his studies to which I quote, ‘see the galaxy’.” Zeko was cut off by an uneasy Karl, “It was a different time then. I was young and foolish.” He said while covering his face. He clearly wasn’t enjoying this as much as Zeko and the rest were. “It wasn’t that long ago if I recall correctly.” Kara joined in together with R5, who couldn’t stop laughing at him in binary. “Back to the subject,” Zeko brought everyone’s attention back to him. “He gets all adventurous, seeing the galaxy and all before he got involved with the wrong people and running into debts with them of course.” “So I suppose that explains that bounty hunter on Kashyyyk.” Sunset correctly theorized.

“Hey, at least I’m not that guy anymore. I’m fighting for a better cause right now.” Karl defended himself from his own past narration by Zeko. Zeko didn’t seem to be convinced by it however, “Tell that to the bounty hunters who are after us.” He said in a satirical manner. Having this light hearted conversation with them briefly reminded Sunset of how she would use to have similar talks like this with her friends, be it either at the mall or the school cafeteria. How they would talk about school life, tease each other of their crushes and laugh over their past encounters with wild Equestrian magic. Those were the good times, Sunset thought to herself. While she liked having these chats with her new friends, she still missed the laughter and the jokes made by Pinkie Pie and the rest of her friends back home. It was a void that could never be filled. Before she could delve deeper into her thoughts, she pulled herself back to reality, hoping it would distract her from her home sick feeling. “ If it makes you feel any better Karl, we both have made dumb choices when we were younger and are trying to move on from it .” She said to him before turning to Zeko, “What’s your story then, Zeko ?” “My story ?” The Ardennian blurted out. He had not seen this question coming. “Yea, your life story.” Sunset didn’t back down. “ How did you get this ship for starters ?” “I won this baby over here in an honest game of sabbac.” Zeko, who leaned back, with one pair of his arms being used to rest his head while the other gave a pat on the metallic walls of the Gauntlet, boasted.

“So you didn’t have a life in your home world ?” Sunset asked, finding hard to believe that his life was only about winning the ship in a card game. “What’s there to tell ?” Zeko pointed out, “I was a freighter pilot in Ardennia before the Empire came and nationalized the industry, causing us to lose our jobs. They replaced us with their own men. It’s what these Imperials do. They show up with their large ships and destroy everyone’s livelihoods, all in the name of Galactic Harmony, supposedly.” He moaned in frustration. In her time being a member of this motley group, Sunset had never seen Zeko upset. He had lost his job and income thanks to the meddlings of the Empire; it was more than justified for him to feel that way. “I’m sorry to hear that.” She said with pity. His expression then returned to his cooler self, “Nah Don’t be.” He said before continuing, “ If not for their actions, I wouldn’t have won this marvelous ship or met you guys for that matter.” “Aww, that’s sweet.” Karl said sarcastically. R5, as if feeling left out, joined in with the rest with the only language he could communicate in. His erratic beeping manner made it a bit harder than usual for Sunset to understand. Her grasp of the binary language of the droids after all was still a working progress at best and she roughly construed the beeping to be something about his backstory or something like that. Kara however, understood well what her droid meant. “ I’m sorry buddy,” She said to her droid, “ but most of us kinda already know the kind of backstory an astromech droid would have.” R5 could do nothing but hum in sadness, feeling rejected. Kara didn't pay much attention to his humming as she knew her droid would be over it soon. What she never saw coming, however, was Karl’s question: “So what was your life like before becoming a Jedi ?”

In all their time they were together, none of them had ever asked her that question. In fact, nobody had. It was a question she didn’t have the answer to. The longer she stayed silent thinking for an answer, the more attention she drew to herself from the others. Even her droid had stopped brooding to hear what she had to say. “I..I..” She stammered for a moment, thinking of the right words to say. “I don’t really know if I had one.” She finally found the words to describe her conundrum. It only attracted even more confused glares at her. “What do you mean ?” Sunset asked her master. “When I was really young, I was taken from a family and a home which I’ll never know to be raised in the Jedi Temple.” Kara muttered. The others, especially Sunset, could not believe what they had just heard. “Where I come from, that’s called kidnapping.” She intoned in shock, and Zeko concurred, “So we’re not so different after all.” They were right, Kara thought. It was a way she didn’t agree with, but yet it was one practiced by them till their downfall. “They did it so that the younglings won’t have a sense of attachment to their families. Apparently, it was the Jedi way.” [4]

“But that’s wrong.” Sunset blurted out, shifting the attention from Kara to her. “What makes you say that ?” Kara asked, intrigued by what her padawan had to say. With glaring eyes staring right at her, Sunset thought hard at what she was about to say next. She could relate to Kara’s experience of being taken from her people. Her former mentor, Princess Celestia had done something similar when she discovered her potential, taking her from her family to the confines of her Magical School. It was the crippling loneliness, detachment from her family that caused Sunset to become the manipulative hateful person she was before the Fall Formal. ‘Funny’ She thought to herself, ‘Both Celestia and the Jedi had noble intentions but did it through rather questionable methods’. “ I speak from experience when I say that being around those who care about you makes you a better person. You tell me that the Jedi stand for fairness, but where’s the justice in taking children away from their families ?” Sunset spoke, her tone nothing short of emotion. It was as if she knew the feeling of being taken from your own, all supposedly in the name of the greater good. “ I would not have been who I am if not for my friends. I’m not saying that the Jedi shouldn’t train younger Force users, but not at the expense of separating them from their loved ones.It’s contradicting what they stand for. You gave me a choice Kara, and the Jedi should’ve given you that choice too, no offense though.” [5] She ended her speech with a slightly higher tone than the rest, indicating that she meant no disrespect to the religion, but Kara didn’t feel disrespected at all. In fact a wave of pride filled her heart for her young padawan. Sunset was around the same age she was when she became a padawan but she has proven herself to be far more mature and an independent thinker than she was. If there were more thinkers like Sunset during the final years of the Order, they wouldn’t have been wiped out. ‘ None taken.” She said to her padawan with a beaming smile on her face. “In fact, I’m proud of you.” Before Sunset could ask what her master had meant, Zeko interrupted. “ We’re getting an incoming transmission from Fulcrum.” He said as he had previously got up to check the holo table controls. “Put it through,” Karl said as he and the others headed to the circular shaped furniture.

As soon as everyone was around the Holotable, Zeko played the incoming transmission. Unlike her last transmission in which a cloaked figure appeared, was replaced with the usual Fulcrum markings Sunset was familiar with. “Congratulations on your successful mission on Kashyyyk. Senator Organa has extended his appreciation to your crew for freeing the Wookiee prisoners. You have the fullest gratitude of the Wookiee people.” The scrambled voice said. “Just doing our job.” Karl said with a little smirk on his face. “ Speaking of that, there is another job which we hope your cell could help with.” Fulcrum mentioned. “What kind of job ?” Kara further asked. There was a brief silence from Fulcrum before he or she spoke, “ Rebel Intelligence has discovered intel of an Imperial fleet being sent from the Rothana Shipyards to these coordinates.” As Fulcrum spoke, a holographic image of a fleet of destroyers orbiting a sphere shaped image of a planet, numbering around four together with the coordinates they’re being sent to. “Our charts show that particular region as nothing but empty space. It seems rather suspicious that the Empire is sending a large fleet to an open space of emptiness.” “Give us a moment, Fulcrum.” Zeko said as he paused the transmission. He somewhat recognised the given coordinates and searched the ship’s navigational log. “Why did you pause the transmission ?” Sunset asked. “Because the Gauntlet has been to these coordinates before.” He said as he searched the log. He then found the exact coordinates in the log and projected it to the holotable. “There it is” Zeko said as a holographic image of the planet appears in the coordinates Fulcrum had provided for. A Planet Sunset immediately recognised. “Utthar ?”

“The Empire has found my home world ?” Sunset Shimmer grasped in horror. Zeko double checked the coordinates provided by Fulcrum to the ones in the ship’s log, “That would appear to be the case.” He confirmed. “Well, we did use their tech to find that planet in the first place.” Karl intoned. Sunset felt every part in her body shatter at once upon hearing that her home was now the latest target of the evil Empire. Her friends, everyone she cared about was now at risk of being captured by the Imperials, or worse. And it was all because of her. But most of all, she felt a rising anger within her towards Kara. She knew well Kara wasn’t at fault for their latest move but yet she felt betrayed, she had told her that if Sunset left her friends behind and came with her, their safety would be guaranteed but that’s not the case now. “Kara, you told me that if I came with you, my people and friends back home would be safe. But yet the Empire is still headed there and now everyone I know is in danger !” She snapped. “It’s possible that this move doesn’t have anything to do with you.” Kara said, hoping to placate her padawan.

Sunset however, was far from feeling assured In fact, she felt the exact opposite. “It means they’re even in more danger than ever. We have to help them !” She bellowed. She found an unlikely ally in R5, who sided and agreed with her. “ I don’t know…” Karl said in a more cautious tone, “ After our actions on Kashyyyk, the Imperials will be on the lookout for the Gauntlet. I’d reckon we lay low for the time being till things cool down a bit.” “But they need us ! They won’t stand a chance against the Empire’s might and you know that !” Sunset didn’t back down. She couldn’t. Her friends, everyone she knew, were in danger, and she couldn’t just sit by and watch their lives get destroyed. One way or another, she was to blame for all of this, regardless of what Kara had said. She was determined to go back and help her friends, without the others' help, if it comes to it. Kara could see the despair look on her padawans eyes. She understood how she felt. It was her who convinced Sunset to come with them in the first place, leaving the people she cared about behind, but now that very people are in danger of the Empire that seeks out their world. As such, she too felt the fault fell on her shoulders too. Maybe if she hadn’t sought out that planet, the Empire wouldn’t have either. It wasn’t a guarantee, but she would've felt better than she is now.

While a part of her wanted to agree with Sunset, Karl’s point was not to be easily dismissed. He still made a valid point about the risks they’ll put themselves in. If Kara sided with him, it would shatter the trust Sunset had given her, maybe even permanently. It took her time for her to gain Sunset’s trust only to see it crumble if she turned her back on the people. Everyone else had their eyes on her, waiting for her to make the decision. Kara thought long and hard about the next course of action. “Replay the transmission.” She directed Zeko, who unpaused Fulcrum’s transmission. “That’s quite the time you had me in pause back there.” The scrambled voice spoke. “Sorry about that.” She apologized to Fulcrum, “ We were having a little group discussion and have decided that we’ll take the mission.” Sunset’s heart was suddenly flooded with relief and joy upon hearing her master’s decision. “We’ll check out what the Empire’s up to and put a stop to whatever it is,” Kara said. “ I knew I could count on your team. Report back what you find, and good luck.” Fulcrum said with a hopeful tone. “And to you too.” Zeko ends the transmission and the hologram disappears.

“ So I suppose we’re going back to Utthar now ?” Karl asked as soon as the transmission ended. While he had raised his concerns about the mission, Karl had quickly come to terms with her decision. “You know we are.” She answered him before turning to Zeko and was about to open her mouth before he beat her to it. “ I'll set course to the system.” The Ardennian said. He headed to the cockpit and was followed by R5, who congratulated Sunset for her victory in convincing the others to save her friends on Utthar. Sunset made her way to Kara, intending on finding out why she had sided with her. “Kara,” She called out to her, “ Why did you side with me ? I mean, Karl made a good point back there about this being too risky.” Kara turned to her curious padawan and gave a short but yet, clear answer : “Because it’s the right thing to do.” She then headed off to the back to do final checks to the hyperdrive. It was their Standard procedure for the Gauntlet crew to double check all systems before they undertook any missions. Sunset was then left alone in the common area, with Karl having headed to the cockpit. Her relief was soon replaced with anxiousness. She worried that her friends back home, who were supposed to be enjoying their Summer break, have no idea what’s coming for them. It might even be too late, but she couldn’t give up now. This might just be the time where her friends would need her the most, and she wasn’t going to turn her back on them. ‘Time to go back home,’ She thought to herself.

Author's Note

It appears that Sunset's worst fears had come through. The Empire is on its way to her home and everyone she cared about is in terrible danger. Even her master Kara, feels a bit guilty for not keeping up to her word. Keeping that aside, this chapter also provides some backstory for our characters. Karl's colourful history in dealing with crime syndicates is reason why they are being chased by bounty hunters while Zeko's somewhat cynical behaviour can be traced back to he getting laid of his freighter pilot job on his home world by the Empire. I also added their reactions to Sunset's origins as a pony as a little lighthearted moment to the story. Other than that, this chapter serves more of a connecting/filler chapter between two events. Onto the easter eggs,
[1] The infamous milk, known as Bantha Milk that Aunt Beru prepares for Luke to drink during A New Hope.
[2] A nice summary to the entire events of the Equestria Girls franchise.
[3] A nod to the hyperspace-traveling whales seen in the Rebels Season 2 episode The Call. These animals are considered a legend by pilots.
[4] Younglings are taken from their families from a young age to be inducted into the Jedi Order, never having to see their families again to avoid attachments. It's not however, without controversies.
[5] Sunset rightfully disagrees with the Jedi's way of taking younglings from their families. She's a clear example of becoming a better person with the help of those who care for her. Kara gave her choice, and her master should've been given that choice or at least the chance to have met her family.
Well that's all for the easter eggs. Will Sunset be able to reach Utthar and save her friends before it's too late ? Check out in the next chapter.

Chapter 13: The Imperial Annexation

Canterlot City Mall
Mall Food Court

Back in Canterlot City, the three month long Summer holiday was drawing to an end. At the tail end of the holidays, the citizens of Canterlot thronged to the City Mall to enjoy their last few weeks of vacation before the new school year started. The general mood in the mall was hectic to say the least. However it was coupled with a feeling of contentment and satisfaction for the memorable activities done and friendships made during the break. There was also a sense of excitement for the new school year ahead, with many youths waiting to see their friends again after a three month hiatus. Unlike most of their peers who were out to maximize their remaining break time, the remaining members of the Rainboom band sat at the mall food court with none of them having any sort of liveliness in them. In fact, the mood around them was dull and sad, a sharp contrast to the mood of the people surrounding them. None of them spoke to the other as they were indulging their thoughts, trying to grapple with their sense of defeat while at the same time, picking on their food. Just then, the large mall advertising screen started playing a familiar music video (Dance Magic (Song) - MLP: Equestria Girls [Movie Magic]) [1] adding even more fuel to the already depressed mood and to a lesser extent, annoyance.

It has been more than three months since their close friend, Sunset Shimmer, had suddenly disappeared after leaving behind an ambiguous message to them. Her sudden disappearance left a large void in their once strong and unbreakable bond of friendship between them. They had exhausted every available resource to find their missing friend. They were not alone of course. Most if not all the students of CHS joined in the efforts to find their beloved and cherished school mate. Even Principal Celestia and her sister Luna had greatly contributed to the search, using their contacts in the Mayor’s Office to speed up the official search efforts. They collectively formed a committee, the ‘Find Sunset’ Committee to coordinate search efforts and thanks to the generosity of Twilight’s wealthy family 2, managed to pay off the rent of Sunset’s apartment unit and turned it into the group’s operations base. However after searching every corner of the world tirelessly for three months for the entirety of Summer vacation, the girls have started resigning to the fact that their friend may never be found, perhaps ever.

“Why the sulky faces everyone ? I’m sure Princess Twilight will be writing to us some good news anytime now.” Pinkie Pie, in an attempt to uplift morale amongst them, pointed to Sunset’s former journal on the table, which she used to communicate with Equestria. “That’s if she even finds anything from their search, which I doubt.” Rainbow Dash shot back at Pinkie in a despondent manner. When Sunset first went missing, the girls immediately contacted Princess Twilight for help. The Princess, who was equally taken aback by Sunset’s sudden disappearance, quickly traveled through the portal between their worlds to join in the search efforts. Even Princess Celestia had organized a massive search effort spanning multiple kingdoms in Equestria to find her. Eventually the pony Twilight had to return home due to her duties but promised to update them as soon as Equestrian search efforts found a lead. Since then, they’ve been carrying the journal along with them, waiting for her to write back, if she ever finds anything. “ Can’t you just be a little optimistic Rainbow Dash ?” Applejack said mildly. “I’m merely stating the facts. If we couldn’t find anything after three months, what makes you think she will ?” Rainbow Dash argued back, her voice iced with controlled anger and despair. Who could blame her ?

Sensing tensions building up within the group, Fluttershy moved quickly to defuse them,“Twilight, are you alright ?” Fluttershy’s question snapped the depressed nerdy teen girl back to reality. Twilight always had a personal connection [3] with Sunset, and as such it came as no surprise that she would be the hardest hit, emotionally speaking , when Sunset vanished. “I would be lying to myself if I said yes. I really miss her.” Twilight said. She was unable to bring herself up and face her friends. The tensions dissipated as the girls turned their attention to their dejected friend. All of them knew well Twilight was the most affected of them all. “ All of us miss her too, darling.” Rarity comforted her as she placed her arm over Twilight for her to have an arm to rest on. Twilight had tried her best to stay emotionally strong but she just couldn’t. She wasn’t strong like Sunset Shimmer to hold her feelings. As soon as she rested on Rarity’s arm and being unable to hold it off any longer, she started crying relentlessly, as if a stream of tears which had it dammed up for a long time was suddenly released. Even Rarity shed tears in her bid to console her. Her disappearance had taken a toll on everyone.

“I just don’t understand, why would Sunset do this ? This isn't like her at all.” Twilight sniffled. Unfortunately the girls didn’t have the answers to her questions. “We all are wondering the same thing too.” Rarity said as she hugged her weeping friend. Twilight couldn’t stop crying to the fact that she may never see her best friend ever again. Her family had told her to move on but how could she ? No matter how well intended their advice may have been, Twilight Sparkle couldn’t just easily move on from this, especially when the guilt that she could have stopped Sunset from vanishing haunted her. “ This might just be my fault. I should’ve stayed with her that night instead of leaving her alone. That’s when everything went downhill.” She sobbed, blaming herself for Sunset’s disappearance. “Now hold it right there Sugarcube,” Applejack said out loud. She couldn’t stand to see Twilight take the blame for Sunset’s own actions. It was just not right. “ This definitely ain’t your fault in any way.” She intoned. “AJ’s right. You’re not to be blamed for Sunset’s own actions.” Rainbow Dash concurred with her. The others also rallied behind them, being unable to see Twilight blaming herself for what had happened. It wasn;t her fault, or anyones for that matter.

“ Don’t be so hard on yourself Twilight.” Fluttershy said to her friend. As they were busy comforting their friend, three people approached them which Rainbow Dash noticed and recognised as fellow schoolmate Flash Sentry, Twilight’s boyfriend Timber Spruce and Sour Sweet, their occasional rival/friend from Crystal Prep Academy. “Any news from the Princess ?” Flash asked in a concerned tone. After the girls, Flash Sentry was perhaps the next individual to be affected by Sunset’s disappearance. While their relationship had ended a while ago, the both of them, in a way, always cared for the other’s well being. “ So far this book isn’t glowy, so the answer is no.” Pinkie summed it up. “What about you ? Anything from your Crystal Prep contacts ?” Rarity asked Sour Sweet. “Nothing but dead ends.” Sour Sweet grumbled in her sour voice. “We may have a lead, however.” Timber stood forward. “A lead ? What do you mean?” Twilight asked as she took out her glasses to wipe off any tear residues on her eyelids, composing herself as she listened to this new lead. “ Someone reported seeing Sunset entering the Eastern part of the Everfree forest the night before she went missing.” Timber said.

This seemed to have gotten the interest of everyone else on the table. This could very well be the first major lead any of them have gotten in the entire duration of their search. This was a major breakthrough, and yet Timber chose not to reveal it the first thing. “And you’re telling us this only now ?” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously. “We wanted to know if you girls had better luck than us.” Flash reasoned as he defended Timber. “I thought we did a clean sweep of the Everfree forest sometime back.” Applejack said with an unsure tone. “Not East Everfree.” Timber clarified, “That part of the forest is too remote. One could easily get lost in there.” “Timber and I are about to head out there to check this lead out.” Flash said. “We’re coming with you,then.” Rarity said to them to which girls concurred with her. This was by far their best lead on finding Sunset and they weren’t going to be left out from it. Timber Spruce however, thought otherwise, “ I think it's best for you girls to stay back, in case other leads pop up or if your Princess friend writes back.” Rainbow Dash was about to argue back for being left out before Applejack lifted her hand to stop tomboyish from opening her mouth, “ If that’s what you say, Timber. Notify us if you guys find anything.” She said calmly to the boys calmly.

“You got it.” Flash said as the trio left the table in which the girls were seated to pursue their lead. “What the heck was that for ?” Rainbow Dash snapped at Applejack incredulously, “That was the first major lead we’ve ever gotten in a while.” The Rainbow coloured haired girl grumbled. “ I am cautiously optimistic about this lead. All our past leads led to dead ends after all.” Rarity said warily. The others realized that Rarity, no matter how overdramatic she can be, had a point. They’ve pursued all kinds of leads, some more hopeful than the other only to end up in square one. Their hopeful expression quickly turned into a dull, indifferent one. “What happens if this lead turns out to be like the others ?” Fluttershy asked unsurely. It was a painful realization for the girls, that this lead, no matter how bright it may be, turned out to be a dead end like the others. “Then we keep looking.” The girls turned their attention over to Twilight, who now had a determined, stubborn expression. Her voice was iced with resolve and firmness. “ We shouldn’t give up searching for her no matter how many dead ends we hit. It’s what Sunset would’ve done if it was one of us who went missing.” She said with resoluteness. No matter how depressed she may feel about Sunset’s sudden disappearance, she wasn’t about to give up looking for her just yet. In fact, none of them were. Sunset Shimmer was still out there, and they will do whatever it takes to bring her back home.

Just then, the light from the Sun that penetrated the transparent window shields that covered the roof of the mall became dimmer and dimmer, as if something was blocking it from reaching the ground on which the mall stood. Pinkie Pie was amongst the first to notice the sunlight getting weaker and weaker. “Is it me or is the sky getting darker ?” She alerted the others to their surroundings. “That’s strange, there aren’t any Solar Eclipses today.” Twilight remarked, confused as to why the sky was turning dark. “I don’t think that’s an eclipse.” Rainbow Dash pointed out to the sky, her legs were shaking in fear, something uncommon for the bravest and adventurous person in the group. That's when they saw it. A massive dagger shaped like object, bigger than anything they’ve ever seen before, directly above them, obstructing the sunlight as it flew directly between it and the mall. The strange object appeared to be metallic in nature and had a large opening in the middle, as if it was the entry point of this massive alien object [4]. Whatever this was, it clearly wasn’t from their world. “What in tarnation is that thing ?!” Applejack gasped. She wasn’t the only one. Everybody else in the mall was also freaking out at the massive alien ship in the sky, with multiple screams and whimpers being echoed throughout the mall. “Is it from Equestria ?” Fluttershy asked as she trembled in fear, trying her best to keep calm as possible. Being the one in the group that is most easily frightened, the fact she had not screamed in fear is considered an achievement. “ That thing doesn’t look Equestrian to begin with.” Twilight said, trying to make sense as to what was covering the sky. A part of her was bewildered by this strange ship-like object while at the same time intimidated by its size. “Whatever it is, it's doing a great job of freaking people out.” Rainbow commented about their chaotic surroundings.

As if things weren’t in a pandemonium enough, the multiple LED screens scattered across the mall went static abruptly all at once, as it was pre planned, raging even more panic and confusion amongst the people. “What’s happening ?” Rarity asked, her voice iced with fear and confusion. On her right hand, she held her cell phone, which went static similar to the mall screens. It wasn’t just her phone. All of their phones went static abruptly. As abruptly as it came, the static screens suddenly replaced with an alien looking crest. The crest had a cog like shape, with six spokes branching out of it. It was at the center of a red coloured background, making the crest stand out. The screening of this peculiar emblem was accompanied with a symphonic somewhat patriotic theme being played. It sounded militaristic and tyrannical in nature(Star Wars Rebels Season 1 OST - Glory to the Empire) [5] “I’m pretty darn sure it’s related to that thing.” Applejack pointed Rarity to the dagger shaped object in the sky. Just then, a male voice started playing through the multiple screens. It sounded domineering and like the background theme and militaristic like:

“ Attention people of the Utthar System, fear not for our technological superiority. We represent the prosperous, civilized Galactic Empire, the legitimate government that rules over this Galaxy under the benevolent rule of the great Emperor Palpatine. Our presence here is to liberate you from your primitive confines and bring this civilisation to par with Galactic Standards. Henceforth, this system is declared as an Imperial Protectorate world to ensure peace and security as your new government seeks to establish itself. Please stay indoors to ensure a smooth and harmless transition of power. Your new Empire thanks you for your cooperation for the greater good.”

“Well it's official. This isn’t Equestrian Magic.” Pinkie Pie remarked following the rather unsettling announcement that came from all available screens. “What are we going to do now ?” Twilight asked. They were used to having Sunset Shimmer be their answer to any calamity that arises. But this time was different. The problem at hand wasn’t exactly magical like the previous ones and most importantly, there was no Sunset for them to look to for solutions. In other words, they were on their own now. ‘Would Ponying up save the day ? Will their magical geodes even be effective against this foreign threat ?’ These were the questions raging in their heads. Their thoughts however were soon distracted by the deafening city emergency siren being echoed throughout the mall. (Emergency Air Raid Siren Alarm) “ That means run !!” Rainbow Dash shouted out loud, sending everyone into a state of chaos.

Meanwhile,
‘The Repulsor Star Destroyer
Utthar Orbit

From the command bridge of the Star Destroyer ‘The Repulsor’, Darth Vader and Tarkin oversaw the Imperial fleet they commanded descending into the atmosphere of this new world that is being brought into the Imperial folder, regardless of what the natives would have to say. Admiral Katz walked up to them to provide a status of their Annexation. The two strongmen barely paid attention to the Admiral as he walked to them. “Sir, we have begun the expropriation process of the planet.” Katz said. Tarkin was indifferent to what the Admiral had to say as he turned to him, “Any signs of resistance by the locals ?” “ Our forces have encountered little to no opposition from them.” Katz said, his tone slightly stronger than usual. He had given himself a small pat in the back for being able to report positive developments to the Grand Moff and Lord Vader. “Fear of our technological might and superior firepower has driven them to submission.” The Sith Lord said indifferently. “Indeed fear is a very persuasive element.” Tarkin intoned before turning over to Katz, “The Empire will make a note of your exemplary service, Admiral.” “Thank you sir.” Katz bowed to Tarkin before leaving the two of them alone. Deep down, the Admiral was over the moon for receiving an approval from the Grand Moff himself, a rare commendation not many Imperial officers can boast of.

As soon as Katz left, Tarkin then turned attention back to the fleet before him, “How do you plan on apprehending the girl that the Emperor seeks ?” He asked the Sith Lord.“ Our presence in her home world will draw her out. She will come to rescue her people and when she does, she will be entrapped.” Vader answered Tarkin. Tarkin understood the basis of the Sith Lord’s plan, being no stranger to such tactics. He planned to use the nobleness of this girl to lure her into freeing her people, only for her to be walking right into a trap deliberately set by them. It was after all, how the Empire deals with Jedi Survivors, by having their own principles betray them. Tarkin was then interrupted by black cladded uniformed officer who, on his left hand, held a datapad. “Governor Tarkin, this requires your immediate attention.” The officer handed over the datapad to the Grand Moff for inspection. Tarkin inspected the information that was stored in the datapad(Information regarding Project Stardust) and realized that his intervention was required,again. “ If you excuse me Lord Vader, I have some matters that require my urgent attention. I’ll leave you to oversee the rest of the annexation process.” Tarkin said to Vader. The Sith Lord only stood in silence as the Grand Moff left the bridge with the officer by his side. He saw no need to reply as Tarkin had given him complete authority of the fleet. There was nothing else he could ask for-not that he needed to in the first place.

Meantime,
Back in Canterlot City Mall

CHAOS ensued as the people in the mall ran towards the exit in a state of panic, mostly caused by fear of the unholy object in the sky, coupled with the strange voice and crest that appeared on every electronic gadget screen proclaiming the establishment of this New Empire, which none of them had ever heard of. The girls were no exception to the wave of pandemonium, joining the chorus of people running. They’re no strangers to calamity but yet the feeling has never been more alien to them than it is today. After all the incidents they’ve dealt with, they should have been the level headed ones amongst the swarm of panic stricken people but yet they were a part of them. “Why are we running again ?” Applejack panted as she was running out of breath from running. “Obviously from that !” Pinkie screamed as she pointed to the ship above them. It was quite clear at this point none of them were in the position to think straight, even Applejack, the most rational minded in the group couldn’t keep her head straight for long due the state they’re in, she could do nothing but accept the flow of the others.

“ We should stop running and Pony Up !!!” Rainbow Dash bellowed out loud to the others as she ran. While she could tap into her geode powers which would give her super speed abilities, she didn’t. Doing so might only make things worse by violently pushing those ahead down to the ground by her super speed, only to be stampeded to death by the others unwillingly in their state of pandemonium. Rainbow Dash loved using her powers, even for the most mundane purposes, but never at the cause of someone’s detriment, in this case the lives of innocent people mattered more than boasting her powers. Back to the situation at hand, Rarity couldn’t believe what was coming from Rainbow Dash, but then again, she was known for being the complete opposite of Applejack, often relishing herself as some kind fictional all powerful awesome superhero. “Is every solution of yours to be ponying up ?” She grumbled loudly at her. “ You got a better idea ? Cause I’m all ears to hear it.” The blue skinned teen snapped at her, unmoved. There wasn’t much time to argue however, as the group soon managed to exit the mall, only to see the full extent of the ‘liberation’.

The City was in chaos as large military looking spaceships descended from the skies to Occupy the planet. The so-called Empire wasn’t kidding about establishing itself as the new dominant authority of Canterlot City and perhaps the planet as a whole. The skies were crowded with spaceships ranging from what appeared to be large command ships to smaller sized transports. It was the transports that were descending to the ground, with the larger ones staying in the air, being as unnerving as possible to the locals below. The girls weren’t spared from being intimidated like the others. This was far more than they could have imagined or dealt with in the past. “Well, I guess ponying up isn’t going to work this time.” Rainbow Dash resigned to herself. “ This looks like an invasion rather than a liberation.” Twilight beckoned as the sight she was seeing was,who concurred by Applejack, “I reckon that.” “WHAT THE HECK IS THAT !” Pinkie bellowed loudly pointing her forefinger at what appeared to be some kind of large quadrupedal metallic vehicle structure of some kind that was held by a Transport ship. The massive quadruplet structure that bore some resemblance to equines appeared to be some kind walker. It was docked to the transport magnetically [6]. As the transport flew past them, one of the walker’s massive stomp-like legs collided with the mall’s exterior walls, causing it to crumble down.

Standing right below the crumbling structure was Flash Sentry. Being too terrified to move his legs, the popular CHS boy could only lift his arms up to his head in view of the crumbling structure above him. He shut his eyes tightly, anticipating a massive blow to the head which will knock him out permanently, if not kill him instantly. The hit never came, and the longer he held his eyes shut, the more curious he became. He eventually opened his eyes and lifted his head up only to find the crumbled parts floating midair, held by a purple aura. Flash knew where the aura came from. He turned his head to the right, to find Twilight Sparkle with her hands extended forward, giving out the same aura as she clearly struggled to telekinetically hold the debris. Her geode gave her the ability of telekinesis, an ability she used sparingly in times of emergency such as this. Before Flash could react, Rainbow Dash dashed towards him using her superspeed before pulling him away from the way of the midair suspended debris. With Flash safe, Twilight lets go of her telekinetic grasp of the debris before falling to the ground panting. She had used a tremendous amount of energy in holding it, something the athletically inept girl didn’t have much of.

Rainbow Dash, thanks to her super speed brought Flash away from the imminent danger he was in to the rest of the girls. “You alright Flash ?” Applejack asked the shock stricken boy. “Never better, Applejack.” Flash panted out, still coming to terms with everything that happened so fast. “What are we going to do now ?” Fluttershy meekly asked. Before she could get an answer however, they were interrupted by a voice which sounded as if it was slightly muffled, “Hands up Savages !” The girls turned to the source of the voice only to find that they had been surrounded by what appeared to be at least a dozen of white armor cladded beings with some kind futuristic looking weapon pointed at them as a whole. They wore identical helmets, similar to the designs of their white armor. They donned similarly designed helmets, and as such, one couldn’t tell the difference between the other if they were placed side by side. The girls could only wonder what or who was behind the helmets.(For all they know, these beings could be Clones or humanoid robots) Rarity would offer a rather critical comment on the design of their armor if not for the fact they had never before seen firearms pointed at them. If that wasn’t enough, they had air support in the form of two gunships with a pair of half folded solar panels at its front beside the cockpit with its two front turrets pointed in their direction. In other words, they were cornered with nowhere to escape. “I won’t say again, Hands Up !!” Came the trooper, who had an orange coloured shoulder pad which distinguished him from the rest, probably marking him as the leader, his tone even more agitated than before. “Alright calm down there fellas,” Applejack spoke to them in a calm but yet nervous tone, “We surrender.” Applejack raised her hands up, walking the talk. She was soon joined by the others including Rainbow Dash, who all raised their hands up. Even Rainbow knew any reckless heroic attempts would very likely backfire on them, with disastrous results. “Please, just don’t hurt us.” Twilight naively said as she raised her hands up, her fear more evident than Applejack’s.

Author's Note

It's too late, the Galactic Empire had already started its invasion of the once peaceful planet of Utthar. Keeping that aside, this chapter largely focuses on the Rainbooms since Sunset's disappearance over three months ago. Unsurprisingly, they had spent most of their time searching for her, even contacting Princess Twilight in Equestria for help. After watching the entire Equestria Girls franchise, This is how I envisioned it would have been if Sunset or anyone of them for that matter were to suddenly disappear. Other than that, I hope I've accurately and perfectly described the scene where Imperial star destroyers first descended to the city and the pandemonium that followed, including their reaction to it. For the easter eggs,
[1] A snippet of the the Dance Magic song, first featured in the Equestria girls special of the same name, which is also the first EQG special to air after the movies.
[2] An inference that can be made considering how big and well decorated Twilight's house is when compared to the others.
[3] Again, NO SHIPPING
[4] The shape of an Imperial Star Destroyer covering the sunlight.
[5] The Empire's anthem played in the background as the announcement was made, with the Imperial Insignia being shown. The Imperial anthem is the same soundtrack as the Imperial March by John Williams.
[6] An AT-AT walker that was being carried by a Gozanti Class Starship.
Well that's all for the easter eggs. The girls are in bit of a bad situation at the moment, with stormtroopers surrounding them with their weapons pointed directly at them. Is this the end for our Equestria Girls ? Check out the next chapter to see what happens next.

Chapter 14: Homecoming

The Gauntlet
Traveling through Hyperspace

As the Gauntlet raced through the vortex of hyperspace, Sunset Shimmer couldn’t stop worrying about the fate of her beloved friends back home. She feared that she may be too late to save them from the clutches of the Empire, that her friends might already be in some forsaken Imperial prison or worse, a Slave Camp like the one on Kashyyyk. She couldn’t bear the thought of her friends being chained up and forced to wear the inhibitor collars the Wookiees wore. It was enough to break her emotionally. Still she tried to present a stoic expression, hoping to hide the pain and guilt of leaving her friends behind from the rest. However, she didn’t hide it well enough as her master Kara could see the state she was in right through her. “ It doesn’t have to take a Jedi to know that you’re upset.” She said, not unkindly. “I’m just worried for them. It’s my fault they’re in this mess in the first place.The Empire is after me, not them.” Sunset muttered quietly, but enough for everyone else in the cockpit to hear. “Ah, don’t be so hard on yourself kid.” Zeko tried to comfort her, albeit in his usual satirical tone. “Yea, I wouldn’t worry too much if I were you.” Karl concurred with Zeko. While their remarks did help slightly placate her worries, there was still the question on the next course of action once the girls were saved.

While her main priority was the safety of her friends, the bucket doesn’t just stop there. There were also others back in her home world that she cared about and she couldn’t afford to simply abandon them but yet the Gauntlet lacked the capacity for a large-scale evacuation and by then, it would be too late. Returning home posed this dilemma to her, whether to act selfishly by saving just her friends, or act righteously by trying to save everyone else, putting them all at risk of being captured by the Empire. Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the beeping coming from R5 who was plugged into the Gauntlet’s navigational computer. The droid was informing the rest that they were approaching Utthar and this was echoed by Zeko. “ We’re approaching our destination now. Better strap yourselves in.” Zeko used one of his arms to flip a switch, and the ship dropped out of hyperspace, revealing ahead of them, the planet Utthar.

Outer Rim Territories/Wild Space Border
Utthar

Jumping out of hyperspace right to her currently besieged home world, Sunset could stare in disbelief over the number of star destroyers over the planet, which numbered even more than the destroyers that blockaded Kashyyyk. In addition to the destroyers, there were also dozens of smaller Cruisers and Transport ships shipping heavy vehicles to the surface from the destroyers. As for the others, the sight was more than enough to startle them. This was way bigger than they expected it to be. “On second thought,” Karl turned to the bacon haired girl, “You might want to start worrying again.” He said warily. “We’re too late.” Sunset muttered quietly. In fact, it was the only words she could bring herself to say upon seeing the large fleet above her home. All the worries she had returned, more concentrated than before, as if it came back with a vengeance. “That’s a lot of ships alright.” Zeko said before turning to R5, “ R5, set the modulator to mask our entry.” His orders were followed with beeping noises coming from the droid affirming the instructions given. “ It's a full scale Imperial invasion. They’re seizing the planet.” Kara said as she stared towards the Invasion fleet.

“What are we going to do now ?? My friends are in danger !” Sunset cried out, her call was nothing short of fear and desperateness. “Don’t worry padawan, we’ll get them out of there.” Kara attempted to calm her. “We’ll have to scoop them out of there. Where do you think they’ll be ?” Karl asked. His idea of an airlift was perhaps the only tenable one at this point. The problem was however, Sunset had no idea where her friends currently are. They could be in Canterlot city, or the Everfree forest or somewhere else looking for her. “But they could be anywhere.” She said incredulously. “Kid, give me an exact location. We can’t be flying around the planet looking for them with the Empire on our tail.” “But I don’t have an exact location.” Sunset asked. “Use the Force.” Kara pointed out, “Let it guide you to your friends.” Seeing that there was no other way of finding her friends, Sunset took her master’s advice. She extends her hand forward and closes her eyes, reaching out to the Force. Through it, she focused on her friends, the people she cared for so much. Her focus was strong and undivided as she felt the energy flowing through her. At the height of it, a vision manifested in her head. It was blurry and fuzzy but she managed to make out what the Force was trying to show her. ‘They’re at the mall’ That was what she had sensed. Her friends were at the mall, their usual hang out spot. “ I know where they are.” Sunset said to the others, “ They’re at the Canterlot City Mall.”

“Canterlot Mall… I have it on my scopes.” Zeko said as he set the ship’s navi computer to the location Sunset had declared. It took a bit longer than usual for the computer to find it due to the surface of the world never having been mapped before. “Then that’s our target.” Kara intoned to him. Silently agreeing with it, Zeko with his four arms, piloted the Gauntlet to the surface, flying past the large destroyers in its path, in hopes that the signature modulator will mask the from Imperial scanners. As they flew past one of the destroyers, Sunset suddenly felt a sudden chill creeping within her. She couldn’t describe how it suddenly appeared out of nowhere but she knew the feeling. It was one that was seeded in anger, hate and most of all Darkness. She could feel it creeping in, and it was coming from the destroyer above. The most unnerving of all however, was that this darkness whoever it was being emitted from, sensed her presence and expected her return. It was as if her return was something the darkness wanted from her. Feeling rattled by it, Sunset turned to Kara in hopes of seeking her master’s wisdom, only to find that she was as equally rattled as her. Kara too had felt a dark, sinister presence as they flew, a presence she had never felt before, but one she knew meant trouble. She saw Sunset’s eyes and knew she too had felt the chilling presence. “Let’s get your friends and get out of this system as fast as possible.” She said in an unnerved tone. Sunset silently nodded.

If this chilling presence could unnerve Kara, she could only imagine who or what was causing it. Only she knew that it was here for either her or her friends and that she needed to get as far away as she could once her friends were saved. The Gauntlet flew past the star destroyers in orbit and headed down for the surface. As soon as they cleared the clouds, they came upon the currently besieged Canterlot City. Sunset could only look helplessly at the city she once called home being laid siege by the Empire, with Star Destroyers occupying the sky with Transport Shuttles [1] ferrying Ground vehicles to the surface. Sunset couldn’t find the words she wanted to say about what she was seeing. It was too painful to describe it. “This is what the Empire does to countless other peaceful worlds. They show up with their large ships and impose themselves by way of intimidation and fear.” Karl said indifferently. “That’s what they do.” Kara concurred. Sunset Shimmer looked down at the city below, doing her best to pinpoint the city mall. ‘ Funny.’ She thought to herself. In all her time spent in Canterlot City ever traveling through the portal, she still found it hard to recognise structures she would’ve walked past or hung out in the past. Eventually, she finally recognises the large glass dome shaped structure.

“Over there, that’s the mall.” She pointed out. Before Zeko could steer the ship to the direction pointed out by her, came a warning from R5 about incoming enemy ships. Sure enough, there were Tie fighters pursuing them. The fighters made their position known by firing at the Gauntlet, targeting its engines. While the shield deflected it, it was enough to send the interior rumbling from laser fire shots. “ We have Tie fighters after us, So much for our cover.” Zeko said as he steered the Gauntlet away from the mall, more determined to lose the fighters on his tail. “ What do you expect when we’re the only non-Imperial ship flying around here ?” Karl pointed out cynically. “ We’re too much in the open out here. We need cover.” Kara intoned before turning to Sunset, “This is your turf Sunset. Where do we head to find cover ?” He said. There weren't many places she could think of as an ideal place to seek cover from the pursuing Ties. Just then, over the horizon, she found her answer. “Over there,” She pointed out to the tall mountain ranges covered in mists surrounding the city, “We can lose them in the mountain ranges.” Zeko seemed unconvinced of this idea however, “ There ? It’s suicidal trying to navigate through misty mountains. We won’t last a second flying through it.” “ That’s longer than surviving out here.” Karl snapped back. “We’ll be flying blind in there !” Zeko argued back at Karl. R5 too agreed with the Ardennian of the risks of flying past a mountain range. “You won’t be.” Kara pointed out, siding with Sunset, “I’ll guide you through the Force.” Zeko gave the young Jedi a startled look, “ You’ll guide me ? That’s very assuring.” He said sarcastically. “You got a better option ?” Karl asked. Seeing there was no other choice to lose the increasingly gaining Tie’s on the Gauntlet, Zeko grudgingly agreed to Sunset’s idea and steered the Gauntlet to the mountain ranges.

“ I’ll man the cannons.” Karl said as he got up from his seat and rushed to the back to man the turrets. As the Gauntlet flew towards the fog-covered Mountains, Sunset was beginning to doubt her own idea. ‘Maybe Zeko is right about flying past mountains,’ She thought to herself. After all, the Zephyr Heights Mountain Range[2] is notorious for its tall and largely uneven structures, making it hard to navigate through.it was also often surrounded by thick mists, reducing visibility to a bare minimum. It wasn’t an ideal place to fly, but there weren’t any other choices. That didn’t seem to deter Kara though. “What do we do now ?” She asked her master. Kara turned her head to her, “Just remember your training.” With that, both master and apprentice reached out to the Force. The Gauntlet flies into the mountain ranges, with R5 noting that their scanners have been scrambled due to atmospheric disturbances around them, it was no surprise to Zeko though. The mist shielded his visibility to a great degree, causing to fly blindy in the fog. “I won’t be surprised if we die today.” He lamented at the state he was flying in. Sunset kept her focus undivided by what's ahead, letting the Force guide her instincts. She could sense the ice capped mountain capes surrounding her, yet shrouded by the mist. ‘She then sensed a mountain peak ahead, and they were heading right for it,’ “Make a quick right…” She waited for the right moment for the opening to appear, “Now !” Zeko makes a quick right turn, avoiding the peak. Of the five Tie’s pursuing them, one was unfortunate enough to miss the opening, crashing to mountain peak, resulting in an explosion.

‘ One down, four more to go,’ Sunset thought to herself. Her small pat to the back was interrupted by Kara, “Level out and turn to bearing 0.5,” She ordered the Ardennian who did as she said, steering the Gauntlet to the said bearing with the help of R5. The turn sends two Tie fighters crashing into separate mountains, with the remaining two narrowly making it through the past bearing 0.5. Karl, who was manning the cannons, could only watch as the Gauntlet slendering though the mountain ranges, with the Ties struggling to keep up with them, with three having already been claimed by the intimidating mountain range. “Whatever it is you’re doing, keep doing it !” He cheered to the others below. They didn’t pay much attention to Karl’s cheering, instead more focused on navigating safely through. Kara, whose connection to the Force has never been this strong in a long time, sensed another incoming structure ahead. “ Climb to point 6, now !” She directed him. Zeko pulled the steering as close to his chest as possible as he leaned back on the seat, sending the Gauntlet steeply shooting up from the mist, past a peak before diving back into it, losing another Tie fighter to the mountains in the process, leaving just one left behind them. Karl, who was manning the back cannons, had his eyes on the lone surviving fighter. “ One more left. Leave it to me.” He said as he targeted the cannons towards the last Tie. He waited for the Tie fighter to unwittingly appear in his targeting scopes and as soon as it did, he opened fire. The red laser fire from the turret managed to successfully hit one of the two vertical panel shaped wings of the shieldless fidget, sending it crashing below the mist. [3]

“ We’re all clear !” Karl called out to the others back at the cockpit, feeling victorious. He wasn’t the only one who felt as such. “ I’ve gotta hand it to you girls. If it weren’t you two, we would have been done for.” Zeko admitted that their crazy plan had worked after all. “ It’s more of your impressive flying skills that kept us alive, Zeko.” Sunset said modestly. She wasn’t really the type to boast over her accomplishments. However, her sense of hurrah quickly dissipated and was replaced with worry for her friends. They had been preoccupied with getting rid of the Tie fighters to the point that her friends were off her mind for a while. Now with the ties off their backs, the thought of her friends were slowly creeping their way back into her mind. “We’ll need to head back to the city and get my friends.” She said to the others. “Already on it, kid.” Zeko steered the Gauntlet away from the misty mountains towards the flat plain ahead where Canterlot laid. “We gotta hurry.” Came Karl’s voice from the back, “ It won’t be long before they’re back on our tail.” He said, referring to the Empire sending more Tie’s after them. After all, it wasn’t difficult to find them on a primitive planet like Utthar. It didn’t take long for them to get back on their original trajectory to the City mall. “Don’t worry Sunset.” Kara consoled her padawan, “We’ll get your friends out.” R5 responded to that with a series of beeps that sounded skeptical. He was concurred by Zeko, who equally sounded the same, “ I won’t be too sure about that.”

Zeko pointed out to the mall, which was surrounded by Imperial stormtroopers and gunships. They appeared to have particularly surrounded a group of adolescent girls with a lone boy standing out with them. They had their blasters trained at them, including the gunships with their front turrets pointed right at them. It was as almost as instantly Sunset realized that it was her FRIENDS in addition to Flash Sentry that was surrounded by the stormtroopers. Her heart immediately sank deeper than it has ever been. “That’s my Friends !!” She cried out. “ Jeez, someone’s in a bad position.” Zeko remarked sarcastically at their state, however he was greeted with dirty looks coming from both Kara and Sunset. Even R5 would have done so given the fact astromech don’t come with Sentient-like eyes. Realizing he may hit a raw nerve, Zeko tried to instead offer a solution, “I think I might have an idea on saving your friends,” he said as he turned on the ship’s intercom, connecting himself to Karl. “ Karl, you see those Imperial Gunships at our 12 O’Clock ?” “ I have them on my targeting scopes,” Came Karl’s voice through the intercom. “ Shimmer’s friends are down there. We’re going in for the scoop. Take out those gunships.” Zeko said through the intercom. “Affirmative on that.” Karl’s voice came. “ Once Karl takes out the gunship’s, you and I will go and get them on board.” Kara told Sunset, who simply nodded. Zeko goes in for the swoop at the mall.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash, thanks to her super speed brought Flash away from the imminent danger he was in to the rest of the girls. “You alright Flash ?” Applejack asked the shock stricken boy. “Never better, Applejack.” Flash panted out, still coming to terms with everything that happened so fast. “What are we going to do now ?” Fluttershy meekly asked. Before she could get an answer however, they were interrupted by a voice which sounded as if it was slightly muffled, “Hands up Savages !” The girls turned to the source of the voice only to find that they had been surrounded by what appeared to be at least a dozen of white armor cladded beings with some kind futuristic looking weapon pointed at them as a whole. They wore identical helmets, similar to the designs of their white armor. They donned similarly designed helmets, and as such, one couldn’t tell the difference between the other if they were placed side by side. The girls could only wonder what or who was behind the helmets.(For all they know, these beings could be Clones or droids) Rarity would offer a rather critical comment on the design of their armor if not for the fact they had never before seen firearms pointed at them. If that wasn’t enough, they had air support in the form of two gunships with a pair of half folded solar panels at its front beside the cockpit with its two front turrets pointed in their direction. In other words, they were cornered with nowhere to escape. “I won’t say it again, Hands Up !!” Came the trooper, who had an orange coloured shoulder pad which distinguished him from the rest, probably marking him as the leader, his tone even more agitated than before. “Alright calm down there fellas,” Applejack spoke to them in a calm but yet nervous tone, “We surrender.” Applejack raised her hands up, walking the talk. She was soon joined by the others including Rainbow Dash, who all raised their hands up. Even Rainbow knew any reckless heroic attempts would very likely backfire on them, with disastrous results. “Please, don’t hurt us.” Twilight naively said as she raised her hands up, her fear more evident than Applejack’s. [4]

Just then, a double red streak of what appeared to be laser fire, as if coming from nowhere hit the left gunship, taking both the troopers and girls by surprise. The streak of red laser did enough damage to it to send the gunship spiraling with a trail of smoke towards a nearby building, before exploding upon impact, sending shockwaves which could be felt on the ground. Almost immediately, the second gunship was struck with the same streak of laser fire, sending it crashing in flames. “What the heck is that ?!” Rainbow Dash pointed to the direction where the red streaks came from, where in its place was an oddly looking spaceship with peculiar wing designs.It was a simple deduction that the laser streaks came from the spaceship, which seemed to be heading to them specifically. “Who are they ?” Fluttershy asked meekly, referring to their unexpected ally. As the ship came closer, its cannons started firing again, this time, it fired on the ground troopers, taking a few out. They fired back with their blasters, however their shots did almost little to no damage towards the incoming ship. In the midst of the exchange of fire, some of the shots from the ship came dangerously close to the girls causing them to jolt backwards, not without yelping. “Take Cover !!!” Shouted the Trooper with the orange coloured patch to the others as they were heavily suppressed in terms of firepower by the star ship. At this point the ship,which was descending towards them, was randomly firing, and the girls were in the line of it ! “ I’m guessing foe.” Applejack said to Fluttershy’s initial question earlier.

“ Be Careful !!” Sunset cried out to the Gauntlet’s intercom to Karl, “ You might just hit my friends with your reckless shots” Her tone iced with controlled anger at how Karl was firing at the stormtroopers surrounding her friends. They were, most of the time in the line of fire, putting them in high risk of being struck by laser fire. “ I’m doing the best I can !” came Karl’s voice through the intercom. It didn’t matter though, as Zeko soon leveled out the ship, bringing it as close as possible to the ground for Sunset to disembark and get her friends onboard. With the Gauntlet almost leveled up, R5 urged Sunset and Kara to hurry up. The droid was supported by Zeko, “ R5’s right. It won’t be long before they find us.” He said. “You got it Captain,” Kara said to Zeko, referring to him as the pilot of the ship before turning to Sunset, “ Come on, let’s go get them.” Sunset and Kara got up from their seats and quickly headed to the back where the ramps are. Once at the boarding ramps, they waited for the doors to open and for the ramp to extend downwards. “ You ready ?” Kara asked. “Since when are we ?” Sunset saritically dismissed the question, to which Kara chuckled. Just then, the Ship’s doors opened, revealing the remaining stormtroopers and her outnumbered and scared friends as the boarding ramp extended downwards. ‘Showtime’ Sunset thought to herself.

As the strange ship leveled out, just merely a meter or two above the ground, the girls could only wait anxiously to see whoever it was, their savior or otherwise. “ I’d guess we’ll find out now.” Twilight remarked on Applejack’s earlier assertion, pointing out to the doors of the strange ship located at its side, which opened, followed by a ramp extending downwards, acting as a bridge between the ship and the ground below it. Appearing out of the ship, was a woman, cladded with what appears to be a simple smuggler attire( based on Rarity’s initial deduction) suited for easy and flexible movement. Her biological traits were similar to theirs with her skin color being somewhat similar to Applejack’s. Her brown coloured hair was ruggedly tucked up behind. She jumped off of the ship and landed on the ground with her two feet. She pulled out a pistol looking weapon from her holster on her left leg and started firing at the troopers. Red streaks of blaster fire came from her blaster and striked the white armor of one of the troopers, presumably killing him. What really caught their attention however, was the next person to appear from the ship. It was someone they never even at the slightest thought to see at the moment. “Sunset Shimmer !!” Pinkie Pie shouted out loud, perhaps the loudest she ever was. A mixture of happiness and confusion filled their hearts as they saw their long lost best friend appear from a spaceship. Like the woman she came with, she too was dressed in a similar manner, one Rarity found it a bit severe but she didn’t care. All that mattered now was that Sunset Shimmer is back, or at least a version of her.

Sunset was also equally happy to see her friends again, but she had to focus at hand. Like what Zeko had said, they didn’t have much time.They needed to hurry. She quickly made her way to her friends, taking out any stormtrooper that stood in her way thanks to her blaster. As soon as she made her way to her friends, the girls moved en bloc in an attempt to hug their beloved friend, “Sunset Darling, we have no idea..” Rarity was cut shot by Sunset who raised her arm at her stopping her from talking, “No time to explain. Get on the ship now !” The girls were perplexed over what Sunset had said. “But..” Twilight's sentence was quickly cut short as Sunset took out her blaster and fired at a stormtrooper behind them, sending a red streak of laser fire straight to the trooper’s chest. The girls had their jaws dropped instantly and were unable to process what just happened. ‘ Was this person their Sunset Shimmer ?’ They thought to themselves. Regardless of which, reality is that they were stuck in the middle of the crossfire between Sunset, her apparently new friend and the white armored troopers. For them, doing as she said seemed like the only option there was. They covered their heads( Rarity used her geode power which allowed her to manifest a diamond shield which she used to protect her from blaster fire,) as they dashed into the ship, with Sunset and Kara laying cover for them. They managed to take out a number of stormtroopers before they retreated back to the Gauntlet as the ramps recoiled back and the metallic sliding doors slided shut as soon as everyone was boarded.

“ Is everyone accounted for ?” Kara asked pantingly. Sunset turned to her friends, who were obviously petrified over what had just occurred, Fluttershy in particular looked as if she was about to throw up (Even Twilight to a certain extent did too). They were at a loss for words, trying to make sense of everything that occurred so quickly. She counted all six of them, seven if included the equally confused Flash Sentry. “ They are,” She responded to Kara in a similar manner. Boom ! They could hear the exploding sounds coming from outside, which was followed by a tremor that could be only felt coming from the floor of the ship. The tremors caused Rarity to almost lose her balance, mostly thanks to her high heels. “ It looks like they’ve found us.” Kara said, referring to the earlier noises caused by a new wave of Tie Fighters. Without saying it, she rushed to the cockpit, and was followed by Sunset. Applejack finally brought herself to ask the questions they desperately needed answers to. She extended her hand and grabbed Sunset by the hand as she followed her accomplice. “ Sunset honey, what’s going on here ?” She asked in a worried tone. “ I’ll explain later. Stay here and don’t touch anything.” Sunset stressed on the last part as she freed herself from Applejack’s grab and continued her path to the cockpit, leaving the girls and Flash back in the common area. “ Do you girls have any idea what’s happening right now ? Flash asked. Rainbow Dash turned to the popular guitar enthusiast , “ We're as clueless as you are Flash.”

“ Is everyone on board ?” Zeko asked as Sunset and Kara made their way to the cockpit. “ Yes.” Sunset answered him, “ Let’s get the heck out of here.” She continued “ With pleasure,” Zeko muttered as he and R5 pulled the Gauntlet up and flew away from the mall. Zeko steered the ship towards the sky, intending to fly out of the planet. “ Incoming !!” Kara pointed out towards a lone Tie Fighter that was on a collision course towards the Gauntlet. The lone fighter, set on a straight course towards the Gauntlet flew at high speed towards it. As it got closer, the Tie opened fire, firing green laser fire at its target. “ Strap yourselves in.” Zeko intoned to the others as he maneuvered the ship to a sudden left, away from the Tie fighter’s trajectory before making full spin, by which its tall upper fin rammed into the defenseless tie fighter which did not see it coming till it was too late, destroying it. It was a carefully calculated spin by Zeko. He had to wait for the perfect moment for which the Tie was at just enough range from the Gauntlet for the spin to do its trick. Many other factors had to be taken into consideration, such as engine power and stabilizers before spinning. As such, it was a maneuver that he used sparingly, in the pressing of circumstances.

Back in the Common area, The girls and Flash tumbled across from one part of the room to another as the Ship made a full 360 degrees spin. “ Is everyone okay ?” Applejack asked as she rubbed her hand on her aching forehead which had earlier made an impact on the metal walls of the ship. The pain stung her painfully but Applejack has been through worse pains before. “ What kind of horrible flying is that ??!” Rarity bellowed as she was pulled up by Rainbow Dash who lended a helping hand to the fashionista. “ I think I’m gonna be sick.” Twilight groaned as her face turned somewhat faintly greenish in color. “You’re not the only one.” Flash intoned, his expression also similar to Twilight’s. Meanwhile back in the cockpit, “ Looks like we have the Empire’s attention alright.” Sunset remarked about the suicidal Tie fighter that tried to attack them head on back in the cockpit. “No surprise there.” Zeko said before turning to R5, “ R5, increase power to the shields and thrusters.” It was followed by an affirming beep by the droid. “We’ve got a couple of Imperial gunships on our back.” Came Karl’s voice through the intercom. With a heavy pursuit behind them, he struggled to counter them. Just then, one of the gunships fired its front cannons at the gunner position, rendering the Gauntlet’s cannons stuck in one fixed position, unable to move. “Carabast,” Karl cursed quietly at the predicament he’s in.

“ Where is Sunset anyway ??” Rainbow Dash asked as she gripped her hand tightly on the nearest object she could find. The floor was shaking continuously as a result of the tremors caused by times the ship was hit by laser fire- one which seemed to get more frequent. “ If that’s even our Sunset Shimmer to begin with.” Applejack said as she attempted to comfort a terror stricken Fluttershy. It struck her so badly that she was unable to open her tightly shut eyes. Just then, the girls could hear footsteps coming from the back. They turned to the source of it, to find a man, with brown messy hair and fair skin appearing from the back alleyway. Curiously, this man had somewhat a similar skin and hair color to the girl that accompanied Sunset and was even dressed in a similar manner. His attire however, better suited his scruffy looks. The man didn’t notice the girls as he headed straight towards the same narrow room that Sunset disappeared into earlier. He was grumbling to himself- words which the rest couldn’t make out as he was mummering, before he took notice of the girls and stopped. They both exchanged glances for what seemed like minutes before Pinkie Pie found the words that the others were thinking.

“ Who are you ?” She asked. The man glanced at the others, thinking for a reply before he answered. “ Good question. If we ever survive this mess, I’ll tell you.” He snided before he continued to make his way to the small room Sunset entered, disappearing from their sight soon after. “ Did he just say IF we survive ?” Twilight asked, clearly rattled by what the stranger had said. “ I’ve just met your colorful friends back there.” Karl said to Sunset as he entered the cockpit. “ What are you doing here ? You’re supposed to be at the back manning the cannons !” Zeko lambasted. “ The cannon’s got hit. It’s stuck in the forward position !” He shouted back. “ This day just got much worse than it already is.” Kara groused. “Not if I have anything to say about that.” Zeko said as he attempted to steer clear of their pursuers. Just then, as the Ardennian attempted to shoot up into the sky steeply, the Gauntlet came to an abrupt stop, as if it was being held in some kind of invisible force, preventing its thrusters or engines from providing a forward thrust. In other words, the Gauntlet was stuck in mid air. Back in the cockpit, R5 beeps erratically about their situation, “ Yes I can see that !” Zeko frustratingly bellowed as he repeatedly pressed multiple buttons on the controls with his four arms to break free. “ What’s going on ?” Sunset asked, a sense of worry building up inside of her. “ We’re caught in a tractor beam lock by that Light Cruiser.” Kara said as she tried to break free of the lock by pushing buttons on the controls, pointing out to the Imperial cruiser [5] ahead. The Gauntlet seemed to be drawn closer and closer to the cruiser, as if it was pulling it.

“ This is not how I thought I'd go down.” Karl leaned back towards his chair, resigning himself to their predicament. “ There is NO way I’m going down like this !” Zeko frantically pressed random buttons across the panel with his four arms in an attempt to increase the thrusters, or literally anything to break free of the Tractor beam. It seemed like all hope was lost, Sunset’s efforts while noble was on the verge of being proven futile as now, they all were about to be captured. Just then, the Light Cruiser was suddenly struck by a streak of red laser fire that caused heavy damage to the Cruiser. The damage was enough for the Imperial Cruiser to lose its tractor beam lock on the Gauntlet, setting it free and restoring its flight controls. “ We’re free !” Zeko exclaimed happily, seeing all the controls coming back to life. “ LOOK !” Sunset pointed out a barrage of laser fire being fired towards the Cruiser, dealing severe damage to its mattle. The barrage came from a non-Imperial ship, descending at high speed from the sky. The starship, which had two wing-like retractable strike foils that was positioned in a backward facing manner, probably for easier and faster maneuverings. It appeared to have somewhat of a U shaped design. [6] It swooped in from above, dealing damage to the Light Cruiser before leveling out.

It wasn’t the only one. On the Gauntlet’s scanners, multiple small beeping dots appear, indicating the presence of more close by. “Scanners are picking up multiple non Imperial signatures,” Kara said as she tried to make sense of it. It wasn’t long before they got their chance to see them. Multiple ships of various classes and designs appeared on their flank, with at least three of them being similar to the first U-shaped transport shuttle that attacked the Light Cruiser earlier. The unexpected crowd opened fire on the Tie fighters and Gunships that were on their tail, destroying them all, relieving the intense pressure that was on their backs. The star ships, which upon a closer view seemed to have been heavily modified for quick agility, provided somewhat of an escort to the Gauntlet. “ Who are these guys ?” Sunset asked aloud. While she was grateful for their unexpected allies for saving them, it still begs the question as to what they are doing on a world which had not been heard of by the galaxy at large. From the looks of it the ships appeared to be either some kind of Rebel cell or pirates, she hoped it wasn’t the latter. “ Whoever they are, they’re my new best friends,” Zeko remarked about their unexpected allies. Just then, Karl, picked up an incoming transmission to the Gauntlet, it was coming from one of the shuttles outside, “ We’re being hailed.”

“ Put it through.” Kara said, to which he did. “ Looks like you were in a tight place back there, S-161 Gauntlet Stinger,” Came a raspy male voice from the ship’s comms on the controls. Sunset could tell from the voice, that it came from a middle aged male, possibly older, with a hoarse voice. “ Thanks for the assist back there. “ Kara said to the voice, appreciating their help in dealing with the Tie fighters. “ Don’t thank me yet.” The husky voice said, “ The Empire is quickly consolidating themselves and has blockaded the planet. There’s no escaping this world for now. I’m sending you coordinates. We'll meet in person over there.” The transmission then ended on his side. R5 then received a set of coordinates being sent to the Gauntlet. The droid then sets the new coordinates over to the navi computer to triangulate its location. “ They’ve sent us coordinates to some forest sanctuary far from here.” Zeko said as he looked to the path the navi computer had created. Sunset however, was skeptical about these ‘new’ friends, “ Can we trust them ?” She asked. “ It’s not like we have much of a choice here.” Karl responded.“ Still we must practice caution with our new allies.” Kara said, to a certain extent expressing Sunset’s hesitancy. It was a valid point that her padawan had raised. In this day and age, trustworthiness is scarce. “ Like us, they too might have an ulterior motive of coming all the way out here that doesn't necessarily align with ours.” She continued as the Gauntlet flew to their next destination.

Author's Note

Heck of a chapter this was. The Rainbooms have finally reunited with Sunset Shimmer but is it really the Sunset they're best friends with or a counterpart of her ? This chapter and the previous one dealing with the annexation are back-to-back, with the former focusing from the perspective of the Rainbooms and this chapter focusing on the Gauntlet crew's perspective before theirs paths cross into each other and become one in the second half of this chapter. But there is something more to this invasion, more sinister, which both master and apprentice could sense, unsettling them. What could this sinister motive be ?? Now, onto the references,
[1] The heavy armoured vehicles are being ferried by Gozanti class cruisers ( https://www.starwars.com/databank/imperial-gozanti-class-cruiser)
[2] A reference to the mountainous kingdom first introduced in the new MLP Gen 5 movie. the EQG version of the mountain range surrounds Canterlot City.
[3] This entire scene of losing the tie fighters through the fog covered mountainous range is based on a similar scene in the SW Rebels season 4 episode 3-In the Name of the Rebellion where the spectres attempt a similar move when outrunning the Imperials.
[4] This entire paragraph was taken from the end of the previous chapter to show how concurrent the story from the previous chapter takes place along the events of the current chapter before crossing paths.
[5] Just think of them as mini Star Destroyers. [ https://www.starwars.com/databank/imperial-light-cruiser]
[6] The ship in question is a U wing, first introduced in Rogue one and is used by the Rebels as a transport shuttle. (https://www.starwars.com/databank/u-wing)
Well that's all for the easter eggs. Check out the next chapter to find out who is this new seemingly unexpected ally that saved them and their ulterior motives for doing so, if any.

Chapter 15: The Original Rebel

Later,

“ We’re coming up to the coordinates they’ve sent us.” Zeko said as the Gauntlet arrived at the said location. This sanctuary they were at was beyond the Everfree forest, located on the other side of Mount Everhoof. Anything east of the tallest known mountain was alien to Sunset, whose furthest travel out of the City on land being Camp Everfree . As such, this place was as new to her as it was to the rest. The coordinates turned out to be an empty plain surrounded by trees with a river stream at its north. The plain turned out to be some sort of makeshift command base that was being set up by more off-worlders who had arrived earlier and were not a part of the group that saved them back at the City earlier. Sunset identified more U-Wings, a couple of medium sized freighter ships as the star ships present around the Camp. From the looks of it, it appeared even more likely to her that their saviors have plans of their own. “ They look like a bunch of guerilla fighters from the looks of it.” Karl remarked about the gritty and unorganized appearance of their camp. “ And it looks like they’re setting up base here.” Zeko further added. “ But why would they come to a world like mine ?” Sunset asked. As far as she knew, the rest of the larger galaxy was oblivious to the existence of her planet, let alone heard of it. “ I have a feeling all our questions will be answered soon.” Kara said in response to Sunset’s query. “ I’d better go tell my friends that we’ll be landing soon.” Sunset intoned as she got up from her seat and headed to the back as Zeko brought the Gauntlet down.

At the heat of the moment, Sunset had completely forgotten about her friends at the Common Area. ‘ They must be terrified of what's happening right now’ she thought to herself. Sure enough, as she climbed down to the Common area, she found them sitting by the smaller holotable commonly used by them to play dejarik [1], a popular holographic game during their free time. Upon hearing footsteps, the girl all turned their attention to her. A bit of Sunset felt a bit awkward seeing her friends again after such a long time. “ Uhh, We’re landing..” “Not so fast.” Rainbow Dash abruptly interrupted Sunset, “ How do we know that you’re our Sunset Shimmer ?” [2] She asked incredulously. Sunset understood the suspicion amongst them, heck even she would be saying the same thing if she was in their place. “ Guys it's me.” She said in an embraceful manner hoping to placate their suspicions . “ Oh yeah ? Prove it. Tell me something only our Sunset will know.” Pinkie said in a hilariously stern manner. There were many instances in which Sunset could pick but she eventually settled for the simple ones, “ Pinkie, you like to stuff gummy worms up your nose.” That was enough to convince Pinkie Pie and the others that she was indeed the Sunset Shimmer they know. “ SUNSET !!” They collectively said as they all rushed to their long lost friend, hugging as tightly as they could. For the first time in a long time, Sunset felt back at home again, at the comfort of the people she greatly cared for. “ Sunset !!!! '' Pinkie Pie screamed in happiness as she tightened her hug over her, “ Where have you been, are you alright ? Also, did you lose some weight ?”

“ One at a time Pinkie Pie,” Applejack calmed down the hyperactive girl as they relaxed their grip over Sunset, finally giving her some space to breathe. “ It's great to see you again Sugarcube.” She added. “ The feeling is mutual Applejack. I missed all of you girls too.” Sunset intoned back at her. “ Now with the pleasantries out of the way,” Rarity said with her usual over the top accent that Sunset was all too familiar with, “ What the heck is going on !!!” She ended her sentence in a panic stricken and an over dramatic manner. “ Perhaps the most pressing of all questions is where have you been all this while ?” Twilight Sparkle asked, trying to keep her calm and rational composure. The rest of the girls rallied behind her question. “ Twilight has a point. You just disappear out of nowhere and one day you just show up with a funny looking spaceship in the middle of an alien invasion ?” Flash Sentry concurred with Twilight. It was quite obvious that her friends, while joyful to see her again, were also wanting answers on her disappearance in the first place. “ Guys, I know you have a ton of questions for me and I have a lot of explaining to do but not now.” She sighed. “ What do you mean ?” Fluttershy queried further. From Sunset’s perspective, the little her friends knew about what's going on the better but at the same time, she couldn’t keep the truth from them forever. “ I don’t know how to explain it but you guys are gonna have to trust me on this.” She said vaguely.

There was a brief silence from the girls before Twilight took the step forward. She placed her hand onto Sunset’s shoulder, “ We trust you Sunset Shimmer. We’re just so happy to see you again.” “ Me too,” Sunset reciprocated. While the girls were talking, Flash was alerted to a series of beeping sounds coming from behind Sunset. “ Do you guys hear those strange beeping noises ?” He asked the others, secretly hoping that it was not his head playing tricks with him. “ I hear it too. What is that noise ??” Applejack coincided with Flash. Before Sunset could answer her question, the source of the beeping noises revealed himself, which turned out to be R5. Everyone else sans Sunset jerked backwards, with Flash screaming in a low pitch scream, bewildered in their perspective what appeared to be a strange looking garbage can-looking robot around the height of their waists. “ Is that a killer robot ??” Rainbow Dash irrationally speculated( Something not uncommon for her). R5, however, took the ‘killer robot’ tag as sort of a compliment as a bad ass astromech droid he had always desired to be. “ Calm down guys.” Sunset tried to placate their confusion, “ He means no harm. This is R5-D7.”

“ What exactly is he ?? Some kind of artificial Intelligence android ?” Twilight curiously asked as she meddled with her glasses. She found him rather peculiar and would love to experiment on it if given the chance to do so. “ He’s an astromech droid, Twilight. He’s responsible for keeping parts of this ship here in one piece.” Sunset answered her nerdy friend’s query. Her answer however, only drew more confused glances from the others. “ Uhh, it’s a he ??” Applejack said in an even more unsure tone. It wasn’t surprising considering her simple countryside upbringing. Even Fluttershy, who would normally be the first to open up to odd looking animals, was hesitating. It was perhaps only Twilight Sparkle who seemed interested in his ‘sentient-like’ personality despite being in all definition a non-living thing. “ What is he saying ?” Rarity asked in relation to his beepings. “ That’s his way of communicating. He’s saying hello.” Sunset said. “ Hello there to you too, friend.” Fluttershy finally opened up to him. “ Fascinating,” Twilight intoned. “ I heard screaming. Who was it ?” Came a male voice which the girls instantly recognised as belonging to the scruffy looking man earlier. True enough, he soon appeared from the cockpit. “ That would be me.” Flash raised in embarrassment, identifying himself as the one who screamed. “ Dude, that is not cool.” He intoned. “ Uhh, might I inquire as to who this new character is ?” Rarity asked with her usual sophisticated and convoluted accent that even impressed him. “ Oh, this is Karl.” Sunset introduced him to the girls before turning her head over to him, “ Karl, these are my friends.”

Karl merely nodded his head over to them, acknowledging their presence. Just then, he was followed by Kara who came to the common area. The girls and Flash Sentry instantly recognised her as Sunset’s accomplice who had rescued them earlier. “ Is everyone alright ?” She asked. “ They’re all fine, master.” Sunset offered. “ Master ?” Twilight questioned rather incredulously, “ Sunset, who is she ?”. The others turned to Sunset, waiting for her to provide an answer. “ This is Kara, She’s my master and I’m her apprentice,” Sunset said before turning to Kara, “ Kara, these are my friends, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity and Fluttershy.” She identified each and every one of them. “ Thanks for saving us earlier from those white soldiers earlier.” Twilight extended her gratitude and by extension the others, to Kara. “ Don’t mention it.” Kara said. “ And by the way, those guys earlier were called stormtroopers.” Karl identified the troopers who surrounded them earlier at the mall. “If I must add, their attires were kinda severe for my taste. I’m afraid the same could be said about you three too.” Rarity offered a critical comment about their outfits. The others glanced at her unsurprisingly of the fashionista’s priorities at times like this. “ I had to take it off my chest darlings.” She defended herself. “ Wait,” Rainbow Dash interjected, “ If you were at the back,” She pointed to Karl before pointing to Sunset and Kara, “And you two saved us, who was flying the Ship ? Don’t tell me it was the robot ?” She pointed to R5 incredulously. “ That would be me,” Came another voice from behind Kara, one which sounded like a male.

The girls turned to the source of the voice, who turned out to be Zeko. It was almost as immediately that the girls sans Sunset jerked backwards again and squealed loudly over the sight of four armed talking alien. The girls have been through and seen many unexplainable things these past few years but none of them could have prepared them for this moment. In their eyes, this single handedly trumps everything else they’ve been through, including the time where they became four legged equines after passing through a portal to Equestria in the middle of an uninhabited island. “ IS THAT A FREAKING ALIEN ??” Rainbow Dash shrieked out loud. “I think my entrance was too soon.” Zeko intoned. “ You can say that again.” Karl concurred. “Calm down guys,” Sunset attempted to calm her panic stricken friends, “ He means no harm. This here is Zeko Mulig. He’s the Captain and pilot of this ship.” “ I suppose you must be Sunset’s friends,” Zeko called out to the girls and Flash Sentry. “ How is it talking to us ?” Fluttershy said, trembling in fear. The meek and easily frightened girl could not even bring herself from hiding behind Applejack back to look him in the eye. “ Uh, because I’m a Sentient living being like you too, and I’m not some droid to be referred to as it.” Zeko said, slightly ruffled by Fluttershy's unintentional insult. “Forgive me for my friend here, She’s just a bit confused like the rest of us,” Twilight stood up to offer an apology to Zeko before getting curious about his appearance and origin, “May I ask which galaxy are you from ?” “ The same galaxy you’re standing on, kid.” The Ardennian answered. “ Now with that out of the way, I’d suggest we find out who our new friends are.” Kara said as she headed to the boarding ramps and pressed a button, unlocking it. “ What are you talking about ?” Applejack asked. “ You’ll see.” Sunset replied with a short yet vague answer.

A Few Moments Later,
Guerilla Rebels Makeshift base

The Ramp doors opened and extended downwards, revealing a large armed group of off-worlders setting up what appeared to be a makeshift camp. Their numbers could reach at least up to a hundred based on Sunset’s modest estimate. Some of them were in the midst of unloading crates(possibly carrying weapons, communication devices and supplies) from their freighter ships. Others were busy setting up various makeshift tents around the perimeter. They either didn’t care or took notice of the Gauntlet crew and the girls, as they were too preoccupied in setting up their base. “ Who are these people ?” Twilight asked in an apprehensive manner. She can’t be blamed for showing unease, or the girls in particular. After all, they just had their entire home world invaded by an Empire. As such, they had every reason to show reluctancy or to distrust any outsider. “ I’d guess we’re about to find out.” Sunset pointed out to a person who was approaching them. He might have been the first to take notice of their presence. Upon a closer look, Sunset managed to make the stranger’s appearance. He was a bald middle aged man, around his fifties and had brown coloured skin . He wore an extremely bulky gray coloured suit which seemed to be almost impenetrable to blaster fire. The suit was bulkiest at the torso part, with the legs and arms parts being considerably less bulkier. The armor at the torso also appeared to act as some sort of pressure suit.

As he came closer, Sunset noticed a visible scar on his face, one that ran through from his left eyebrow to his right cheek. His expression seemed stoic and at the same time, hardened. ‘Whoever this is must be an experienced soldier,’ Sunset thought. He was not alone, accompanying him was a guerrilla fighter armed with a standard blaster rifle. Sunset couldn’t make out the details of his face as he had it concealed till his nose with a red cloth. “ I see you’ve made some local friends.” The person remarked to the Gauntlet crew about the girls and Flash Sentry. The crew recognised his husky voice as the same that communicated with them earlier. As such, they quickly made the connection. “You can say that.” Karl intoned in a suspicious manner. Sensing the friction between them, the person sought to dispel them, “ Don’t worry I mean you guys no harm.” He said in a less huskier voice, “ The name’s Saw Gerrera.” He identified himself. Zeko and Karl were taken off guard upon hearing his name. “ Saw Gerrera ?” Zeko startled, as if he recognised the name, “ Leader of the Partisans, Saw Gerrera ? The very group that destroyed the Imperial Refinery on Umbara?” He blurted out. Sunset had no clue what Zeko was referring to but she could tell it was something big. Saw chuckled at the Ardennian’s enthusiasm, “ The last I checked.” “ You're a legend. I’ve heard stories of how you and your rebels freed Onderon from the Separatists despite being heavily outnumbered.” [3] Karl excitedly intoned. Gerrera’s expression then turned sour, “Only for the Empire to replace them.” He scoffed. “ You do have quite a reputation amongst the other Rebel Cells.” Kara said to the veteran fighter.

Just then, another member of his Partisans group with a very noticeable set of horns on her bald head( A Zabrak), with a ponytail at the back of her head being the only part with hair. Unlike the other , there was no cloth covering the face, allowing Sunset to recognise the Zabrak as a female soldier. With her blaster hanging from her belt, she held a datapad in her hands as she approached Gerrera and handed it over to him. Saw took a look on the datapad, before lifting his head back to them. “ I could say the same thing about you, Gauntlet cell.” He said before continuing, “ destroying that Concentration Camp on Kashyyyk and freeing the Wookiees, that’s pretty impressive.” He added, impressed with their skills. “Nice of you to take notice,” Kara intoned before proceeding to introduce the Gauntlet crew, “ This is Karl, Zeko and Sunset Shimmer.” “ These are my friends. We saved them from the nearby City.” Sunset spoke on behalf of her very clueless friends. Saw paid little attention to the girls and Flash before turning his attention back to the crew, “ What brings you here to this remote part of the galaxy ?” He asked them. “ Fulcrum noted that a large Imperial fleet was deployed to this region. We were sent to report on their activities and find out their intentions,” Karl answered him. “So you’re part of the Fulcrum Initiative too huh ?” Saw intoned. “ That and to save my friends from the impending invasion.” Sunset further added. “ No offense kid, but how’s that working out so far ?” Gerrera cynically pointed out. As much as Sunset wanted to snap back at Saw, she just couldn’t. Not because she felt intimidated by his hardened appearance but rather he was telling the truth. Not only did her plan to save friends and bring them off world failed, they all were now grounded on a planet that is being consolidated by the Empire. “ What brings your Partisans group here ?” Zeko asked, in trying to change the subject.

Saw pulled out a holo pad from his back and turned it on, displaying a holographic image of some kind of heavy drill-like machinery. “ Like your Fulcrum source, the Bothan spies had intercepted an Imperial transmission indicating a large fleet that was being deployed here. That wasn’t all, they also discovered tons of heavy machinery were being transported here.” He explained their reasons. Upon a closer look, Sunset recognised the machinery, only these seemed much bigger and more sophisticated, “ I’ve seen something similar like this on Kashyyyk.” She identified the machinery. “They're some kind of drills ?” Karl asked. “Not just any,” Saw continued, “ Deep Core drills. They’re used to drill deep into a planet’s core and extract resources, often damaging the surrounding environment in the process.” The mere mention of environmental destruction freaked Fluttershy to her core. “ So The Empire invaded this planet to exploit its natural resources.” Kara concluded based on Gererra’s intel. “ Rumor has it that the Empire is in the process of constructing some kind of superweapon [4]. My team and I came here hoping to find some sort of large construction site or a mining facility, not..” “An entire primitive world ?” Zeko interjected him. “You could say that.” Gerrera concurred. “Excuse me, forgive me for interrupting, but did you just call us primitive ?” Rarity grumbled.

The others, including Sunset, choose not to pay any attention to the fashionista’s grumbles. It was not uncommon of her to latch onto unimportant topics during a time of crisis. “ Whatever reason it is, their invasion of this planet is illegal. As far as I know, only the Senate has the power to annex a planet. They must have acted without their knowing.” Karl speculated. “Then we must gather proof of what the Empire did here and show it to them.” Kara intoned at him. “That shouldn’t be difficult, there’s like a ton of proof.” Sunset pointed out. The sight of Star Destroyers over the besieged City with more in orbit was more than enough evidence for them to showcase The Empire’s apparent unlawful actions. Besides there were at least hundreds of thousands of local witnesses, if not millions who had single handedly witnessed the Empire setting foot on their world. There were also her friends, who had a direct face off with stormtroopers, not to mention others who had direct contact. It seemed like they had an endless supply of evidence and witnesses to call. Gerrera, however, was indifferent to it. “I have no time for the politics of this war. Besides, the Senate has failed us before. I doubt it will be any different this time.” [5] The hardened veteran shrugged it off before answering his beeping comm link of his left hand. An alien language that Sunset had no understanding came from Saw’s comm link, with him replying with, “I’ll be there,” before turning to them, “ I’m afraid you’ll have to excuse me for now, there’s something that needs my attention. ” With that Gerrera excused himself from them as he left to deal with his apparent pressing matter, leaving behind only the female Zabrak Partisan soldier. “ It’s been a rough day for everyone, especially your friends,” She continued,” They’ll need time to process everything that has happened. You guys are free to set up camp here if you want.” The female Zabrak then left in the direction of Saw. “ As the spiky horn lady said, I think we have a lot of time for an explanation from you, Sunset.” Rainbow Dash said. “Alright,” Sunset sighed, “After all you guys deserve one.”

Later at Night,
Partisan Makeshift Base

It was a long night by the portable electric heater(which also served as a camplight) for the girls as Sunset Shimmer narrated the entire chain of events starting from the start- From her disturbing nightmares, to her a call from an Ancient temple where she met Kara and the rest, her apprenticeship under Kara and the circumstances that led her to return home. Sunset had also told in great detail about what she knew of the Jedi Order, the Galactic Empire and her brief life that she spent traveling through the stars, something that Twilight Sparkle, unsurprisingly, was fascinated to hear. She also couldn’t help herself but brag about her role during their mission on Kashyyyk where she had saved a group Wookiees from slavery in the hands of the Empire. Besides that, she had mentioned how her new space friends had made her feel like home despite Karl and Zeko’s cynicism(Which somehow made Pinkie Pie slightly jealous judging from her expression,) , how they worked as a team during times of crisis and their individual personal traits. The girls sat through the entire narration, only raising small questions occasionally before returning the floor over to Sunset, allowing her to finish her part of the story. It was long, exhausting and most importantly, increasingly harder to comprehend, as she explained, but the girls patiently listened till the end.

“Phew...” Sunset took a deep breath for a moment before continuing, “ So that’s basically the whole story.” She ended explaining to them “ No offense, but it’s a little hard for us to comprehend what you just told us.” Applejack admitted how far fetched the story might seem to them. It was something Sunset had expected, “ I know. I would too if I was in the same shoes as you,” She understood how hard it was to swallow it “ Perhaps the most important question is, why didn’t you come to us with these nightmare problems that have been troubling you in the first place ?” Twilight asked with concern for her friend. “Twilight’s right. We could have helped you get through with it like how you’ve helped us in the past.” Fluttershy concurred with her. There was a brief silence amongst them as Sunset thought hard of an answer. It was always moments like this that she couldn’t provide a reason despite having one in her mind. In other words, she had trouble expressing her reason through words. “ At first I thought they were the normal kind of nightmares but then it took a sinister tone, I just didn’t wanna involve you girls in it.” She reasoned. “ How Sinister are we talking about ?” Pinkie asked. “I'd rather not say, but it was bad.” Sunset said, not wanting to go any deeper to the topic of the underlying tone of her nightmares. She wasn’t about to tell about that fateful vision about her former evil-consumed self murdering them and destroying Equestria in the process, or that moment in the Temple, where an illusion that claimed to be the real Sunset Shimmer- the condescending, greedy, corrupted by anger and hate kind of person. “But darling, you still should have come to us. We would have found a way somehow to deal with this.” Rarity said.

Sunset could only remain silent as she heard Rarity politely admonishing her for not coming to them about her nightmares. ‘They have no idea what kind of nightmares it was,’ She thought to herself, and she wasn’t going to be the one who revealed it to them. “ So you’re some kind of Jedi now ?” Applejack asked in her usual country accent and was followed by Rainbow Dash’s more tomboyish voice, “ I’d never pegged you for the type to join a space cult ?”. “ Firstly, I’m more of a Jedi trainee actually,” Sunset clarified before turning to Rainbow Dash, “and the Jedi isn’t some kind of cult.” Her clarification did little to change their opinion, especially Rainbow Dash. “ Sounds exactly what a cultist would say.” She scoffed. “ I wouldn’t call it a cult per say, but more of a religiously fanatic group.” Rarity opined. “It’s neither of those. The Jedi Order were a group of Force Wielders who are the protectors of peace and justice throughout the galaxy. They stood for everything that was right. ” Sunset said. “That sounds like a very noble job and a very stressful one at the same time.” Fluttershy added. “ So the Force is different compared to Equestrian Magic ?” Twilight asked. “ I wouldn’t put it like that,” Sunset said before continuing, “ Equestrian Magic is merely an aspect of the Force. Our geodes, ponying up, it all boils down to the Force. Anything magical is actually.” “ So our geode powers and ponying up come from the Force. Does that mean we’re Force wielders too ?” Rainbow pointed out.

“ I'm sorry guys but it doesn’t work like that.” Sunset brushed off Rainbow Dash’s theory. “But you just said they’re the same thing.” Pinkie shot back. “I barely understand how it works, but you have to be naturally attuned to the Force to be considered Force sensitive.” Sunset said. Applejack’s green eyes narrowed, “What do you mean by naturally attuned ?” She asked in a confused tone. “It means you may only tap into the Force without the use of a third object.” Sunset deliberated further, “In other words, you must only rely on your spiritual connection to it. I’ll show you.” [6] Sunset took out her geode and handed it over to Fluttershy who was seated right next to her. Her eyes focused on the small group of pebbles situated close to Rarity’s legs. She closed her eyes, extended her right hand and reached out to the Force. The pebbles on the ground started to shake a little all at once before suddenly being lifted up into the air, as if something invisible was pulling it up. Aside from a short shriek let by Rarity, the others at disbelief as Sunset telekinetically held the pebbles mid air before releasing them back to the ground.

“Darling I must say, that was impressive.” Rarity hurrahed with fascination. “I could have done that too.” Twilight downplayed the act, her tone iced with a bit of envy. It wasn’t unusual for her to show a bit of jealousy but Twilight Sparkle soon shrugged off the feeling, instead being more happy for her friend instead. “ And that’s just a fraction of what a Jedi can do. Kara told me that more experienced Jedi used the Force to unlock many other abilities as well.” Sunset added. “ So Kara is like your master now in this Jedi stuff ?” Rainbow Dash pointed out. “ I guess you could say that.” Sunset turned her attention over to Rainbow, “After all, she did train to use the Force and the ways of the Jedi.” “So she’s a Jedi too ?” Applejack inquired further. “ Technically speaking, she’s not a fully fledged one, she never got a chance to be.” Sunset said, her ending took a more despondent tone. “ It was the Empire wasn’t it ?” Fluttershy innocently asked. Sunset took a deep breath before she spoke, “From what I know, The Empire saw the Jedi as a threat to their power and wiped them all out.” The girls gasped in horror upon hearing the mass genocide the Empire committed. “ Kara doesn’t like to talk about what happened. I think it’s still traumatizing for her.” Sunset further added. “Who wouldn’t be after seeing their own kind wiped out in front of them ?” Twilight added, “It’s the ultimate pain one could suffer.” “That’s just horrible to think of.” Rainbow Dash intoned. One could notice a drop tear coming from her cerise coloured eyes if theirs were sharp enough. “I know what you mean.” Sunset regarded Rainbow steadily, “Kara and I could very well the last remnants of the Jedi left.”

The girls sat in silence for only mere seconds, which seemed like hours due to the general gloomy mood they were in. They were soon interrupted by the familiar beeping noises of R5, who approached Sunset. “The trash can looking robot is here.” Rainbow sarcastically announced his arrival. “Don’t be so mean Dashie, he kinda looks futuristically cute to me.” Pinkie Pie said. R5 didn’t bother about the insults and instead passed a message to Sunset that Kara was calling to the river stream. “Thanks for telling me R5,” Sunset patted the astromech droid. “How is it again do you understand that thing ?” Applejack confusingly pointed out. From her perspective, perhaps shared by the others, R5 was communicating in a series of random beeping noises which by their standards, made no sense to them. Even Sunset felt that way when she first met R5. “He’s communicating to us in a language called Binary. It’s the language of the droids.” She clarified. “Droids have their own language too ?” Twilight asked. “Yea, they pretty much do.” Sunset answered Twilight’s question before getting up, “It appears that Kara has asked for me. You guys will have to excuse me.” “Yea sure, Sunny. Go ahead and hang out with your new pal.” Rainbow scoffed. “ Come on, Rainbow Dash, that was pretty childish of you” Rarity irked. Sunset chuckled upon the fact that despite her long absence from her home, nothing much had changed.(Apart from the fact Canterlot City had fallen to Imperial hands of course,) “Don’t worry guys, nobody has replaced anyone.” Sunset regarded them, “Anyways, I’ll have to go now. See you guys later.” Sunset excused herself from her friends as she followed R5.

Sunset didn’t get far from the group before she heard a voice calling out for her. She turned behind to find Flash Sentry running after her. As he approached her, Flash slowed down before coming to a complete stop, taking some time to gasp his breath from running earlier. Flash wasn’t exactly an athletic person as such, he ran out of breath quickly after a brief sprint. “Flash, is everything alright ?” Sunset asked the panting boy. “Yea, everything is fine.. Just never got the chance to talk personally.” Flash said as he caught his breath. “What’s there to talk about Flash ? I think I’ve told everyone else including you about everything that’s happening.” Sunset said to him. Flash however, didn’t seem to be convinced, “Come on Sunset Shimmer, We used to date. I know you well enough to know that you’re holding back something, something that’s quite obviously bothering you.” He intoned. “ I suppose you’re right,” Sunset sighed, not surprised that Flash, her former boyfriend, could see right through her. “Spill it then,” Flash said. Sunset took a deep breath before she spoke, “Those nightmares I had, they were about me killing them Flash.” Flash’s eyes widened, “Killing who ?” He asked, “ MY FRIENDS.” Sunset exclaimed mildly, her tone filled with emotion, “ I saw myself murdering not just the very girls I’ve come to care so much but also everyone else, Princess Twilight, Equestria, my schoolmates, I destroyed everything in these dreams. In these nightmares, I was one with the Dark Side, as if it was inseparable from me.”

Flash could watch in silence as Sunset was on the verge of tears, but at the same time, she was trying to fight it off. In all his time he had known Sunset Shimmer, even during her lowest point in her life, he had never seen her in a state like this before. He was speechless. “Tell me Flash, how could I possibly reveal this to them ? That in these dreams or visions, I mercilessly murdered them ?” Sunset said as she swept a single drop tear off her eyes. Sunset then tried to present herself in a more composed manner. “That person in your dreams isn’t you Sunset. I know that and I’m sure as hell they know that too.” Flash regarded Sunset steadily. “But one can’t deny at one point of time, I was capable of all that destruction and death. You know that as much as they do.” Sunset shot back. Flash admittedly had no answer to that. As much as he wanted to vehemently oppose her, he knew that at the same time Sunset was right. During the Fall Formal, she had caused so much destruction and raised a zombified army. While fortunately there hadn’t been any casualties, they would have been if Sunset was pushed just a bit more.

“These nightmares have shown that I harbor great fear of losing the people that I care about and I still do, and it is this fear that my nightmares are fueled by.” Sunset added. “What do you mean ?” Flash asked. “ Fear can cause one to do many things. Kara said if I let my fear of losing them control me, I would become their undoing. That’s why I left, to protect everyone here, and I obviously failed in that.” Sunset rued before continuing, “I thought by leaving I would keep the Empire from finding this place but look at where we are now, fugitives.” “That isn’t your fault.” Flash comforted her, “You heard what that Gerrera guy said, they’re here for our resources. It’s got nothing to do with you. In fact you saved us.” Flash had a point. From what Sunset had witnessed so far, The Imperial presence on her world seemed to be more interested in securing strategic flat plains and major cities in her mountainous world. It would seem that their actions would only concur Gerrera’s point that their interest on Utthar is for whatever it is that’s below their feet. Still, Sunset couldn’t shake off the cold feeling she felt when they passed the blockade, the feeling that her return home was something that was expected and intended, as if she was walking into a trap. Her thoughts were soon interrupted by R5’s incessant beeping noise urging her to end the conversation and follow him to Kara. Even Flash somewhat understood what the astromech droid was trying to say, “I suppose you better not keep your master waiting.” “Yea, I’d better get going. See you later, Flash Sentry.” Sunset said to Flash before taking off with R5. “Yea, you too.” Flash murmured to himself quietly as they headed away from him.

Author's Note

The Rebel cell that had saved our protagonists earlier has been identified in this chapter, and its no other than the infamous Partisans insurgent cell led by the equally notorious Saw Gerrera. ( https://www.starwars.com/databank/saw-gerrera). In fact, this chapter is named after aforementioned character, being the very first person to fight the Empire long before the others. Saw and his Partisans are well known for their brute and extreme tactics in fighting the Empire, often resulting in high civilian casualties, much to the distaste of the other rebel cells. Their solo war against the Empire has brought them to Sunset's besieged home world, believing that there's something more to this annexation that meets the eye.... Other than that, this chapter largely focuses on explanations/summaries on previous chapters and Sunset's reasoning on leaving her friends behind, or the reasons she was willing to share. Let's head to the easter eggs,
[1] Also known as Holographic chess, the game was first introduced in a New Hope where Chewbacca and C-3PO play on board the Falcon. It's also the same scene where Han Solo makes the famous line about Wookiees being able to rip a person's limbs off when enraged.
[2] A reference to how characters in the MLP world have their respective counterparts in the EQG world. Given that Sunset is originally from the pony world, her EQG counterpart is believed to have not existed, or so it was thought to be.
[3] A reference to the Onderon arc in season 5 of the Clone Wars, where Gererra was first introduced. The arc largely consists of four episodes and I personally recommend watching it as it's one of the best story arcs in the Clone wars. (https://www.starwars.com/databank/onderon-rebels)
[4] Gererra is obsessed in finding a supposed super weapon that he believes the Empire is building.(foreshadowing...)
[5] True to his character, Saw has a strong distaste for politics and diplomacy, which he believes had failed a long time ago.
[6] In other words, one must be born a Force-sensitive, to be naturally connected to it. The rest of the girls are using a third party (geodes) in utilising their magic. It's naturally flowing through their veins.
Well, that's all for now. Check out the following chapter to see what happens next.

Chapter 16: The Initiation

Over by the river stream, Sunset found Kara sitting with her knees on the ground and her legs being used to support her body. It was clear to Sunset that she was meditating, facing the rising sun appearing from the ranges of Mount Everhoof [1]. Sunset felt the ray of Sunlight from the Sun she’s so familiar with shining onto her face. It was a feeling she had not felt in a long time. “ R5, leave us please.” Kara said to her droid without turning her head. She had sensed their presence. The droid complied with her request and left both master and padawan to themselves. “You summoned me here ?” Sunset called out to her. “ Yes. How are your friends doing ?” She asked, still not facing her. “They’re still in shock over what happened but they’re slowly coming to terms with it.” Sunset said. “That’s good to hear,” Kara added, “Find your center.” She invited Sunset to meditate beside her. Sunset took her invitation, sitting on her left side in a similar manner as her. She closed her eyes, clearing her mind of all thoughts and distractions as she places her sole focus towards her connection to the Force. “Tell me, what do you feel ?” Kara coolly asked. Being seated in the middle of the forest, surrounded only by the best nature has to offer, with the morning sunlight shining right into her face and the noise of running water coming from the river stream, Sunset Shimmer could only think of one word to describe the state she was in, “Serenity.”

In response to her answer, Kara chanted a mantra that she would often take comfort in, “Emotion yet peace, ignorance yet knowledge, passion yet serenity, chaos yet harmony, there is no death, there is only the Force.” [2] “ It’s the Jedi Code,” Sunset identified the mantra. Kara opened her eyes, turned to her apprentice beside her and regarded her, “Impressive.Your mastery and connection to the Force is getting stronger, more focused.” “Well, I had a good master.” Sunset said in response to her master’s praise. “You were a good listener.” Kara quipped back in the war of praises between them. Sunset chose to ignore her master’s latest salvo and proceeded to ask Kara the reason she called her here. It surely wasn’t to trade praises to one another, “ Kara why did you call me here ?”. “Because I think you’re ready.” She answered briefly, much to Sunset’s confusion, “Ready for what ?” Kara didn’t answer that, instead she proceeded to pull out a cylindrical shaped object made out of some cool metal from her waist belt. Sunset’s eyes widened as she looked at the lightsaber Kara was holding.”Is that a lightsaber ?” She exclaimed. While she had previously trained with training sabers before, this is the first time she has witnessed a true Jedi lightsaber. “Indeed it is.” Kara said as she activated her saber, igniting a blue coloured saber. “A lightsaber is the only true weapon of a Jedi. I haven’t ignited mine in a long time.” Kara said as she swung her blue aura saber mid air. Sunset could hear the humming noise the lightsaber emitted as it was being swung in mid air. She also knew what it meant for her, “ Does this mean I’m gonna have my own lightsaber ?” She asked excitedly. Sunset Shimmer had always wanted to wield a baser of her own and it appeared that it was coming to be.

Kara extinguished her lightsaber, sending the blue saber back into the cylindrical object before turning her attention over to her padawan, “When I was around your age, there was this ritual called the Gathering. We were taken to this ancient world where each of us would face trials, each trial unique to that individual. When one passes that trial, that person would be entrusted with a Kyber Crystal, one that answers to him and that person would use that crystal his or hers own lightsaber.” Kara explained. “What’s a Kyber Crystal ?” Sunset asked. “A Kyber Crystal is what powers a Jedi lightsaber.” Kara answered her query, “They are a rare find and were considered sacred to the Jedi and many other religions.” She added. “So does this mean I’m getting my own lightsaber?” Sunset queried further, her interest in the subject gaining. Kara chuckled hearing Sunset’s growing enthusiasm. Her enthusiasm reminded her how she was when she obtained her Kyber crystal all those years ago as a youngling, “You have earned it.” She said to her padawan, “However, circumstances have changed. You won’t be able to build your own lightsaber the same way I did for mine. You’ll just have to settle for this instead.” Kara pulled out from her belt a broken in half, heavily burned out structure which appeared to be a lightsaber, one that was in every definition, shattered by a great deal, with the inside mechanics of the saber visible and badly burnt. It seemed like it was pulled out from a bad crash. Its appearance however, didn’t spoil the mood for Sunset Shimmer. For her, while the shattered,wrecked state of her supposed lightsaber did dampen her enthusiasm a little, it wasn’t nothing a little fixing won’t be able to remedy. The real question, however, was who did this lightsaber belong to ?? She found it a bit far fetched that Kara would just conveniently have a spare but ultimately shattered lightsaber. “Whose lightsaber is this ?” She asked as she extended her hand towards the broken saber.

As soon as she touched the saber, that was when she felt it. ‘It started off with a feeling of calmness and tranquility, at all times. The former wielder of the lightsaber was someone who always kept a cool mind even during times of distress. While she was unable to witness the bearer itself, she could feel his personality, a wise and sagacious being who cared very deeply for lifeforms, friend or foe. It then took a different turn, the feelings of war, pain, anguish, suffering and in all of that, the wielder shouldered on, bravely leading a legion of soldiers to which he commanded great respect and admiration from, into the battlefield. Despite war, Sunset felt the foundations of the wielder remained largely unchanged. He was still the kind hearted, wise being he was. As the fighting progressed, The wielder became even more upset and distrubed over the countless beings suffering around him. It even unsettled him more when he himself played a part in the anguish the galaxy was facing. Perhaps the most powerful feeling she felt was a sense of betrayal by the wielder, his final feeling he felt before he was killed by his own men, men who he had deeply cared for and fought side by side together for years. The feeling of treachery was strong and powerful enough to pull Sunset Shimmer out of her trance and back to reality. [4] She immediately pulled her hand off the wretched saber in a state of shock. “Kara, whose lightsaber is this ?” She exclaimed.

“It belonged to my master, Plo Koon.” Kara answered calmly yet her tone was filled with sadness. Even after so much time had passed, mentioning his name still brought pain.This was the first time Kara had mentioned her master, or anything about her past for that matter to Sunset. “What was he like ?” Sunset queried further. Kara thought about what she has to say about her former master. She rekindled memories of her time as a padawan and being trained under him, how he deeply cared for her and offered the wisest advice anyone could offer. “I was assigned to be his padawan in the later stages of the war. He was one of the most compassionate persons I’ve ever known, deeply cared for life forms, even the Clone soldiers he commandeered. He was also able to keep a calm mind even in the toughest of situations.” Kara detailed with her head down. Describing her master turned out to be even more painful to bear. Sunset didn’t need to use the Force to see that her master was in distress. She tried to conceal her facial expression from Sunset but her gloomy tone gave it out. She approached her master closer, hoping to provide some emotional comfort to her and to find out what happened that resulted in her apparent trauma, “What happened to him ?” At first, Kara couldn’t go through with telling more without collapsing to the ground without weeping. Her tear glands were already as full as it is as she held back her tears, trying to appear strong. “Battle’s leave scars, sometimes not ones you can see.” She said in a similar sad tone. Sunset however, wasn’t going to give up, “You can’t keep hiding them forever,” She intoned.

Kara glanced at Sunset, seeing her eyes filled with concern for her master. Recounting what happened that fateful day on Cato Neimoidia was no easy job. It was the day that everything changed for her, how her life just ended with a single snap. Sunset on the other hand, saw the look of nothing but pure grief and sadness in Kara’s eyes. She missed her master dearly and the trauma was eating her from within. Kara looked straight into her eyes for a moment, silent before she sighed, “I suppose you do have a point,” She then continued, “ It was at the end of the Clone Wars, The Separatist leadership was collapsing following the death of their leader, Count Dooku. Things were going well for us, with victory right around the corner. That’s when everything changed, and took us all off guard………..” As Kara narrated, Sunset placed her hand onto her hoping to witness what happened all those years ago…...

Cato Neimoidia
16 Years Ago,

“ Did you find the Jedi starfighters???” Wolffe asked the team of Clones listening to him. “ We found Plo Koon’s ship crashed over at the staging zone. He’s dead, Commander.” “As for the padawan, the Probe Droid found her crashed ship near the seas but the cockpit was empty and there was no sign of her body. ” said the Clone Captain who was in charge of confirming Kara’s death. “It’s possible she could have survived. Another Clone added. “ I want all of you to pull every resource available in finding her if she indeed survived. Kara Antra has been marked for termination by Order 66. Under this directive, any and all Jedi Leadership must be executed for treason against the Republic. So find her, and do it fast. Our orders come from the Supreme Chancellor himself.” Wolffe ordered. All of the clones present replied with a fanatical tone,“Sir ! Yes Sir !” to their Commander’s orders, clearing intending to follow them through. The troopers then disperse in groups bent on finding her. Meanwhile, from the safety of her hiding spot, Kara's heart had sunk in. She had for a brief moment hoped that Wolffe, being the second in command and her master’s most trusted officer, would not turn on the Jedi. But after hearing the briefing that had transpired below, all hopes were lost. Wolffe was like any other trooper now, bent on executing his orders. Kara did not have her questions answered but instead more questions were raised, and this too was echoed by R5, in his language of beeping. Nothing makes sense at all, she thought. One thing was clear, the disturbance she had felt earlier, it was the cries of every other Jedi across the galaxy before they too were coldly executed by their Clone troopers. Her thoughts are then interrupted when she notices some troopers getting in the gunships which lift up from the ground and turns on their searchlights to start an aerial sweep of the city for her. “ That’s not good”, she muttered.

“We need to go now,!” Kara said to her droid as they took cover from searchlights. With no shuttle to get off world, and the Clones actively hunting them, there was little choice ahead of them and Kara had to think fast. R5 had asked her their next step, the droid too knew the longer they were here, the more likely they were to get caught.Kara looked over the staging area where her master’s ship had earlier crashed into,coming up with a plan before turning her attention back to her droid, “Go to the impound lot and find us any type of ship so we can fly out of this planet. I’ll head over to the Staging Area, we’ll meet there.” R5 understood the first part easily but it was the second part that confused him the most. The astromech droid beeped out his concern of heading to the Staging zone with the Clones on the lookout for her. Kara sighed, “I know the risks, but I have to know if Master Plo survived.” As much as she already knew the answer, there was still some hope in her, however dim it may be that her master had survived the crash. She couldn’t take the word of the Clone that her master was dead. How could she trust their word after they turned on the both of them ? Time wasn’t on their side though, as Kara was immediately alerted to the sound of an approaching Gunship with searchlights beaming to the ground. “We’ll go now !” She exclaimed quietly to her droid.

It took a much longer time for Kara to make her way to the Staging Area which was only a straight path from where she was. At every corner, she had to seek cover from the patrolling Clone troopers and gunships hovering above to keep herself hidden and presumed dead. As she hid from the Clones policing the deserted, war torn streets of the bridge city they had just captured earlier, she could not help notice how their behavior had drastically changed. They had somehow lost their sense of personality, their individuality that set them apart from one another despite having exact genetic makeups. It was replaced with a stoic emotionless tone (Kara was unable to make out their expressions thanks to the helmets they wore but it is likely to share the same expression as their voices) as they aggressively hounded up the Neimodian prisoners of war. Even her former unit she served in, the Wolfpack battalion which had partaken in many humanitarian missions in the past were now expressionless and somewhat more aggressive in handling the prisoners of war. As Kara sneaked past them, she had failed to sense any form of hatred or malice revolving around the Clones, strange considering that they had turned on their Jedi leaders not so long ago. It was as if they were nothing more than programmed mindless droids carrying out their jobs. It bewildered her that the Clones were lacking any sort of darkness despite their betrayal. Granted, her senses were not attuned enough, but even her master, an experienced Jedi Master, had failed to sense their malice till it was too late. Kara decided to shrug off the questions she had at the back of her head, her priority for now was to survive and get off this rock.

As Kara made it to the wrecked and partially up in flames staging area, she quickly took cover behind one of the tall pillars. She had noticed two Clone troopers belonging to the 445th Battalion standing beside what appeared to be Master Plo’s crashed ship, with the clones obstructing her view of the cockpit. All Kara could see was her master’s severely damaged starship with a trail of smoke coming from it. Unbeknownst to her presence, the Clones checked out the Jedi Starship conversing amongst themselves, allowing Kara to eavesdrop. “ Plo Koon is dead alright. All we need now is for the padawan’s death to be confirmed.” Spoke the first Clone. “ I heard that Chancellor Palpatine is giving a special address to the Senate soon.” Said the second in changing the subject. “ What do you think it's about ?” Asked the first Clone, who seemed interested. “With General Grievous defeated and the Jedi gone, I guess it’s about the end of the war.” The Second Clone explained. This seemed to have garnered enthusiastic response from his brother, “ It’s hard to believe after three long years of fighting, the war is finally over.”

Kara’s heart sunk into despair upon hearing the Clones repeating what Wolffe had said earlier: that Master Plo is dead. Still, she couldn’t come to terms with it despite seeing her master’s crashed starfighter right with her own two eyes. But first, she needed to get past the Clones between them. It was quite clear at this point that they weren’t planning on moving on from the Crash site. She slightly extended her hand and used the Force to create a distracting noise, one in the form of pushing a couple of crumbled debris parts which succeeded in getting the attention of the troopers. “What was that ?” The first Clone asked, “ We better check it out.” The second Clone signaled his brother to the source where the sound had come from. With the troopers out of the way, Kara finally got a good look at the cockpit, only to find her master’s dead, burnt body lying lifeless on the cockpit seat. She got out from her hiding spot and rushed to her Plo Koon’s dead body, her tear glands about to explode. Kara ran to the side of her fallen master. Upon a closer view, she found his upper oranged coloured forehead badly burnt as a result of the ship exploding and crashing. Some parts of the ship had even pierced through his body as a result of the impact. Any slight hope she had that her master had survived quickly dissipated upon seeing his badly disfigured lifeless body. Even if he had survived, the severe injuries would have killed him. That wasn’t all, his breathing which he almost never took off was shattered, with smaller bits pierced through his now exposed face. Even if he miraculously survived his injuries, breathing without his mask in a Type one atmosphere(which was poisonous to the Kel Dor species) would have certainly killed him. Seeing the deceased body of her master was enough for Kara to completely break down. “Master Plo, master wake up, WAKE UP !!” She wept continuously as she vigorously shook Plo Koon’s dead body. “I’m lost without you.” Kara depressingly resigned to her master’s fate, weeping about her predicament. She was alone, no friends, no family and now, no mentor. She was at rock bottom.

As she weeped, Kara’s comm link on her left hand began to beep. She answered the incoming transmission, “You found a ship R5 ?” R5’s beeped in the affirmative to her question. “Good job buddy,” Kara sniveled, “ trace my coordinates and bring the ship here.” She then ended the transmission. Just then, she found her master’s damaged lightsaber hanging from his belt. The crystal that once powered the saber was broken to two, as such, it lost its once blue luminosity. Kara reached out and grabbed the broken lightsaber, “ I will never forget you, Master Plo.” She said as she pulled out the saber and placed it inside her vest. The damaged saber was now her only remembrance of her master. As she was about to get up and leave for the ship, she heard the sound of a couple of blasters being pointed right to her. “Hands up, Jedi Scum !!” Bellowed the voice of the first Clone. The clones must have returned back to the crash after checking out the ‘distraction’. “Contact Commander Wolfe. Inform him that we have apprehended the padawan.” The clone trooper further intoned to his brother. Kara knew all too well it would all be over if her presence was alerted to the others, especially Wollfe. In a desperate attempt, she tried to plead with the troopers behind her, “ Please troopers, you don’t want to do this.”

“Shut up, traitor !” One of them demanded her. Out of options, Kara knew there was only one way left, and it was one that she had hoped to have avoided. With a heavy heart, her hand reached out to her lightsaber. “I’m so sorry,” She muttered quietly to the troopers as she ignited her saber and swiftly swung back, slicing the Clones, who had little to to react, on their white armored chests, cutting through it and effectively killing them. The Clones fell to the ground, dead and with no outgoing transmission made. Kara extinguished her lightsaber, her heart now flooded with guilt. This was the first time she had killed, not to mention it was the life of those who had fought side by side with. The toll of taking one’s life was too much for the young teen to bear, she collapsed to the ground weeping. There wasn’t much time though, as soon she saw some kind of luxurious looking Neimoidian starship landing not far from her. Just then, her comm link beeped again, with R5 on the other side calling her to get onboard. Wasting no time, Kara quickly boarded the ship and headed to the cockpit. With Kara onboard, R5 immediately pulled up the boarding ramps and piloted the ship away. “Great job, R5,I’ll take it from here,” Kara said to her droid as she took over the controls of the ship. She steered the ship towards space, intending to jump into hyperspace. “Jam their scanners and patch us through to the Jedi frequency.” Kara intoned. R5, plugged into the ship’s computer scrambled its signatured so that it would not be detected by Republic Venator destroyers in orbit. R5 also patched through to the Jedi comm frequencies but was greeted with only static coming from all channels. “There’s nothing on the comms,” Kara remarked before turning to R5, “ Keep trying until you get a response. Till then, I’ll set course for the Jedi Temple.” R5 opined through beeping that it was a bad idea, especially after the massacre that just happened. “I know it's risky but I need answers and if anyone else has survived,” Kara said as she set the course for the only place she could call home. With a course set, she made the jump into hyperspace. [5]

…..“And that’s what happened on that day,” the present Kara finished narrating the events of Order 66. Sunset released her hand from Kara's hand, her eyes filled with sadness and pity for having witnessed her master’s past horror. “I’m sorry, but I saw what happened that day through my geode psychometry powers.” She apologized to Kara for invading her privacy. Kara turned to Sunset, her expression was far from being mad or anything, “I know.” She muttered quietly to her, “ It relieves a bit of the pain from narrating it.” She added. “It must be hard having to see your master killed in front of your own eyes.” Sunset said. While Sunset had her differences with her former mentor, Princess Celestia, she could always count on her for advice and guidance and not to mention there were also her friends she could count on. Kara never had that luxury in perhaps the most pivotal moments of her life, she had no one. Nobody to seek advice for the most of her adolescent life. “You know, despite the many flaws of the Jedi Order, they were the closest I ever had to a family. After that day, I had no one, no friends, no family, nobody.” Kara said. “ At least you still have us. That’s something.” Sunset hoped to placate Kara’s grief. ‘Ironic’ Kara thought to herself. Now the padawan was comforting the master from grief. While a lot of things had changed in the last 16 years, the trauma of having her master being shot down in front of her own two eyes was still hard to come to terms with. Sure, she now has friends who cared about her and vice versa and a cause to fight for, but the bond, the spark she once shared with her master was not there. It wasn’t something that could not be easily replaced.

Kara decided to bury her thoughts(and trauma) of losing her master deep within her and turned her focus instead to Sunset’s lightsaber, “Forget about me, it’s time you build your own lightsaber with this.” She handed her padawan the remains of her master’s former lightsaber. “ But I don’t have a Kyber Crystal.” Sunset pointed out, confused over how she’s supposed to construct a lightsaber without its most essential element. Kara regarded her steadily, “You have everything you need to construct your lightsaber.” “What’s that supposed to mean ?” Sunset blurted out, confused over Kara’s vague statement. “You know what I mean.” Kara pointed out to her. Sunset thought hard on what her master meant. It was only when she looked down to her neck that Sunset realized what she meant. “My geode ?” She asked as she held her magical geode locker that she, like the rest of her friends, were gifted during their time at Camp Everfree. “Indeed,” Kara replied, impressed at the short time it took for her to figure it out. “ Your geode is actually a Kyber Crystal-an ancient one that is.” She elaborated further.

The revelation that Sunset Shimmer had been wearing a kyber crystal, not to mention an ancient one as a locket was too heavy for her to comprehend easily. At least her questions of the strange nature of the geodes have finally been answered after all this while. She had theorized all kinds of assumptions with the most prevalent one being the geodes had been infused with Equestrian Magic or at least originated from Equestria. Of course all her theories were now proven to be completely wrong. “ You’re saying that I’ve been wearing a Kyber crystal the whole time ?” She asked out loud. “Correct. It was always meant to be that you and your friends found the crystals. They wanted you too.” Kara said. Sunset’s eyes widened at this revelation, “ I was meant to ? You’re saying that I was destined to find it ?” Kara regarded Sunset, “The Force works in many mysterious ways, sometimes no in ways that we can comprehend so easily.” “But what about our powers and ponying up ?” Sunset queried further. “Sunset, I must admit that while the purpose as to your friends and their unique powers granted by these geodes eludes me, all I know is that this particular geode calls to you, and it was for this very reason you were meant to have it.” Kara said. Sunset accepted that it was her destiny to have been given her geode for this very moment. However, she wasn’t sure if she was ready for it. “How do I build my lightsaber with it ?” She asked. “Just remember everything I taught you.” Kara answered her question cooly, her tone nothing short of serene.

Sunset took out her geode locket and held it in the palm of her hand. Through the Force, she could feel the energy within her geode. It was calling out to her, more importantly, it was somewhat drawn towards the lightsaber that lay in front of her. It was as if her geode somehow had a mind of its own, seeking to be a part of the lightsaber but at the same time, it was calling out to her, it wanted her to wield the saber. Sunset found it hard to explain or put into words the feeling she felt but she decided to go with it anyway. Sunset closed her eyes, clearing her mind of any distracting thoughts as she channeled her focus towards her geode. She used the Force to levitate her geode mid air, bringing it to the same level as her head, her concentration undisturbed and strengthened by the geode. The metal encase of her locket opened up, revealing the bright amarantish glowing Kyber Crystal geode within it. Sunset could sing a sort of faint humming noise that sounded like a voice coming from the geode, as if it was being freed. As the former locket of her slowly descended to the ground, Sunset extended her field of concentration towards the lightsaber parts, lifting them up. Sunset could tell she was doing everything right, it was a feeling she felt.

“ Remember Sunset,” Kara gently reminded her padawan, “clear your mind and concentrate. The design will become clear.” Sunset heard her master’s word but chose not to reply. Doing so would only break her concentration-something Kara knew. Just then, she saw a design in her mind, blurry at first but as her concentration strengthened, so did the image become clearer, revealing an outline of constructing a lightsaber. She could see an image of a lightsaber in her head, and the parts that needed to be fitted to be completed. With a design now clear in her mind, Sunset moved the respective parts of the lightsaber parts in front of her to their places. As she assembled her lightsaber using the Force, Kara sat by and watched her padawan undertake a test that she had once undertaken many years ago under vastly different circumstances. She had hoped for Sunset to have gone through the same trials and rituals she went through as a youngling, but perhaps this is what the Force has willed for her, for her to construct her lightsaber using a crystal that she came to obtain in a different manner than hers. ‘Maybe it was destined to be this way for her,’ Kara thought. Sunset almost completes assembling her lightsaber, but it wasn’t quite complete yet without its soul, the geode which will bring life to it. With the Force guiding her actions, she moved the geode to the inner core of the saber, completing the final touch of her now fully assembled lightsaber. [6]

With the final touch added, Sunset releases her concentration and opened her eyes, finding the assembled and fully restored lightsaber at the palm of her hands, ready to be ignited. “It's..it’s done.” Sunset stummered at the sight of her completed saber. “It’s easy once you clear your mind of distractions,” Kara said before turning her attention to the lightsaber on her palms, “Now for the final step, ignite it.” Kara placed her hand on the lightsaber, showing Sunset Shimmer the button to ignite her saber . Sunset nodded before pulling herself up and extended her hand forward, with the lightsaber firmly held. “This is it,” She muttered before pressing the button. Once pressed, the emitter of the lightsaber opened up, shooting up a yellow coloured plasma blade giving out a humming sound as Sunset swung her new saber left and right, clearly excited about her very own constructed lightsaber. Kara nostalgically watched her padawan’s enthusiastic expression of wielding her own saber, reminiscing of her own enthusiasm during the moment when she built her own lightsaber all those years ago. It was a feeling that every Jedi would remember. “Careful,” She warned Sunset, “You don’t wanna cut your hand off with it.” “I think I can handle myself.” Sunset jokingly shrugged it off.

“So confident you say, ?” Kara said to her as she pulled herself up. Sunset stopped swinging her lightsaber and turned her attention to what her master had to say next, “ Let’s test that shall we ?” Sunset’s eyes widened, “ You want a lightsaber duel ? An actual lightsaber duel ?”, her tone filled with astonishment. “That’s what you always wanted right ? Unless you’re not ready,” Kara shot back at Sunset’s surprised expression with a rhetorical question. Sunset’s expression then turned stern. “I’m ready,” She said with a streak of determination in her voice, the same tone Kara was hoping to hear. She proceeded to pull out her lightsaber that was hanging off her waist belt and ignited her blue bladed lightsaber. As the blue blade shot up, Sunset positioned herself into ready position, her hand firmly gripped on the saber’s handgrip, all set for her master to strike. “The blades will be drawn to each other,” Kara said before making the first strike, striking high. Seeing the incoming strike, Sunset proceeded to block high, causing the two lightsabers, yellow and blue, to intersect. As the blades intersected, Sunset felt a drag coming from her lightsaber as if it was getting heavier. Sunset struggled to maintain her block due the blade dragging her down, even more so when intersecting with Kara’s. “It’s heavier than I thought.” She said as she grappled. “Energy constantly flows through the crystal,”Kara remarked, “ you’re not fighting a simple blade as much as you’re directing a current of power, your thoughts, emotions, they flow through the crystals as well and become part of the lightsaber.”

Kara then relaxed her strike, giving some breathing space to her apprentice. “We’ll try again,” She intoned before proceeding to another strike in the middle. Sunset moved to counteract the strike, blocking the strike and causing the blades to intersect again. This time however, Sunset had a better grasp of the lightsaber and wasn’t struggling to keep its hold. While the lightsaber was still dragging her down, her grip on it was strengthened, giving her the upper hand. “That saber is heavy, old, the crystal, even older. Respect their strength.” Kara said before suddenly abruptly letting go for her strike, causing Sunset to stumble forward for a moment, but she quickly brought herself up, just in time to block another parry from Kara, who unlike last time, was not holding back. There was no telling, no warning, nothing for incoming strikes. Sunset had to keep up with the more often and unpredictable strikes. “The crystal listened to you before, now it's time you listen to it instead.” Kara said as she relaxed the tempo of their parrying, albeit for a short moment before pushing on.

Initially struggling to keep up with the barrage of strikes being thrown at her by Kara Sunset continued to hold on to her strikes, blocking every strike by her master, each time she blocked a charge, her strength and skills with the saber increased, her connection to the crystal was getting deeper, as if her thoughts were becoming attuned to the crystal. The Saber, unlike before, was less heavier, providing her more flexibility to swing the lightsaber and neutralize every strike by Kara. She could feel the Force within her flowing through her veins and reaching the lightsaber she held as her momentum increased. This time, she preserved her energy wisely, not wanting to burn out fast and lose like the last time. “The lightsaber is lighter than before.” She said to her master as they parried. “Good,” Kara replied before continuing, “ You’re connecting to it, it's becoming a part of you. The question is, can you use that to your advantage ?” Sunset Shimmer was determined to prove the affirmative, only not by words but by her actions instead. Counter Blocking a final blow from her, Sunset used her saber to push Kara off from her, creating some distance between the both of them. Seizing the opportunity, Sunset went on the offensive, charging towards her master and unleashing strike after strike. Kara was slightly taken aback by the sudden offensive however, she parried it off expertly. Sunset was careful not to use all of her momentum at one go, it was crucial that she did so, to keep fatigue from setting in. Just then, Kara abruptly dodged to one side just as Sunset realized that she had overextended. Kara quickly took the moment to reassert herself over her padawan but Sunset saw it coming. She had expected it. Kara swung her saber to her padawan’s chest but Sunset quickly countered it before sending the blue lightsaber back to her master. Sunset then took charge, striking Kara, her yellow blade was caught with Kara’s blue lightsaber. Sunset increased her counter and leaned in.

‘ This is the moment,’ Sunset said to herself within. She continued leaning into an already pressured Kara. She knew well that her master wasn’t going to be on the defensive for long. Kara proved Sunset right by extending her arms forward, using her saber to shove Sunset off her charge. She then proceeded to launch a strike of her own. But as she swung her saber upwards, she inadvertently exploded her abdomen, and Sunset seized the moment. She extended her left leg forward in a diagonal manner and kicked off Kara from her charge. It was enough to send her falling to the ground, letting go of her lightsaber in process which fell not far from but far enough to be out of her arm’s reach. The blue bladed lightsaber immediately extinguished itself as soon as it hit the ground. Kara was about to use the Force to pull her lightsaber back to her hand when she found a yellow bladed lightsaber being pointed directly at her by a victorious Sunset Shimmer. [7]

“You have been beaten, master.” Sunset declared with a triumphant, unbeaten look on her face. “It appears I have,” Kara quickly resigned herself to her padawan’s victory in taking her down. Kara didn’t feel defeated. Instead she felt nothing but pride in her padawan. Sunset extinguished her lightsaber and extended her hand forward for Kara to pull herself up, which she did. “I believe a congratulatory wish is in order.” Kara said as she pulled herself back up with the help of Sunset. “Only because of your training, did I succeed, Kara.” Sunset said, in trying to sound modest. “I merely showed you the door. It was up to you whether to open it or not.” Kara metaphorically added. Sunset was about to open her mouth before she was interrupted by a familiar voice calling out from behind, “ Looks like someone’s got her own laser sword at last !” Sunset turned around to find Karl approaching them. “How long have you been watching us ?” Kara queried Karl as he came up to them. “Long enough to see your butt get kicked.” Karl offered a sarcastic answer. “So what do you think of my skills ?” Sunset asked in a boasting manner. Karl turned his attention over to Sunset and regarded her steadily, “ Just be careful not to lose your hand with that thing. It’s hard to find a prosthetic out here.”, [8] He said crudely. Sunset cursed Karl under her breath in frustration. She was well capable of handling herself and wielding the lightsaber in a safe manner. Karl paid no attention to Sunset’s annoyed look and instead turned it over to Kara, “ Before I forget, Gerrera has called you guys over to his Command tent.” “What does he want with us ?” Sunset asked, her interest now shifted to the subject at hand.

“ Why don’t you go and find out ?” Kara said to Sunset, “We’ll be right behind you.” “ If you say so,” Sunset took her master’s word and proceeded to head for the Command tent alone. Kara watched Sunset walk off with pride and satisfaction, at how her padawan matured greatly from the moment she first met her not so long ago. ‘Sunset is on a path to become a great Jedi,’ She said to herself. “I’ve reported back to Rebel Intelligence about our mission.” Karl said to her, unaware of what she was thinking. “ That’s good to know,” Kara replied back without making eye contact, clearly distracted by her own thoughts to Karl. It was quite obvious to him what was bothering her. “ It’s been a while since you took out your lightsaber.” He spoke, attracting her attention at last. “Things have changed.” Kara offered a brief reply, to which Karl responded with, “You mean Sunset Shimmer ?” Kara couldn’t deny that. Sunset reminded her greatly of how she was during her youthful days, full of energy and always optimistic of the future. It was a trait that Kara very much saw in Sunset and unlike her, who had those traits replaced with hopelessness and the grim reality of war, Sunset’s was still going strong. She still kept hope that things could change for the better, even when in the grimmest of all situations. It was like she was a beacon of light in a void of darkness. “I..don’t know how to explain it...but.. she reminds me of how I was when I was younger. I lost my way once, I’m not gonna let the same thing happen to her.” Kara said. “I’m sure you won’t” Karl offered a brief but yet powerful remark back at her.

Karl and Kara eventually caught up to Sunset as they headed to the Command tent situated at the center of the makeshift Partisan base. Guarding the narrow entrance was a blaster rifle armed Aqualish Partisan soldier. The Aqualish trooper, with his enormous blubonic black eyes gazed at them for what seemed like a moment before allowing them to pass into the Command Tent. The tent was filled with at least a dozen other Partisan troopers that have encircled a white coloured Astromech droid while projecting a holographic image of some kind of Dome. Saw was situated at the center of the group, closest to the droid as he seemed to be directing his men’s attention over to the holographic image as part of some kind of planning.Beside him was the female Zabrak soldier from earlier. The trio squeezed their way through the troopers to the front, finding Zeko and R5. The astromech droid noticed their presence and called out to the Ardennian in his usual beeping manner. “Took you guys long enough.” Zeko said to them. “Why, what’s going on here ?” Sunset asked in an unsure tone. “Good Question,” Saw replied to her query before continuing, “I figured you people might wanna hear this.” “Let’s hear it then,” Kara called on Gerrera to explain further. “ My spies have returned from the local settlement after some reconnaissance to see what we’re up against.” Saw said before being interrupted by Sunset, “You mean Canterlot City ?” Saw turned his attention to the bacon coloured haired girl, “If that’s what it’s called,” concurring with her before drawing their attention over to the massive mushroom shaped dome looking holographic image projected by the droid, “This is what we found.”

“Is that what I think it is ?” Karl said, instantly recognising the dome-shaped structure. “It is,” Saw agreed with Karl before continuing, “ It’s an Imperial Administration Complex [9]. It’s located at the eastern fridges of the City, away from the preexisting structures. The Empire established it as soon as they seized the planet.” Sunset’s eyes widened over the ridiculously massive Imperial Complex. It’s literally impossible to construct a feit of that size in the very short time the Empire captured the City. “How did the Imperials construct something as large as that in that short period ?” She asked. “That’s cause it wasn’t,” Gerrera debunked her question, “This type of mobile ready- made facility is often sent to newly occupied systems to establish their headquarters.” “So it looks like the Empire isn’t planning on leaving this place.” Zeko scoffed. “I don’t think it was ever in their itinerary in the first place.” The Zabrak female trooper intoned. Kara turned her attention over to Gerrera, “ So what’s your plan?” You’re gonna blow it up ?” She asked “Not quite. My spies brought back intel about sensitive information regarding the Empire’s plans for this world being kept in this part of the Complex.” The holographic image zoomed in towards a portion of the base one which seemed to be heavily defended, indicated by multiple red dots indicating stormtrooper presence in the area.

“ The Partisans and I intend to stage an infiltration mission to the Complex and get this information. That way we can know the real purpose of the Empire annexing this world.” Saw explained further. “Why do you need us for then ?” Karl pointed out. From the stories he’s heard, Saw’s own band was more than enough to stage a mission of this magnitude without much help, contributing to their experience in guerrilla warfare. “That’s not all, my spies also brought intel about the local inhabitants of the town being detained at this part of the Facility.” Saw pointed out to a different part of the mushroom shaped structure, the holographic image zoomed in further to the particular section, located exactly opposite the site Saw had pointed out earlier for he and his men to infiltrate, with the holographic image showing a large prison being housed inside this section of the Complex. Like the earlier portion, this part of the base was also guarded with at least a pair of AT-ST walkers, Anti-Air cannons, E-Web cannons and multiple stormtroopers. “You’re saying that Canterlot residents are being imprisoned there ?” Sunset blurted out, her face showing concern for her people. While her friends and Flash were safe, everyone else wasn’t and was now incarcerated in some Imperial detention facility. Their predicament was somewhat like the Wookiees.

“That’s right,” Saw said to Sunset, “The City has been completely cleared with the residents being detained for the ‘Imperialisation’ process to begin.” “What do you mean by that ?” Sunset queried further. The term imperialisation unnerved her. “In simple terms, it’s a brainwashing session, to turn them into loyal non-questioning subjects.” The female Zabrak trooper answered on Gerrera’s behalf. Sunset’s worst fears had been confirmed. “We have to save them.” Sunset pleaded. There was no way she was going to allow her own people to be indoctrinated by propaganda. “So you want us to break out the locals ?” Kara asked Saw. She already knew the answer though. It was quite clear of his intentions of revealing it to them. “Correct. After all, you guys seem to have taken an interest in the people here” Saw continued, “Besides, you get to save an entire native population from being indoctrinated by lies and half truths and show them the true colours of the Empire. That’s more people added to our cause.”

“Can’t say I disagree with you.” Zeko saw the point Gererra was trying to make. “There’s still one problem though,” Karl pointed out the heavy defenses surrounding the portion that housed the Detention facility., “ We’re dealing with heavy defenses. AT-ST walkers, E Web and Anti Air cannons, not to mention swarms of stormtroopers. We aren’t capable of breaking through these defenses alone.” Sunset understood Karl’s point. Being a motley crew, there was no way they could go up against the superior fire power of the Empire. “I’m prepared to lend my men led by Captain Bonthra to aid you. They have good experience in dealing with heavy defenses like this.” Saw pointed to the Zabrak female trooper who now had a name. “This way, we can thin out their forces as both teams attack at opposing sides of the complex.” Captain Bonthra concurred with him. “With your team attacking the detention facility, it can serve as a distraction for my team to infiltrate the Command deck and find out what they’re here for.” Saw took over from Captain Bonthra before turning his attention to the Gauntlet crew, “So what do you say ?” “The more the merrier I guess.” Karl intoned in an accepting manner. “If that’s what it takes to free my people, then I’m in.” Sunset gave a more clear and resolute answer. “I suppose we’re in an agreement then,” Saw said before making a suggestion to Sunset,”If you want, you can even bring your local friends.” Sunset didn’t have to think hard and thoroughly for the answer. “NO” She said with resolve and firmly. “I’m not dragging them into this. Their hands are clean.” She added, adamant that her friends should not be pulled into a war.

Sunset Shimmer knew her friends well, with the tip of her fingers. While they have experience in dealing in calamities in the past, they were sure as heck not saboteurs. They had only used the magic gifted to them in defense, never as a weapon to attack. Even Rainbow Dash, who often boasts about her powers and was the first to embrace the ‘heroicness’ of her powers never used them to go on the offensive. Deep down, she was like the others, principled innocent girls with no sort of malice or ill-intent despite their different personalities. Saw was indifferent to Sunset’s outright rejection of his suggestion, “Suit yourself.” He said in his usual hoarse manner before turning his attention to the others, “Everyone else gear up. We leave at sundown.” He ordered the Partisans. With their orders given, the troopers dispersed out from the tent to stock up and ready their weaponry for the upcoming dusk attack, leaving the Gauntlet crew to themselves as they left the tent together with the group. “ That's very noble of you to leave your friends out of this Sunset.” Kara said to her padawan. “They’re not soldiers. It’s not fair for us to force them into one.” Sunset commented about her decision before realizing that she would have to inform them of the mission and knowing them well, it was no easy task. While she had made up her mind not to involve them, the same can’t be said for them, “The tough part is convincing them to let me go solo for this mission.” She added. “I’m sure you find a way kid,” Zeko said before excusing himself, “ Now if you excuse me, I gotta run a diagnostics check on the Gauntlet to make sure she’s battle ready for our mission.” ‘If he only knew how headstrong and stubborn her friends can be in times like this,’ Sunset said to herself.

Later,

“N-O, NO! There is no way we are letting you go off on your own.” Rainbow Dash bellowed out determinedly. Sunset Shimmer had told her friends and Flash Sentry about the late evening attack on the Imperial Complex that Gererra and his Partisans group had planned for. She told them about the prisoners kept there being Canterlot City residents which included their schoolmates and family members, how she had to save them from being indoctrinated with lies and this being too dangerous for them to tag along and asked for them to stay back at the base. “Rainbow Dash is right, whatever mission it is you’re off to, we’re coming with you and that’s FINAL.” Applejack concurred with Rainbow Dash, a rare occurrence for someone with a rational and level headed mind as her. Sunset found it unsurprising and expected to face much resistance from her friends about the mission but she wasn’t going to sway. “I’m not going off on my own Rainbow Dash. It was Saw Gerrera that planned this attack, and we’re just tagging along to save the people of Canterlot.” Sunset tried to reason with her often brash friend. Rainbow however, and by extension the others didn’t seem too convinced. “Who do you mean by ‘we’ ?” Twilight incredulously asked.

“Kara, Karl,Zeko and I as what I meant by.” Sunset said, knowing full when it was going to attract a barrage of brickbats, which it did. “You’re going with the four armed alien guy ? Come on !!” Rainbow increasingly grumbled. “What happened to our motto, all for one and one for all ?” [10] Pinkie Pie pointed out in a less cheerful manner than usual. Sunset and the others looked at her with confused glances. They never had a motto to begin with. “I don’t think that was ever our motto Pinkie Pie,” Rarity said in a calm and composed manner to her hyperactive friend before turning to Sunset, “But she does have a point Sunny darling. We aren’t going to let you off alone on this mission you’ve gotten yourself together.” “We usually do things together no matter how dangerous or crazy it is.” Twilight Sparkle added. “Unless you don’t want to do things together anymore because you have new friends now.” Fluttershy theorized innocently. “No,That’s not the case, Fluttershy,” Sunset outrightly rejected her speculation. She didn’t want them to be looking at it from a different view.

Sunset took a deep breath before beginning another round of reasoning with her friends, “ Please try to understand girls, I’m not abandoning any of you guys to be with Kara and the rest of them. This mission is extremely risky and I can’t forgive myself if anything ever happened to any one of you guys during it. This is a mission that I have to shoulder the risks by myself.” Sunset spoke until she emptied her heart out. “Are you sure about this ?” Flash asked. “I am. You guys are just gonna have to trust me with this.” Sunset intoned. She had already made up her mind on not having them being brought into this Insurgency she’s part of. There was silence amongst the girls as they exchanged glances with each other, apparently coming up with some collective decision amongst them. Rainbow Dash, being most resistant to the mission, sighed heavily, yielding before nodding towards Twilight. With the others supposedly backing her, Twilight stood out and turned to Sunset, “ We trust you Sunset Shimmer. That has never changed and never will. Since you insist on going alone, we won’t hold you back.” Twilight, who spoke on behalf of the girls, relented on their earlier opposition. “Even though it's a horrible idea,” Rainbow scoffed. “I know it's a hard decision but thanks for being understanding.” Sunset acknowledged their reluctance. Even she would be too, if placed in their shoes.

“On one condition however,” Applejack stood out before continuing, “If this mission gets too messy you abandon it and come straight back. Promise us you’ll do that.” She said with her stern voice, with the others rallying behind her. Sunset understood her concerns well and couldn’t blame them. After all, from their perspective, they didn’t want to lose a friend they just got back. “I promise,” Sunset said, hoping to reassure them. Just then, her comm link began to beep. She answered the incoming transmission and spoke, “I’m on my way,” through it to whoever it was that was contacting her (most likely R5) before ending it and turning her attention back to her friends. “I’ll have to go now guys.” She informed them before turning her back and was about to head off when she heard a voice. “Good Luck, Sunset” She heard Pinkie Pie calling out to her from behind, wishing her luck. “Thanks” She said before heading off to the Gauntlet, where her team was waiting. “I sure hope she knows what she's doing.” Flash remarked as they watched Sunset head off. “Me too, Flash Sentry,” Rainbow Dash concurred, “Me too.”

Author's Note

Well, this chapter is sure filled with a lot of things to digest. alright. From Kara's revisiting her traumatic memories of the past to Gererra's plan to attack the Imperial base for a prison break, not to mention finding out the Empire's true intentions for this planet but the biggest part of this chapter is that Sunset Shimmer finally has her own lightsaber !!! Another big reveal is that Sunset's geode and by extensions her friends are actually Kyber crystals, the type of crystals used to power a Jedi lightsaber, the same way Sunset used her geode to fit into the remnants of Plo Koon's lightsaber, bringing a new sense of purpose to it and becoming her lightsaber. In my initial draft, the colour of the lightsaber blade was to be blue, the colour Plo Koon's lightsaber originally was which would have meant that Sunset had not used her geode but I changed it to include the geode as I felt it would be proper for Sunset to have a lightsaber of her own taste and design rather than inheriting someone else's, that's why the yellow/orange blade. The yellow blade is also similar to Rey's yellow/light orange lightsaber colour seen at the end of the Rise of Skywalker. Let's get on to our easter eggs.
[1] I forgot to include this in the previous chapter. Mt Everhoof is the tallest mountain in the MLP Universe.
[2] Just as Sunset stated, a shortened version of the Jedi Code.
[3] The ancient ritual known as the Gathering where Jedi younglings would be taken to a planet called Illum for them to face trials and tribulations to obtain their own lightsaber crystal. This entire journey and process was first seen in the Clone Wars season 5 episode 6- The Gathering. (https://www.starwars.com/series/clone-wars/the-gathering-episode-guide)
[4] Thanks to her powers of physometry, Sunset was able to look into the past of the previous owner of her lightsaber.
[5] We get to see more of Kara's perspective of Order 66 in a continuation of the first chapter.
[6] The way Sunset constructed her lightsaber with the crystal is similar to how the younglings constructed theirs in the Clone Wars season 5 episode 7- A Test of Strength ( https://www.starwars.com/series/clone-wars/a-test-of-strength-episode-guide) A continuation of the The Gathering and the second episode of the younglings adventure arc.
[7] The lightsaber practice duel by Kara and Sunset is inspired by the scene in the Rebels season 3 episode- Legacy of Mandalore, where Kannan teaches Sabine to duel with the darksaber. I'll include the video link for you guys to see it yourselves and know what I mean.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fmdxQ23s0s&t=80s&ab_channel=DisneyXD)
[8] A running joke alluding that the main protagonists in Star Wars has lost their hand to a lightsaber at some point. (Luke, Anakin, etc)
[9] Based on the structure seen below (https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Imperial_Complex_(Lothal)
[10] The infamous motto of the Musketeers from the Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas.
That's all for now as Sunset Shimmer undertakes a daring mission to attack the Imperial Complex and free her imprisoned people.

Chapter 17: Assault on the Dome

Later
The Gauntlet,

As the Gauntlet heads towards the Imperial Dome for their attack, Sunset Shimmer could only sit and watch the Partisan troopers lended to them finalize their blaster configurations in the Common area. Captain Bonthra,(whose first name is Helena) had brought a dozen troopers along with her to aid their mission in freeing the prisoners. The Partisans, varying of different races and species, had a hardened, apathetic look on their faces, as if they had witnessed the full horrors of war, perhaps scarring them for life. Sunset didn’t need to use her psychometric powers to know that they lacked compassion in them. Kara had said that battles sometimes left scars that weren’t visible and these men were living proof of that, scarred for whatever they may have witnessed or done to them that turned them into merciless and ruthless soldiers. The troopers didn’t seem to take notice of Sunset, with most of them either configuring their blaster controls, or occupied with themselves. Helena on the other hand was addressing Gerrera through a disc-shaped holopad which she held. “We’ll strike both sides at the same time. That way we can catch the Imperials off-guard.” said Gerrera’ hologram. “Copy that, Saw.” Helena intoned to him, agreeing with him before ending the holographic transmission and placing the holopad in her back. Just then, footsteps could be heard coming from the Cockpit, revealed to Kara. “ We should be arriving at our destination soon.” Kara informed Captain Bonthra. “ That’s fast considering the longer route we’re taking.” Helena added, mildly surprised that they were approaching their destination.

“That’s because I’m the pilot of this magnificent vessel !” Came Zeko’s voice from the cockpit, crediting himself for it. Prior to leaving the base, Saw had told them to take a detour route, bypassing the Everfree Mountain Range as part of his plan for a two front assault to divide the Imperial forces while his team struck from through the Everfree range. “I have to ask,” Karl, who had been assisting the other troopers, had taken interest in the rifle blasters wielded by some of them and turned his attention to Helena, “Where did you guys get those Clone Blasters ? Didn’t the Empire discontinued production of them ?” He asked. “You’ll be surprised to know what you can find on the black markets of Nar Shaddaa for reasonable pricing.” The Captain regarded him steadily as she answered her. As they spoke, Kara noticed Sunset, sitting by the food table all by herself, sipping a drink of blue milk as she merely gazed at the others. However, while her eyes might be directed at them, her attention wasn’t. Kara could see the bothered look on her padawan’s face, something was bothering her. It couldn’t be about the mission, Kara thought. In her eyes, Sunset Shimmer was a strong and capable person. She headed towards her, towards the end of the crowded Common Area where she was seated,intending to find out what’s troubling her. “You alright Sunset ?” She asked in a concerned tone.

Sunset was a bit startled upon hearing Kara’s voice so close to her. She had not noticed Kara, being so indulged with her thoughts. “Yea..I’m fine..” She answered in a slightly stammering manner in trying to shrug off her startled feeling. “There’s something troubling you, it’s written all over your face.” Kara said,in an unconvinced tone. “Is it the mission ?” She further asked. “It’s not about the mission, it's just that, my friends, they insisted on coming along and I feel a bit bad for leaving them behind.” She sighed and resigned to the truth. Sunset knew that downplaying how she felt was not quite an option. “You didn’t want to involve them in this, remember ?” Kara reminded her of her earlier decision. “I haven’t changed my mind about that, but was it right of me to say no to them even when they wanted to ?” Sunset remarked. “Believe me kid, you made the right call on not bringing your friends along.” Sunset turned her attention to the source of the female voice, which turned out to be Helena, who walked towards them. She had apparently been eavesdropping on their conversation. “ Your people are not ready for that kind of action yet but they better be soon.” She added. “What do you mean ?” Sunset asked. “I’m saying that your friends better learn to prepare themselves to fight back in the long run,” said Helena. “Fight back ?” Sunset exclaimed incredulously before continuing, “My friends aren’t soldiers or rebels to wage a war. It’s unfair to force them into something they aren’t . I’m not going to do that to them.” Though slightly impressed by whom she previously thought to be a timid girl, Helena wasn’t going to back down so easily. “You think any of us had a choice ? “ She snapped back, “All of us here are a part of this Rebellion because we have to. Most of us aren’t as lucky as you are to have been able to save the people you care for. Almost all of us have lost something we cared about to the Empire, either it's our home world or family members or even both and we’re here to avenge them and to for those left not to lose what they've got. It’s about the right thing to do, not what choice.” [1]

While Kara didn’t admit it, she agreed with every sentence Helena said sans the avenge part. With the Imperial Occupation of this planet set to begin, she knew that Sunset can’t be fighting for them forever. They’ll have to stand up and learn to fight for themselves eventually. It was a reality that Sunset had to be made aware of, that she can’t keep fighting for friends forever. “So how did you end up in this Rebellion ?” Karl pointed out to Captain Bonthra. Helena took a deep breath before the Zabrak turned her attention to Karl and regarded him, “ Back in my home world, I served under the local Planetary Police Corps. Then the Empire came and disbanded local enforcement agencies, replacing them with stormtroopers. Overnight, Iridonia [2] lost its independence and fell under Imperial Control. I saw my people, Zabrak brothers and sisters, being oppressed and stripped of their sense of pride and freedom, forced to their knees.” She continued. “ That’s why I joined the Partisans. Zabraks are a proud race. We bow only to ourselves, not to some self appointed Emperor.”

“You can say that again,” Karl intoned at her speech, agreeing with her. Before Kara could say more, she heard a beeping noise coming from her comm link, with an incoming call coming Zeko back in the cockpit. She answered and spoke, “What is it, Zeko ?” “You guys might wanna come up here.” Zeko’s voice called out through the comm-link. “We’re coming,” Kara said before ending the transmission before heading towards the cockpit, accompanied by Sunset, Karl and Helena. Sunset wondered what it was that the Ardennian was calling them up for, but she was sure it wasn’t something good. As soon as they headed up to the cockpit where Zeko and R5 were flying the ship, did she get a good look at what they were up against. They were coming up on Canterlot City, which to Sunset’s slight relief was left untouched by the Imperials, but located at the horizon was the massive mushroom shaped Imperial Dome [3] , it was large enough to dwarf the City below. Sunset’s jaws dropped upon seeing the structure with her own eyes. It was much larger than she had expected it to be, overshadowing Canterlot City, perhaps to symbolize the Empire’s newfound dominance over this primitive world. “That is one big Dome, alright.” She said, still unable to comprehend the size of that thing. “That’s not all,” Zeko nervously pointed out towards three Imperial Star Destroyers that were parked in the sky not far from the City in an imposing manner, with the dark evening clouds partially concealing them, giving an even more intimidating look. The Destroyers stood between The Gauntlet and the Dome. If Sunset didn’t know any better, the manner in which the Destroyers were positioned from the City (Being not directly above it but instead on the fringes) seemed off. It was as if the Empire had some other sinister plans that had yet to be known to her.

R5, in a series of binary beepings, lamented at how badly outnumbered and overpowered they are with the Destroyers in the picture, and that their chances of victory were slim if not, zero. “You’re right R5,” Zeko agreed with the droid’s assessment, “ Looks like we severely underestimated the Empire’s defenses.” “ Surely there must be a way to get past the Destroyers without being detected.” Kara said, slightly perturbed by them. “Kid you know this place well,” Karl turned his attention to Sunset, “ Is there a way to get past them ?” Sunset thought hard for a solution. This rescue mission would be over quickly if the Imperials spotted them. She looked upon the City ahead and a solution came into her head. “Zeko,” She directed her attention to him, “Fly us low through the City, the skyscrapers should be able to mask us from their scanners.” Said Sunset. “I’ve got a very bad feeling about this.” Zeko declared before doing as told by Sunset, bringing the Gauntlet to the level of the city below, flying in between the multiple abandoned buildings to avoid detection.

As the Gauntlet flew through the cover of the tall skyscrapers of Canterlot City(Which paled in comparison to the Imperial Dome ahead) Sunset had a clear bird’s-eye view of the now deserted streets of the City’s Central Business District below as they flew past it. The streets, once bustling with activity as businessmen and women thronged the streets, heading either to one of the various banks or commercial companies situated in the district. The business and financial activities that transpired in that district formed the backbone of Canterlot’s economic prosperity and growth. The streets were now devoid of the vibrant life it once had and replacing it was a sense of abandonment. Vehicles were left stranded , some on the roads and some on the pavements with their doors left open, as if the drivers hastily exited their cars, panic stricken. The street, and the whole of the City by extension looked like it was a ghost town, empty of the people that once lived there. “That was some fast thinking, kid.” Helena commended Sunset for her idea of flying through the city to avoid being spotted by the destroyers. Sunset couldn’t care less for her praises, her attention was towards the abandoned city below. She could only hope that everyone else was still alive. “We’re coming up on the dome,” Zeko intoned as the Gauntlet successfully managed to avoid being detected with their target right ahead of them.

As they approached the Dome, its outer defenses became clearer to them. Guarding the entrance was three AT-ST Walkers, four anti-air turbo lasers based on Sunset’s count and at least two dozen stormtroopers with some of them manning E-Web cannons. “I don’t like the look of this.” She said warily, her doubt about the chances of victory in this mission increasing steadily. Despite Gerrera lending his troops to help them deal with the Imperial defenses, seeing them with her own two eyes made her wonder if they were enough. She wasn’t alone who thought that. “That’s some pretty heavy defenses alright.” Zeko noted his tone is similar to that of Sunset. “I seriously doubt we can even make it past the front gates without getting killed even with our reinforcements.” Karl pointed out. “It's gonna be a problem getting past those troopers and walkers,” Kara concurred with Karl. “You call that a problem ?” Helena voiced out, unfazed by their defenses,”Those defenses are nothing compared to what we faced on Umbara.” She exclaimed proudly. It was quite clear to the Gauntlet crew that Helena and perhaps the rest of the Partisans didn’t share their anxiousness about the Imperial defenses. In fact they seemed eager to fight the Empire head on. “Well I’m sure as heck glad you think this is nothing but how are we supposed to begin our attack if they could see us coming ?” Zeko sarcastically and cynically asked, hoping to get at least some sort of reaction from the Zabrak. “Just wait for the signal,” Helena answered with a level headed voice, as if everything was going according to plan.“What signal ?” Sunset asked. She soon got her answer, in the form of an explosion coming from the opposite side of the Dome.

A large and loud explosion erupted on the other side of the Dome, the portion where Saw’s team was meant to attack. The team didn’t have to guess what was the cause of the explosion, which seemed to have drawn the complete attention of those on their portion of the Base. “That’s your signal,” Helena boasted to Zeko. “Looks like there’s no turning back now,” Said Zeko about the explosion that happened in front of him. With that, the attack has officially begun and there was no turning back from it. “I guess everything still goes according to plan ?” Sunset asked, waiting to see if there’s any change of plan from anyone. She hoped not, but then again, in their line, things don't always, if not most of the time goes according to plan. “Ardennian, use your ship’s guns to take out those walkers while you swoop in, I’ll go and ready the others.” Helena told Zeko before heading down back to the common area. “Alright but I have a name you know, It’s Zeko !” Zeko bellowed frustratingly to Helena for generalising him by his species. He was used to being called the name of his race by some xenophobic Imperials but it took him off guard to hear it coming from a non-human like himself. “Don’t take it personally, dude,” Karl sought to comfort him through words. He quickly shrugged off the frustration and proceeded to direct R5 to activate remote gunner controls. He narrowed his eyes onto the ship’s targeting screen, “I have a lock,” He said as he locked on to the AT-ST walkers before hitting the fire button with his first pair of hands. A set of proton torpedoes fired from the Gauntlet’s cannons, headed straight towards the unsuspecting AT-ST Walkers, blasting them the moment the torpedoes struck it. If there was one flaw with Imperial Machinery was its lack of shields for most of their vehicles. The shields were sacrificed for more effective and powerful firepower. It was also forged in the belief that no one would dare challenge their superior firepower. The double blast took the stormtroopers, still reeling from the explosion from the other side, by a surprise, with the shockwaves from the blast sending those closer to them tossed off. It took a while for the Imps to fully comprehend that they were being attacked before those on the railings above scrambling toward anti Air cannons. “You guys better get out now before they fire those Air cannons or if tie fighters show up,” Zeko cautioned Kara and the rest. “ You got it,” She acknowledged him before turning to Sunset and Karl, “Let’s go.” Sunset and Karl nodded at her before following her down to the Common Area.

Back at the Common Area, the other troopers were all readied up with their hands on the blaster rifles trigger, waiting to fire at the first stormtrooper at sight. Helena stood at the front of them all, closest to the boarding ramps, it was clear she was about to lead them. Karl quickly rushed towards the ship’s armory to get himself a blaster rifle from their past raids. He was already armed with a simple blaster but for the gunfire they were about to get into, a rifle would be better suited. In his absence Helena, being the Captain of the Partisan team addressed them, “ Let’s show these amateurs how a real Rebel cell fights,” in a not so veiled mockery at the Gauntlet crew. Karl then returned with a more suited blaster rifle just as Bonthra finished giving her so-called ‘motivational’ speech. “Hey kid, try not to get slaughtered out there,” One of the men, a human male crudely joked to Sunset. She paid that nerf-herder no attention, instead she waited for the ramps to open, her heart already pumping adrenaline to the rest of her body. The moment arrived, the ramp doors opened, revealing the Base entrance. “FOR FREEDOM !!” [4] Helena screamed fiercely as she took charge of the Partisans, leading the equally enthusiastic men into battle. “They certainly have courage alright.” Kara intoned at their determination as they jumped out of the Gauntlet to fight.

The trio were the last to dash out of the Gauntlet with their blasters up and firing ahead. For the first couple of seconds, everything was chaotic, red streaks of blaster fire were being thrown in all directions and Sunset found it hard to locate the enemy and fire at them. At the rate the exchange of laser fire was being thrown, she was almost certainly sure she had wasted some shots fired at nothing. She eventually identified the stormtroopers firing at the landing team ahead of the blast doors, where they had all gathered. Imperial stormtroopers are infamous for overwhelming their opponents by outnumbering them despite their bad aiming and mediocre military proficiency. With their front pushed back, the Imperials formed a defensive perimeter along the blast doors, their only entrance to the base as it slammed shut. Sunset and Kara took cover behind one of the collapsed, destroyed AT-ST walker from the incoming fire, while Karl took cover with the rest of the Partisans who were using the multiple crates lying around as cover. ‘Perhaps the Imperial’s general messiness has its advantages after all,’ Sunset thought to herself about the crates scattered about, being excellent spots for cover. As soon as the Rebels had disembarked from the Gauntlet, Zeko and R5 pulled away just before the Anti Air cannons could be used to fire at them. Sunset admired the ferocity shown by Helena and the others as they attempted to push the Imperials even further. Despite being lesser in numbers compared to the stormtroopers, the Partisans showed fury as they gained momentum against the stormtroopers, as if they were the ones with the advantage. They fought as if they had nothing to lose, and in doing so made them a terrifying force in the eyes of the stormtroopers. “FOR THE REBELLION !!” Bellowed a large sized Devaronian soldier as he raised his heavy repeating blaster cannon towards the troopers and fired, shooting down a number of troopers with the powerful weapon.

It wasn’t long before they lost their momentum when Imperial reinforcements arrived from the blast doors, strengthening their forces. The stormtroopers, who realized they outnumbered them, quickly went on the offensive, with some troopers manning the E web cannon to provide cover fire for the advancing stormtroopers. The E-Web did its job by pinning the Rebels, Sunset and Kara included to their cover spots, even successfully shooting one or two of them down. Even the Devaronian trooper was forced back to cover, his blaster being no match for the E-Web. “Well that was a quick change of tide,” said Karl about the situation, though nobody could hear him due to the blaster fire noises. “We’re being pinned down !” Sunset voiced out as loud as she could to Kara, hoping to get her attention, which she did. “Our blasters are useless against that E-Web,” Kara pointed out to the heavy blaster cannon, “ Use your lightsaber, Sunset. It’s the only weapon that can save us now.” Kara placed her blaster back at her holster before pulling her lightsaber that hung from her waist belt and held it in her right hand. Sunset’s eyes widened in surprise upon this. Her master was about to break the number one important rule she had always emphasized. Kara was about to raise up with her lightsaber on her hand before Sunset grabbed her hand, stopping her. “What happened to not revealing ourselves to everyone ?” Sunset asked. Kara turned to her, a small smile appearing on her face, “ A wise person once told me to not live in the past forever, “ [5] Kara said to her before winking. Sunset immediately let her hand go, she realized her master was referring to the advice she gave her by the stream, not stopping her further. Kara raised up and ignited her lightsaber, the sound of its ignition drew the attention of the Partisans and Karl, who gasped upon seeing the legendary weapon long associated with an Order once thought to be nothing more than a myth. Helena could only thick of one word when she saw Kara wielding a laser sword, “Jedi,”

Kara stepped out of her cover, with her lightsaber raised to the level of her shoulders. Sunset swore that the stormtroopers stopped firing for an extremely brief moment, taken aback by the woman wielding a laser sword in front of them. Like Helena, they too are startled to see a Jedi once thought to be extinct. They soon got over their startledness and started firing again, this time their shots directed at Kara instead. From their perspective, a lightsaber wielding maniac was more dangerous. They were right. Kara deflected the shots using her blue lightsaber, swinging her blue saber to each incoming laser streak, its energy deflecting it either towards the direction it came from or a random one. She managed to deflect some shots back at the trooper who fired it, piercing their white armor and killing them, with their own shots. The stormtrooper manning the E-web directed the cannon towards her and fired, in a vain effort to blast her to oblivion. Kara simply extended her hand forward towards the incoming streak, calling out to the Force which answered her. The blaster bolt suddenly came to an abrupt stop in the middle of its direction towards her, shimmering as if some invisible energy fielding was holding it from reaching its target. For what seemed like moments, both the stormtroopers and the Rebels stared right towards the frozen blaster bolt, completely speechless over the very defiance of the law of physics happening right in front of their eyes. Sunset on the other hand awed in amazement over her master’s ability of freezing the shot. Kara then released her hold over the bolt, but not before pushing it back towards its source. The bolt shot straight back towards thE E-web, blasting it into oblivion and taking out the trooper that manned it. With that, the other Rebels lead by Helena got back out from their cover and laid fire to the now disadvantaged stormtroopers. Sunset, knowing that Kara wouldn’t be able to hold off the shots for longs, quickly pulled her lightsaber and ignited it, before rushing to her aid. ‘Just remember your training,’ She said to herself as she deflected incoming blaster shots alongside Kara, both master and apprentice fighting side by side.

“We’ll lead the way !” Kara yelled towards Helena, who nodded in response. She knew well enough to let the Jedi do their job. “Push forward!” She ordered the others as they joined in the momentum generated by Kara and Sunset. For Sunset, applying what she had learnt during training seemed to have paid off, with every deflected shot striking a stormtrooper down. As they pushed closer towards the blast doors, Kara used her lightsaber to slice the remaining standing troopers, their armor no match for the penetrating power of a lightsaber. Sunset deflected a laser bolt from the last standing trooper back to him, clearing the platform of stormtroopers for good, securing the platform. Kara proceeded to slash the door controls with her lightsaber, opening up the blast doors, revealing the inside of the Complex. “Not bad for your first battle with a lightsaber, Sunset,” Kara commended Sunset. “Looks like my training has finally paid off after all,” Sunset acknowledged her praise. ‘If only Rainbow Dash could have seen the action put up by her,’She thought to herself. “Saw, we’re moving to phase two of the plan.” Helena said to her comm link before turning it off and turned her attention over to Kara and Sunset, “ I’d never thought I would get to meet a Jedi, much less two.” “The galaxy is always full of surprises,” Kara retorted back. “ Apparently so,” Helena admitted as she continued, “ With two Jedi by our side this fight will surely be ours,” She said with confidence. “ I won’t be too overconfident yet. We still haven’t found or freed the prisoners.” Karl said in a more cautious manner. It was uncharacteristic of him to say that. “Let’s find them then,” Sunset intoned to them. Helena turned her attention over to the other Rebels under her command. “ Everyone, let’s move, “ She ordered.

The Rebels wasted no time in entering the Complex. As they headed for the Prison cell section, Sunset found that each alleyway inside the Complex to be similar in terms of its looks, general dullness, and basically everything else. ‘It’s practically impossible to not get lost in a place like this, with all turns looking exactly alike with no differianting aspect.’ Sunset thought. Luckily they had studied the layout of the base prior to their attack and were able to navigate their way around with the Imperial Siren echoing throughout base(.Imperial Siren Sound 1 hour, 22 minutes, and 52 seconds). They did short work with unsuspecting stormtroopers running into them as they made their way. “The Detention Centre is over there,” A human Partisan soldier pointed out a right turn coming up. However, before they could make it, an Imperial stormtrooper squad numbering more than a dozen ambushed them, forcing them to make a stand. Sunset and Kara ignited their lightsabers to defend themselves from incoming blaster bolts. With the stormtroopers cutting them out from the main route to the Prison Cells, the Rebels were forced to improvise. “ We’ll distract them. You guys head for the Prison cells and free the prisoners !” Captain Bonhra yelled towards Kara and Sunset due to the heavy sound of blaster fire being thrown around. “What about you guys ?” Sunset asked, sounding slightly concerned for them, even though she’d barely known them. Helena turned towards her and gave her a smirk, “Kid, fights like this are what we’re good at. So let us do our part and you do yours.” Sunset nodded back as she, Kara and Karl broke off from the main group.

After what seemed like forever of running into stormtroopers in every corner and igniting their lightsaber to deflect their shots or fire back in the case of Karl, the trio finally found the Detention Center, which was guarded by a mere two stormtroopers and and a uniformly black cladded Prison Officer manning the Cell controls panel in the center of the corridors. Upon noticing the intruders, the troopers fired at them while the Officer attempted to lockdown the facility and call for reinforcements. Kara who was leading Sunset and Karl went on the offensive against the two troopers, parrying off their blaster shots before slashing the white chest armor of the first trooper, killing him before extending her hand and used the Force hold the blaster bolt fired by the second stormtrooper midair before propelling it back to him, striking him right on his chest armor. ‘ Since when did Kara become so cool ?’ Sunset thought to herself after seeing her master in full action. There was certainly still a lot more for her to learn. The officer picked up blasters from the panel and tried to fire at them with one hand while others tried to frantically raise an alert but were stunned by blue concentric shots fired by Karl. Once sure that there weren't any other Imperial personnel in the cell aside from the prisoners, Kara turned her attention towards the control panel, “ Karl, help me slice this thing,” Karl nodded and headed towards the panel to assist Kara in deactivating the ray shields.

“Sunset, watch our backs will you ?” said Kara but Sunset didn’t pay attention to what her master said. Her attention was on the dozens of cells holding her own people that stretched an entire corridor. They were filled with innocent people, whose heads were down, unsure of what lay ahead of them with this so-called new government of theirs. As she walked past the cells, with a crimson red ray shield separating her from the inmates, her heart sank, the thought and sight of her own people, some whom she called friends imprisoned in a place like this, was just too much. Sure, her main group of friends was safe back at the Partisan base, but there were many others she still cared for and regarded as friends, and unfortunately, they weren’t as lucky. As she walked down the hallway, one particular cell caught her eye. In it was a girl, around her age with neck long grayish blue violet hair. She had a sort of grayish skin color with light turquoise iris. She was sitting on the bench-like structure in the cell, staring into the dull walls in the cell, with an almost blank neutral facial expression, as if she felt nothing. Sunset recognised her immediately as Maud Pie, the polar opposite sister of Pinkie Pie.“ Here I am, imprisoned inside a tedious alien prison where my equally boring life will come to an end, how ironic.” Maud spoke to herself in her usual monotonous tone. “Maud, don’t worry, I’m here to save everyone,” Sunset called out to draw her attention. Maud turned to the source of the familiar voice, her eyes only widening very slightly upon seeing a familiar face, “ Sunset Shimmer, you’ve finally returned after vanishing for over three months. Pinkie and her friends had spent all the time they had searching for you, “ She said, indifferent by Sunset’s appearance before her tone became slightly more concerned, “ Where is Pinkie Pie ? Is she safe ?” She asked. “Don’t worry about your sister. She and the others are safe and sound.” Sunset assured Maud of Pinkie’s wellbeing. Maud merely stared at her, with a small smile creeping into her face, disappearing as soon it briefly appeared.

“ Sunset Shimmer, is that you ?” Came another familiar motherly voice from down the hallway, a couple of cells away from where Maud was, one that Sunset undoubtedly knew who belonged to. Sunset rushed to the cell where it came from, finding Principal Celestia and her sister, Vice-Principal Luna sharing a cell together. Sunset was filled with joy to see the human counterpart of her former mentor, one that she equally respected and has helped them countless times in the past, alive and well. “Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, you guys are still alive !” She shouted in joy. “Were you expecting us to be otherwise ?” Luna pointed out in a manner that Sunset found it hard to make out whether she was being sarcastic,or serious or even both at the same time. After all, she was known for being crude at times. Sunset was at a loss of words on how to respond to that question. “Forgive my sister, Sunset.” Celestia took a step forward to defuse the apparent tension between them in a more diplomatic tone, “She’s just a bit stressed about our current predicament.” “She’s not the only one who feels that way,” Sunset turned towards the voice behind our finding that it belonged to none other than Sour Sweet, their on-off friend/rival from Crystal Prep Academy. She shared the cell opposite Celestia’s cell with other Crystal Prep students that Sunset recognised, amongst them being Sugarcoat, Upper Crust and Lemon Zest. “Sour Sweet, Sugarcoat ?? You guys are here too ?” She exclaimed, slightly surprised to bump into them. “ Why, were you expecting us to be somewhere else other than here ?” Upper Crust incredulously said. “ We’ve been looking for you for the entirety of summer vacation and you show up out of nowhere when all of us have been imprisoned by some kind of Galactic Empire ?” Sour Sweet snided. “ Sounds a little suspicious if you ask me,” Sugarcoat concurred. “ I know how it sounds, but I’m here now to break everyone out of this prison.” Sunset sought to dispel the Shadowbolts' views but Sour Sweet merely scoffed at it, “And how exactly are you gonna do that ?”

“ This should about do it,” Karl intoned as he bypassed the security measures of the Detention facility. Just then, the red ray shield that previously acted as a transparent barrier separating the prisoners from the hallways deactivated, leaving the cell entrances open for the former prisoners to walk out. For at least a few moments, only a handful of people put their foot out of their cells, with others too started with the sudden change of events that happened. It wasn’t long for them to comprehend it and soon, entire hallways in the prison center were filled with people, former residents of Canterlot City and its surrounding suburbs. There were at least a few hundred people that filled the prison corridors, at least based on what Sunset range of vision. ‘That’s a lot of people,’ Sunset thought as she squeezed through their bodies to the Control Panels which were at the center of the detention facility where Karl and Kara were. One could easily get crushed in a crowd like this if not careful enough. “There is no way we can fit all these people into our ships and there’s no time for airlifting them group by group.” Karl remarked about the crowd. Kara thought for a second on how to get everyone out before she turned to address the crowd, “ Everyone Listen up !” She said, loud enough, silencing the previously mumbling crowd. “ We are here to rescue you. Now since we don’t have space to fit every single one of you to our transports, you people are gonna make a run for it by yourselves while we distract the Empire.”

“Where do we go now ?” Vignette Valencia [6] pointed out, while the others seemed to agree with her. “ To our base located beyond Mount Everhoof. It’s a safe place for everyone from the Empire. Head through the city on your escape and no matter what, do not stop until you reach the base.” Sunset told the crowd out loud. The crowd at first showed a bit of hesitancy about the plan, murmuring to each other, unsure about their trustworthiness. There wasn’t much time for an internal debate and they had to act fast. “You heard her, people, let's go !” Kara shouted at them in an ordering manner. The crowd finally got the point and began to move in the direction pointed out by Kara. All it took was a simple push to get them moving. “Well that was persuasive,” Sunset added on how an order was able to get the crowd moving. Just then, Karl noticed a red beeping light coming from the control panel, indicating a system breakdown. He quickly pressed a few buttons on the panel, accessing the Prison’s computer system to find the source of the breakdown. “What’s the problem ?” Kara asked, knowing full well she wasn’t going to like the response. “Carabast, there’s a malfunction on cell 8-3. It’s a solitary confinement cell.” Karl intoned as he tried to fix the problem. “What kind of malfunction ? And can you fix it ?” Sunset further queried. There was silence on Karl’s part for a moment as he tried to fix it but the red beeping still remained. “ The cell door is jammed, it won’t open up remotely. Someone has to manually reset the door controls and open them.” said Karl. Sunset thought for a short moment before replying, “ I’ll do it. You guys lead the others out of here,” “ Alright. Don’t take too long and be careful.” Kara agreed with Sunset, who nodded at her before heading off to Cell 8-3.

Cell 8-3 was located at the tail end of the prison hallway far off from the other cells, and unlike the other cells where only a ray shield acted as a barrier, this particular cell had a black door that separated Sunset from whoever that’s in there. There was also another blaster door opposite the cell that was sealed shut which didn’t appear to be a prison cell but something else, one she didn’t intend on finding out. “ I wonder who it is that the Empire deemed for solitary confinement ?” Sunset said to herself as she thought of a way to unlock the door via the door control panels situated beside it before giving up and ignited her lightsaber, using it to slice the control panels. Sunset had never been the one for patience and definitely not at a time like this. With the controls sliced, the blaster door raised open, revealing a dull gray room with a similar coloured bench that extended from the wall. On the bench was a girl, around Sunset’s age, with pale bluish skin and light gray hair that some would consider as white. She was lying on the bench when the door in front of her opened. She pulled herself up from the bench to get a proper look at the person standing ahead, recognising her immediately, “Sunset Shimmer ?”

“Trixie Lulamoon ?” Sunset exclaimed in surprise almost soon after she did. Trixie headed towards Sunset while at the same time composing herself. After all, she can’t be seen as defeated. “Firstly, it's the great and powerful Trixie, never call me by last name.” Trixie regarded Sunset in her usual egoistic and proud tone before she continued, “ Secondly, where have you been all this time and what are you wearing ?” She said, this time with a slightly more concerned tone. Following the events of the memory stone, Sunset and Trixie had found themselves as unlikely friends despite not seeing eye to eye with each other on a great many things and Trixie’s excessive boasting. “It’s a long story…. how did you, of all people, end up in solitary confinement in the first place ?” Sunset answered and shot a question to her, curious on what she did. Trixie can be annoying, but she was never one of violence. “ I just kept demanding those white douchebags to let the great and powerful Trixie go or face my wrath.” She boasted. “So you basically annoyed the Imperials into tossing you in here ?” Sunset, intoned unsurprised. “ I wouldn’t put it that way, more like silenced for voicing out my civil rights.” Trixie added, a bit embarrassed. “ Some things just never change, uh Trixie ?” Sunset said, amused by her reasoning. “Old habits die hard.” Trixie bragged further, giving a small nudge to Sunset. “Come on, let's get out of here,” Said Sunset as her expression turned serious. The time for jokes is over. Trixie nodded before she noticed something behind Sunset, “WATCH OUT !” But it was too late. Before Sunset could turn her back, she had already felt a metallic hand grabbing her by the neck and tossing her to the ground hard.

She then felt a pressure being exerted on her back that was pinning her down. Sunset managed to turn her head slightly around to see who it was that was pinning her. With its right metallic feet on her, was an Imperial KX series security droid [7], with an intimidating height of at least 216 meters facing her while standing. The Security droid had its right feet on her, pinning her down the ground. “Unauthorized personnel detected” The security droid spoke in a stoic male voice through in-built audio receptors. “Do not resist arrest or you will be subdued.” The droid warned in its stoic voice. Sunset struggled to free herself from being pinned by the security droid but its feet were pushing down strongly, making it almost impossible for her to even get up. Due to the nature of her body being pressed onto the ground, Sunset wasn’t able to reach her lightsaber that was hanging by her belt. Just then, Trixie lunged toward the security droid in an attempt to distract it. Sure enough, the droid’s attention soon shifted to Trixie, turning around and grabbed Trixie by her blue coat and lifted her up in the air, letting go of its pin on Sunset. “Prisoner 8-3 stand down and cease hostilities.” The droid intoned. Trixie wasn’t going to give up so easily. “ Let go of me you non-organic douchebag !!” Trixie yelled as she struggled to break free.

With the security droid engaged with Trixie, Sunset managed to pull herself back up to her legs. Seeing Trixie in danger, she extends her hand forward and uses the Force to push off the droid, which was violently onto the sealed blaster door behind, dropping a very startled and confused Trixie. The security droid quickly pulled itself back together after its violent bump and slammed its fist onto a red button on a control panel located on its left side, causing the blast doors behind Sunset to close up, effectively trapping them in the now shortened corridor. The Droid then charged towards Sunset with its pair of hands opened up as if it was about to embrace her, but its intentions are nothing less than deadly. Sunset however, this time was prepared. She ignited her lightsaber and the moment the droid was close enough, she used her saber and cut off both of its droid’s arms with ease before going for the killing blow. She used her lightsaber and stabbed through the droid's chest, penetrating its systems and severely damaging its systems, enough to terminate the droid. The saber penetrated the metallic skin with ease, leaving a small burnt radius around the stab site. The Security droids, its systems down, collapsed to the floor with a loud bang, lifeless as it should be. Meanwhile, Trixie was completely speechless as she watched Sunset take down a humanoid robot twice her height with some kind glowing sword with ease. “ How did you do that ?? And what is that glowing sword you carry ?.” She exclaimed . “ Like I said, long story,” Sunset then turned her attention towards the sealed shut blaster doors around them, “That droid has us trapped.”

“Why don’t you use that sword of yours to cut through those doors ? It worked well with that thing.” Trixie pointed out the amputated, stabbed security droid on the ground. “ There’ll be a dozen stormtroopers waiting for us on the other side. We’ll be walking right into a trap if we do that.” Sunset brushed off Trixie’s idea and continued to search for another means of an exit. “Up there,” She pointed out to a ventilation shaft located above their heads, “ We’ll use the ventilation shaft.” Sunset instantly ignited her saber and sliced through the cover, revealing the narrow shaft. “This is such a stupid plan,” Trixie scoffed upon seeing the narow shaft she had to climb into. Sunset leaped and pulled herself into the confined shaft. Due to the nature of the ventilation shaft, with its width and height being no more than 10cm, Sunset was forced to lie low on her body. She squeezed herself into the shaft before extending her hand down for Trixie. “Come on, I’ll pull you up.” She intoned at her. Trixie sighed for a moment, realizing there was no other option before she grabbed Sunset’s hand and Sunset pulled her up into the shaft. “Move forward, I’ll tell you when to stop.” She said to Trixie as soon as she pulled her up.

It was an uncomfortable journey as Trixie crawled through the narrow ventilation shaft, with Sunset right behind. There were tubes running concurrently beside them, occasionally letting out warm air, with numerous beeping lights coming from temperature regulators, a common find in ventilation systems. The narrow, confining nature of the shaft made Trixie's stomach sick. “This shaft is making me feel claustrophobic.” She spoke. “Just a little bit more, We’re almost there,” Sunset intoned but Trixie was far from convinced. “ Are you sure you know where we’re going ?”. ‘That was a good question,’ Sunset thought to herself. She soon sensed an opening ahead, their way out of the shaft. “There’s an opening ahead, can you see it ?” She asked. Trixie’s eyes narrowed on the air vent ahead. “I see it.” She answered Sunset as she headed towards the small ray of light coming from the air vents. As soon as she was close enough to the air vents, Trixie closed her right hand fist and slammed it as hard as she could onto the air vent.The air vent broke and fell onto the ground. With an opening, Trixie and Sunset wasted no time in getting themselves back to the ground from the shaft. The moment her feet touched the ground, Sunset took a good look around her surroundings, finding herself in the middle of an Imperial hallway somewhere in the Complex. She had absolutely no idea where exactly she was but at least there were no stormtroopers or security droids closing in on them, for now. “ Open space !! Finally !!!” Trixie let out a huge breath of relief after being forced to crawl through a narrow shaft.

Sunset grabbed Trixie’s arm and pulled her towards her, “Keep it down will you ?” She said, in a mildly agitated tone, “You’re gonna alert the whole base to where we are.” Trixie however, was indifferent to Sunset’s warning. “Whatever,” She scoffed and released her arm from her hold. Sunset then noticed her comm-link beeping red. She picked it up and brought it close to her mouth before answering the transmission. “ Sunset, are you alright ?? The Prison Blaster doors have been magnetically sealed, we can’t get to you. Stay put, we’ll try to find another way.” Came Kara’s voice, with the sound of countless blaster fire being fired coming from the background. Sunset Shimmer pressed a button before speaking, “ Don’t worry, Kara. We had a run in with a Security Droid earlier but we got out using the ventilation system.” “We ?? Who’s we ?” A mildly surprised tone came from Kara. Sunset turned her head towards Trixie before answering that question. “ An old friend. Give us a moment, we’ll regroup with you guys.” Sunset stated. There was silence on Kara’s end for a moment, other than intensifying blaster fire noises in the background before she replied, “That’s a negative. The rest of us are dealing with heavy Imperial reinforcements here .” “ Looks like the Empire has wised up to our plans. What about the other prisoners ??” Sunset further queried.

“They’re making their way out as we speak. The Partisans, Karl and I are covering their escape.” said Kara. Sunset let out a sigh of relief for a moment before she spoke, “That’s some good news at least. Where do we meet up then ??” “Stick with the plan, We’ll rendezvous at the extraction point.” Kara intoned. “ Copy that.” Sunset agreed with Kara. “ See you there. Good luck kid.” Kara wished before she ended the transmission. “So what exactly is the plan now ?” Trixie queried as soon as Sunset placed the communicator back into her vest pocket. “Now, we're just gonna have to find a detour route to the platform we came in.” Sunset answered Trixie in a somewhat unsure tone as she looked around, trying to make her way. “And I suppose you know the way around here ?” She queried further, far from being convinced. “I’ll …. make it up as we go.” Sunset said in an indecisive manner, her frustration at Trixie’s constant questions building up. “ So you’re telling me you don’t know your way around here ?” Trixie exclaimed before she continued in a sarcastic manner, “ Well isn’t that just great. So much for this great escape plan of yours !” Sunset has had enough of Trixie's cynicism. “Listen Lulamoon,” She said, much to Trixie’s ire but she still continued, “ This is what we’re gonna do. If you want to live, you’re gonna do and follow what I say without any questions or your sarcasm. Is that clear ?” Sunset regarded her steadily, her frustration noticeable. “If I want to live ? Of course I want to live, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” Trixie snapped back at her. “I suppose we’re in agreement then,” Sunset said and continued, “Follow me” . “Do I have a choice anyway ?” Trixie lamented quietly before she followed Sunset’s lead.

Author's Note

The battle has just begun. In the ongoing fighting, Sunset Shimmer has found an unlikely ally/friend in the form of Trixie Lulamoon. I included Trixie in this story to further explore unexpected friendship between them in Forgotten Friendship. Trixie is a main character in this story, that's all I can say for now. Moving on, I intentionally removed Saw Gererra from the scene where Kara and Sunset reveal themselves to be Jedi to avoid a possible contradiction in canon as Gererra would later meet the main master/apprentice duo Kannan and Ezra later on in Rebels (Season 3 Episode 12/13) set approximately one year after this story. There are not much of easter eggs in this chapter so let's get on to it.
[1] This statement about how they would have to fight back eventually will play a big part in later chapters.
[2] The Zabrak Home world.
[3] The Imperial Dome is based and is of similar size to the Imperial Administrative complex seen in Lothal capital city. (https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Imperial_Complex_(Lothal))
[4] Based on the famous battle cry by William Wallace in the famous historical film Braveheart.
[5] A nice subtle reference to Sunset's advice in the earlier chapter about letting go of the past.
[6] The main antagonist( who later reformed) in the Rollercoaster of Friendship special. The prison scene was filled with other EQG characters making cameo appearances such as the EQG version of Maud Pie and the Crystal Prep students.
[7] An Imperial Security droid first seen in Rogue One as the anti-hero K2SO. ( https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/KX-series_security_droid)
That's all for the easter eggs. There's actually a deleted scene in this chapter set right after the current ending where Sunset and Trixie face off with an Electrostaff Purge trooper, similar to how Cal Kestis faced one but I didn't add it due to word constraints and also because it didn't bring anything much to the story. Check out the next chapter as an impending duel awaits. In other words, shit's about to get real.

Chapter 18: The Sith Lord

Meanwhile,
Level 113, Imperial Complex

Darth Vader was inside his mobile meditation chamber when he was interrupted by a holographic transmission by Admiral Katz. The meditation chamber measured around three meters in diameter, with the chamber itself flattened on the bottom, designed to nestle in a hexagonal dais. It had neither a proper hatch nor a control panel. Instead had two longitudinal seams which allowed the device to open into two hemispheres which were dark coloured outside and brightly lit inside. The chamber also served as a life support system for the Sith Lord, the only place where he could safely remove his mask and breathe. [1] As he sat in his chamber meditating in the Force, he felt a presence. One which he had been expecting. Together with this presence was another one, a relic of a bygone era that was unexpected, but certainly not unwelcomed. It was at this moment when he heard a beeping noise coming from the chambers in the built communicator, indicating the transmission. He had his mask put on before opening up his chamber and answering the transmission. In doing so, a hologram of Admiral Katz appeared in front of him while sitting in the now open chamber.

“What is it, Admiral ?” Vader asked with displeasureness in his tone for being disturbed. “My Lord, we’re under attack by the Offworld Rebels that had infiltrated the system earlier.” Said Katz. “It’s Saw Gerrera and his band of terrorists. They’re fools to attack our installation so openly.” Vader intoned, his tone unchanged. “ The insurgents have broken up into two groups,” Katz continued, “ Gerrera was spotted leading one group to the Command Centre while another group struck the Detention facility, freeing the detainees. Incoming reports indicate that this second group is being led by two females wielding some kind of lightsaber.” The last part caught Vader’s attention. It appeared that what he felt earlier had come to be. “She’s here, I can sense it, and she’s not alone.” He said, his voice now sounding significantly less annoyed than before. “ What do we do now sir ?” Katz asked. Vader got up from his seat from his chamber, facing the hologram, “ Send the rest of the garrison to Gerera’s position. See to it that is his last gambit.” “What about the second team ??” Katz further asked. “ My purge trooper legion and I will deal with the Jedi and their comrades.” Vader added before he continued, “Admiral, bring forward the bombardment of the old settlement to this instant. That should deter the prisoners from escaping and to lower the rebel’s morale.” “Very well, Lord Vader.” Katz said before the transmission ende, leaving only his breathing noise echoing the room. Vader then promptly headed out to collect his master’s prize.

Meanwhile, Sunset Shimmer continued to navigate her way to the extraction point,leading an increasingly annoying Trixie Lulamoon with her . Between dealing with stormtroopers and her, she would pick stormtroopers any time. At least stormtroopers don’t constantly ask irritating questions and be sarcastically judgemental all the time. After all, they did run into them several times, after making one wrong turn from another and every single time Sunset would be forced to draw out her lightsaber to deflect blaster shots back at the shooter. They eventually made it to the landing platform after tirelessly navigating through the similar and identical Imperial looking hallways and stormtroopers. They stopped for a moment to catch their breath, with Sunset constantly turning her back to make sure no stormtroopers followed them. She also looked around, only finding destroyed AT-ST walkers and fallen stormtroopers. There was no sign of Kara and the rest of the rebels. “ Are you sure this is the right place ?” Trixie asked in a curious tone, her eyes fixated on the fallen walkers and dead troopers. “Positively sure.” Sunset said almost immediately. She was very certain this was the place they landed in and the AT-ST walkers and at least a dozen of dead troopers would affirm that certainty. “Where are these friends of yours ?” Trixie pressed on with her questions. “ They’ll be here... eventually.” Sunset answered, hoping that this would be the last question. “ Even if that happens, how are we gonna get off this place ?” Trixie queried further. However, Sunset didn’t pay much attention to her question. Her attention was instead towards the position of the three star destroyers ahead. They had descended towards Canterlot City directly above the city.

“What are those ships above the City ?” Trixie asked, her attention also now directed towards the Destroyers. “Imperial Star Destroyers.” Sunset answered her before she continued, “Something’s not right. Those destroyers weren’t positioned like that before.” “Why is it I get the feeling something bad is going to happen ?” Trixie intoned anxiously. Sunset couldn’t agree more with Trixie. ‘ Something’s coming, but what ?’ She thought to herself. She soon got her answer. The three destroyers positioned above the city, launched a barrage of green turbolaser fire from its cannons onto Canterlot City. The first shot struck the landmark equine sculpture above the Crystaller Building, destroying them both as the barrage of laserfire laid waste to the other structures of the City, tearing down the skyscrapers along the Central Business district and ripping into their concrete layouts. The other buildings were not spared by the Imperials, with the rain of turbolaser fire shattering roads and countless other homes and smaller buildings located in the suburbs. Sunset was speechless, witnessing the city which she once called home being destroyed in front of her own two eyes. “ They’re bombing Canterlot City to the ground !” She finally gathered the strength to speak as the Empire continued their barrage of fire onto the City. The laserfire even shattered Canterlot High School, the institution so many great memories were made. Sunset turned to Trixie to find her shed a tear, perhaps for the first time witnessing her hometown and CHS being destroyed. [2]

It was at that moment she realized about the other prisoners they freed earlier. She had told them to use the City as a cover to escape into the forest but she had sent them into their oblivion instead. Sunset’s heart immediately filled with grief and extreme guilt with the thought of having led the City residents, some her friends, into their deaths. Not even the strongest of people would be able to bear the guilt that magnitude, having caused the death of hundreds if not thousands of people albeit unintentionally. “I.. lead them to their deaths, right into the Empire’s hand.” Sunset uttered, her voice filled with emotion, perhaps the most Trixie has ever heard from her. “What are you talking about ?” She asked. Before Sunset could answer, they heard multiple footsteps coming from inside base, heading towards them. Sunset grabbed her lightsaber from her belt and ignited it, anticipating a dozen stormtroopers to come right at them. “Get behind me, Trixie. These Imperials are gonna pay for what they’ve done.” Sunset said, in a mildly vengeful manner as she awaited the stormtroopers to show up with their blasters blazing blaster fire at them. The source of the footsteps soon revealed themselves, and instead white cladded stormtroopers, it turned out to be the Partisans, who were fleeing the base, with Kara, Karl and Captain Bonthra covering their exit. “ Seal the blast doors !” Karl bellowed to one of the troopers who quickly sliced the door controls sealing it shut, cutting them off from red blaster fire coming from the stormtroopers inside rushing out. “Are you guys alright ?” Kara asked her padawan as she deactivated her lightsaber. Sunset didn’t utter a word as she pointed towards the Imperial bombardment of her home happening ahead as she too deactivated her lightsaber.

The brightness of the green turbolaser fire razing the old city to the ground caught the attention of the others as they could only watch in horror the Empire’s doing. “Carabast,” Karl muttered to himself as he watched the Star Destroyers laying waste to the city. “They must be bombing the city to wipe the prisoners and to lower our morale,” Captain Bonthra intoned quietly as she watched the Imperials bombard the city with sheer might mercilessly . The Star Destroyers eventually stopped the barrage of fire, leaving the once spiraling City down to nothing but crumbles, its remnants letting out smoke as the surviving part burned. In simpler terms, Canterlot City was no more. “Zeko, bring the Gauntlet in for a pick up.” Kara said through her comm link before turning her attention over to Sunset, “ Sunset, are you okay ?” “How could I be okay when I just lead my own people to their deaths ?!” Sunset exclaimed out loud, almost weeping. For perhaps the first time, Kara didn’t know how to respond. She knew exactly how Sunset felt, to see her own people killed in front of her own eyes. She knew from her own experience. “Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here,” Captain Bonthra said, hoping to cool down the flurry of emotions before she continued, “ Your people are native to this place. That means they’re probably more well versed in finding an alternative, safer route through the forest.” “She has a point. It’s possible they made it out safely.” Karl concurred. “Let’s hope you’re right.” Kara said to Karl before turning over to Sunset. Helena’s theory did help cool down the stream of emotions flooding Sunset’s heart. She slowly pulled herself back together and placed her attention back to the mission at hand. Right now getting out of the Complex alive was more of a priority than grieving.

“ Who are you guys ?” Trixie demanded from everyone else before pointing out specifically to Captain Bonthra, “And what’s with the horns coming out from your skull lady ?” From her point of view, this was all too hard to make sense of. “ It’s part of my biology, kid.” Helena said mildly. Sunset turned around to face the others, finding that the Partisans were significantly lesser than before. She could only dread the cause of their dwindled numbers. “Trixie, this is Karl and Kara. That over there is Captain Bonthra, she and her men helped free everyone imprisoned.” Sunset answered Trixie by providing a brief introduction of everyone present before turning her attention towards Helena, “ There are much fewer of your men now. What happened to the rest ?” Sunset knew the reason why but yet curiosity got the best of her. The Partisan soldiers gave each other an uneasy look before one of them, a human male stood forward to answer. “ The Imperials launched an ambush when we were covering the prisoners' escape. We were forced on the defensive.” He explained before being interjected by Captain Bonthra, “Lost a lot of good soldiers in that ambush.” Helena added, not without a flicker of emotion in her voice. After all, she had just lost soldiers under her command. Just then, Karl noticed the Gauntlet approaching them and drew the attention of the rest, “The Gauntlet’s coming in !” “Let’s get the hell off this Complex as fast as we can,” Sunset said, her tone iced with frustration. Their mission was not a failure yet but it was far from a success.

The group moved a couple of feet back as the Gauntlet piloted by Zeko landed on the hangar. Sunset glanced at Trixie, finding the self proclaimed magician face beaming with astonishment. The ship’s ramp doors opened and extended downwards, revealing Zeko standing by the doors. The Ardennian had a pair of blasters on his left front and back right hands. “Someone called for a pick up ?” He spoke. Trixie’s jaw dropped upon seeing the four armed weapon wielding alien in front of him. She wasn’t scared but instead rather intrigued by his physiology and his species. “You’re definitely a sight for sore eyes, Zeko Mulig.” Karl said, relieved. “Yea, yeah, I know. Everyone get on board quickly before those Tie’s show up again.” Zeko shot back before calling the rest to quickly board. “You heard him, Get…” Kara stopped talking abruptly, as if she had come to some sudden realisation. She quickly turned her attention towards Helena, “Captain, earlier you said the Imperials might have bombed the city to lower morale right ?” She pointed out and continued, “None of us except for Sunset Shimmer have any real sentimental value to this world.” “Unless it wasn’t meant for us,”Karl added, his attention anxiously turned towards Sunset.

Sunset felt her heart skip a couple of beats. She pieced the puzzle almost instantly the moment Kara pointed it out and the glaring eyes only made it obvious. It was her. Sunset felt a cold chill going down her spine with that realization that the Empire was targeting her. Just then, Sunset felt a chilling darkness overcoming her body. She felt a dark presence close, darker than anything she had ever felt. It was as if whoever was emitting this darkness, they were one of it. “Kara, can you feel that ?” She asked, shaken by the dark feeling. Kara seemed visibly perturbed by the sudden feeling of a creeping cold feeling. “The cold.. I feel it too,” She offered a short answer. It was at this moment they saw him. Appearing from the now open blast doors was a tall bipedal figure, standing just short of seven feet tall, clad in jet black armor that was mostly covered by an equally jet black cape. A panel was visible on his chest with several switches and lights. His face and head were entirely hidden by black helmet, the face of it fashioned into a skull-like design with dark crimson lenses over his eyes. A deep chill breathing noise could be heard being emitted by the helmet that concealed his face as he was flanked by troopers of an usual design.

Sunset’s jaws dropped the moment she heard the breathing. It was the exact figure that appeared in her dreams in the past. The very person who had commended her for bringing the people she cared about down to their knees, begging for mercy. The Cold, dark aura of hatred and anger emitted from him, the same feeling she felt in her dreams. Even then, it was enough to rattle her to her core. The figure held a cylindrical object in his hand, to which he ignited his lightsaber, sending a glowing red saber shooting up. Sunset turned to Kara, finding her equally rattled by this figure, who just walked towards the two Jedi , flanked by a squad of this different kind of stormtroopers. Sunset briefly turned behind to find the others also unnerved and had their blaster trained at him. Kara pulled out her lightsaber and ignited it and her gut told Sunset to do the same. The figure then stopped, just a few feet away from Sunset and Kara, his ominous breathing even more heavier and unsettling, with the troopers behind him, flanking the other Rebels with their blaster rifles trained towards them. Sunset could sense the Dark Side’s presence in him, as if it was embedded in him, a part of this Dark Lord.

“It would be wise to surrender,” The Dark Lord intoned in his raspy voice, the same voice Sunset had heard in her dreams. Kara clenched her fist on the saber with no intention to give in to the threat, whoever it may be, “Oh I don’t think so,” Kara intoned before she charged full swing towards him, her lightsaber posed for the strike. Vader stood his ground, unperturbed at the slightest bit at the girl charging towards him. As soon as she was close enough, with one swing, he blocked Kara’s lightsaber strike, holding his lightsaber steadily with one arm as he held the block to his advantage. Kara on the other hand, struggled to break free of his block, her two hands clenched tightly to her lightsaber’s hand grip to hold the red lightsaber. From going on the offensive, she had been pushed to the defensive in one block. The Dark lord whom she was directly facing now, almost seemed like it took little effort on his part to block her. The troopers that he brought along moved on to flank the other Rebels, pinning them down with blaster fire coming from their unique blaster rifles.Karl and the others were forced to take cover from the incoming fire as they attempted to return fire. With their allies pinned down, Kara and Sunset were forced to face him by themselves, something which Vader had planned for. With Kara grappling to hold her lightsaber against Vader’s block which had his attention, Sunset seized the opportunity to strike. She advanced towards him, her lightsaber drawn out and set for a strike. However, he saw her coming and extended out to the Force through his left hand to grab Sunset midway, stopping her advance. Sunset wrestled as hard as she could to break herself free but it was in vain. He was just too strong in the Force. Vader further slightly extended his hand in a forward gesture, Force-pushing Sunset towards a nearby wall, where she slammed onto hard upon impact.

With the Sith Lord briefly distracted by her padawan, Kara managed to break free of his block. With Sunset dealt it for now, Vader turned his attention back to her, and launched his own set of offensive strikes. The dynamic of the duel was unchanged as Kara was forced to parry every single strike launched by him. It was tough as he expertly striked, using the Dark Side of the Force to enhance the blows of his strikes. He also seemed at least not even a bit unsettled in dueling with her, as if she was not worth the time or effort. As they both parried, Kara struggled to find an opening to which she can go on the offensive of her own but there was no opening, The Sith Lord's endless barrage of strikes made it so. Vader then lifted his lightsaber up before bringing it down in full swing towards her, to which she raised her lightsaber to block the incoming strike, with the both blades, blue and red intersecting between one another. Vader then leaned in on his strike, putting even more pressure on Kara to hold it. The Sith Lord had the upper hand and he knew it well. “Who was your master, Padawan ? Someone I killed perhaps ?” Vader taunted as he further leaned in. Kara’s block begins to falter, her lightsaber being pushed towards her chest by him. Kara attempted to relieve the pressure the Sith Lord was placing on her by suddenly swinging her saber in a manner to push away his lightsaber, giving some space between for her to launch a strike of her own, but Vader saw it coming. As soon as she swung her saber, pushing him slightly off balance, Vader grabbed her by the neck using the Force and flung her to the back, slamming her onto a charging crate that powered the E-Web cannon, knocking her out.

Sunset Shimmer pulled herself up, her head and half of her upper body aching from the impact she had earlier. She quickly brushed off the pain aside, setting her focus on the figure that was pinning her master. Sunset watched as Kara attempted to break his attack before being thrown towards a crate behind them by the figure. Sunset ignited her lightsaber and snarled out loudly, getting the Sith Lord’s attention before she charged towards him, her lightsaber up and posed for a strike. But Vader simply extended his hand and used the Force to pull the young Jedi off her feet and shoves against the wall she had slammed onto earlier, pinning herself against it, bringing her hand which held the lightsaber slowly towards her throat. Sunset Shimmer struggled to break free of his restraint on her as the blade of her saber was pushed towards her throat but it was in vain. His hold on her was just too strong to break. “Resisting is futile, girl.” Vader intoned as he moved and pinned her down even more with the Force, her blade even more closer to her throat. Sunset could hear and to certain extent, feel the humming of her lightsaber which now just below her heard and only a couple of centimeters apart. “ Your master has deceived you into thinking you could become a Jedi, Sunset Shimmer,” Vader further added. The fact that this Dark Lord knew her name well got her attention as well as unnerving her to her core. “How… do you.. Know my name ?” Sunset struggled to say the words that came into her mind as she was being pinned against the wall. “ I know everything there is to know about you, your past in particular.” Vader answered, his tone filled with an inquisition tone

Sunset was at her breaking point. She could not resist holding her lightsaber off her neck anymore longer. ‘Maybe he was right about resisting,’ She thought about what he had said earlier. “NO !!!!!” Kara bellowed and snarled out loudly as she charged towards the Sith Lord with her lightsaber up. To counter the incoming strike, Vader was forced to release Sunset of his hold as he brought his crimson red lightsaber to parry Kara’s blow. Sunset, upon being released from his grasp, fell to the ground, barely conscious. For a brief moment,Kara had gone on the offensive, with the Sith Lord retreating under the assault, although he didn’t have any trouble even at the slightest in countering her strikes, as if he was giving an opportunity to go on the offensive. She was determined to not let this Dark servant of the Empire get to her padawan. But it was only temporary. Vader soon countered a strike from her and leaned in on it. “ Consistent use of Form V [3] in your parrys,” Vader continued, “You’re the padawan to Jedi Master Plo Koon,” “Guess you’re smarter than you look, after all !” Kara retorted before she gathered her strength and pushed off Vader’s lightsaber that was pressing down on her, sending the Sith lord slightly stumbling back, though keeping his foot firmly on the ground and his glove-covered fist clenched on his lightsaber’s hand grip. “Like your master, you too will die unceremoniously,” Vader said before he struck again.

Meanwhile, the other Rebels are being pinned down by heavy fire being laid on them by the specialized troopers that accompanied the mysterious figure who was engaging the two Jedi in lightsaber combat. The troopers, flanking them from their left, had successfully killed several Partisan soldiers. “We’re getting slaughtered like Womp Rats out here !!!” Karl yelled to the others as he provided some degree of blaster fire back to the troopers before retreating for cover. Trixie, who was keeping her head down, covering herself from the ensuing battle that was happening managed to poke her head up in a brief second to find Sunset on the ground, slowly pulling herself back up while rubbing her head while the other lady that Sunset referred to as Kara with a blue glowing sword was losing a duel with the creepy looking mask wearing figure with a black cape wielding a red glowing saber. “I don’t think Sunset and your friend over there are doing any better than us,” She brought the lightsaber duel between Kara and Vader to the others' attention. “Anyone got any bright ideas on that ?” Zeko voiced out as he took cover from the Gauntlet.

“You know what we Partisans do in hopeless situations ?” Captain Bonthra sarcastically said before she revealed a pack of thermal detonators to the rest. “ We should have used those a long time ago !” said Karl upon seeing the pack of detonators. Helena took out one detonator and passed it over to Trixie, “Here, kid take this.” “What am I supposed to do with this ?” Trixie asked incredulously upon being handed over some kind of spherical shaped object. “It’s a thermal detonator,” A human partisan trooper answered before being interrupted by Captain Bonthra, “On my mark, throw it towards that guy over there,” Helena pointed to the figure wielding the red sword, to which Trixie Nodded. Meanwhile, Sunset finally gained her consciousness and pulled herself up, massaging her forehead badly. The sound of lightsabers clashing with one another drew her attention towards the duel between Kara and the Sith Lord, with the latter having the upper hand. Sunset ignited her saber and was about to charge towards the two before she noticed Trixie Lulamoon who was with the other pinned down Rebels duck out with some kind of spherical metal object on her hand. She appeared to be aiming towards the figure with the red lightsaber as her hand in which the object, now identified as a grenade, was in a throwing position. It was enough for Sunset to figure out what’s about to happen next.

“KARA ! INCOMING !!” Sunset shouted towards her master, bringing Kara’s attention towards the approaching thermal detonator. Seizing perhaps the only chance to inflict actual harm on this Dark Lord, Kara abruptly released herself from his pin, putting some space between the two before she extended her hand and grabbed the detonator mid air through the Force before releasing it and propelling it towards the the red bladed lightsaber wielding figure. Vader raised his saber up to his chest, intending to block off the incoming grenade from dealing any damage to his life support controls. The thermal detonator exploded as soon as it struck the red lightsaber, sending a shockwave of explosion that catapulted the Sith Lord a few feet away from where he once stood, with Vader perhaps for the first time, struggling to keep his feet on the ground. However, much to Kara and Sunset’s chagrin, the explosion did no damage to the Sith Lord as there was not even a single scratch of dent on his black armor or helmet, but it gave them the chance to make a run for it. It would be pointless to continue fighting this figure if even a literal explosion didn’t seem to do some damage at the slightest if not piss him off even more.

In the brief moment where the troopers were distracted by the explosion, Captain Bonthra and the others used the chance to throw more detonators towards them, scattering them and perhaps even killing one of them, hopefully. Sunset and Kara took the moment to regroup with the rest as detonators provided sort of a cover from blaster fire for them. “Everyone get on board now !!!” Zeko called out as the Partisans and Trixie quickly boarded the Gauntlet as Sunset and Kara, with their lightsaber ignited, covered their retreat, deflecting any incoming blaster shots. As soon as everyone was on board, the two Jedi were about to board the ship before a call from Karl caught Kara’s attention. “Kara, Watch out !!” he warned Kara, who turned behind to find a red lightsaber spinning uncontrollably towards the two of them. As if by instinct, Kara raised her saber and parried the incoming red lightsaber, which as if by call spinned towards the Dark Lord, who was now back on his feet and Sunset could feel whoever that’s behind that mask staring right at her.

The two wasted no time in boarding the Gauntlet to which the doors sealed shut as soon as they entered. “R5, fly us the hell outta here !” Zeko shouted as he made his way to the cockpit to take off from the Imperial swarming platform. Back outside, the purge troopers trained their blaster rifles towards the Rebel vessel’s engines as it ignited and the ship had begun to take off. However the vessel’s shields managed to hold, keeping the ignition turbines safe from blaster fire. Zeko managed to successfully lift the ship off the ground and fly off away from the Imperial Dome. Vader watched as the Rebel ship took off and flew away. d. A purge trooper with a red pauldron on his right shoulder, signifying the rank of Commander approached Vader, “Lord Vader, should I have our fighters pursue them ?” He asked. “Vader turned his attention towards the trooper, “That will be unnecessary, Commander. She will not be leaving the planet yet.” the Sith lord answered before turning his back and heading back inside the Dome. He knew well that his target won’t be making a run for it. There was still unfinished business left.

Back in the Gauntlet,

Having barely escaped from the clutches of the Empire with their lives, the Rebels, battered and badly diminished in numbers, catched their breath aboard the Gauntlet’s common area as the ship flew away from the Imperial Dome. It took some time for Sunset to calm herself down following the life or death ordeal she had gone through. In her time with Kara and the rest, she had risked her life undertaking many missions but they pale in comparison to what she had faced earlier. This time, she was genuinely afraid. The darkness, anger and hate emitted by the figure was perhaps the strongest she had ever felt. Sunset Shimmer had faced individuals corrupted by darkness before, she being no exception but this figure was consumed by it, as if it was a part of him. If not for Kara, this Dark Lord could’ve easily ended her life. What rattled her even more was that he knew her name and her past. That meant he somehow knew of Equestria or the portal that connects the two worlds. Her mind was buzzing with questions and theories, but it all came down to one single thing : He was after her because of her Equestrian roots.

“Kara, who was that guy ? Was it an Inquisitor ?” Sunset asked as soon as she calmed herself down. She had heard from Kara before about the Inquisitors, dark side Imperial agents tasked with hunting down any remaining Jedi remnants, one who had hunted Kara for a time. Sunset thought that this figure they faced was perhaps a member of this elite group but her gut feeling told her that wasn’t the case. True enough, Kara turned her attention to Sunset, her face looking pale as ever as she shook her head to her earlier question about the figure being an Inquisitor, “No, it's worse.” She muttered, her tone iced with fear. “ Worse ? How could it get worse ?” Sunset further asked. “ What we faced back there was a Sith Lord. [4] The ancient enemy of the Jedi.” Kara answered, her tone unchanged. Sunset had not heard of the term Sith before in her learnings. “A Sith Lord ? How do we fight him ?” Sunset asked. Surely there must be a way to defeat this Sith.But Kara looked at her incredulously, as if what she said was nothing more than wishful thinking, “ Fight him ? The Sith draw their strength from the Dark Side of the Force. It makes them stronger. We won’t stand a chance against him.” Sunset felt a chill go down her spine based on what Kara said about this supposed new enemy. “Back there, he said that he knew everything about me and where I come from. Could it be that he’s after me specifically ?” Sunset theorized. Deep down, she hoped for it to be wrong and that Kara would assure her that was not the case but instead her master stayed silent for a moment, staring towards her as she thought for an answer. “It’s a possibility.” Kara intoned.

Sunset’s heart sank in with the thought that this Sith Lord was coming after her, even more perturbing was that he knew about Equestria, maybe even the Empire knows about it too. Not only she had risked her friends and the people of this world but also their pony counterparts in Equestria, all because of one dumb move years ago to satisfy her greedy thirst for power. Her actions that fateful day endangered everyone she cared about. ‘ What have I done,’ She thought to herself. Kara could see the distress being manifested on her padawan’s face. She grabbed her palm and held it tightly, “ Don’t worry Sunset, I will never let anyone get to you, including this Sith Lord. I promise you with my life.” She assured her. Sunset turned to face her master, seeing the sincerity of her promise in her eyes. That did indemnify some of her fears but not completely. If only she had listened to Princess Celestia and not ventured into that mirror, none of this would’ve happened, ‘All because of greed.’

“Apparently he goes by the name of Vader,” Captain Bonthra chipped in, her voice seemingly shaken. Sunset and Kara turned their attention over to her, mildly surprised. “According to Sith tradition, the given name would usually be attached to a title called ‘Darth’, so it's Darth Vader.” Kara then turned her attention over to Helena, “How do you know this ?” “Rumors Mostly,” Helena explained, “They say he’s a ruthless killing machine. Enforces the Emperor’s will without question.” “So he’s like an executioner for the Empire,” Sunset further added. “What I don’t understand is the type of troopers that accompanied him. I’ve never seen that kind of stormtrooper before.” said Helena. “ Well they’re not exactly a common sight in the galaxy.” Karl said to Captain Bonthra, who gave him a mildly surprised look. “You people dealt with these kinds of troopers before ?” She asked. “ Yea, we had before,” Kara answered before she continued, “ They’re called purge troopers, an elite squad tasked with hunting down any surviving Jedi.. They’re made up of former clone troopers.” “I thought the Empire stopped using Clones a long time ago in favor of conscripted soldiers.” A human Partisan trooper interrupted Kara’s explanation. “Not these guys. With their inhibitor chips activated from the start and armed with weapons and armor to combat the abilities of a Jedi, making them the most effective death squad, sent only to worlds where there’s been suspected Jedi activity.” Kara answered. “ And based on what we saw earlier, they’re under the command of this Darth Vader guy,” Karl added. “Do these rumors you’ve heard tell us how to fight this Sith Lord ?” Sunset asked Captain Bonthra.

Helena exchanged a couple of glances with the other Partisans before turning her attention back to the Jedi duo, “From what we’ve heard, this Vader guy is practically invincible. Only one person came close to actually harming him. Ever heard of a Rebel named Cham Syndulla ?” [5] Helena shot a question towards them. Sunset had never heard of the name before but Kara did, as if the name brought about great significance. “The Twi-lek freedom fighter ?” Karl intoned in answering her question. “That’s right,” Helena concurred before she continued, “ His Cell managed to bring down a Star Destroyer with him on it over Ryloth.” “What happened next ?” Sunset asked, her interest in the story increasing. “ He survived the crash and slaughtered an entire village of innocent Twi-leks to get to Syndulla. Many lives were lost and while Cham himself survived, his rebel cell almost got wiped out by this Vader.” [6] Helena ended her narration. Sunset felt her hands getting sweaty as she heard Captain Bonthra’s narration. It unnerved her even more to know that this Sith Lord was capable of committing even the most horrendous acts just to get to his target, which in this case was her. From what she heard, there is almost no plausible way she could fend him off or defeat him. While Kara didn’t say it, she too had the same thought as Sunset did. She isn’t even considered a fully fledged Jedi as she hadn’t had the chance to be Knighted. It was basically two Padawan’s against a powerful Sith Lord. The odds were against them.

“Excuse me,” Trixie called out to the rest, bringing their attention towards the white haired girl, “Can someone care to explain to me what the HECK just happened ? I’m kinda at a loss here,” She added, her pitch higher than usual with a very confused look on her face. “ To simplify, a lot of bad things are happening right now.” Sunset summarized. “ Yea, you think ?” An unconvinced Trixie shot back. Sunset was about to say more before she was interrupted by Zeko, who approached from the Cockpit of the ship. “Well the scanners are all clear, so it's a safe bet to say that the Empire isn’t coming after us.” The Ardennian updated the rest about their current situation. “ That’s some good news, at least.” Karl breathed in relief. Zeko had a feeling that he was being unusually scrutinized by a pair of eyes. Sure enough, he found Trixie staring towards him rather curiously instead of expressing uneasiness or trepidation shown by Sunset’s other friends. “ So I suppose you too are intimidated by my appearance and my two pairs of arms ?” He said in a sarcastic manner. Trixie’s expression did not change as she regarded him, “On the contrary, I think it’s kinda cool to have more than one pair of limbs. Makes things easier.” [7] Zeko was briefly surprised for a moment, he didn’t expect that kind of answer to come from her. “I like this one. You can call me Zeko. What’s your name kid ?” Zeko said in a much friendlier voice as a smirk shot across his face. “It’s Trixie Lulamoon, but I prefer the phrase, the great and powerful Trixie,” Trixie continued in her usual egoistic voice, “ By the way, if anyone in this ship is intimidating I would say it would be that lady over there.” Trixie pointed out towards an unsuspecting Helena. “She literally has a set of horns on her head.” Trixie further added, referring to Captain Bonthra’s horns sticking out from her almost bald head. “Well that’s a bit degrading,” Zeko muttered, but he was still pretty impressed with this new girl, thinking of how great of a smuggler she could turn out to be. “One thing is certain,” Helena said, drawing the others' attention to her, “All of us onboard should be considered lucky to have survived that encounter with this Vader guy. From what I’ve heard, those who face him, they don’t usually live to tell the tale.” Helena ended her sentence grimly. An eerily cold silence befell the rest as Captain Bonthra lamented on how lucky they were. Kara didn’t stand to protest or to counter her.She, like the others all knew too well that what Captain Bonthra said couldn’t be any more true.

Meanwhile,
Star Destroyer ‘The Avenger’
The Ruins of Canterlot City

On the Command bridge of the Star Destroyer The Avenger, Admiral Katz stood overlooking the burning remains of the former city, with large clouds of thick black smoke rising from the heavily bombarded town. The high rise structures that once stood there were now nothing but crumbled parts. Just then, the ominous breathing noise of Lord Vader could be heard echoing throughout the deck as the Sith Lord had entered the deck through the main blast door which was flanked by two ordinary stormtroopers. Vader headed straight towards the Admiral, who submissively gave way for his superior officer to view the shattered and smoldering settlement below from the windows of the Command bridge. “Sir,” Katz addressed him in a yielding manner, “the former settlement has been completely razed to the ground as per your orders. Its site will soon be utilized for the construction of an ideal Imperial Class City, the start of our Occupation of this system.” Katz said as a small smirk appeared in his face, feeling a sense of pride within him as he gave the much feared Darth Vader, known for mercilessly executing those who failed him, good news. Vader was silent for a moment, his breathing being the only noise that could be heard coming from his mask. Katz felt his body tingle for a second, fearing he may have unintentionally angered the Sith Lord and was now going to be terminated from his services, like the others.

“Very good, Admiral.” Vader finally spoke, acknowledging what Katz had earlier mentioned. Katz’s heart sank in relief upon hearing Vader’s commendation, a rarity indeed. It was a sign that he was still in the Sith Lord’s favor, for now. “ Lord Vader, Coruscant is attempting to make contact with you,” Said one of the lower tier technician men stationed below the bridge to Vader. “Clear the bridge,” The Sith Lord ordered in response to the incoming transmission as he headed towards the back of the destroyer’s Command bridge, where a holotable sat between a set of two blast doors. The Imperial officers and technicians that were within the vicinity of the holotable promptly made their way out as soon as Vader gave the order to clear the bridge. They knew the consequences that would happen if he were to repeat. As soon as Vader entered the chamber, the blast doors behind sealed shut, separating him from the rest of the Command Bridge and leaving the Sith Lord alone with the holotable. He pressed a button on the holotable to play the incoming holographic transmission before kneeling down with his face facing down onto the ground as a sign of submission to his master. (Darth Sidious Theme)

“Lord Vader, Grand Moff Tarkin informs me that there has been an unfortunate Rebel incursion during the Annexation process of Utthar.” The hologram of Emperor Palpatine intoned in his usual papery voice. “The Offworld Intruders have been broken and defeated, my master. The Utthar system is now firmly under our Control. '' Vader kept his head down as replied to his master subserviently. “Very good, Lord Vader.” Palpatine said in a wicked manner before he continued, “What of your special mission ?” “ I’ve encountered Sunset Shimmer but she has managed to escape with the help of the offworld Rebels whom she was in league with. However, I sense that she still has unfinished business on Utthar.” Said Vader. “But yet I sense something more to this ?” Sidious further queried. “ Indeed my master. Besides the intruders, she was with the presence of a Jedi survivor. I believe that this survivor has been training her in the ways of the Force.” Vader answered his master, who became more vested in the matter the moment his apprentice had mentioned the involvement of a Jedi, the institution that he had successfully corrupted and wiped them out to near extinction and utilized their most sacred temple as his palace. “To become a Jedi ?” The Dark Lord of the Sith intoned sinisterly. “That is what I believe, my master.” Vader replied. The Emperor was silent for a brief moment before he chuckled in a manner that was iced with sheer menace. “An interesting development. I don’t sense the qualities of a Jedi in Ms Shimmer but perhaps the desperation of this survivor in keeping the religion alive has indeed clouded their judgment.” Palpatine mused as he poked fun at the fallen order. “ Should I continue our pursuit of Sunset Shimmer,my master ?” Vader asked compliantly. “If what you sensed is true, you shall face Ms Shimmer again, and this time she will give in to the darkness within her. When that happens, bring her to me.” said Sidious. “ What of the Jedi ?” Vader asked, “ She has shown to be quite protective of her.” “Kill this Survivor, she is of no use to us.” Palpatine said almost instantly to which Vader replied with, “As you wish, my master.”

Author's Note

The moment y'all have been waiting and been teased since Chapter 9 has finally come to be. I can assure you readers that this certainly won't be the last time Vader will come face to face with Kara and Sunset. Let's just say this duel was only the beginning, meant to introduce the protagonists to their dangerous new enemy, one in the form a Sith Lord. Besides that, the bombardment of Canterlot City is meant to symbolise the end of an era, and the beginning of a new Imperial era. As Kylo Ren once said, let the past die. Canterlot is no more, an Empire will rise from its ashes. Let's get on to the easter eggs,
[1] Based on his meditation chamber first seen in the Empire Strikes Back. It is perhaps the only place where he can safely remove his mask.
[2] The bombardment of Canterlot City is similar to the style of which Tipoca City on Kamino was destroyed in the 15th episode of the Bad Batch. ( https://www.starwars.com/series/the-bad-batch/return-to-kamino-episode-guide)
[3] Form V is a lightsaber combat form often favoured by Jedi Masters such as Plo Koon, balancing the need for offence and defence at the same time.
[4] The term to which this chapter derived from. The Sith have been an ancient enemy of the Jedi for centuries.
[5] A namedrop of the famous Twi-lek veteran rebel leader. (https://www.starwars.com/databank/cham-syndulla)
[6] A reference to the events on Ryloth first described in the Star Wars: Lords of the Sith novel. In this book, Vader and his master go on a murderous rampage on the planet after having their star destroyer being brought down by Syndulla.
[7] It appeared that unlike the others, Trixie seemed to have no problems with Zeko and is even fascinated by his four limbs.
That's all for now. Two things can be certain, that this Sith Lord knows who Sunset Shimmer really is and she and the others were lucky to have survived. But luck won't be with them forever.....

Chapter 19: Gathering Forces

“Master Plo, you called for me ?” a young Kara called out to her master as she ran past the corridors which are hidden past massive pillars of the Jedi Temple to her master, Plo Koon who was patiently waiting for her. “Walk with me, padawan,” Plo Koon said to his young and attentive padawan. Kara nodded in response and followed him as the two master and apprentice strolled through the busy corridors, which were filled with Jedi Masters with their fellow padawans and peers catching up with one another after returning from long missions. There were also cheerful and playful younglings following Jedi Master Tera Sinube as they headed for their next class. Almost every Jedi had trained under Master Sinube during their days as a youngling, and Kara was no exception, having been trained by him not very long ago. There was one youngling, however, who caught her attention but she was soon distracted by her master. “Tell me Kara,” Plo Koon directed a question to her, “What defines us as Jedi ?” For Kara this seemed like a question that was too easy to answer. After all, she had been brought up in the ways of the Jedi as long as she could remember. “ A Jedi draws his strength from the Light Side and is committed to everything that’s good.” She eagerly answered.

“Not quite so, my child.” Plo Koon intoned, much to Kara’s shock, who for the entirety of her life had been taught that the Jedi represent the Light Side of the Force in its pursuit of good. It was their core philosophy. “ What do you mean, master ?” She asked in a confused manner. Plo Koon turned to face his padawan, unsurprised by her confusion. “While the first part of your answer is correct beyond doubt, it is the second part that would seem more subjective.” Said Plo Koon. “Subjective ?” Kara further asked. “ The definition of what’s good varies from an individual’s perspective. For example, the enemy on the other side would consider their actions as righteous and view us as the wronged and corrupt ones.” Plo Koon explained in his usual calm manner. “But that’s wrong, Master Plo. The Separatists are the ones who caused this war in the first place.” Kara retorted. “Like I said, it all depends on an individual's view on what’s good. We may think that the Jedi are the ones that are righteous in this conflict but those on the other side may think otherwise.” the Jedi Master further added. Kara saw the point her master was explaining, but brought about an even greater confusion. “Then what does define us ?” Kara repeated the question her master asked prior that caused all this confusion.

Plo Koon stopped walking and turned to regard his padawan steadily, “ Keeping the peace, Kara.” The Kel Dor continued, “Our adherence to the principles of peace and justice is what makes us a Jedi above all else. We are bound to protect all forms of life in the galaxy, regardless of their political affiliations or ideologies.” “ But Master Plo, How are we supposed to be peacekeepers when we’re fighting a war ?” Kara reasoned. She could barely remember a time before the conflict had engulfed the galaxy, both politically and on the battlefield, when the Jedi acted more as diplomats, solving disputes and preserving life. Plo Koon’s face slightly sunk, evident despite his breathing mask covering most of his face. “It is our burden as Jedi to balance the two conflicting aspects, Kara.” He continued, “ This unfortunate war has brought about great suffering from both sides, and there are times I wished things would have gone differently.” Kara could sense conflict within her master. A feeling of sadness consumed him over the state of the galaxy. “Master, are you alright ?” She asked in a concerned manner.

“Don’t worry about me, child. It’s you we should talk about.” Plo Koon brushed off his emotions as he turned the topic over to Kara. “Me ?” Kara said in a slightly confused tone. Had she offended him or done something wrong ? “Yes,” Plo Koon concurred and continued, “ During our conversation and by far your time as a padawan, you have shown to be able to critically think and be attentive to detail in addition to your skills as a Jedi. For that you have earned my commendation.” “All because of your training, Master Plo.” Kara blushed upon Plo Koon’s praise. “ Not everything can be taught, Kara. When you’re older, you will learn this and I foresee you will become a great Jedi Knight, more so as a person.” Plo Koon remarked. Kara was about to respond to her master when she was interrupted by a beeping noise coming from Plo Koon’s comm-link. The Kel-Dor Jedi Master brought his left hand up, where his comm link was situated and answered it. “General Plo,” Came his second in command, Commander Wolffe’s voice, “ You’re urgently needed in the War Room. It’s the ongoing Separatists Siege.” “ I’ll be right there, Commander.” Plo Koon said to his comm link before ending the transmission and turned his attention over to Kara, “ I’m afraid duty calls for us, my padawan. We shall have this fruitful conversation, another time.” [1]

“Kara… Kara wake up,” Kara could hear the heavy voice of a girl calling out to her as she slowly drifted back to consciousness. The image of the girl facing her was blurred at first, but as her eyelids became lighter, the image became clearer, soon revealing it to be her padawan, Sunset Shimmer. She found herself lying on the seat by the Gauntlet’s holodesk. “What’s happening ?” She asked, orientating herself. “ You dozed off for a while,” Sunset said before she continued, “Woke you up to inform you that we’re already landing.”

Partisan Makeshift Base

“ Urghh, where are they ? They should be back by now.” Rainbow Dash groused to the others as she picked up a pebble from the ground and tossed it towards the forest nearby. “Hold your horses Rainbow Dash. Sunset hasn't been gone for that long now.” Applejack retorted in her usual mild countryside accent. Rainbow turned her attention over to Applejack, “It has been that long, AJ” She shot back. “ I have to agree with Rainbow Dash on this. I’m starting to worry about her.” Rarity, concurred with Rainbow Dash much to her and the others surprise. “Maybe we should ask those guys.” Twilight pointed towards the few offworlders that were left back to hold fort for the rest of the Partisans who had accompanied Gerera for the infiltration mission. The others turned to their nerdy friend, giving her an uneasy look. “ I doubt they can be of any help to us.” Rainbow Dash said in an unconvincing manner. Amongst them, Rainbow Dash harboured the greatest distrust towards the offworlders. Although the Partisans had saved them earlier and her close friend Sunset Shimmer considered them as allies, she opined that they had brought their own war to her world and doubted their intentions. As the others voiced out their concerns, Fluttershy heard a mild turbine engine noise that seemed to be getting louder and louder which seemed to come from above. She looked up, finding the u-shaped spaceships making their descent.

“Girls, they’re here !” She alerted the rest to the approaching ships. Twilight Sparkle narrowed her eyes towards the descending ships design, determining which of them was the ship Sunset had boarded earlier. “Those aren’t the ships Sunset had boarded earlier,” She concluded, much to the disappointment of the others, except Pinkie Pie, who had spotted another starship descending closer to them. “I’m pretty sure that’s the ship Sunset boarded earlier.” the Pink joyful girl pointed towards the starship of familiar shape and design that landed closest to them. The girls immediately recognised the ship as the same one that saved them during the capture of the city and the one Sunset had boarded. Sure enough, the ship’s ramp doors came down and several soldiers disembarked from the ship. From the looks of it, the troopers had a battle wearing and defeated face and for a moment, the girls had feared for the worst.That was until they saw their friend coming out of the ship, and fortunately in one piece.

“SUNSET SHIMMER !!!!” Sunset could hear the joyful screams of her friends (especially Pinkie Pie) as she stepped out of the Gauntlet. Her friends rushed towards her and embraced her tightly as twelve hands could, giving barely enough space for Sunset to breathe. “ You came back in one piece !” Fluttershy said as the girls slowly relieved their embrace of Sunset, giving her some room to breathe. “ I had a promise to keep, didn’t I ?” Sunset intoned after taking a deep breath. “And you kept to your word, darling.” Rarity retorted. Just then the other Gauntlet crew members came out from the ship, with a very familiar face catching the attention of the girls. “Is that.. Trixie Lulamoon ?” Applejack incredulously pointed out. Trixie, who was having an interesting conversation with the four armed alien, Zeko, turned her attention to Applejack and the rest upon hearing her incredulous voice. “Your eyes do not deceive you, Applejack. Indeed it is me, the great and powerful Trixie.” She said in her usual boastful manner. “We know that.” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Zeko and her seemed to have hit it off pretty well.” Sunset told the others about Trixie and Zeko’s unlikely friendship. “I didn't peg you for the friendly to aliens kind.” Said Rainbow Dash. Trixie regarded the rainbow-haired athletic girl in an ostentatious manner, “There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, Rainbow Dash.” “Apparently so,” Applejack noted before turning her attention over to Sunset, “So I reckon this mission of yours was a success ?” Silence befell Sunset. She didn’t know how to answer that question, how is she going to reveal to them that the City they called home had been completely destroyed and probably their families too. “You didn’t tell them yet ?” Trixie voiced out, this time her tone was iced with seriousness. The expression on the others dulled, “Tell us what ?” Rarity asked.

They deserved to know what happened. Sunset took a deep breath before she spoke, “ We did manage to free the prisoners but the Empire had completely destroyed Canterlot City to the ground.” The mere mention of the word ‘destroyed’ caused Fluttershy to let out a small shriek while the others gasped in horror. “What do you mean destroyed, Sunset ?” Twilight asked, shaken upon having heard that the town she grew up in was now reduced rumbles. “ It was an orbital bombardment. They bombed the entire city to the ground in an attempt to stop the escaping prisoners.” Karl answered. “So does that mean that, not only is our hometown gone but also our friends and families ?” Pinkie Pie speculated, much to the fear and horror of the others. Sunset could feel the sense of loss developing within them as they grappled with the sense of losing their loved ones. Fluttershy’s eyes were almost flooding with tears. The rest were with no exception with Applejack doing her very best to hold it. Loss was not something unfamiliar to her but it still hurts even more than the last time. “I really hope that’s not the case. There's still a chance they could’ve made it out safely.” Sunset said in an attempt to placate the fury of emotions that was running high amongst the girls. “She’s right.” Kara concurred with her padawan, “There’s still a strong possibility your people found another way to escape instead of going through the city.” “How are we going to know if we made it ?” Rainbow Dash pointed out with a shimmer of hope in her voice. “ We’ll just have to wait and see.” Kara bluntly replied back. Just then, Saw Gerera disembarked from his Ship and made his way towards the center point of the base in a slightly unsettled manner, flanked by Captain Bonthra on one side and a partially concealed trooper on the other. “Everybody Listen Up !” He said out loud, drawing the attention of the others to himself, “ Pack up and leave anything non-essential behind. We’re leaving this forsaken planet.” Upon receiving the orders from their leader, the rest Partisans proceeded to pack up their makeshift base, much to the confusion of Sunset Shimmer and the others. “Are they abandoning us ?” Rarity said in disbelief. “Seems that way,” Applejack concurred. “I think it's time we have a talk with Gererra.” Kara intoned to the others. “I agree.” Sunset replied to her before she followed Kara and Karl to Saw’s Command Tent. “I’m just gonna run a diagnostic test on the Gauntlet, see if everything is alright.” Zeko awkwardly excused himself to the Gauntlet as the others headed to see Saw.

Gererra’s Command Tent,

Kara, Sunset and Karl made their way to Saw’s tent, where the veteran fighter, together with a Partisan trooper was in the midst of packing up, and failed to take notice of the trio. The rest of the girls, on the other hand, anxiously waited outside the tent as Sunset had told them to let them handle the discussions. “ Saw, we need to talk.” Kara called out to him. “Make it fast, I’m running short of time as it is.” Saw intoned without regarding them as he continued to pack up essential stuff in his tent. “ Why are you giving up ? This whole mission was your idea in the first place.” Sunset Shimmer voiced out in an incredulous manner. Saw passed over some items over to his assistant, “Take this to the ship,” He said before turning his attention over to Sunset Shimmer, “Things have changed. This planet is a lost cause. The Imperials have better established themselves than we expected.” Sunset felt a sudden rage flowing through her upon hearing Gererra mention her planet was a lost cause but before she could voice it out, Karl beat her to it. “ What happened to finding out the Empire’s plans for this world in the Imperial Dome ?” He queried. Saw turned his attention over to Karl, “ I’ve lost a lot of good soldiers in that attack. The Empire nearly decimated us. It was as if they wanted us to attack. I fear the longer we stay here, the deeper we fall into whatever trap the Imperials have in store for us.” Saw added. Sunset knew exactly what he meant by a trap, especially after their encounter with Vader earlier. She thought it was best that she keep that encounter with a Sith Lord to themselves for now and focus on the issue at hand.

“Regardless if the prisoners had survived the bombing, The Empire is sure to come down hard on those remaining. They’ll be unprepared to face what’s coming.” Sunset said, her tone iced with simmers of desperation. Saw Gererra turned to regard her steadily, “ Relax kid, I saw your people during my escape. They didn’t go through the City. They’re all safe and in one piece.” Sunset’s heart flooded with relief, knowing that her people had survived the bombing and that she’s not responsible for their deaths. “The more the reason you can’t leave them undefended.” Kara reasoned. Saw thought for a moment before he replied. “You do have a point. I’ll have my men leave behind some crates filled with blasters for the locals to arm themselves with.” “Just a couple of weapons crates won’t do enough.” Kara shot back. “I know. That’s why the Partisans will undertake a supply run once every rotation to keep them buffed up.” Saw said as he stepped out of the tent taking no notice of the other girls who were outside as the trio followed him. “That’s not going to help them at all.” Sunset continued, “ They have no experience whatsoever in handling weapons like what you’re about to provide them with.” “Well I suggest they better start learning quickly if they want to survive.” Saw said in response. “But they’re suffering !” Sunset said, this time her tone was filled with desperation. Saw have had enough. He turned his back and regarded her steadily, “ EVERYONE IS SUFFERING !” He bellowed out loud as he snapped back at her, sending a shockwave of silence across the base as everyone else turned their attention towards the argument, “There are countless other beings across thegalaxy that are in a far worse condition than this, so yea, it isn’t just exclusive to your world.” Saw further added.

“ But my people aren’t like the others. They don’t know what the Empire is capable of, Saw.” Karl intoned. “We have done what we could, kid.” Gererra continued, “ We’ve freed them from custody, given them an independent mindset and weapons to arm themselves. The choice is now theirs, whether they want to fight back or submit to their rule.” “My friends aren’t fighters, Gererra.” Sunset said sternly but the veteran warrior was unswayed by it. “They’ll have to learn to, like it or not. They are very much a part of this war now.” Said Saw. “You may have written them off, but I’ve not, and never will.” Sunset shot back at him. “ I respect your decision, kid.” Saw then turned his attention over to Kara and Karl, “What about you guys ? My men could use a skillful crew like yours.” For a moment, Sunset felt that Kara might take up Gererra’s vacancy. They didn’t have to be compelled by her to stay in this world any longer than needed to. The two exchanged glances with one another, before Kara turned to address Gererra’s offer, “We still have unfinished business here,” Kara said as she stood by with Sunset Shimmer. “I’m with her.” Karl concurred with Kara. Gererra’s expression remained unchanged though Sunset could feel a slight vexed feeling in him. “The offer still stands if you change your mind,” He said to Karl and Kara before he extended his hand forward to Sunset, “Till we meet again.” Sunset Shimmer reluctantly reciprocated Saw’s handshake. There was nothing to shake hands about.

Sunset and the rest could only watch helplessly as Saw Gererra and the Partisans packed up their equipment and loaded them up into their starships. Saw kept true to his word, leaving behind a couple of crates filled with blaster rifles together with a datapad informing them of the next supply run. One by one, the U-shaped starships took off from the ground and flew away, leaving Captain Bonthra and a few remaining others as they loaded up the last of the equipment onto the final ship.Before boarding the ship, the Zabrak fighter turned her head towards Sunset and the rest, “Good Luck, you’re gonna need it.” She said before the flight doors sealed shut and the ship flew off, leaving them to fend for themselves. “How are they going to get past the Imperial Blockade ?” Karl asked, referring to the star destroyers in orbit. “They got in didn’t they ?” Kara pointed out as she continued, “Getting out won’t be a problem for them.” “What are we going to do now ?” Fluttershy innocently asked Sunset. “We’re back to square one,” Sunset muttered, barely audible to the rest. “Ah, don’t you worry sugarcube, we’ll find a way to get through this obstacle.” Applejack continued in her usual country-style demeanor to reassure her friend. “ Applejack’s right. We always find a solution to our problems.” Pinkie Pie agreed. To Sunset, it was clear that her friends were ignorant of the gravity of the situation they were in. “No Pinkie Pie, this time, there is no way out of this.” She said in a mildly agitated manner. “Sunset, what do you mean ?” Twilight asked with concern. “We have an EMPIRE after us and if things weren’t bad before now a Sith Lord. So no Twilight Sparkle, things aren’t like last time.” Sunset intoned, growing more and more agitated at their predicament. Kara could sense the sense of despair and hopelessness building up in her as her friends grew more concerned with her.

“What do you mean by a Sick Lord, darling ?” [2] Rarity naively asked, mispronouncing the term Sith. Sunset has had it with her friends' attitude of underestimating the situation they’re in. “IT’S A SITH LORD RARITY !!! AND UNLIKE THE OTHERS, THIS ONE WILL ACTUALLY KILL US ALL !!! ALL BECAUSE OF ME !!” Sunset bellowed the loudest she could until her voice box felt like it was about to crack. She was on the verge of tears. The girls were instantly taken aback by Sunset’s outburst, to the extent that they were speechless to counter it. They understood her dilemma but yet they themselves didn’t know of a solution let alone an understanding of what she’s up against. Even Karl was startled by her bellowing. “Sunset, calm down.” Kara continued as she placed her hand on her padawan’s shoulder, “You’re letting your emotions get the better of you.” Sunset turned to face her master, this time tears were flooding from her eyes uncontrolabally, “I don’t know what to do anymore, Kara. Everything is lost. I’ve failed everyone .” Sunset said in a defeatist manner, succumbing to her predicament as tears continued to flow from her eyes.

“Never give up hope Sunset, no matter how dark and lost things may seem. The moment you lose hope, that’s when you’ll truly fail.” Kara said in a soft yet soothing voice that helped calm the flurry of emotions she exhibited as her friends watched with concern for their best friend. Sunset wiped off the remaining tears from her cheeks and eyes before she turned to her master, “What should I do then ?” She asked. Kara thought for a moment before she answered, “In times like this, my master would advise us to meditate and seek guidance from the Force.” “Meditate ? That’s hardly a sol...” Rainbow Dash protested before Applejack nudged her zip her mouth. It wasn’t her place to give an opinion on this. “Where do I meditate ?” Sunset asked. “ In the most serene place you can find around here,” Kara answered, “ That way, what you seek will appear more clearly to you.” Kara then turned her attention towards the girls and Karl, “ You guys head back to the Gauntlet and wait, we won’t be long.” She told the others. The girls, while they had initially wanted to insist they stay by their friend, knew that this was way out of their capability of understanding and reluctantly followed Karl back to the Gauntlet.

A While Later,

Twilight Sparkle headed to the river banks where Sunset Shimmer was meditating. She came to check how her best friend, someone she cared for so much, was doing. Her outburst earlier had rattled her. She didn’t know how she felt and the burden she was carrying inside of her. She wished she could help but this wasn’t her expertise, or anyone else's for that matter, which irritated her as she was used to being in the know of things. An exception to this was during the Friendship Games, but then, she had Sunset by her side. She can’t repay the favor now, much to her frustration. Sunset sat by the river, facing the mountain ranges of Mount Everhoof as the clouds partially obscured its peak. She sat with her knees on the ground and her legs being used to support her body as she closed her eyes and meditated. Her meditation was deep enough for her to be oblivious or to notice Twilight's presence behind her. While not exactly a superstitious person herself, Twilight still showed great concern for her. “How long will she have to meditate ?” She muttered to herself quietly, not to distract her friend’s concentration. “As long as she needs to.” Another voice came beside her that gave her a slight shock.

Twilight turned to find Kara standing right next to her. “Oh, it's you,” She said in slight relief. “Sorry to have startled you back there,” Kara said in response after giving the purple skinned girl a small fright. “No biggie,” Twilight shrugged it off before she continued, “ So by meditating,will Sunset get the answers she’s after ?” “That’s a good question,” Kara replied as she continued, “Most of the time, the Force shows us not what we asked for, but what we’re meant to seek, even when we ourselves don’t know what we’re seeking.” The more Twilight’s curious mind thought about it, the harder it became for her to comprehend what Kara had said. It was just as confusing and open ended in any way she had tried to make sense of. “Well that’s complicated to say the least,” She said in a slightly vexed manner. After all, Twilight wasn’t used to not understanding a concept at first go. “Trust me, even the wisest of Jedi found it hard to understand what the Force has in store for them in their meditations.” Kara remarked, much to Twilight's slight relief that she wasn’t the only one who was confused. “ Do you think what Saw Gererra said earlier is true ? That we have to learn how to fight this war we’re dragged into ?” Twilight queried as she changed the subject.

“I won’t really give much thought to what he said if I were you. Gererra has been known to have rather extreme opinions. ” Kara attempted to assure her. Twilight however, was unconvinced with her answer. “That doesn’t really answer my question,” she retorted. “I can’t really blame him for what he said,” Kara sighed as she relented and answered Twilight, “I’ll be honest with you. Despite his extremism, Saw has a point. We’ll always be there for you guys to help but in time, you’ll have to learn to fight the Empire on your own. This is your home after all and are you just gonna allow a foreign power to occupy it ?” [3] Twilight stayed silent. Despite not wanting to admit it, she knew Kara and by extension Saw, had a valid point about fighting the Empire. Despite their magical geodes, they had never used it for attack and only as a last resort. The idea of waging war and killing was essentially alien to them. But the harsh reality was that no matter how alien it is to them, they’ll have to learn it and it is what the girls dreaded. They didn’t choose to be a part of this war but they were dragged into it by both Saw and this Empire. “At least you have a home to fight for. Not many across the galaxy have that luxury, and Saw Gererra is a part of this group.”[4] Kara further added.

Meanwhile, Sunset was deep in her meditation, deep enough that the distractions of her surroundings could not even be heard. She felt she was in a void, with nothing but vast emptiness surrounding her. But it was not empty, she could feel energy around her and within her veins. The Force was binding her and she was one with it. ‘What must I do?’She repeatedly said in the spiritual void she was in, hoping to get an answer or at least an indication. But nothing answered her, despite the feeling she felt of some kind of spiritual energy around her. It was as if it was ignoring her. She tried again, harder than the last, with the Force getting stronger and more refined around her. The feeling of the wind blowing past her, the sound of the river stream, it all blurred away, as if the environment surrounding her became non-existent. Her mind was deep in this void detached from reality. It was at this moment she heard a male voice calling back at her. It sounded like it came from a wise elder, soothed with calmness and tranquility and heavily deepened. She recognised the voice as the same voice that reached out to her before in the ancient structure that called to her. The voice echoed throughout the void with just two words that Sunset made out, “Find Arkuntal.” Just then, she was abruptly pulled from the deep meditation state she was in by some kind of invisible force towards a bright light source above. As she was being pulled out, the void below became smaller and smaller before vanishing. The bright source got brighter and brighter as she was pulled closer before she was consumed by it.

“ Sunset Shimmer !!!” Twilight cried out as she caught on to her friend who had nearly fallen into the river. Sunset’s vision, which was blurry, cleared up slowly as the image showing the face of her concerned friend appeared. “Are you okay ? “ She could hear her friend’s faint voice, with Kara standing beside her and offering her hand towards her. Sunset grabbed her hand and pulled herself up and orientated herself to her surrounding environment, with the summer Sun piercing her skin. In other words, she was getting accustomed back to reality after being so deep in meditation. “You nearly fell into the river.” Twilight further added, this time her voice was much clearer. “Give her a moment to adjust. It’s common to feel a bit disoriented after meditating.” Kara said in response. “I’m alright,” Sunset brought herself to address Twilight, “Back there, I heard a voice.” “A voice ?” Twilight said with confusion. “ Yea, it told me to find Arkuntal. Who’s Arkuntal ?” Sunset intoned in a slightly perplexed manner. Twilight’s face was as confused as her but Kara’s expression was otherwise, as if she knew what Sunset meant, and she did. “Arkuntal isn’t a person, it's a place.” Kara continued,” The very place where I first found you.”

“ And that’s why you never mess with a Wookiee’s temper.” [5] Zeko intoned to the girls, Trixie, Flash Sentry and Karl as he dipped his spoon into his plate of roasted mynock and brought it to his mouth before eating it passionately. The Ardennian had made the signature dish famous in his home world not just himself but for the others as well as they sat outside the Gauntlet waiting for Sunset and Kara. To pass the time, Zeko and Karl took turns telling stories about the larger Galaxy to those present. The latest story was about how upsetting a Wookiee could result in one’s limbs being pulled off, which resulted in gasping noises and a minor shriek from Fluttershy. “ That’s horrendously barbaric and uncivilized of them.” Rarity said as she took nibbles from her food, slightly repulsed by its appearance. Under normal circumstances, she would have outrightly rejected it but she forced herself to choke it to satisfy her roaring stomach. “And you call us primitive.” Rainbow Dash scoffed at Zeko and Karl while concurring with her friend. “At least Wookiees don't overreact when they come in contact with other beings.” Zeko shot back at them, referring to how the girls shrieked when seeing him for the first time. As much as Rainbow Dash wanted to counter that, she knew he had cornered her with his words. In other words, there was no arguing with that. “ All of these stories of yours, they seem kinda violent.” Applejack remarked as she took a bite of the roasted mynock. “Speak for yourself,” Trixie said to Applejack before turning to Zeko, “ Do you have more interesting tales about what’s out there ?” She said as she enjoyed eating the food given. For her, it was unique and one of a kind.

“ You’re easy to impress, aren’t you ?” Zeko chuckled, seeing Trixie’s enthusiastic and interested looks from hearing his stories. Before he could say more, R5 interrupted with his beeping and drew their attention over to Fluttershy, who was using her utensils to play with her food. “Hey kid, you gonna eat that ?” Karl called out to her, which seemed to have pulled Fluttershy from what she was doing. “Uhh, I’m not exactly accustomed to eating this kind of food.” She said in her usual soft and meek voice. Due to her vegetarian diet, she found it extremely hard and difficult to eat the foreign food that’s in front of her. “ Well, this food is a specialty where I come from.” Zeko replied. “It ain’t exactly a local dish here,” Applejack retorted back at him, answering on behalf of Fluttershy. “Regardless, she’s gonna starve herself if she doesn’t eat like everyone else.” Karl intoned. “Fluttershy darling, as much as I understand your hesitancy, I’m afraid he’s right. You have to eat or else you’ll starve.” Rarity humbly said with concern to her friend. “Okay,” Fluttershy said softly and in a resigned manner as she, with great reluctance, ate the roasted meat and did her best to choke it down her throat. “Back to the subject, do you have any other stories to tell us ?” Trixie brought the attention back to what Zeko had to say earlier. He thought about what tale he was to share with them next before he spoke, “Ever heard of a game called Pod Racing ?”. “What’s Pod Racing ?” Flash asked.

Before Zeko could elaborate more on Pod racing, he was interrupted by a high pitched call from Pinkie Pie, “Sunset’s back !!” The hyperactive girl intoned to the others about their friend’s presence. Karl turned to find Kara, Sunset and her friend approaching them. “Took you long enough,”Karl said to Kara. The girls save for Trixie and Flash immediately got from where they were seated and rushed towards their friend. “Sunset darling I speak for all when I say we apologize for underestimating what you were trying to say to us earlier.” Rarity apologized on behalf of the others, who concurred with her. “I don’t blame you guys for doing so.” Sunset continued, “ I should be the one to say sorry for losing my temper.” “So did you find the answers you were looking for ?” Flash asked her as Zeko and Trixie joined them, with their eyes and everyone else trained towards Sunset, waiting for an answer to come out from her. “Not exactly...:” Sunset said, much to the confused looks from them as she thought of a simplified way to explain to them what the voice said in her head, “I need to head to an ancient Jedi Temple called Arkuntal. The Force told me to head there.” She knew how that last part sounded, especially when a voice in her head told her so. Everybody else, especially her friends, had confused glances on their faces. “Uhh, the Force told you to go to this temple ?” Applejack asked, trying to make sense of what she had just heard.

“ Also, where exactly is this temple ?” Zeko further queried. “It’s on this world.” Kara answered on behalf of Sunset as she continued, “ It’s the same temple where we first found Sunset.” Karl and Zeko instantly knew the place she referred to while the others were still lost but slowly coming to realization. “Is this the same place that you ventured to in the East Everfree forest ?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Exactly.” Sunset answered Rainbow Dash while concurring with Kara at the same time. “Well the coordinates to that place is in the Gauntlet’s navigation history, so it should be no problem for you guys to head there.” Zeko said getting the attention of Sunset and Kara. “You’re not coming ?” Sunset asked the Ardennian. “Nah kid, I think I’ll sit this one out, especially after what happened back at the Dome.” Zeko replied to which Karl concurred, “I’m with him on this. Plus this Jedi stuff seems pretty much out of my league.” “We won’t be gone for long,” Kara said to the two before turning to her droid, “Come along R5, we’ll definitely need you with us.” The astromech droid beeped in the affirmative before extending its third retractable leg and headed in the direction of the master-apprentice duo.

“Hey, wait up.” Pinkie Pie called out to them as they turned their back and was about to head to the Gauntlet. “We’re coming along with you.” She added, with the others seemingly rallying around her. Sunset mildly slammed her hand on her face, in a small vent of frustration despite being surprised about their insistence. “ Where we’re going could be dangerous guys, there is a high chance we might run into the Empire.” Said Sunset, but her friends were far from convinced but instead visibly pissed, especially Rainbow Dash. “Oh come on !!! You didn’t want us to tag along before and now again ? There’s no way that’s happening.” The short tempered Rainbow vented. “ Because it’s for your own safety !” Sunset said, slightly raising her voice at the end as she pleaded with them, “Look I know you guys wanna help but..” “YOU LISTEN TO US THIS TIME, SUNSHIM !” Pinkie Pie interrupted Sunset as she bellowed out loudly, perhaps even the loudest they’ve ever heard coming from their cheerful friend, “ THERE IS NO DEBATE ON THIS MATTER. WE’RE COMING WITH YOU AND THAT’S FINAL. IF YOU WANT TO STOP, IT WILL BE OVER MY DEAD BODY !” Everyone had their eyes turned towards Pinkie with stunned expressions. For a moment, everyone was speechless over her sudden angry vent, even R5 had not expected that to come from a girl like her. As quick her rage came, it vanished and her usual positive expression came back, but still everybody else was still shocked over her outburst. Nobody had ever witnessed this before coming from her. “Jeez, kid you alright ? That was quite a statement you made.” Zeko intoned in a shocked demeanor. “I don’t know,” Pinkie retorted in her usual cheerful manner, “Sometimes I feel like there’s another personality to me.” [6]

“You can say that again,” Karl muttered quietly in response. “Anyhow, Pinkie has a point.” Rainbow Dash continued, “ It’s not your decision to make for us. We’re tagging along with you, Period.” The others, even the usually meek Fluttershy concurred with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Sunset sighed, she wished her friend’s wouldn’t be as stubborn as they are but she would’ve been too if the roles were switched. She turned to Kara to get her view, “What do you think ?”. “ I think they made their stand pretty clear.” Said Kara. Sunset then turned to face their friends, “Alright, you guys can come along with us,” She resigned to their intentions before she continued, “ However, I must warn you that things can go sideways at any point. Am I clear ?” “Crystal Clear.” Noted Twilight. Rainbow Dash however, had much more to say, “ We’ve faced danger before. If we face any danger, it will be another fine addition to our hall of Rainboom triumphs.” She boasted with pride and overconfidence. “Typical Rainbow Dash.” Sunset grumbled to herself. With everyone else in agreement, they were about to head to the Gauntlet when Karl stopped them. “Hold on,” He continued, “ Gererra did say your people are headed here. Shouldn’t there be someone here waiting for them when they arrive ?”

“ I’m sure they won’t take too kindly to two offworlders, especially with me.” Zeko concurred and ended on how the reactions would be for the Canterlotians seeing an alien species for the first time. They had a point. Someone amongst them would have to stay back. “I’ll stay,” Trixie volunteered herself, “ I’ve had enough action for one day. Plus I would really want to hear that Pod Racing story of yours.” Trixie headed to the camping area and sat back at her previous seating area. “I’ll stay with Trixie too. Religion ain’t really my expertise.” Flash said as he too withdrew himself from the mission.“We won't be gone for long.” Sunset intoned to them before she and the others headed for the Gauntlet. “We’ll be waiting for you when you return !” Zeko waved his first two pairs of hands at the departing group before turning his attention over to Trixie, “So you wanna know more about Pod racing do you ? It’s not a sports human-like being like you guys can take part in.” He said to them, “What do you mean by that ?” Flash asked. “It means I’m more interested than before,” Trixie retorted in an enthusiastic and riveted manner at the same time. Meanwhile, Sunset and the others boarded the Gauntlet with Kara heading straight up to the cockpit. “R5, I need you up here to set up the navigation,” She called out to her droid, which beeped in the affirmative before heading for the cockpit. “First time going on a Jedi mission, this is gonna be so exciting !” Pinkie squealed in the usual ecstatic pinkie manner. Sunset tried to pay no attention to this as it vexed her, especially with the uncertainty of trials that await them in Arkuntal. “Sunset darling,” Rarity called out to her just as she was about to head for the cockpit, “Before I forget again, this belongs to you,” She handed over to her a brown journal looking book with an emblem on a Sun in its center from her carry bag. Sunset instantly recognised the book that was given to her.

“My journal ? How did you guys get this ?” [7] She exclaimed with a bit of joy and at the same time, curiosity. The magical journal was her only method of communication with Equestria, other than the portal outside their school. She’d often write in it to seek advice from Princess Twilight, who has a similar journal on her side and would write back to her. She thought that her journal had been destroyed along with her apartment when the Empire destroyed Canterlot and completely forgot about it until Rarity handed it to her in one piece. “Back when we used your apartment as an operations room in finding you, we used the journal to keep in touch with Princess Twilight as often as we could.” Applejack explained as she continued, “So we always brought it around wherever we went, just in case she found something on her side.” “ If what you said about the Empire having destroyed Canterlot City is true, then I guess this is the only thing we managed to save from your place.” Twilight further added. Sunset was about to hug her friends and express her gratitude for keeping her journal before she realized the tremendous danger her Equestrian friend was in. The Princess, out of genuine concern might walk through the portal, clueless about the devastation on the other side and find herself right in the middle of an Imperial Occupation. The last thing she would want is for someone who has a direct link to Equestria more than her, to be captured by the Imperials. It would be the end of it.

Rarity saw the uneasy expression Sunset had on her face and knew exactly the cause, “ Don’t worry darling,” She sought to placate her friend, “We took the liberty of informing the Princess of recent events and warned her not to come through.” Sunset’s heart flooded in relief upon hearing Rarity's assurance. “ Sunset, I need you here for a sec.” Came Kara’s voice from the cockpit. “Thanks a lot guys, I appreciate it.” Sunset expressed her gratitude to her friends. “That’s what friends are for,” Rainbow Dash intoned back at her. Sunset nodded back at Rainbow Dash before making her way to the cockpit. Equestria was safe for now but not this world. To save her new home, she would have to venture to Arkuntal and potentially face the demons she faced before.

Author's Note

There's only one phrase to properly describe the first half of this chapter: rock bottom. With Gererra and his Partisans gone, there's no one to protect the people of Utthar from the full might of the Empire other than some weapons crates which they will have to use themselves. With Saw out of the story, we move on to the second part of the chapter in which Sunset meditates for guidance, where she is provided a name to the place she least expected to be. The ancient temple she visited earlier in chapter 6 has been given the name Arkuntal. With her friends and Kara tagging along this time, Sunset must retrace her journey back to Arkuntal. I intentionally removed Karl and Zeko from tagging along as it would be too much of a crowd with the girls already tagging along. Besides, I felt its about time the Rainbooms get the front spot after being secondary characters throughout. Now, onto the easter eggs,
[1] Kara has a dream/vision of her past with her master back at the Jedi Temple. This scene was added to explore further into the relationship she had with Plo Koon as well to set up what is to come next. As seen earlier, Kara has still not gotten over her master's death and feels responsible for it.
[2] Just a little comical wordplay for some humor. I don't know about you guys but I felt like the story so far had been pretty dark and serious.(Spoiler Alert: It's gonna even more dark)
[3] Like I said previously in chapter 17, this topic plays a big part in this chapter as seen in the first half and is the reason why Saw left some weapons crates behind. In simpler terms, they would have to learn to fight back, like it or not. It will continue to play an influencing role in the coming chapters. That's all I can say for now.
[4] A reference as to how Saw's home world, Onderon has been lost to the Empire.
[5] The usual tale of what happens when you piss off a Wookiee. It's a classic story.
[6] A callback to some theories which argue that Pinkie Pie (MLP Version) has split personality disorder and this outburst is a mere peek of her darker personality.
[7] The famous journal finally makes an appearance. Fortunately, it had been saved from destruction by the Rainbooms so there is still a way Sunset could communicate to Equestria.( If she ever needed to)
Well that's all for now. Check out the next chapter as we now head to the climax of this story.

Chapter 20: ARKUNTAL

East Everfree Forest

“We’ll put her down here,” Kara intoned as she and Sunset as her co-pilot, landed the Gauntlet on the small space of land in the middle of the forest not far from the temple. Thanks to R5’s memory storage on navigation coordinates, they had managed to find their way closest to Arkuntal temple without any difficulty. However, Sunset was unfamiliar with the surrounding environment, having found the temple on her own before. “Are you sure this is the right place ?” Sunset voiced out her harboring doubts to Kara. “ I’m very sure this is the right place.” Kara continued, “R5 has one of the best and precise memory banks I know of. Now let's go get your friends.” Kara said as she headed for the cockpit, followed by the astromech droid. R5 stopped for a moment and responded with a crude joke at Sunset over how her master trusts a droid more in binary. “Very funny, R5,” Sunset responded in a sarcastic and unimpressed manner as she followed the droid and Kara to the common area. Back behind in the Common area, her friends were by the couch, with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy engaging in the holographic chess game known as dejarik.Sunset had briefly shown them earlier the basic rules of this new game and the playing technique . Rainbow struggled to keep her defense against an offensive Fluttershy in the game, before eventually losing to her. Twilight Sparkle and Rarity who were seated beside Fluttershy gave their timid friend a pat in the back and repeatedly congratulated her for her triumph. Rainbow Dash, in her defeat, fell back against the couch and moaned in frustration for losing. It was rarely her style to lose.

“How is it that I am losing to you even in space chess ?” She moaned in frustration over her loss. “Come on, Rainbow Dash, be a good sportsman and stop yapping about it.” Applejack said in response to her wailing. “You still played very well, Dashie.” [1] Fluttershy said, feeling sorry for her friend. Just as Rainbow Dash got over her defeat, Kara, R5 and Sunset came from the cockpit. “We’re here.” Said Kara to the girls as she proceeded towards the boarding doors and opened it. The girls got up from their seats and followed Sunset to the boarding doors. Kara pulled a lever beside the doors which opened them, revealing the forest outside as the ramp extended downwards, which they used to walk to the ground below, however sans R5 who stayed back in the ship. “Stay with the ship R5, and keep an eye on the scanners in case we have any unwanted visitors.” Kara told R5, to which the droid beeped in the affirmative before disappearing from sight in the ship. “You guys can wait back in the ship with R5 if you want.” Sunset said to her friends, very much hoping that they would take up the offer. “ I don’t think so sister,” Pinkie Pie shot down her suggestion instantly. There was no convincing the girls of otherwise and Sunset had finally given up on doing so. “ This is the way to the temple,” Kara said as she pointed in the direction ahead as she led the way forward. “I hope this isn’t gonna be a long walk. My feet aren’t exactly built for tracking.” Rarity lamented mildly as the sight of the ship slowly disappeared behind them, replaced with bushes and tall imposing trees, covering the moonlight that brightened up the night sky.

“ The forest was certainly no place for a fashionista,” Rarity again rumbled furiously to herself as almost tripped on an overgrown tree root, much to the irritation of the others who had to tolerate her constant grumblings. As the girls continued trekking through the forest to this supposed temple, Twilight could not help but wonder how Sunset Shimmer had found this place in the first place given that she had been there before. “Judging from our geographical position and given how secluded this temple is, how did you find it in the first place?” She asked curiously. “Well it's a bit complicated but the Force kinda led to this temple the first time.” Sunset answered, leaving out the vision she had in the mall. It's probably for the best that they don’t know that it came from a nightmare in which she ruthlessly slaughtered everyone they knew of. “Uhh, you mean to say that this ‘mystical’ Force guided you to this place ?” Rainbow Dash asked in an incredulous manner. Despite having seen magic at its work with her own two eyes, she found it a bit hard to believe that a mystical energy had guided her friend to some place in the middle of the wods. “More or less,” Sunset said in a middling manner. “ I didn’t know the Force could do that,” Fluttershy further added. “Among a great many other things.” Kara said to Fluttershy as she continued leading with a flashlight to light the path forward. As they followed Kara’s lead, Sunset felt some kind of pull from the Force, as if a magnet nearby that attracted Force Sensitives. It was a feeling she had felt before, the call. Kara turned towards her, and from her expression, she knew that her master had felt the same call she did. “Can you feel it ?” She continued, “We’re close by.” “I can feel it too.” Sunset answered. “Uhh, we’re a bit lost here. Care to explain what’s happening ?” Applejack called out to Kara and Sunset, seeking some clarity on this feeling of theirs. Kara’s answer was short and simple as she pointed ahead, “We’re here.” Right ahead lay the large ancient temple, its facade covered with overgrown vine as before with the moonlight shining directly at it, giving it an almost mystical appearance for a naked eye.

The girls gasped in awe at the sight of the magnificent ancient structure that was in front of them, with 2 statues of large masked figures facing each other in opposite directions. “This is it, “ Sunset continued, “The ancient Temple of Arkuntal.” It took a couple of moments for the open mouthed expressions that came from the rest to subside as they slowly comprehended the large primordial temple in front of their eyes. “This temple looks extremely ancient, even older than the structures we’ve learned of in history class.” Twilight said, somewhat fascinated and curious over the structural appearance of the temple. “You can say that again,” Kara concurred with her as she continued, “This Jedi temple is much older than you could ever imagine.” “Could you be a little more specific please ?” Rarity further asked about the exact age of this large temple. “ About twenty five thousand years, give or take.” Kara causally answered her, much to the astonished faces of Rarity and the others, sans Sunset. “That’s even older than the entirety of our known history.” Twilight exclaimed mildly, apparently mind blown by this revelation that this structure had been here even prior to any civilisation they had learnt of. “ If the Jedi Order built this temple, how is it that there are no records of it at all ?”Sunset asked Kara. Kara turned her attention back to her padawan, “ I suppose it has been forgotten in time.” She intoned.

“That still doesn't explain why they built one out here in the first place?” Asked Applejack. “I guess we’ll soon find out.” Sunset said as she took a step forward and headed to the entrance which she remembered from her last, unpleasant encounter. “ And how are we going to do that since there’s no entrance to enter?” Fluttershy asked in a slightly louder voice.. “You see that doorway over there, ?” Sunset pointed out ahead to what appeared to be a door that was covered with vine, “ I just have to place my hand on it, focus a bit and it will open up.” Sunset took a step forward before she was stopped by Kara, who had placed her hand on her shoulders, “Not this time,” She said, much to her confusion. “This time we must open it together, as master and apprentice.” Kara further added. The last time she was here, Sunset managed to unlock the temple entrance by placing her hand onto the markings of a hand within a circle that had smaller lines branching out of it, connecting the other similar styled paintings on the door. Kara’s latest revelation was confusing to say the least, especially since she had opened it before even knowing about the Force. “But the last time I opened it myself. Why not now ?” Sunset asked, unconvinced of Kara’s reasoning. Kara’s expression remained indifferent to the question posed to her before used her boots to the dirt covered ground below, revealing to everyone else a granite-made walkway to which there were two much larger circles, not far apart from one another in which both Kara and Sunset were coincidently standing in the middle of it. These two large circles were of similar shape and design to the ones crafted on the sealed entrance, with two straight lines that extended out of the circle, running parallel to each other before merging as one line that led straight towards the sealed entrance, disappearing right at its doorstep.

Sunset’s eyes were fixed at the outlines with disbelief that laid beneath her feet, with both she and her master standing, beside one another as if it was coincidence, but it was no coincidence, the two Jedi were standing in the middle of two circles on the ground in front of an ancient temple, she just knew it, and Kara did too. Kara saw the disbelief and incredulous look on her padawan’s face before she explained the meaning of it, “Last time, the Temple sought you, it allowed you to enter . This time, you’re seeking it for knowledge instead, so you must enter it though the proper way, which is by opening it as master and apprentice.” Sunset had wanted to ask what Kara had meant by allowed, did the temple have a conscience of its own ? She could tell her friends were having the same questions on the back of their minds. However she decided against pursuing that question for now and to just go along with her master.

Both Kara and Sunset Shimmer stood their ground and gave the best concentration they could as they reached out to the Force, more particularly the temple. For a moment, nothing happened. Then out of nowhere, the ground below them started trembling, as if it was an earthquake. “What’s happening ?” Fluttershy asked, visibly freaked out by the ground tremors as Sunset and Kara kept to their concentration. It didn’t take long for the girls to realize that it wasn’t the ground that was shaking but merely amplifying vibrations that were coming from the Temple ! It seemed that this was the doing of Sunset and Kara. Just then, the sealed doorway ahead of them started to slowly open up, revealing the pitch darkness within. The ground vibrations soon stopped as the doorway opened fully. Sunset opened her eyes and to her delight, it was open. She turned to face her master, who had somewhat of a smirk appearing on her face with a bit of smug. “Told you it would take the two of us to open it.” She remarked. “ You don’t see that happening everyday around here,” Applejack intoned in a perplexed manner, something that was shared by the others but more so for her. Amongst them, Applejack is the most level headed and always tried to sense in even the peculiar situations. But nothing compared to what she had just seen, even with all the Equestrian Magic mayhem she witnessed the past year. “What do we do now ?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“Simple,” Sunset continued, “We head in.”

The all girl team wasted no time in entering the ancient structure, with Kara lighting the way forward in the pitch darkness inside with her flashlight. They kept heading deeper and deeper, until the doorway they came in was nothing but a little dot of light in a sea of darkness. The bright light emitted from Kara’s flash light was strong enough to brighten up the path for the girls. It seemed like an endless void, but Sunset knew that they would soon be coming up to the labyrinth with four pathways as she did before. Judging from how long they’ve been walking, it was just a matter of time before they stumbled upon it. As they continued walking, the ancient writings and symbols of the wall caught Rarity’s prying eyes. She tried to make out the wordings but the symbols were nothing she had ever seen or even heard of before. “ There are some kinds of writings inscripted on the walls but I’m not quite sure what they mean,” Rarity called out to the others. Kara shinned her flashlight to the direction Rarity pointed out, revealing even more peculiar and ancient symbols, as if it was a part of some kind old writing style. “Whoa, what are they ?” Rainbow Dash asked. “They appear to be some kind of hieroglyphics but definitely not ones that I know of,” Twilight said after she closely studied the writing style and symbols, in an attempt to identify the language inscripted. “Kara, do you know what kind of writing style this is ?” Sunset asked her master, hoping that she might know the answer.

Kara took a closer look upon the type of characters used that seemed familiar to her. She had learned about this language before, a long time ago and it was one that could only be found in older temples such as this place. “I do. It’s the ancient Jedi Language,” She continued, “ I learned about them when I was a youngling. This language has not been used for more than a millennium.” “So it’s that old huh ?” Pinkie Pie intoned back in an indifferent manner. “Can you try to read it ?” Sunset further queried. “ I can try but my translation will be rusty,” Kara replied before she started to decipher the writings on the wall. “Better than nothing, I guess.” Rainbow Dash said as Kara took a closer look on the characters used in the inscriptions in an attempt to interpret its meaning. Her grasp of the language was below average at best, taking into account that she had learnt about it briefly twenty years ago. The use of the language was so rare and forgotten that it was only used in the oldest of Jedi rituals and texts. Even the most senior members of the Order had not used the language or were fluent in it, Deciphering an extinct language was no easy job but Kara managed to do it, “ These writings tell us of the founding of this temple ages ago, by seven Jedi Knights during the early expansionist period in which their ship was unexpectedly sucked into a wormhole which brought them to this planet,” Kara continued her translation, at least what she had managed to translate, “They were fascinated by the strong connection of this world had to the Force and built this temple to study this unusual connection.” The names of the travellers were also inscripted but Kara found it almost impossible to translate their names. It was either she couldn’t identify the characters, the hard pronunciations or even both.

“What happened to them ? Fluttershy meekly asked, referring to the founders of the temple. “The writings don’t say but I guess they must've returned back to known space or...” Kara trailed off not knowing how to put it to them in a less darker way. “Or what?” Rainbow Dash called on her. “ Or they might have very well died here, since hyperspace technology at the time would not have permitted them to leave.” Kara resigned to saying it bluntly instead. A chill silence engulfed the others and Sunset could’ve sworn that Fluttershy’s skin had turned white upon hearing the last part of Kara’s sentence. “I think we should keep on moving,” She intoned to the rest of them, reminding them of the current objective at hand to which Kara nodded in response, agreeing with her. The team continued to walk down the dark corridor, this time with less talking since the others particularly Fluttershy was visibly unhinged over Kara’s theory that the founders of Arkuntal temple might’ve been buried in its walls. The longer they kept walking, the more hieroglyphic writings they found on the walls. The four pathway labyrinth was nowhere in sight and Sunset was beginning to worry that they might have taken a wrong path despite it being impossible since they had been walking in a straight pathway since entering. The last thing they needed was to be lost inside an ancient temple.

“Over there,” Kara pointed towards what appeared to be an opening leading out to a much larger room. The team headed straight for the door-sized opening, coming across what appeared to be a massive atrium, with moonlight illuminating it from a small opening above. The center of the atrium was surrounded by seven large primeval statues of what appeared to be bipedal people with their faces covered with a mask that concealed their faces and held some kind ancient variation of a lightsaber that was pointed below. Each of the ancient statues wore robes that covered their body from head to toe. The statues acted as pillars, holding the atrium. “Whoa,” Rainbow Dash said in awe over the massive size of the statues and the atrium as a whole. This wasn’t a common sight to see everyday. Behind the statues was a pathway which encircled the center. “Sunset darling, just to clarify, none of this is Equestrian related right ?” Rarity asked her Equestrian friend. From the looks of it, this place might even be older than the pony ruled kingdom itself. But Sunset was bothered by something else. She was sure that they must’ve taken a wrong turn or something, impossible as it may be. This atrium was much larger than the one she had; that unfortunate event in it certainly didn’t have any statues that acted as pillars. “ No it isn’t,” She answered her friend’s query before turning her attention over to Kara, “ Something’s not right. The last time I came here, I had to pass through a labyrinth, which we didn’t come across this time.” She voiced her concerns to her master.

“Sunset,” Twilight Sparkle regarded her friend steadily, “ We’ve been walking in a straight line all the way until here. There’s no way we could’ve missed this labyrinth of yours.” “But I faced it before, I’m sure of it.” Sunset defended her claim from what seemed like Twilight countering her before she turned to Kara, “ How is it possible that we didn’t come across it this time when I did the last time ?” Kara kept a calm face despite Sunset’s confusion. “These ancient temples are known to play tricks with your mind. When there’s a different problem, a different solution emerges. So my advice would be for all of us to stay close together.” Kara said to the others. Sunset, still very much confused by all of it, accepted her master’s answer. After all, as Kara said before, Just when you think you understand the Force, you find out how little you actually know. “What about the statues ? Who are they ?” Pinkie Pie pointed out to them. “They must be ancient Jedi, likely the very ones who founded this temple.” Kara responded in regard to the identity of the statues.

“What’s with the mask covering their faces ? Are they too shy or something ?” Pinkie further queried, not fully convinced of Kara’s response. “ These statues act as guardians of this temple, “ Kara continued, “ They have their faces concealed to symbolize their spiritual bond with the Force and emotional detachment from the physical realm.” [2] “This Jedi religion of yours is pretty complicated and heavy,” Applejack said before she realised that she may have insulted the practice. “No offense though,” She added to make sure there was no misunderstanding. “None taken,” Kara coolly responded. She knew that for most if not all beings that were not familiar with the practices of the Jedi would be perplexed and confused by its beliefs and methods. Some even fear it. “Guys, over here !” Twilight called out to the rest as she stood fixated on one of the paintings on the walls. The rest heeded her call and headed for her. On the walls were primordial paintings of what appeared to be some kind of a massive portal-like object. The gateway, which was a large triangle with two circles drawn within it. The smaller circle was drawn within the bigger one, which in turn inside the larger triangle. There were drawings of equine shaped beings entering the portal from one end and then emerging as bipedal beings on the other end. At the tip of the triangle was a straight line that ran above, connecting it to three large mystical beings; an old man, a woman with a peculiar looking owl resting on her shoulder and a much younger man with red markings on his face. These beings appeared to be god-like with all lines from other paintings leading towards them as it was all connected to them in some way. [3]

“What does this mean ? Did the Jedi know about the portal to Equestria ?” [4] Twilight pointed out at the paintings. Sunset could not offer an answer to her. She was speechless and at the same time confused at this revelation. How did the Jedi find out about the portal ? Did the Jedi know about Equestria’s existence and had made contact with them ? So many questions, yet no answers or even hints, which greatly frustrated Sunset. She wasn’t exactly the type for solving puzzles. “It’s possible but everything there is about this portal must’ve been confined to this place alone. Cause there’s no mention of a portal to another world in any of the other Jedi texts.” Kara reasoned. “Who are those guys ?” Fluttershy asked as she pointed out to the mural of the three beings. “They’re definitely not Equestrian, alright.” Said Sunset. Kara took a closer look at the painting. They seemed familiar to her but she couldn’t really identify them. “From what I can tell, they seem to be transcendent in nature but that’s all I know.” Kara continued, “This place seems to be generating more questions than answers.” “You can say that again,” Sunset retorted.

Just then, something else caught Sunset’s eye. Right beside the mural lay another painting, this one was seven geodes, each drawn inside of a circle which in turn encircled a larger circle in the middle, which had lines extending from it and connected to the other smaller circles. Although the colours had faded badly due to the open environment and age of this place, Sunset could still make out the colours of the geodes, blue, pink, orange, purple, yellow, peach and indigo, colours which she was all too familiar with. They were the same colour as the magical geodes she and her friends were gifted with. “That’s impossible,” Sunset muttered out loud as she pointed to the painting of the geodes. There was no doubt that they were the exact geodes or to be more specific, kyber crystals she and the rest were familiar with. The rest except for Kara almost instantly recognised the geode on the paintings as theirs and gasped in confusion. “It can’t be,” Applejack said in a baffled manner. “ It is exactly what you think it is, AJ.” Rainbow Dash continued, “They’re our geodes alright.” “How is that even possible ? Don't our geodes have Equestrian origins ?” Rarity said in her usual cultivated but yet unsure tone. “Not exactly,” Sunset corrected her, “ Our geodes, or mine at least, is actually an ancient Kyber Crystal. But this revelation takes things to a whole new level.” Sunset admitted. “ What’s a Kyber Crystal ?” Pinkie asked curiously. She and the rest have not heard such a term before.. “It’s a story for another time,” Kara retorted before she continued, “ It’s entirely plausible that the Jedi Knights of that time could’ve brought these geodes here when they came to this world.” “Or it’s what brought them to this world in the first place.” Twilight further added.

Kara didn’t deny it. Twilight’s theory was also possible. It was a known fact that more powerful Jedi Masters could sense even the slightest anomaly in the Force light years away and as such, it could’ve been that they may have sensed an anomaly on this world and headed out for it, only to have been sucked in by a wormhole at the coordinates the technology at that time could provide. Kara gave a closer look at the paintings, paying attention to the circles that they were centered in. The design they were arranged in wasn’t random. They were specifically designed in such a way that Kara could recognise, more or less. She turned towards the center atrium, finding the ground with eight circles arranged in a similar manner as in the painting. “ This painting seems to indicate the sitting positions for the bearers of each of the geodes.” She deduced. “ Sitting positions ? What do you mean ?’ Sunset asked her master. In response, Kara pointed towards the floor of the center atrium where Sunset and the others found the similarly positioned circles. “So are we supposed to sit there based on each of our respective geodes ?” Applejack asked. “I guess so.” Sunset replied before she turned to Kara, “Where will you be sitting ?”

“Over here,” Kara pointed towards the eighth circle on tha painting, which was located on the topmost part. “The Master’s podium.” She identified it as Sunset turned to find the circle the closest to the doorway which they had entered. “Whoa, whoa, since when did you become the master of us ?” Rainbow Dash sneered in an incredulous demeanor, unconvinced of Kara’s intention to be the master. “This is no time for petty stuff Rainbow Dash,” Sunset said in a mildly vexed tone, slightly ashamed of her best friend’s egoistic and constantly critical attitude. “Besides, she’s also the oldest and most experienced amongst us all,” Sunset further added. “Urgh.fine, whatever.” Rainbow begrudgingly retorted. Without further due, the girls headed to their respective seating positions as stated by the paintings. Kara was the first to sit at the master’s position, with Sunset being the last to take her seat, which was directly opposite facing Kara. “What happens now ?” She asked as soon as took her seat. All of them were seated in accordance with their respective geodes but nothing happened. Their surroundings remained unchanged. Kara took a deep breath before she spoke, “Right now, we meditate.” Sunset nodded back at her master, however a part of her was bummed that there wasn't any mystical energy flow from their seats that connected to the center of the atrium or spiritual awakening. “ How long will this meditating process take ?” Fluttershy asked. “As long as we need to,” Sunset answered her before she closed her eyes and started meditating. She could hear Rainbow Dash sighed in frustration in the background as she slowly drifted away into her thoughts.

She wasn’t meditating for long before she felt something pulling her from behind, it was calling to her. She opened her eyes and turned around to find a bright white light being emitted from some kind of mystical doorway that wasn’t there before it seemed like it had just appeared out of thin air. “ I see a doorway right in front of me,” Sunset intoned to the others about the doorway. At least that part of her that was bummed out earlier got what it wanted. “ I don’t see anything,” Twilight apparently rebutted her. “Neither do I,” Kara concurred with her. It seemed that from their perspective, there wasn’t any spiritual doorway whatsoever. “ But it’s right there,” Sunset pointed out to the bright doorway which was very visible from her eyes. “None of us see a doorway darling.” Rarity said back. For a moment, Sunset felt that she was hallucinating, that this Jedi stuff was causing her to slowly slip away from sanity. She then remembered what Kara had said earlier, about how these temples would play tricks with the minds of those who enter. ‘Maybe it was playing tricks on her,’ She thought to herself. Regardless, it appeared and called out to her only which meant this is her path to take alone. “Maybe this is my path alone. Something that I must do myself.” Sunset said as she pulled herself up and headed towards the bright doorway.

Kara understood the workings of the temple well enough to not stop her padawan from walking towards what seemed towards a dead end before she just vanished into thin air right at the dead end ! “What the.. ? She just disappeared, defying the laws of physics !” Twilight gasped in a disbelieved manner over what she had witnessed with her own two eyes. The others also had similar expressions on their faces. They had witnessed many strange things before but it pales in comparison to someone just vanishing into thin air, quite literally. “ Maybe she turned into dust or something.” Pinkie quipped mildly. “Like I said,'' Kara continued, “These temples are known for their trickery. All we can do is to keep our faith in her.” Kara then closed her eyes to meditate. The murmurings of the girls slowly faded away from her mind as Kara soon found herself being transported back to a similar location.

Meanwhile outside of the temple, a black carapaced probe droid with a single eye and fitted with an antenna rising from its globe-like body appeared from the thick woods, floating from the ground. Upon discovering the hidden temple, the probe droid, with the use of its antenna sent out a signal to its masters about its discovery and its location before heading inside.

Author's Note

It's no mystery that this chapter has caused more questions than answers. Don't worry, all of it will be revealed in due time. The temple designs and its interior plus the centre atrium is based on the architecture of Lothal Jedi Temple seen in Rebels. (https://www.starwars.com/databank/lothal-jedi-temple). The temple is meant to give some kind spooky spiritual aura kind. As for the reveals, all I can say now is that long ago, there were seven Jedi Knights who wounded this temple, who created seven distinct sitting locations with the same exact colours of the seven geodes the seven of the the Equestria girls, Sunset included had. Anyone seeing a pattern here ? It's definitely no coincidence. Like I said before, all will be revealed in due time. Onto the easter eggs,
[1] A callback as to how Fluttershy is apparently good with video games, a talent which continues to show even with holo chess.
[2] Similar to how Jedi Temple guards cover their identities to mark their physical detachment.
[3] I won't reveal the name of these God-like beings as they're not important to the current story for now. But for those who has been following Star Wars lore, I'm pretty sure you guys know who these beings are.
[4] I'll say this since I too do not like too much of unanswered questions. The 7 Jedi Knights discovered the portal to Equestria as the source of the strong connection this planet has to the Force. Whether they ventured through and made contact with the ancient Equestrians, well that's up to you to decide. 😎
Well that's all. Check out the next chapter to see what the temple of Arkuntal has in store for our protagonists.

Chapter 21: Enlightenment

Kara opened her eyes,and found herself in a familiar setting. It was a spacious dojo with the emblem of the Jedi Order engraved on its walls. The dojo was filled with young adolescents, all lined up in four straight lines. They were jovially chatting with one another as they awaited for the ceremony to begin. Kara then found a familiar face in the third line, and it was no other than her younger self. The younger Kara was dressed in a typical Jedi attire, gray tunic pants and robes with an addition of a leather utility belt and boots. ‘This is a memory,’ She thought to herself. It was a moment that she remembered all too well: the day she became a Padawan. “ I can’t believe this day has finally arrived.” A girl with dark skin, blue-green eyes and sleek black hair that was of shoulder’s length turned behind and said to the younger Kara, who went by the name of Trilla Sunduri [1]. “Tell me about it,” Her younger self concurred with her friend, “ I can’t wait to see who I will be assigned to as Padawan. Hopefully someone who sees a lot of action and is always traveling across the galaxy to exotic worlds.” “ Well I, for one, prefer a master that is less interested in fighting and more into other stuff instead.” Trilla intoned in a jovial manner. “ Careful what you wish for, Trilla. You might just get partnered up with Master Jocasta Nur. That way, you'll be spending your entire apprenticeship as her assistant in the library.” Her younger self jokingly said to Trilla. The two friends then laughed together over what they had said to each other. The sense of excitement for this day had overwhelmed them. It was a feeling Kara couldn’t forget as much she wanted too.

Just then, the door ahead of them opened, allowing a flow of Jedi Knights and Masters to enter the dojo for a padawan to be assigned to them. The most notable being Cosian Jedi Master Tere Sinube, a familiar face given that they have, for most of their childhood till this moment , been trained under him, Master Obi Wan Kenobi and Kel Dor Master Plo Koon. “ What is Master Plo doing here ?” The Younger Kara asked, intrigued by the presence of two high ranking members of the Jedi Council, especially Master Plo given that Master Kenobi was meant to preside over the assigning process. “ Maybe he’s one of those Senior Council members who’s looking for an apprentice to take on .” Trilla theorised. Although rare but not uncommon, Kara has heard of senior Jedi who had taken on younger apprentices to train. It was considered a great privilege to be chosen and to serve under one. “ Settle down, younglings,” Master Sinube said to everyone present. As soon as the younglings present settled down as told, Master Kenobi took a step forward to address the group of graduating younglings. “ I know how anticipating this day is for most if not all of you present. You all have faced great trials to be here today and to move forward into your next step of your education. But let it be known from this moment onwards, a heavy burden is placed on your shoulders, both as a Padawan and as Jedi Commander. You will be challenged, but always keep your trust in the Force, and may it guide you to the right path in these challenging times. Remember at all times that with great power, comes great responsibility.”[2] “ As the ongoing conflict shows no end in sight, the Council would be assigning each of you to your master instead of the other way around.” Plo Koon further added.

The younglings waited with their breath held anxiously as Master Kenobi started reading out the names and the Jedi Master or Knight they would be assigned to as their Padawan. “ Kara Antra ?” Kenobi read out the first name on the list he held with his hands. “ Present, Master.” The Younger Kara raised her hand up and identified herself with her name called. Meanwhile, a sense of uneasiness started creeping in the older Kara. This was a memory she would rather not live through again, especially after that fateful day. Kenobi glanced at the younger Kara before looking back at the list to confirm the master she is to be partnered up with, “ You’ll be assigned to Master Plo Koon as his padawan.” He read out. There was a sense of awe amongst the young initiates with one of their own being made padawan to a senior Jedi Master like Plo Koon. As for Kara, she was speechless. Everything happened too fast for her to comprehend. Never had she expected to be apprenticed to someone of great stature. “Congratulations, Kara !! You’re finally got what you had wanted.” Her friend Trilla gave her a pat in the back. For a moment, she didn’t know what to do. Everyone’s eyes were looking at her direction, anticipating her next move. Despite having waited for this moment since she could remember, she still froze up, unsure of her next course of action. The younger Kara turned to face her new master. While the facial expressions of his face were concealed by his breathing apparatus, she could ‘see’ the understanding expression from him. He knew and understood how she felt at this moment, as if he had felt before in his formative years. “ Come along, my young padawan.” He called out to her, “ We have much to learn together.” Without hesitating, Kara reached out to the callings of her new master, as the two began their partnership as master and apprentice.

The older Kara however, had seen enough. “ This is an old memory ! Why show me this ??” She called out loudly to whatever that was showing her the vision. Reason or not, this moment only brought Kara pain and guilt. “Because it was at this moment we were first introduced to each other.” An unseen voice communed back at her question, much to her bewilderment. It was a deep voice that sounded like it came from a voice modulator but yet one filled with calmness and tranquility. It was a voice that Kara recognised all too well which mystified her even more. “ Master Plo ??!” Kara called to the voice she identified as her former master in a perplexed manner, “ How is this possible ??” She saw her master’s dead body with her own two eyes. It was impossible for her to be hearing his voice. The vision of her memory slowly started to fade away before Kara found herself in some sort of mystical plane surrounded with nothing but emptiness and distant stars. She could feel the Force surrounding her. “ Need not concern of how, know that I’m here because you are here,” The voice of Plo Koon, which seemed to come from all directions, intoned back in a calm manner. There was no exact point that Kara could point at. Her master’s voice came from around her, as if she was in a cosmic realm. “ You have grown older and wiser, my young Kara. You have changed.” The voice further added.

Hearing the voice of her former master after over 16 years brought great relief and happiness into Kara’s heart. “ I’ve taken on an apprentice, Master Plo.” Said Kara. There was a brief silence before Plo Koon spoke, “ I can see that,” He continued, “Tell me, why have you taken Sunset Shimmer as your padawan ?” It was a question that slightly baffled Kara, but she nevertheless answered her master, “ It’s because she’s strong with the Force. She can be the next generation of Jedi.” “Indeed she is strong with the Force. However, the Dark Side calls to her, and she has answered it before.” The voice of her master intoned. “ I know,” Kara admitted. From the moment she met Sunset, she could sense the Darkness that called to her and that she had given in to its temptations before. It was the unbecoming of a Jedi but nevertheless, she took her as her padawan mainly because she could be, despite the imbalances within her. She knew she could be better. “ But there is still good in her. I can feel it. She just needs proper guidance. I won’t give up on her because of her past mistakes,” she added. “Despite her badly checkered past and tendency to give to the temptations of the Dark Side, you would still train her in the ways of the Jedi ?” Plo Koon posed a question to her. “I believe in my apprentice Master, I hope you believe in yours.” Kara answered back. “I have always believed in you, my young apprentice. That has never changed, and never will.” The Voice of Plo Koon intoned in a soothing manner. While she wanted to thank her master for reaffirming his trust in her, Kara kept silent. In a way, her master had seeded some doubts in her head about her padawan’s training. She had done all of her best to train her padawan in the ways of the Jedi but what if her best wasn’t enough to keep the Dark Side at bay. Her own Jedi training was greatly limited after all. She would never forgive herself if she failed in helping Sunset Shimmer fulfill her potential.

“ I sense something is troubling you, my child.” Plo Koon said, sensing emotional conflict in his former padawan. “ Forgive me master, but I’m unsure if I’ve trained her as well as you did to me.” Kara resigned to admitting her troubling thoughts. “ And why would you think that ?” The voice further asked. “Because you were a great Jedi Master and a good mentor to me,” Kara continued speaking from her heart, “ I always looked up to you. You taught me what it truly takes to be a Jedi. I felt that by applying those teachings in training Sunset, I could make sure that she doesn’t lose her way like how I did for a long time. I’ve poured my best into training her, but her abilities are growing faster, and I don’t know if I have done enough to teach her, to do justice to your legacy.” “ You have no need to do justice to my legacy, padawan,” Plo Koon swiftly said in response. “ What do you mean, master ?” Kara queried.

“ My child, I once told you that you would learn that some things cannot be easily taught. Despite all the negativity surrounding her, you still took it upon yourself to train Ms Shimmer because of her spirit you saw in her, the desire to do good and for that I am very proud of you. You have displayed the qualities of a Jedi Knight in training Ms Shimmer despite your incomplete training. You are my legacy, Kara.” The Voice of Plo Koon reasoned to Kara. “ But master, how will I know if I trained her well ?” Kara further asked, still not convinced of whether she had taught Sunset well. She had lost her way for a long time, and hoped that she could change things with her young padawan. “ That’s a question only time will tell,” Plo Koon continued in his calm manner, “ My dear Kara, we are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of mastery.” [3] Plo Koon’s modulated voice slowly began to fade, so as the mystical realm her subconscious body was in. it was as if she was waking up from some long dream. The realm soon faded from view. Kara slowly awakened from her meditation and found herself back in the temple, with murmurs and a frustrated moan coming from Rainbow Dash. It was indeed a peculiar vision she had. Physically, she never moved an inch from the spot she sat in, but spiritually, that was the part she found hard to explain. Regardless, she felt a sense of tranquility within her, peace from coming to terms with her guilt.

Meanwhile,

Sunset entered the brightly lit doorway that was calling to her. The moment she passes through the doorway, and finds herself in some kind bright room of emptiness, surrounded with nothing. From the looks of it, she couldn’t tell how big the room was.the brightly lit room seemed to be endless as if it was infinite and the middle of it all, was a generic-looking bench, the same type found scattered along Canterlot City’s Public Park before it was destroyed. “That’s strange,” Sunset intoned at the peculiar sight of a common bench in the middle of emptiness. Nevertheless, she proceeded to sit at the easily noticeable bench. As soon as she sat, Sunset looked around the strange room she was in, finding nothing but emptiness in all sides. It was as if she was transported to the middle of nowhere. “ Where am I ?” She said out loud to herself. “ You’re still at the Temple as far as I know,” Came a calm voice that startled her. She turned to the source of the voice, finding a tall man with light skin and blue eyes. He had a beard and unusually(for a male) long brown hair that reached his shoulders. He was dressed in a gray robe, similar to the ones the Jedi in R5’s holographic recordings wore. “ Would you mind if I take a seat beside you ?” He asked again in a humbly calm manner, with a small smile appearing on his face.

Startled by his sudden appearance out of literally nowhere, Sunset quickly jumped out of the bench she was sitting on, putting some distance between the stanger and her. “ Who are you ??” She asked in a defensive manner as her hand moved to grab her lightsaber, just in case. Seeing that he may have alarmed her, The strange man proceeded to defuse the unnecessary tensions created, “ You don’t have to fear me. I mean you no harm.” He said, his tone indifferent to the tensions. “I don’t fear you, and you still didn’t answer my question.” Sunset said, unconvinced of his claim. “ My apologies for seeming like a stranger Ms Shimmer, My Name is Qui Gonn Jinn. Now would you mind if we both take a seat and let cooler heads prevail ?” The stranger who identified himself as Qui Gonn said. Sunset however, felt the exact opposite, especially how this stranger knew her name when she had told him. “How do you know my name ?” She queried. “ The temple told me so, in a way,” Qui Gonn continued as he sat on the bench, “When you first entered this Temple, it caused ripples throughout the Cosmic realm. Being a part of this realm, I was somehow drawn to the source of this ripple which is you. That’s how I’m here and how I know your name.” It was a confusing answer but Sunset nevertheless accepted it. Something within her told her that this stranger that calls himself Qui Gon Jinn was not a threat or in any way a danger to her but instead the opposite. He wanted to help her. “ Are you a Jedi ?” She asked as she took a seat right next to him. “ I was, a long time ago. But we’re not here to talk about me but rather about you.”

“ Me ???” Sunset intoned. “Yes indeed,” Qui Gonn said to her, “ Why do you become a Jedi ?” He asked. That was an easy question for Sunset to answer. “ Because my master Kara said she sees potential in me to become one.” Sunset answered albeit with a slight confusion in her tone, unsure about where this was going. “ She isn’t wrong,” Qui Gonn said as he stroked his beard before turning to her, “ but my question is, why do you want to become a Jedi ?” Sunset found it hard to answer the question directed at her. Despite it being a simple question about her view, it was one that she hadn’t exactly thought through before. Nobody had asked her this question before, not even Kara. It was as if everyone assumed she was in the same mind as them. They weren’t wrong, she did wanna become a Jedi but she found it difficult to reason about it. Qui Gonn just sat and stared at her, waiting for an answer, as if he knew she was struggling to come up with one. “ Well I guess it's because I’ll become stronger and more powerful to protect my friends and my people from the Empire.” Sunset answered as she fully gave in to her thoughts.

“ And you believe that by becoming a Jedi, you can achieve this ?” Qui Gonn further said in his usual calm voice. “ Yes. My friends are like family to me. I’ll do anything to protect them.” Sunset spoke with resoluteness. “ That’s very noble of you, Sunset.” Qui Gonn continued, “ But be mindful of your feelings, they could be used to serve the Dark Side.” “What do you mean ?” Sunset shot back, her tone slightly iced with emotions. Qui Gonn’s expression however, remained calm despite the creeping tensions. “ The strong bond you share with your friends is a form of attachment, one that you seem to holding on and let it influence your judgements.” Qui Gonn intoned. “ Is it wrong to have friends ? To care for their wellbeing ?’’ Sunset further asked hypothetically. From what Qu Gon was trying to imply, it seemed to be the case. “ Certainly not,” Qui Gonn instantly dispelled her question, “ It’s natural of us to have friends and care for them but we mustn’t let friendship turn into attachments. Once you’re attached to something, it will lead to selfishness and paranoia. Your compassion for them will turn into obsession and will drag both you and them down a dark path.” “But it’s my responsibility to protect them.” Sunset argued back. “ And by holding such attachments, it will only do more harm than good.” Qui Gonn said back to her. Sunset couldn’t argue back with him, as much as she wanted to but she couldn’t find the words to do it. She was speechless to his point. “ Despite your good intentions, by allowing your attachments to influence your decisions, it will lead you down a darker path.” Qui Gonn continued, “ You said earlier that by becoming a Jedi, you’ll become more powerful. Power corrupts, Ms Shimmer, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. You of all people should know that.” The last sentence hit her the most. “ I know what you mean,” Sunset muttered quietly to him. She knew all too well what greed and a thirst for power could do to a person. It was because of greed that caused her to turn on her former mentor before. “My master Kara told me about this.” She added. “ Then perhaps you should listen to her more often.” Qui Gonn retorted.

Sunset Shimmer just sat silently. However, she was conflicted within. Qui Gonn had a point about everything, how power could corrupt even the most purest of souls. “Let me tell you a story of a boy I once met in my travels,” Qui Gonn turned to face Sunset, “Like you, he too was strong in the Force and had high ambitions. But what stood out in him was his unwavering compassion to people close to him. He cared very deeply for them and would look out for them till the very end.” “ What happened to him ?” Sunset asked. “ Eventually, his compassion turned into obsession and soon enough, he started fearing having to let go of the ones he cared for. It caused him to go down a dark and sinister path which led to him losing everything and everyone he cared for so much. Not a day goes by where he suffers the consequences of his actions.” [4] Qui Gonn ended his narration. Sunset stayed silent for a moment as she took a moment to process the story. He was trying to warn her about her affection for the girls, and how it could be her undoing. She wanted to refute it as strongly as she could, to show him that their bond formed the all powerful Magic of Friendship that spread harmony in everything it touches but at the same time she knew the destructive nature of obsession and selfishness can do to a person.

“ So the moral of this story is to not let my attachments get the better of me ?” She inferred to him. “ You’re a quick learner, aren’t you,” Qui Gonn quipped. “ But how am I supposed to protect my people if I can’t get attached to them ?” Sunset asked in a confused manner. Qui Gonn had a small smile appear on his face, as if he found some humor in her question. He placed his arm over her before he spoke, “ Well that my friend, is our true burden as Jedi, to balance our personal attachments and our commitment to the Light Side.” Qui Gonn wisely intoned at Sunset. “That doesn’t exactly answer the question,” Sunset replied in a confused manner. “ That depends on how you look at it,” Qui Gonn said, much to Sunset’s confusion. Just then, the doorway which she had used to enter had reappeared, showing the temple atrium where Kara and the rest of the girls were. Something within her was telling that her time with Qui Gonn had come to an end, something which Qui Gonn also felt. Accepting their time is over, he pulled himself up from the bench and turned to Sunset, “ It appears the time has come for us to part, Ms Shimmer. I did enjoy our little talk while it happened,” He extended his hand over to Sunset. Sunset, still very much confused and puzzled over the nature of their conversation and everything else, got up and reciprocated his handshake as a gesture of respect. “Master Qui Gonn I must ask,” She asked him as she shaked his hand, “ is this all in my head ? Am I being delusional ?” Qui Gonn quipped, amused by the question before he answered, “ That depends on how you interpret it to be, Sunset. Till we meet again.” It didn’t quite answer her question but Sunset nevertheless accepted it. As soon as he let go of her hand, Sunset Shimmer headed back to the doorway. Before she stepped through it, she turned behind, finding Qui Gonn standing by the bench and smiling back with her in a somewhat serene manner. That was just something about him and this place, that Sunset just couldn’t quite grasp completely.

Meanwhile,
Arkuntal Temple Atrium

“ Urghh, she’s taking too long.” Rainbow Dash vexed out loudly, visibly frustrated over her friend's disappearance. “ Have a little patience will you ? “ Applejack reasoned with her short tempered friend, “ She hasn’t been gone for that long.” She further added. “ i Still don’t like this.” Rainbow made her point known, “ if she’s not back in another five minutes, I say we scour this entire place till we find her.” Applejack was about to protest further before she was interrupted by a familiar voice. “ You don’t have to do that,” Sunset Shimmer said to her impatient friend. The girls turned to find her standing at the exact spot where she had disappeared. Without giving a second thought, they rushed over to embrace their friend who had just somehow appeared as she vanished earlier. “ SUNSET SHIMMER !! YOU’RE ALIVE !!” Pinkie Pie said out loud as she and the others embraced her tightly by their arms, barely giving her any space to breathe. “ Yes.. I’m.. still alive,” Sunset struggled to gasp for air. It wasn’t long before her friends relaxed their clutches on her, finally giving her space to breathe. “ How did you just reappear out of thin air, defying the very laws of physics again ?” Twilight asked as she launched the first questions towards her. “ I don’t think we wanna know the answer to that.” Rainbow Dash said in response to her nerdy friend’s question to which Applejack concurred, “ Kinda have to agree with her on that. This place just gets weirder by the minute.” “ Most importantly, did you find what you’re looking for ?” Came Kara’s voice from where she sat. in the middle of the atrium. Sunset could sense that something was different in her master, as if there was a sense of tranquility within her, as if she had found peace with her past. She couldn’t tell why but she decided against further pursuing it. “ Well.. it's kinda complicated.” She said, knowing no better way to describe the conversation she had with Qui Gonn Jinn earlier. It was one she could not quite understand completely of its nature.

Before anyone could follow up on her however, they felt a slight sudden vibration coming from the ground and pillars of the temple, as if it was shifting ground. “What’s happening ??!” Fluttershy shrieked in terror. The ground soon stopped shaking after a couple of seconds. As soon as it ended, Sunset felt a new presence amongst them, something which Kara had also felt. Just then, Sunset heard the noise of a lightsaber being ignited coming from behind her. She turned to find a yellow plasma bladed lightsaber being shot out from the darkness the alleyway they came from. Wielding the blade was a figure that was only partially visible thanks to the light being emitted by the lightsaber. Sunset could barely make out his body outline but could tell he was at least 180 meters tall. The figure started walking forward towards them and stepped into the atrium, where the moonlight from the sky shed light on the mysterious figure. He was dressed with ancient robes that covered every part of his body from neck to toe and his face was fully concealed by a mask that was similar to the ones worn by the statues.“ Uhh, who’s this ?” Rarity asked nervously about their somewhat intimidating appearance. Sunset reached to her lightsaber to draw it out before Kara placed her hand on her wrist and stopped her. “ There’s no need for that. He means no harm to us.” said Kara as she held her padawan’s wrist before she let it go. “ Who is he ?” Sunset asked.

“ He’s a temple guard, and he’s here for a purpose.” Kara replied as she headed towards the temple guard, facing him. “ Kara, what are you doing ?” Sunset called out to her master, unsure of her move to approach the masked figure. Kara paid no heed to her padawan’s call as she approached the Temple guard. She soon came face to face with the guard, with Sunset anxious over what would happen next. “ Kara Antra, bow.” The guard said in a heavy deep voice that was modulated from his mask. “ I’m ready,” Kara muttered as she bowed to the guard with her head down. She was ready for the responsibilities that were to be shouldered by her. For too long, she had her grief hold her back. It was time for her to take a leap of faith. The Guard lifted his blade and for a moment Sunset thought that he was about to strike her, before he brought his blade down, placing it right above her shoulders as he recited a phrase, “ By the Right of the Council, By the will of the Force, Karasynthia Antra, Jedi Knight, you may now rise.” [5] “ She’s being knighted,” Twilight muttered to herself as Kara, now a fully fledged Knight of the Jedi Order, pulled herself up. Sunset felt nothing but pride for her master, once a fallen grieving padawan had grown to become a knight. Perhaps she too could one day grow and become one herself. With his job over, the Temple guard retreated back to the alleyway before vanishing into thin air instantly. “ What in the… ?” Rainbow Dash intoned in a confused manner, seeing the guard disappear, “ You know what, I’m not even gonna ask. Equestrian Magic is way less weirder than this.” She gave up in trying to make sense of it in a vexed manner.

“ So I guess you’re officially a Jedi now huh ?” Said Sunset as she approached her master. “ I thought I already was when I started training you,” Kara quipped back in a joking manner. “ I don’t get it,” Pinkie Pie intoned at her, confused over what she had quipped. “ Forget me, did you find what you came here for, Sunset ?” Kara asked her. Before Sunset could reply however, she was interrupted by a sound of an incoming droid noise coming from the alleyway. “Where’s that noise coming from ?” Applejack voiced out. The source of the peculiar sound soon revealed from the alleyway. It was a floating black spherical probe droid which was fitted with a single eye in its center, had a black carapace and an antenna rising out from its globe like body. The probe droid headed to scan the painting engraved on the walls surrounding the atrium. “What is that thing ?” Fluttershy yelped. After scanning the walls, the droid then proceeded to head to the center of the atrium where they were. With the moonlight shining onto it, Kara recognised the probe droid. “It’s an Imperial Reconnaissance Droid,” Kara said as her hand proceeded to draw out her blaster that rested on a holster to fire at it before Sunset grabbed her wrist, “ Wait, I don’t think it’s here for us.” She said to her master. The imperial droid turned its attention over to Sunset, its inbuilt camera focusing on her specifically before hovering towards her. The droid then stopped right in front of her and attempted to project a holographic image. “ It’s trying to broadcast something,” Twilight remarked. The Probe Droid then managed to project from its camera a full holographic recording of what appeared to be a normal sunny day by the Clover Beach prior to the Empire’s arrival, where everyone was enjoying the sunlight while her friends were playing volleyball. While everyone else was confused by the holographic recording, Sunset recognised it. “ I know this incident,” She muttered. It was one that was hard to forget, no matter how much she tried.

It was a normal sunny afternoon over at Clover Beach where the students of CHS were spending their weekend following the end of their final exams. The Rainbooms were no exception, who were playing volleyball on the beach except for Applejack and Twilight, who were sunning themselves nearby. Applejack was taking a break before rejoining the match while Twilight wasn’t exactly a sportsperson to begin with. She would rather stay by the side and cheer on. “It’s been a grueling afternoon, but here we are at the final match. The next point wins. A hush falls over a crowd of ten thousand friends. Rainbow Dash narrated in her best sportscaster voice as she prepared to serve the ball. “ Go Sports !” Twilight cheered from the sidelines. “ I’m not holding back this time !” Rainbow Dash warned the other team which consisted of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. “That’s what I’m afraid of,” Fluttershy squealed as she covered her eyes. She knew all too well how competitive Rainbow Dash can get. “ Bring it on RAINBOW DASH !” Pinkie bellowed out loudly in a determined voice, “ You and Rarity just bought a one way ticket on the express train to you’re going down !!”

“Nice game face, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash, grinned, impressed by her friend’s determination and readiness. “Thanks, I’ve been practicing all day.” Pinkie giggled at Rainbow’s praise. She then turned towards the camera of Twilight’s selfie drone which was hovering above them and grabbed it, “ Isn’t that right, little baby camera ? You’re in my house now !” She intoned out loud at the camera before letting it go. The drone began beeping as if it was scared and whizzed out of view. Rainbow Dash served the volleyball. It arched over the net at top speed and Fluttershy, out of fear, shyly covered her head but Pinkie leaped up on top of her friend’s shoulders and spiked the ball back over the net. Rainbow Dash dove into the sand as she attempted to serve the ball back but she missed, giving the other team a point. The ball continued to roll until it hit the feet of a stranger, to which it came to a complete stop. Rainbow Dash pulled herself up, bruising the sand off her face to find that stranger to be Sunset Shimmer standing right in front of her.

“Great news guys !” Sunset announced happily, “I’ve figured it out, Someone has erased your memories with Equestrian Magic. You may not remember it, but we’re still friends !” Rainbow Dash spat out a grain of sand while Pinkie blinked in confusion. Nobody said anything. They were all indifferent to her claim. Sunset wasn’t going to give up. She pulled out a piece of parchment from her bag and showed it to them, “ This is the memory stone,” She described to them the image on it, “ Do you remember it ?” None of them moved or said anything. It was as if they were holding their breaths. “ Right, guess not but we’re still friends.” She said as she took out her phone and began swiping through photos of them together. The girls peered at the photos unconvincingly. They were sure beyond a doubt that she had faked them. “ Oh please,” Came Trixie Lulamoon’s voice from behind with a laugh, as Snips and Snails were packing up her beach bag for her. “ This is the same girl who made flawless fake photos of your friend trashing up the gym,” She reminded everyone present. Sunset couldn’t argue back.

Pinkie snatched Sunset’s phone and studied the photos. She was outraged to say the least. “ Yeah,” She concurred with Trixie, “ Is this supposed to be me making a ridiculous face ? I’d never make a face like that,” She declared out loud, only she was making the same exact face she was denying. “ Preposterous, Fake I say !” She exploded out loud. Trixie cackled happily, as if her mission was a success. “ My work here is done and don’t forget Rarity, you promised to put me in the yearbook !” Trixie reminded Rarity. “ Wait, you did what ?” Sunset confusingly intoned out loud. As far as she knew, she was still the editor-in-chief of the yearbook. No decisions could be made without her approval, or has that position been forgotten too ? She took a step backwards, planning to go after Trixie before she tripped on the volleyball and her foot came crashing down, right on top of Twilight’s selfie drone’s wings. The drone laid on the ground, broken and flightless. Twilight raced to check on her invention. She was upset. Sunset very quickly realized her mistake. “ It was an accident. I can help fix it !” She apologized to Twilight. But Twilight was in no mood to hear any apology from her, “I think you’ve done enough,” She fumed. Sunset felt lost. She had antagonized her friends even more. She saw the others on the beach glaring at her, but none more obvious than her friends. They were equally furious. “ I’d suggest you walk away from here, before we call for the beach guard,” Applejack sternly warned her. “ But..” “ No buts !” Sunset pleas were cut off by an angry Rainbow Dash, “ Just get out of here you she-demon !!” She fumed out loud. She, like everyone else, was in no mood to listen to her speak anymore…. [6]

Just then, the holographic recording came to an abrupt end as a blaster streak from Kara’s blaster to the Probe Droid sent it crashing onto the ground with a trail of smoke coming from the blaster impact spot. In other words, the Probe droid had been shot down by Kara. “ That’s enough of lies,” Intoned Kara as she put down her blaster. Sunset stood silent and emotionless. What was there to say, after she was reminded of how much her friends whom she cared for so much turned on her as easily as a snap. After everything she had ever done, the times she had saved them from magical catastrophe, the good times they had spent together, none of it ever mattered. In their eyes, she was the old Sunset Shimmer, despite everything she had done for them. It reminded her of the Anon-A-Miss incident some time back. She tried her best to push those thoughts away, but it still kept on invading her mind. “Sunset darling, are you okay ?” Rarity asked in a concerned manner, having noticed her clearly distrubed friend. Not a single response came from her. By now all of them had their attention turned towards their bacon haired friend but no one was feeling more guilty than Rainbow Dash. She has never felt more ashamed of her actions than ever. “Sunset Shimmer, I know what I said was unforgivable and hurtful but please, forgive me. I..I..wish I could take back those words. “ She stammered as she placed her hand on her friend’s shoulder seeking forgiveness. Nobody had ever seen Rainbow Dash this emotional and one could spot a single drop of tear running down her cheeks. Yet there was no response from Sunset who kept her head down. She didn’t even turn around to acknowledge her friends.

She wanted to turn and comfort Rainbow Dash and tell the rest of them that the memory fiasco wasn’t their fault but at the same time she felt that her old image as a manipulative school bully still existed in their minds, even after her reformation. Her mind was in a state of conflict. The Probe Droid had successfully planted the seeds of doubt within her. How long more before the people she was protecting turned on her again ? “ Sunset, please say something.” Twilight said, her voice sounding even more desperate than Rainbow Dash. “ How is she to say anything after being reminded of how those she cared about abandoned her when she needed them the most.” Came a deep raspy mechanical voice. It was a voice that sent chills down everyone’s spine, one that Sunset and Kara recognised. They both turned around to find Darth Vader standing in the alleyway with his red lightsaber fully ignited, with his chilly breathing sound echoing throughout the chamber.

Author's Note

Well, ain't this an emotional chapter. From Kara making peace with her former master and the past, to Qui Gonn's appearance !!! While Qui Gon Jinn was always meant to make a guest appearance from the very beginning, the same could not be said for Plo Koon. Initially in my drafts, it was supposed to be Master Yoda who spoke with Kara during her trance/meditating period, although the topic they discussed was generally the same. I had it changed from Yoda to Plo Koon, as Kara had a more personal connection with the latter and it would make an emotional scene, in which she would make peace with the past and become a Jedi Knight. Let's head on to the easter eggs.
[1] Perhaps the biggest reference to the Jedi Fallen Order game. Trilla Sunduri will go on to become Second Sister who is the primary antagonist of the game (https://www.starwars.com/databank/second-sister) Her age, (based on the game's flashback cutscenes) is around the same age Kara would have been in this scene. I added Trilla in this scene as a nice little easter egg for all those diehard SW fans.
[2] Who could not forget this classic phrase about responsibility said by Uncle Ben to Peter in almost all Spiderman origin movies (except the MCU version) Figured that it would be a nice line to add to the story.
[3] The same statement Yoda would say to Luke in the Last Jedi.
[4] Everyone should know who it is he's referring to. (I'm gonna assume so at least)
[5] The Knighthood process conducted by the Jedi Temple Guards ( https://www.starwars.com/databank/jedi-temple-guard) Padawan's are knighted after to completion of their apprenticeship.
[6] This entire beach scene is taken from the Forgotten Friendship special, with a little add-ons. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdMWJKGTiV4&t=305s&ab_channel=MyLittlePonyOfficial-forward to 2.40 minutes)
Well that's all for the easter eggs. Vader has finally tracked them and a final confrontation awaits......

Chapter 22: Twilight of the Apprentice

“ How is she to say anything after being reminded of how those she cared about abandoned her when she needed them the most.” Came a deep raspy mechanical voice. It was a voice that sent chills down everyone’s spine, one that Sunset and Kara recognised. They both turned around to find Darth Vader standing in the alleyway with his red lightsaber fully ignited, with his chilly breathing sound echoing throughout the chamber. “ Uhh, who’s this new character ??” Rarity asked, fright-stricken. “ It’s him, the Sith Lord.” Sunset Shimmer answered her friend’s query as her hand moved to grab her lightsaber, ready to draw it out at first notice. She had no idea how Vader had found them but one glance at the destroyed reconnaissance probe on the ground quickly dispelled those thoughts. Kara took a step forward and ignited her lightsaber, putting herself in between Vader and the rest. “ Get behind me,” Sunset ordered her friends as she placed herself in between Kara and them. The chilling breathing noise, which echoed throughout the large atrium sent shivers down everyone’s spine and sure enough, Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle were trembling in fear, but Sunset could not let it overpower her. Her friends' lives were at stake and she and Kara were the only ones standing in between them and Vader. Like it or not, a duel was inevitable and Sunset put up a brave and somewhat determined face to face the Dark Lord. This, she will make her stand. Vader calmly stepped forward towards the atrium, his red bladed lightsaber fully ignited and ready for a strike. “You have discovered the location of this forgotten temple, how did you do so ??” Vader demanded in his deep mechanical voice to the two Jedi.

“ You’re smart, figure it out yourself !” Kara replied sarcastically to him. Vader paid no attention to Kara as turned to see six adolescent girls behind his master's target. He sensed fear, anger and trepidation within them through the Force, all towards him, rightfully. He sensed even greater fear coming from Sunset Shimmer, but she tried to conceal it. It was nothing more than a feeble attempt in the eyes of Vader for he has seen the fearful eyes of many opponents before being struck down by his lightsaber, and Sunset’s was no exception. They try to put up a fight but in the end, they die like the weaklings they are. “ Sunset Shimmer, I see your companions are here, “ He taunted her, “ How long more before they turn their backs against you again ?.” “ SHUT IT you ashmatic meanie !!” Pinkie Pie shouted out loud, “ We’re with Sunset till the very end.!” She said, full of resoluteness. “ You got that right, Pinkie Pie.” Rainbow Dash concurred with her. Sunset felt a bit of relief in her to see her friends rallying with her but this was far from over. Vader was indifferent to the girls rallying behind their friend. Their sudden determination and loyalty did nothing to hide their fear towards him. In fact, it made it stronger. “ Stay together, die together. How admirable.” Vader intoned. “Did..he..just ..say… die together ???” Twilight asked, her tone iced with fear. “No one's going to die here except for you,” Kara snarled before she charged full swing towards the Sith Lord. Vader stood his ground as Kara charged towards him, before raising his lightsaber to block her strike effortlessly. Kara tried her best to break out of his block but the Sith Lord held his block steadily before launching a counterattack of his own. Kara was pushed back by Vader’s strikes, struggling to block some of them. Sunset rushed for her master’s aid, charging at full intensity towards him but Vader saw it coming. He had expected the padawan to come for her master’s aid like before. He had no interest in taking on two unworthy adversaries at the same time. As Kara attempted a lower body strike with her lightsaber, Vader moved aside, avoiding her strike before seizing the moment to grab her both of her wrists and lifted her up,deactivating her lightsaber before throwing her towards Sunset, whom she impacted with hard, knocking the both of them out momentarily. “ How Pathetic,” Vader muttered with little to no emotion on how little effort it took to incapacitate them. If it weren't for his master’s orders, they would have been made dead back on the platform.

“You’re about to see who’s pathetic !” Rainbow Dash growled at the Sith Lord before she grabbed her blue geode and activated her super speed powers. She then dashed towards the Sith Lord in full speed, confident that she would be able to knock him off several times thanks to her speed. Unsurprisingly, Vader saw her coming. Though slightly impressed by her superspeed abilities which was sourced from a blue geode around her neck, it was nothing when compared to the Dark Side of the Force. He extended his hand towards her and used the Force to freeze her mid air, with Rainbow Dash struggling to break free from her immobilized state. “ I’ll save you, Rainbow Dash !!” Pinkie Pie screamed out loud as she took out some sprinkles and turned into pinkie bombs by virtue of her geode power and was throw them towards Vader before the Sith Lord lunged Rainbow Dash towards the direction of the other girls, causing Pinkie to accidentally throw her bombs to the pillars as Rainbow dash rammed onto them. The pinkie bombs exploded upon making contact with the pillars, badly damaging them and snet the entire atrium shaking, with pebbles falling to the ground. With the upper hand, Vader slowly approached the girls, who were still on the ground reeling from their friend crashing into them, with his hands gripped tightly onto his lightsaber. Sunset and Kara slowly regained their consciousness to find Vader approaching the others with his lightsaber. Kara, who had already pulled herself up, quickly ignited her lightsaber and dashed towards him. Vader sensed the approaching Kara and instantly turned his attention over to her, blocking her strikes. For a moment, it seemed like Kara had the upper hand. Vader was pushed to the defensive, blocking her parry’s and even appeared rattled at the very least briefly.

Unfortunately, the moment came and went like a passing shadow. Vader regained the upper hand in their duel and Kara was back on the defensive. Seeing her master struggling to hold off Vader by herself, Sunset quickly pulled herself up, reignited her lightsaber and was about to head to Kara’s aid before she was stopped by her master. “ Get your friends out of here !! I’ll keep him at bay !” Kara called out as she held off Vader’s strike with her lightsaber, the blue and red lightsabers intersecting perpendicularly. “ What about you ??” Sunset asked, hoping not to hear the answer she feared for. Vader started leaning in on his strike, applying even more pressure onton Kara. “JUST DO IT !!” Kara yelled before she pushed back Vader’s lightsaber, causing the Sith Lord to jerk slightly backwards before Kara moved to strike. Following her master’s orders, she dashed to the other side of the atrium where the girls were as Kara and Vader intensely parried. “Come on, we gotta go right now !!” She said to her friends. “ That’s a very good idea, darling.” Rarity agreed almost instantly. However, not all was in agreement. “ We can’t just leave. Heroes don’t retreat when things go south !” Rainbow Dash reasoned, which brought her glances of dirty looks from the rest of her friends. Sunset grabbed her arm and brought her close to her face, “ Yes we are,” She said to Rainbow Dash in a stern manner. This was definitely not the time for any heroics and certainly not stupidity.

Rainbow Dash saw her Sunset’s expression was dead serious and nodded back at her. While she will not not admit it, she felt compelled to submit to her. After all, that Vader guy had easily defeated her superpowers by simply having his hand. With her friends behind her, Sunset tried to get them to the other side of the atrium where the exit was. Just then, Vader noticed them trying to escape and swung his lightsaber towards Kara, who blocked it but it was not enough to stop her from falling to the ground. Seizing the moment, The Sith Lord headed towards Sunset and girls, bent on preventing their escape. Seeing his approach, Sunset ignited her lightsaber, ready to face him but then Kara extended her hands forward using the Force to stop Vader from moving any further before throwing him towards one of the Statue pillars. “ Go, now !!!” She intoned at her padawan who nodded back and led the others to the exit. Vader pulled himself up from being thrown his suit and mask undamaged even by the slightest but this time, he was pissed, and Kara could sense it too, but she couldn’t care less. Having ignited her saber, she charged towards the Sith Lord with full fury. Meanwhile, Sunset led the others through the temple hallways to get out but it wasn’t as easy as going in. she tried to retrace their way in which they entered but it quickly proved futile. It was as if they were running around in some kind of maze where there were countless similar looking hallways with no exit. The Arkuntal temple was playing tricks with her, just like before but she wasn’t in no mood for games. “Sunset, where are we going ??” Fluttershy pantingy asked as she tried to keep up with the rest. “ I’m getting you guys out of this place,” Sunset answered without turning back. “ Then what ?” Applejack asked. “I’m going back to help Kara.” Sunset said to Applejack. “Are you crazy ? that Sith guy will end you !!” Rainbow Dash argued. “ She’s my mentor and friend. I’m not gonna leave her behind.” Sunset shot back at her. “This time, take a packet of sand and throw it at his mask, that will defeat him.” Pinkie suggested, though Sunset was unsure if this was an actual serious suggestion or another one of Pinkie’s silly jokes, the latter she was definitely not interested to entertain at this time. “Come on, Pinkie. I highly doubt that’s ever gonna work.” Twilight said in response to her suggestion.

Just then, Sunset spotted a small doorway ahead, similarly shaped as the same one they had entered earlier. “Follow me,” She said to her friends, confident that she had found the way out. But this wasn’t the case. Instead they found themselves inside another atrium shaped room. Unlike the atrium they came from, this one was much darker and had no moonlight illuminating it with the air surrounding them still and cold. The cold air, combined with the eerily quiet surroundings reminded of the clear stereotypical graveyard vibes. “This doesn’t feel like outside to me,” Rarity intoned at her surroundings. Rainbow Dash was about to answer Rarity when Sunset shushed her. There was something off about this chamber. She sensed another presence amongst them. There was someone or something else in this room. What unsettled even more was that this presence was not new to her. She had felt this presence before, and it was the time she had faced her. “We’re not alone here.” Sunset muttered to her friends as she drawed out her lightsaber. Applejack was about to query on what she had meant before she was interrupted by a disturbingly familiar voice. “ Your instincts never fail you do they, Sunny ?” The familiar voice said. Just then, the sound of a lightsaber being activated was heard across the room, where a red bladed lightsaber was activated, whose wielder turned out to be no other than the evil Sunset Shimmer with a wicked grin on her face.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Sunny.” She said wickedly. The two Sunsets stared at each other with vastly different expressions, one filled with wickedness and the other filled with determination with anger slowly creeping in. The rest of the girls had confused and stuperfied expressions on their faces seeing their friend’s evil counterpart.“I must admit how impressed I am with how far you’ve come since our last encounter,” The other Sunset continued, her tone nothing short of cunningness, “You’ve mastered your abilities in the Force, though it is only a fraction of your true potential.” Although about less than a minute had passed, Sunset felt like an hour had passed since she stumbled onto her worst nightmare. “ Don’t worry guys,” Sunset said to her friends as she didn’t take her eyes off her counterpart, “ She’s just an illusion.” “ She seems pretty real to me.” Twilight shot back, her tone iced with fear. “Oh Sunny, when are you going to stop lying to yourself?” The other Sunset taunted her. Sunset wasn’t going to let this impostor get inside her head. “ I know who I am. I’m the one who’s gonna defeat you once and for all.” Sunset said with resolute as she ignited her lightsaber. “ You can’t keep living in denial forever,” The other Sunset chuckled, indifferent to the threat. It was as if she was hoping for it. Unfortunately Sunset, blinded by her rage and fury towards her counterpart, played along to her wishes, charging towards her in full speed with her lightsaber drawn up. The other Sunset, stood her ground, with a wicked smile on her face as she waited for the rage driven Sunset to approach her before she used her red bladed lightsaber to block her charge. Sunset attempted to break her counterpart’s block but she held her ground and leaned in on her. She mustered up the strength to push the other Sunset off, putting some space between the two.

“ So feisty !” The other Sunset said, her expression iced with an insatiable lust of power, “ If only you had shown such feistiness during the Fall Formal, we wouldn’t have lost !!''. She further taunted her. Sunset snarled loudly at her as she charged with full fury towards her counterpart as they both engaged in a tit-for-tat lightsaber duel, with both sides parrying the others' charge. The rest of the girls could only stand aside and watch helplessly as her friend dueled herself. One thing for sure is that they had never seen the levels of rage and anger shown by their friend as she dueled her counterpart. It somewhat scared them. Sunset was always a bit of a short tempered person but this was beyond that. It was as if she had been consumed by her own rage. As they both dueled, her counterpart lifted her lightsaber up before swinging it down on Sunset, who moved her lightsaber to counter it, with both red and blue blessed intersecting on one another perpendicularly. “Why continue to resist who you are, Sunny ?” the other Sunset taunted her. “ I am not who you think I am !!!” Sunset yelled, her voice full of anger at her as she stood her ground, holding off her strike. “ Oh I beg to differ,” Her counterpart retorted before she let go one hand off her lightsaber’s grip and extended it forward, and Force-pushed Sunset across the room, where she hit a pillar hard falling to the ground unconscious. “ Sunset !!” Her friends screamed out loud as they rushed towards her to help. “Pathetic,” The other Sunset muttered to herself as she stood her ground and watched the others rush to Sunset’s aid. “Is she gonna be okay ?” Fluttershy asked with a worried expression. Twilight placed her two fingers on Sunset’s wrist to feel her pulse and fortunately there was one. “ She’s fine, just unconscious that's all.” Twilight said to the rest slightly relieved.

“Of course she’ll be fine. Sunset Shimmer has been through worse before,” The other Sunset said out loud. The girls turned their attention to her, their faces beaming red with anger, including the usually meek Fluttershy. “ I’m gonna kick your as…” Rainbow Dash said as she grabbed her geode before she was stopped by Applejack who then turned her attention towards the counterpart, “ Before I let her, mind telling us who you are and how you know of the Fall Formal incident ?” She demanded, her tone iced with anger. “ She didn’t tell you ?” The other Sunset chuckled in a seemingly surprised manner though it was fairly obvious she was only pretending to be. “Tell us what ?” Twilight further asked. “That I’m the real Sunset Shimmer, the one you guys thought to have defeated during the Fall Formal.” The other Sunset clamored. “ That’s impossible,” Applejack gasped. She wasn’t the only one as the others had confused and shocked looks on their faces. “Well believe it !” The other Sunset shot back as she pointed out to their unconscious friend on the ground, “All those years, that impostor has been hiding her true self, denying it, but no more. Through the power of the Force, I'll be unstoppable !!.”

“ We know who our friend is !!” Pinkie Pie declared out loud resolutely. “ And we’ll stand by her at all times. We’ve defeated you before and we will do it again !!” Rainbow Dash added with resolve to which the other girls rallied behind. Despite the counterpart’s claims, they knew who their friend was and how she had stood by them before. Now the time has come to return the favor. Just then, their geodes began to lit up brightly and from the energy of the geodes, the girls, united by their determination to protect their friend starting transforming or as what Pinkie Pie refers to as ‘pony-up’, as they grew pony shaped ears from their head and their hairs became more lengthier, extending past their hips towards their legs. This ‘magical’ transformation, albeit temporarily, was powered by the Magic of Friendship that came from their geodes and it gave them the power they believed they could defeat the other Sunset. Meanwhile, Sunset who was just regaining her consciousness after being tossed across the room, had her vision blinded by the bright lights being emitted by the girl’s ponying up. The girls, now fully ponied-up and slightly levitating off the ground thanks to their temporary powers turned their attention over towards the other Sunset, “The Magic of Friendship will always prevail against the forces of evil !” Applejack declared, as the power of the geodes from the others combined, creating a large white beam of power to which Applejack unleashed onto the other Sunset, who merely chuckled at their pony transformation. “So typical,” She muttered to herself in a slightly annoyed tone but she was in no way unprepared. In fact, she had been anticipating it. As the white magical beam came shooting straight towards her, she extended her right hand forward towards the white beam and somehow she started to absorb the white beam of energy with ease.

As the girls continued to shoot off their magical white beam, the other Sunset continued to absorb it, somehow growing stronger with every inch of energy she absorbed. Eventually the girls were drained out of their powers and slowly landed back on the ground, with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. “That’s never happened before,” Rainbow Dash remarked, her tone iced with confusion and creeping fear. It was a feeling never before felt by Rainbow Dash but she was quickly getting used to it, given the predicament. The other Sunset, on the other hand, stood her ground, unaffected and unbruised even at the slightest. In fact, she had gotten what she needed, power. A confident and cunning smile appeared on her face, “Now it’s my turn,” She uttered as she shot out her hand and blue streaks of lightning sprang from her fingers and struck the girls, shooting them with unimaginable pain with every muscle in their bodies tensed and cramped uncontrollably. The girls screamed in agony as the lightning danced over and through their bodies. Sunset was alerted to the screaming voices of her friends, watched in horror as they were struck by lightning that sprang from the other Sunset’s fingers who seemed to enjoy sadistically the agony of her friends.

The blue streak of lightning that sprang out of her fingers ceased and the girls sprawled to the ground unconscious, the pain being too much for them to handlen with vapors of smoke rising from their almost lifeless bodies. “Guys!! No!” Sunset exclaimed out in despair as she pulled herself up and rushed to their sides. She held Twilight by her arms and proceeded to feel her pulse with her two fingers. She dreaded the worst. There was a faint pulse coming, indicating she was alive. Sunset quickly glanced at the others, finding their diaphragms still moving, which meant that they were still breathing. Sunset felt a quick sense of relief that her friends were still alive, but it was soon overcome with anguish over the terrible state of agony they were in. “Don’t worry,” The other Sunset said, bloated with sarcasm, “they won’t be permanently damaged.” Sunset turned to face her counterpart and with incoherent cry, she charged with her lightsaber drawn out towards her counterpart, reveling at the strength of her muscles as she dealt strike after strike but the other Sunset parried it expertly with a as she cackled in a manner that seemed like she took pleasure in Sunset’s rage and fury. “Your hatred towards me is strong, give in to your anger and strike me down !!.” She intoned as her eyes were gleaming with approval. “I AM NOTHING LIKE YOU !!” Sunset enraged, shouted as loud as possible as she pushed on with her strikes. The anger and hatred towards this counterpart of hers was flowing through her blood, reaching every part of her cells, fueling it as she tried to strike herself down. Anger had blinded her, blurred her judgment. She couldn’t think of anything else other than killing her counterpart, the person who incapicitated her friends and left them in an almost lifeless manner.

Despite her almost constant strikes, the other Sunset was not even at the very least unsettled. In fact, she appeared like someone had drawn out a winning card in a game of poker. “Why do you hate what gives you power ?” She sighed as she extended her hand forward, using the Force and sent Sunset sprawling to the ground, landing heavily with a grunt. But Sunset wasn’t done and over yet. Excruciating Pain was coming from all parts of her body but using her hate towards her counterpart, she summoned her energy to pull herself up but she realized her lightsaber wasn’t in her clutches. She had left involuntarily let go of it when she landed onto the ground. It had rolled away, thanks to its cylindrical shape a certain distance away from her grasp. Sunset quickly extended her hand to grab it but it was too late. The other Sunset with her red lightsaber drawn out, stood tall and imposing over her. Her expression was one that of triumph, with her lips curled in a manner that might have been either a smile or a snarl as she stood over her defeated opponent. Sunset knew it then this could be the moment.

“You cannot keep running away from your past Sunset Shimmer, from who you are.” The other Sunset declared out loud as she raised her lightsaber, set for the killing blow. Sunset laid on the ground defeated as she saw the red blad her of her counterpart’s lightsaber above her, poised to strike down. It was at this pivotal moment did Sunset realize it, that her refusal to accept her counterpart’s claims was actually granting her even more strength ! Her denial was her power. ‘How was this possible ?’ Sunset thought to herself in what could very well be her final thoughts. All along she had been fighting to protect her friends and to prove her counterpart wrong, that she was not the Sunset Shimmer of before. But then, she remembered what Qui Gonn had told her earlier, not to let friendships turn into attachments which will eventually become obsession and that was exactly what happened. She recognised her counterpart. It was a dark shadow herself, a manifestation of her obsession and her paranoia, coupled with her past lust and greed for power. The more Sunset rejected it, the more her counterpart grew stronger and the more she became her ! Her counterpart was right, she could not run away from the past, nor can she change it, and she is accountable to her former actions, but it is not her. Her counterpart drew her strength from her imbalances, and only by correcting this imbalance will vanquish her. “You’re right,” She muttered out loud to the other Sunset. Perhaps for the first time, her counterpart had a nonplussed expression. That confident, cunning look on her face was no more, replaced by unsettledness. She could sense a creeping sense of fear in her counterpart, though not apparent. In a split second, the other Sunset snarled and brought her lightsaber down towards Sunset’s head.

Suddenly, her hand and lightsaber were stopped mid air, an invisible force was preventing it from moving further. She tried to break free from this hold, by utilizing all of her strength in pushing it down but her efforts were futile. She then noticed, just below her lightsaber was Sunset’s open hand, as she held back her counterpart’s lightsaber through the Force. Sunset pulled her head up, making direct eye contact with her counterpart as she cracked a smirk on her face. Finally, she had drawn a winning trump card and perhaps for the first time the other Sunset had a worried unsettled look on her twisted face. Unadmittingly, she knew that the dynamics had shifted, likely for good. “You’re right,” Sunset repeated to her counterpart who was trying to break free, “I cannot keep running away from my past and denying it as much as I want to.” Using her Force grip to which she held on, Sunset started pulling the other Sunset towards her. It wasn’t easy, but she gathered all of her strength, both physical and spiritual to pull her. At this point the other Sunset was visibly panicking, her expression having well passed worrying. Her face was filled with terror as she tried to agitate herself out of Sunset’s hold on her but it proved futile. Sunset’s hold was strong, as she kept pulling her counterpart towards her.

Just then, small pieces of her counterpart’s light amber skin begin to break, with thick black smoke coming out of those small holes. More parts of her skin broke, with thick smoke coming until off of the light amber skin completely broke, revealing a torso composed of nothing but darkness. The previous facial features of her counterpart had all but dissolved, leaving only her eyes and her mouth. Her eyes were thick bloodish red, as if it was the windows of hell and her mouth was filled with pointy-looking teeth. Overall, her counterpart no longer looked like herself, but more of a dark twisted shadowy demon, its true form. Sunset didn’t let the horrid look distract as she continued pulling this shadow of hers towards her. It gave a deafening demonic shriek, as if it was in tremendous pain as she was being captivated. “ I recognise you now.” Sunset said with an audacious manner, “ You are who I once was. A part of me you are, but you don’t have control over me and never will.” Just then, the power from all of her friends' geodes lit up and each shot a beam of energy towards Sunset, as if it was providing her with the final boost needed. In doing so, the respective geodes each gave a magical uplifting to the girls, bringing them back to consciousness as well as ponying up. Sunset Shimmer also ponied up with all the energy inside of her. Behind Her, the girls were all fully back up and were combining their magic, forming white white beam energy to which they directed towards Sunset. “My friends and Kara have shown me that it is I who control you, who has power over you.” Sunset declared as she used the Force to further pull her shadow closer. It was now nothing more than a couple of inches away from her, whimpering in fear. “ I cannot run away from my past, but my past is not today. Today, I am a Jedi who carries with me the power of friendship and I reject you.” With one final pull, Sunset Shimmer finally merges her shadowy dark side to herself, vanquishing it for good.

The other Sunset was no more. Sunset Shimmer had finally faced her inner demons and conquered them once and for all. All this time, she feared, despised her former self but she had now come to realize that her Dark Side will forever continue to be a part of her, like it or not but she has power over it. The atrium was now back to its quiet and still self, save for Sunset and the rest. She then turned to her ‘ponied-up’ friends thankful that they appeared unhurt. “Are you guys okay ?” She asked, despite already knowing the answer. “Better than okay !” Rainbow Dash declared in her usual confident manner. “For some reason, I feel energetic all of a sudden,” Rarity concurred with Rainbow Dash. “What happened to your counterpart, Sunset ?” Twilight asked in a more serious manner. “ Yea, did evil SunShim turn into dust or something ?” Pinkie added in to Twilight’s question. The girls had their eyes trained towards Sunset, waiting for her answer. “She’s not my counterpart, never was.” Sunset answered, much to her friends confusion. “What do ya mean sugarcube ?” Applejack asked. “Well it's kinda complicated.” Sunset said. She didn’t really know how to explain to her friends that she had faced off with a physical manifestation of her Dark Side or even them grasping that fact. Twilight was about to further say something when they heard distant noises of lightsabers clashing coming from the doorway which they had entered from. “Kara,” Sunset muttered. In the heat of the moment, she had completely forgotten about Kara and her duel with the Sith Lord. She had to go for her master’s aid. She had extended her hand and used the Force to pull her lightsaber back to her grasp. “We need to go back and help Kara.” Sunset said to her friends as she dashed off through the doorway to her master’s aid, closely followed by her friends. “Time to save the day, again.” Rainbow Dash intoned as she tagged along.

Meanwhile,

Kara and Darth Vader continued dueling with one another, with the latter obviously having the upper hand. Kara was forced to the defensive as she struggled to parry off every incoming strike. For Vader, this was almost too easy for him. The girl was just delaying her ultimate fate. The both soon locked on to each other with their lightsabers intercepting one another. Kara tried to push forwards but it was in vain, he was just too strong and powerful. “Surrender, and perhaps the Emperor will show you mercy in deciding your fate.” Vader intoned as he leaned in on his block. They were so close that Kara could hear the breathing mechanism of his helmet working. “Tell your master to go to hell,” Kara shot back with absolute resoluteness as she leapt off over him and landed on her feet behind him before she lashed out with her own sets of strikes to which Vader effortlessly and expertly parried.it was as if he could correctly predict her every move. Just then, he briefly laid down his guard and extended his hand, grabbing Kara by the Force just as she was about to strike him before tossing her towards one of the Temple pillars. Kara hit the pillars face-first hard before she fell to the ground unconscious. With a single and swift act, Vader had incapitated his opponent. It was barely a challenge for the Dark Lord of the Sith. “All too easy,” He remarked. Before he could revel in his victory however, he sensed an incoming strike from behind. He quickly swirled back with his lightsaber activated, catching Sunset’s lightsaber just in the nick of time.
The two lightsabers were locked onto each other almost perpendicularly. Sunset had hoped to catch the Sith Lord unprepared but he clearly sensed her approach. Vader caught notice of his opponent’s unusual physical mutations, bearing some kind of resemblance towards some kind of human/equine hybrid. Her companions who just entered the chamber also had similar alterations and their geodes on their necks seemed to be glowing. Vader quickly deduced that those geodes were the source of their somewhat unnatural transformations, being some kind of primitive alchemy that he is yet to fully understand but proving his master’s claims about Sunset Shimmer. He grew more determined to apprehend her and unlock the secrets she holds both of his master’s desire, and himself. “Impressive,” Vader intoned as he pushed off Sunset with his lightsaber, giving some space between the two before going on an offensive. Sunset grappled to keep parrying his strikes but managed to hold on. The two soon locked lightsabers with each other perpendicularly. Vader leaned in on his strike, exerting even more pressure on Sunset to hold it.

Thanks to her quick thinking, Sunset gave a good kick onto the Sith Lord’s abdomen, pushing him off and alleviating most if not all of the pressure. Sunset then charged towards the briefly undefended Vader before something grabbed hold of her neck. She could feel as if her neck was being squeezed telekinetically, and indeed it was. She saw Vader with a grip-like gesture on his hand. He was Force choking her. Sunset dropped her lightsaber to the ground as her natural reflexes had both of her hands clutched her neck. Vader then lifted her off the ground with his Force-choke before throwing her off to the side. He could’ve easily snapped her neck and ended it all but his orders were clear. Sunset fell to the ground, gasping for air as her neck was now relieved. Vader then turned his attention over to her companions. “Light him Up, Ladies !!” Pinkie Pie declared out loud to the others. The girls then combined the powers from their geodes, creating a white energy beam which Rainbow Dash then directed it towards Vader. The Sith Lord raised his lightsaber up to deflect the incoming white beam. The beam struck this lightsaber and almost caused Vader to stumble but he held his ground firmly, till the point where the ground below him started to crack. “Most Impressive,” Vader said as he held his ground. His interest in this unusual sorcery grew and solidified within him. The power contained in those geodes was more than he realized. He soon had enough of child play. The time had come for Vader to show them the true power of the Dark Side. With one hand holding the lightsaber, he extended his other upwards and used the Force to bring down the roof above the girls. The entire roof above them came tumbling down above them.

Thanks to her quick thinking, Rarity conjured up a large diamond-shaped shield that covered those around her and shielded them from the falling rocks and debris. However, in doing so, it broke their concentration and energy flow from their geodes effectively disintegrating the energy beam. “ Is everybody alright ?” Rarity asked as she used her geode in power in maintaining the shield. “ I’ve got the feeling that someone actually wants to destroy us this time.” Rainbow Dash intoned as she leaned her hand to help pull Twilight back to her two feet. “ Does anyone have eyes on Sunset ?” Applejack said to the others as her eyes scrambled to find her in the midst of rocks and debris.. Fortunately, as the dust settled, they found their friend still lying unconscious and unhurt from the debris. She was not the only one though. Darth Vader stood right in front of them with not even a scratch on his armor. The Sith Lord noticed the diamond shield that was between him and the girls. ‘Pathetic,’ he thought to himself. He deactivated his lightsaber and hung it back on his belt before he brought both of his hands beside one another with his palms opened up and by using the Force, started to squeeze them by applying enough pressure onto the diamond shield, making it contract.

The diamond shield started to crack and shrink as Vader applied more and more pressure on it from all directions. Rarity greatly struggled to keep the shield up with her geode powers but it was in vain. “What’s happening !?” Fluttershy cried out in fear as the more cracks appeared on the actively shrinking shield. “He’s trying to squeeze us from within,” Twilight answered Fluttershy, her tone not as different as hers. As Vader brought both of his open hands closer to each other, the diamond shield was shrinking in all sides while cracking at the same time. It was only a matter of time before it breaks or Rarity gives in. She tried so hard with all of her energy to maintain it but she was failing and getting more exhausted by the second. The shield was just now mere inches away from their heads, forcing the girls to duck. “ He’s too strong, I can’t hold it…..much longer….” Rarity pantingly said in an exhausted voice. She had drained all of her geode strength and power which was dimming out. Vader could see the tiring face of Rarity as well as the panicking and scared faces of the girls inside the collapsing shield. Just a little bit more and they’re done for. “NO !!!!!” A loud voice came from behind. Vader turned around to find Kara swinging her lightsaber towards him. For the first time, the Sith Lord was taken aback and whirled to the side to avoid Kara’s lightsaber. In doing so, he was forced to let go of his stranglehold over the diamond shield, finally relieving Rarity from duress. By this time, the girls had transformed back to their normal physical attributes, having used a significant amount of magic in a short period of time. Kara continued launching a barrage of strikes at Vader but he continued whirling to the side avoiding her strikes. For a moment it seemed like the Sith Lord was on the defensive, with no chance of taking out his lightsaber to counter Kara’s advances.

Vader held his ground and extended his hand, using the Force to block Kara’s incoming strike mid air albeit only briefly. It gave Vader the moment to draw out his own lightsaber and let go of his block, using his lightsaber to catch Kara’s strikes. Before she knew it, she was back to square one, with her parrying against Vader’s attacks. Meanwhile, Sunset slowly pulled herself up from the ground, her vision was a bit blurry but soon became clearer. She saw her friend caught between the wreckage of the fallen roof. They were thankfully unhurt and there was a small gap between the debris to get to them. She then turned towards her master to find engaging in a duel with Vader, the latter obviously having the upper hand. Just then, the roof and other structures above them started falling and crumbling down. It appeared that Vader bringing down a portion of the already unstable roof was the trigger to the rest. The entire Temple was coming down on them, with the pillars surrounding them also giving way to the falling structure. “Sunset !!” Twilight called out to her friend, “ This place is collapsing. We gotta go now !” Sunset couldn’t have agreed more. Her friends were, after all, the closest to the exit. But she could not leave Kara behind to either be killed by Vader or be buried alive.

Sunset rushed to Kara’s side, to keep the Sith Lord distracted enough so they all could escape and maybe, just maybe with a bit of luck, bury Vader in it. Kara was too preoccupied with her duel with Vader to notice the collapsing temple surrounding her. Vader increased his strikes,, as if his attacks and strikes were now fueled solely by anger and hatred. Just then, one of the pillars came tumbling down narrowly missing Sunset but cut her off from Kara and Vader. It was too heavy for Sunset to lift it up, which meant that she would have to climb over it to get to them. “Sunset, we need to leave, now !!” She could hear Rainbow Dash calling out to her but she wasn’t going anywhere without her master. “ Kara, the Temple is coming down. We have to go !!!!” She called out to Kara. Kara heard her apprentice calling her to leave but someone had to keep Vader occupied or he would be onto them. As she saw the collapsing temple around her, she knew that she wouldn’t make it, but her apprentice could. “ Get out of here, Sunset. I’ll hold him off,” She shouted to Sunset as she held off Vader’s attacks with her lightsaber. “I won’t leave you, Master.” Sunset said as more and more rocks and debris came crumbling down around her. A few more seconds and all of them would be trapped inside. Kara held her lightsaber in one hand which she used to hold off the Sith Lord’s strike while she extended her other hand in the direction of Sunset and lifted her up through the Force. “ Yes, you will, Padawan.” Those were her final words to Sunset Shimmer before she pushed her away towards her friends on the other side as the whole roof came tumbling down.

Kara then turned her attention over to Vader who had leaned in on his strike. “ Submit to me !” He said out loud through his helmet. “Never !!!” Kara shouted back at him as she held on tightly to her lightsaber. “Then you will die, braver than most.” Vader said indifferently. Kara closed her eyes for a moment, ‘she had already decided her fate’, before she opened them and looked right into Vader’s helmet, “So be it.” She said calmly. She was full of serenity and peace. It was the last thing Kara remembered before Vader’s lightsaber pierced through her, the world went white, and she knew nothing more.

Sunset Shimmer did not know what to say as the entrance of the chamber where they were a few seconds earlier had been sealed by the collapsed roof, burying whoever that’s in there. “She’s..she’s… gone,” She stammered to say it. Everything happened too fast for Sunset to comprehend. One moment she was rushing to save Kara and the next moment she was gone. The girls were at a loss of words too. Like Sunset, they too were equally shocked though not as affected as Sunset. A drop of tear came from her eye, then a second and soon, both her eyes were flooded with tears, as if a dam had been broken. Her friends could feel for her. They felt like hugging her their best friend and comforting her but they’re not out of the woods yet. “ I know how you’re feeling, sugarcube, we have to keep moving if we are to make it out of here,” Applejack said in a mild manner to Sunset as she helped pull herself up from the ground. Sunset rubbed the tears of her eyes before she nodded to Applejack. Kara had sacrificed herself in order for she and her friends to escape and Sunset was not going to let that sacrifice be in vain. The girls ran as fast as they could to the exit. Rainbow Dash, who had exhausted her super speed geode power, was forced to rely on her own stamina to run, though thanks to her athletic activities, she was the fastest even without her superpowers. They managed to exit Arkuntal Temple just as the entire interior of the temple collapsed, blocking the only exit for good. Knowing full well that since the Sith Lord had tracked them here, Imperial forces were not far behind, the girls wasted no time in running back to the Gauntlet.

As soon as they reached the Gauntlet, the ramp doors opened revealing R5 in the entrance of the ship. The astromech droid was beeping erratically, informing them that the Empire was on its way. Just then, R5 noticed that there was someone missing from the group, his master was not with them. Despite being a non-living thing made up of wires and circuits, the droid was worried about her. R5 beeped towards Sunset, asking about Kara. “ I’m sorry buddy, but she’s gone,” Sunset said in a soft sad voice as she placed his hand over R5. The droid was silent for a moment before it let out a sad whine as if it was crying. Sunset felt for R5, as the droid had been by Kara’s side for a long time. “ Come on, buddy, we need to fly out of here before the Empire arrives.” Sunset said to R5, who quietly complied and headed to the cockpit. Within moments the Gauntlet was up in the air and flew off but Sunset knew it was gonna be a long quiet trip back.

Author's Note

Yea.... that happened.

Chapter 23: Ascension

The Gauntlet,

It was a somber and quiet flight back to the base. Sunset remained in the cockpit alongside R5, who was piloting the ship. Save for a few moments where some of the girls took turns in comforting her, Sunset was mostly left with her thoughts. The others knew best not to push further. After all, they didn’t know Kara as well enough as Sunset Shimmer did. A sense of guilt started creeping in. ‘ Was she responsible for Kara’s death ?’ Sunset wondered. Ultimately it was solely because of her that they went to Arkuntal in the first place. Had they not gone there, perhaps Vader would not have tracked them and Kara would still be alive and with them. It was even more painful to think that Kara was knighted just before her death. Sunset closed her eyes for a moment, hoping to close the floodgates of tears. “Why could it not have been me instead,” She muttered quietly to herself, quiet enough that even R5 did not pick it up. It was not like she had anything to contribute to the galaxy. Her friends would mourn for a while before they moved on with their families. She had long lost contact with her biological family in Equestria, so they won’t be missing her any much as anyone else. In other words, she was insignificant. Without a master, she was no more of a Jedi than she was before she met Kara. Her thoughts were soon interrupted by R5 informing her that they had reached the base. Outside, she found that there were significantly more people outside, mostly recognisable faces. It appeared that other residents of Canterlot City which they helped free earlier had found their way here. It was only possible because of Kara.

As R5 landed the Gauntlet, she noticed Zeko, Karl and Trixie waiting right in front of the ramp to greet them. ‘How was she going to tell them ?’ She won’t be surprised if they blame her. Sunset and R5 headed to the common area, where the other girls were and opened the ramp doors revealing the trio right outside to greet them. “ Took you guys long enough,” Karl remarked as they walked down the ramp onto the ground. “ While you guys were gone, the other residents of Canterlot found their way here. All of your families are with them,” Trixie said to the girls. A bright hopeful expression appeared on their faces upon hearing that their families had survived. Amongst the swarm of people, Applejack spotted her family. “There’s Granny Smith and Big Mac over there,” She pointed at them. “You kids better go see your families, they must be worried sick.” Zeko added. It didn’t take long before Karl noticed that the group was missing one member. “ Where’s Kara ?” He asked Sunset. The bright expression on the girls' faces quickly reversed as they turned to Sunset. They knew it was best to let her answer. “Kara’s gone,” She muttered with her face looking down. “Gone, what do you mean gone ? Like got captured ?” Karl asked incredulously but in a more serious manner. Sunset couldn’t take it anymore. She had tried her best to keep herself composed but she just couldn’t anymore. “No, She’s gone.” She yelled to their faces before she started crying again. R5 further affirmed Sunset’s claims. Karl and Zeko finally understood what she meant by ‘gone’ and instantly the expression on their faces dropped. Their crewmate, who in some ways has been part of a family, is no more. They were devastated. Using his four limbs, Zeko brought Karl and Sunset closer and the three of them shared an emotional hug. Although it was only a few seconds, Sunset felt like it was an eternity. Zeko and Karl knew Kara longer than she did and she knew how they would have felt. “How did it happen ?,” Karl asked in a despondent manner as the man shed a tear. “ Vader somehow tracked us to the temple. Kara sacrificed herself in order..in order….” Sunset stammered to get the words intended out, “For us to escape.” “Typical Kara alright, always being selfless in times like that,” Zeko intoned in a slightly lighter manner though it was clear he was mourning too. “It’s the Jedi way,” Sunset quietly added. “What do we do now ?” Karl asked. It was a difficult question to answer but Sunset knew what needed to be done first. “There’s one thing we must do first,” She said.

A Few Moments Later,

Sunset Shimmer, Karl, Zeko, Trixie and the rest of the people of Canterlot City gathered by river banks not far from the base to pay their last respects to Kara Antra. In her hands, Sunset held a circular shaped flower bouquet. The bouquet has some sharp twigs but it was the best Flutttershy could put together given such short notice . In the middle of the bouquet was a small holoprojector which displayed a holographic image of Kara during…happier times, courtesy of Karl. It was the best Sunset could come up with for a proper send off given that her master’s body was most likely stuck beneath piles of debris. As her apprentice, she was given the honor of holding the bouquet and placing it on the calm waters of the river. As it floated away upon being left to the water, a sense of sorrow befell the crowd, particularly Karl, Zeko and Sunset as it was their final goodbye to a fellow crewmate, master, friend and in some ways, a fellow family member. R5 extended his metallic hands and proceeded to hold Sunset’s hand while beeping sadly at the same time. Sunset leaned her head on Karl’s shoulders, her heart filled with sadness as the bouquet went with the river stream and it was soon out of sight. (Nobody More Than Kanan | Star Wars: Rebels Season 4 OST) [1]

After the funeral, Sunset excused herself to her quarters on the Gauntlet to spend some time alone. The girls, despite feeling that they should be by her side in times like this, did not protest her decision. She needed the time alone to reflect on her thoughts .”What will I do without you, Kara ?” She whimpered to herself. Despite only knowing her for a little more than 3 months, she had come to trust Kara more than anything. She may have been her master, but she certainly didn’t behave that way. Instead their relationship resembled more of an older/younger sibling relationship. She always lended a hand to Sunset to pull her back up when she’s down and always valued her opinions. Sunset considered Kara more of a mentor and teacher than Princess Celestia ever was. She would consider her an older sister to her. But she was gone now, and it was all her fault.

Just then, she heard her door knock. “Come in,” She said to whoever it was that was outside. The door slides open, revealing it to be Karl who was carrying a box with both of his hands as he entered. “ What’s this ?” She asked him as she wiped the tears off her face. “ It’s all of Kara’s former Jedi stuff. Figured that you might wanna have it.” He said as he handed to Sunset the box which contained training sabers and the orb which Sunset had trained to master her lightsaber skills during their time on Ajan Kloss. There was also other stuff which was new to Sunset but one which got her attention was a cube-shaped object that fitted on the palm of her hand and it was drawing her to open it. What intrigued her is that there was no opening of sorts to unlock this cube. “What is this thing ?” She asked Karl, hoping that he may have the answer. Karl looked at the cube and recognised it after a couple of seconds, “ It’s a Jedi Holocron I believe. Kara said they are used to store information.” He said in a non chahant manner. “ How do you open it ?” She further asked. “ She said only a Jedi can access its contents.” Karl answered before he got up and headed towards the door. Before he left the room, he turned to face Sunset, “ You may not know it but, Kara always saw you as more than just her apprentice. She saw you as her younger self and felt responsible for you.” Karl added before he left, leaving Sunset alone again in her quarters. She didn’t doubt what Karl had said. She always saw Kara as more than her master. Somehow she always understood how she felt and knew how to comfort her. Her attention then soon turned towards the holocron which was now glowing and it was calling her to open it. But there was no possible way of opening it. ‘Karl said only a Jedi could open it,’ She thought to herself. ‘It must be through the Force,’ She figured. Giving it a chance, she closed her eyes and called upon the Force to unlock the holocron. The holocron soon levitated into the air and opened up, to which a holographic recording of a middle-aged man with blond hair and beard dressed in some kind of robes. Sunset recognised as the same middle aged man from her dreams some time back. He sounded sad initially but as he went on, a sense of hopefulness appeared in his tone.

“ This is Master Obi Wan Kenobi. I regret to report that both our Jedi Order and the Republic have fallen, with dark shadows of the Empire rising to take their place. This message is a warning and a reminder to any surviving Jedi. Trust in the Force. Do not return to the Temple, that time has passed and our future is uncertain. We will each be challenged, our trust, our faith, our friendships. But we must persevere and, in time, a new hope will emerge. May the Force be with you, always.” [2]

The recording soon ended and the holocron closed itself. Sunset deduced that this recording must have been made a long time ago when the Order fell and this Kenobi guy must be long dead, but yet what he said had never been more true in the current context. After all, her future as well as her friends are uncertain and there are far greater challenges ahead. But as Master Kenobi said, they must carry on, no matter what lies ahead. Her thoughts were soon interrupted by some commotion happening outside. She quickly placed the holocron back in the box and headed out. Perhaps their challenge had come too soon ?

Author's Note

Kara's gone, and Sunset Shimmer is now left rudderless, with her future now uncertain. How is she going to be a Jedi now ? This short chapter largely focuses on the aftermath of Kara's passing with a funeral for her and Sunset coping with the lost of someone she considered more like an older sister than a mentor. I would love to include the other Gauntlet crew members dealing with the loss of their friend but I felt like it would deviate too much from the story so I just settled with a few liners. Now onto the easter eggs,
[1] The soundtrack used in this scene is the same used in the Rebels s4 episode DUME in which the Spectres mourn the death of a beloved member.
[2] This message/warning by Obi Wan Kenobi was first seen off screen in Revenge of the Sith and made its full screen appearance in the Rebels pilot episode Spark of Rebellion.
Sunset's thought were quickly interrupted by the commotion coming from outside. Has the Empire tracked them to their place, or is it someone else ?

Chapter 24: The Path

Sunset Shimmer headed outside to find three massively large bulky-looking old starships descending to the ground. The ships had a peculiar cylinder-shaped hull where its docking point. It was as if they were cargo ships. “Sunset !” She heard her name being called and turned to find Twilight and the others rushing towards her. “ Who are these guys ?” Twilight pantingly asked. Sunset didn’t answer her question, not like she even had an answer in the first place. Her eyes scanned for Karl and Zeko, finding them not so far from them. They were standing close to where the ships were to make landfall. Sunset ran towards them, with the others following her closely behind. “ Is it the Empire ?” She asked them. “ They don’t look Imperial to me.” Zeko intoned at her. “These are Hammerhead Corvettes. They’re commonly used as transport ships, what are they doing here ?” Karl further queried as the Corvettes landed. Meanwhile the refugees had taken to hiding in the nearby trees, anxiously waiting for their new visitor to reveal themselves as friend or foe. “I’d guess we’re about to find out,” Sunset remarked as they headed to the back of its cylindrical-shaped hull where the ship's docking point was.

The Docking doors opened revealing several men carrying a bunch of heavy crates out of the ship. The same sight could be seen with the other two ships, where the crewmen were disembarking the heavy crates. They weren’t stormtroopers. Instead they wore pale blue long sleeve shirts, grey trousers and black calf-length boots. Over their shirts was a multi-pocketed vest and they wore a strangely-shaped white service helmet. [1] As most of them debarked the ship with their crates, those hiding in the forest slowly started to reveal themselves, curious about their guest and somehow feeling assured that they were not a threat. The off-worlders didn’t seem to be hostile to any of them. In fact, one of them opened the craters, revealing its contents to be food packets and invited the locals to come receive them. They were here to help them, apparently. The last person to debark the shuttle was a man who had brown eyes and had a height of around 1.88 meters. He wore a brown shirt and trousers with a similar coloured vest over the former, distinguishing himself from the others with the only similar trait being his helmet and boots. On his vest was an insignia which likely symbolised his rank. He took notice of the group and proceeded towards them. “I take it you’re the ones who contacted Rebel Intelligence about what’s happening here.” He pointed out.

“That would be me,” Karl answered back. Sunset turned to Karl with a puzzled look on her face, “What do you mean you contacted them ?” She asked him. “ After seeing what the Empire did to your world, Kara told me to report it in.” Karl answered her. “And where is this Kara now ? Fulcrum told me she’s the leader of your cell.” The man said. “She’s not with us anymore,” Sunset said in a somber manner which was shared by the others. The man could read the prevailing mood amongst them and took off his helmet as a sign of respect. “ I’m sorry for your loss.” He offered his sympathy. “Excuse me,” Rarity chipped in, “But you haven’t quite told who you or your men are.” “Walk with me,” The man invited them as he wore his helmet back on. They started walking towards the front where the other men were dispersing the contents of the crates they had brought to the locals. “I’m Captain Raymus Antilles,” [2] The man introduced himself, “My men and I bring relief supplies for the locals on behalf of the Royal House of Alderaan.” Antilles further added. “ Alderaan ? Senator Organa sent these relief supplies?” Sunset said out loud to which Captain Antilles nodded “ Indeed, food, water, medical aid, you name it.” Captain Antilles pointed out to the numerous crates which his men had brought from their ships before he continued, “ The Senator apologizes for not being here in person as his presence is needed in the Imperial Senate. He’s given his assurance that he and other like-minded Senators will do everything they can to help your world and its inhabitants.” “ You mean what’s happened here has reached the Senate ?” Karl queried. “Thanks to you guys,” Captain Antilles pointed out, “ If not for your report, nobody would have known that the Empire had annexed an undeveloped world and imprisoned its people.” “At least some good has come out from this mission,” Zeko intoned as they continued walking past the Alderaanians handing out aid to people, a sight which Sunset took notice of. She was thankful to Captain Antilles and Senator Organa for their help.

“Logical question, how are we to use the medical aid you brought for us ? As you can see, we aren’t exactly up to par with your technological advancements.” Twilight directed a question towards Captain Antilles. “Not a problem, threepio is right there teaching your medical officers as we speak,” Antilles pointed out towards a gold-plated humanoid-looking android explaining to Canterlot City’s nurses and doctors as the off-worlders unload the crates. “What is that thing ?” Rainbow Dash questioned.“It’s what we call a protocol droid,” Captain Antilles explained, “His name is C-3PO and he can be pretty annoying most of the time,” [3] “Aren’t all protocol droids annoying ?” Karl quipped. “So what happens now ?” Sunset asked in a serious manner. “Well, besides bringing aid, I’ve been authorized by the Senator to airlift your people off-world.” Antilles said. “What do you mean get us off world ?” Applejack chipped in and asked in a confused manner. “That’s why the Hammerhead Corvettes are for,” Antilles continued as he pointed to the bulky ships,” We can transport up to around 900 people on this jump, excluding the crew.” “And where will you be taking them ?” Karl further queried.
“ We have dozens of safe places across the galaxy where they’ll be given asylum and protected from the Empire. This isn’t the first time we have dealt with displaced refugees.” Antilles explained.

“Refugees ?” Rarity raised her voice mildly as if having taken offense to the term, “Since when are we refugees of our own home ?” She added. “Since the Empire came and kicked you people out of your homes.” Zeko scoffed at her. Captain Antilles turned his attention towards the girls to address them specifically, “I understand the sentimental value you share for this planet, it's natural. So I leave the choice of resettling up to you.” Antilles said before he turned towards Karl and Zeko and pulled out from his vest a flash drive and handed it over to them, “I almost forgot… I’ve been told to send your cell over to Dantooine.” [4] Antilles intoned as he excused himself from the group to check on his men. “ What’s on Dantooine ?” Karl asked. The Captain turned around and a small smile cracked on his face, “Your next mission. It’s all on the drive I gave you.” He said before turning away. “Do you think we can trust him ?” Rainbow Dash said incredulously. “It’s not like you’ve got a choice anyway.” Karl scoffed. “Sunset,” Twilight called to her friend’s attention, “What do you think of the offer ?” Sunset could not provide an opinion. She was conflicted, on one hand she understood their reluctance to leave the place they call home and on the other, she knew with the Empire firmly establishing themselves here, it wasn’t safe for them anymore. “Hey kid,” Zeko drew her away from her thoughts, “ Karl, R5 and I will be leaving soon. You still wanna stick with us ?” This was perhaps the most difficult question of all for Sunset Shimmer, to choose between her friends and also, her friends. She had to admit that her first time in space wasn’t easy but she grew to like it and her time learning to be a Jedi under Kara. but she is gone now, and so is her primary reason. ‘If only Kara were here, she would have known what to do,’ Sunset thought to herself. “I need some time alone,” She excused herself to her quarters. This was a decision she needed to make by herself.

In her quarters onboard the Gauntlet, Sunset sat on her bed, thinking about her next move. Without Kara to guide her, she was conflicted, between her friends both new and old. On one hand, she had grown to like her new life in space and her adventures with the Gauntlet and on the other, her best friends whose lives were turned upside down following the invasion. She briefly thought about staying back with her friends on Utthar, rejecting her Gauntlet friends but the thought came and passed like a fleeing shadow. She then recalled Qui-Gonn’s advice about letting friendships turn into obsession.’Was she letting her attachments to her friends be in the way of her duties as a Jedi ?’ She thought to herself. Kara had taught her that a Jedi’s main purpose is to help those who can’t help themselves. Thanks to her time aboard the Gauntlet, she knew of the Empire’s constant tyrannical and oppressive rule across the galaxy, with many other systems suffering the same, if not worse. There was suffering on both sides, the question was which side would Sunset help, between her deep connection to this world she called home or her duties. Sunset Shimmer taught long and hard before she reached her decision. It wasn’t an easy one but rather the one she needed to make. It was a choice she hoped her master would be proud of. She proceeded to head out of her quarters, ready to share her decision with the others.

A Few Moments Later,

Sunset Shimmer appeared out of the Gauntlet where Karl, Zeko, Trixie, R5 and the rest of her friends were gathered. Her friends seemed to be talking amongst themselves while Karl, Zeko and Trixie were doing the same as they waited for her to reach a decision. Meanwhile,She saw that Captain Antilles and his men were almost done distributing their aid and were in the midst of reloading their crates back to their ships with some locals helping them out. “ I’ve made up my mind guys.” She called their attention. All of their heads turned towards her and soon enough Sunset had their attention. “So Sunshim, what’s your decision ?” Pinkie Pie asked. “It wasn’t an easy one,” Sunset took a deep breath before she continued, “ I’ve decided to stick with Zeko and the rest of the Gauntlet crew BUT this doesn’t mean I’m choosing them over you guys. It’s just that, everything that has happened is because of me and I feel like being here, I’m endangering not just you girls but everyone else. If I’m gone, maybe, just maybe I might relieve some of the heat brought by the Empire. Besides that, there are also other planets out there that are equally suffering and I can’t forgive myself knowing that I could have done something about it. I know it might sound selfish of me but please understand, I’m not in any way abandoning anyone.” Sunset finished explaining her decision to the friends. “That’s a long speech alright,” Zeko commented. She paid no interest towards Zeko as she anxiously waited for her friends reply.

The girls were visibly slightly perplexed by her decision. They proceeded to discuss amongst themselves on their next course of action. Sunset could hear them whispering amongst themselves as she kept fretting for their reply. She was concerned that her friends might take it the wrong way. After what seemed like hours, the girls finished talking through themselves and they turned to face their friend. “We totally understand your decision, Sunset Shimmer,” Twilight said, much to Sunset’s relief, “After all, you’re a Jedi now and there are others out there who may need you more than us.” She continued. “And it would be selfish of us to hold you back,” Rarity further contended with her. “Admittingly, it is kinda sad to see this friendship come to an end after all these years and see you leave but it is for the greater good after all,” Applejack disclosed in a somber manner. “Who said anything about us not being friends anymore ?” Sunset pointed out before she continued, “I might be leaving but that does not mean that our friendship is over. You girls and this planet will forever have a place in my heart and those moments we spent together, I’ll never forget them or you guys.” “That’s nice to hear Sunset,” Twilight said as she shed a tear and the Rainbooms then proceeded to share a meaningful and emotional hug together.

“We’re gonna miss you Sunset Shimmer,” Pinkie said as she tightly hugged the others, especially Sunset before they slowly relaxed their arms. “Me too, Pinkie Pie,” She replied back to her friend as they stopped hugging. “However, I really think you girls should take up Captain Antilles’s offer to relocate. It’s for the best.” Sunset further suggested to them. The girls looked at each other, as if they had something they had to tell her. “About that…” Rainbow Dash said as she trailed off, unsure of the words she wanted to say. “We appreciate the concern Sunset, “ Twilight interjected her and continued, “ But we’ve decided to stay back.” Sunset and the others seemed surprised and taken aback by their decision. None of them saw it coming, especially Sunset.“Stay back ?” She said incredulously, “But the Empire knows your identities. They’re bound to come after everyone.” “Let them come,” Applejack retorted back as she continued, “We can’t let these interlopers come to our planet and do whatever they want.” The other girls seemed to concur with what Applejack had said but Sunset still felt like they were making a rather rash decision. “Your friend is right,” Karl agreed with Sunset, “ The Imperials are going to make this place a living hell. It’s going to be dangerous and you’ll be risking your lives, not to mention your families.” “We know that. That’s why we’re sending our families and those who prefer not to fight with Captain Antilles and his men.” Rarity intoned. “ The rest of us have chosen to remain.” Twilight pointed out to Principal Celestia and her sister Luna together with Flash Sentry, Micro Chips and other CHS students who came towards them.

“ Twilight is right,” Principal Celestia concurred, “ We’re forming a Resistance group to fight back this new occupation,” “We have also learnt from your off world friend that the prison you freed us from wasn’t the only one. They’re other concentration camps scattered across that hold more of our people. Our first goal is to free them like how you freed us.” Luna further added. Sunset however, was still not convinced. She couldn’t think of her friends as rebels taking up arms. She tried her best to keep them from being dragged into this conflict, but apparently, it wasn’t enough. “ Guys, are you sure about this ? This is way different from fighting Equestrian magic. This is war, one wrong move and there can be real bad consequences, sometimes permanent.” Sunset argued, hoping she could change their minds about this but from the looks on their faces, it was a far shot at best. “We know the risks, but this is our home. If we won’t fight for it, who will ?” Fluttershy bravely said with resolve, much to the surprise and astonishment of the others. They certainly never expected her, of all people, to be adamant. “We all heard what Gererra said before he left and he’s right.” Applejack continued, “ Like it or not, we’re in this now, and it’s our duty to fight back.” [5]

“It’s our unanimous decision, Sunset. We hope you can accept it.” Twilight concurred with Applejack as she said to Sunset, asking her to accept their decision to stay back. Sunset thought about it for a moment. There was indeed a huge risk of remaining and she cared for the safety of her friends but they decided to stay back and fight for their planet. It was their choice, and she had to accept it. After all, she can't let their friendship turn into obsession. She had to let them go. “Of course, I accept it.” She relayed it to them, much to their relief. “ At the end of the day, it’s your decision and I’ll always respect it.” She further added. “Thanks for understanding Sunset,” Rarity, on behalf of the others, expressed their gratitude to Sunset for accepting their choice. “ We also have an announcement to make,” Zeko said out loud, drawing attention to both him and Karl. “What do you mean ?” Sunset asked. “ Well, Karl and I had discussed a possible fourth..” Zeko was cut short by R5’s beeps, reminding the Ardennian to not forget to include him. “ Alright, a possible fifth crew member to the Gauntlet.” Zeko relented to R5’s demands and included him in his sentence. “ A new crew member ? Who ?” Sunset further queried, wondering who had joined their motley crew. “The person you’re referring to is Trixie Lulamoon,” Karl pointed out to her. “TRIXIE ??!” The others gasped in a surprised manner. Out of everything, this is by far the biggest bombshell revealed. None of them even had such a thought. “Yea, I’m joining the team. Do any of you turds have a problem with that ?” Trixie said in a cheeky manner, implying that it was more of a rhetorical question. “No problem but why ?” Sunset asked confusingly. She could not wrap her head around Trixie’s reasoning to come with them. “And what about your family ?” Rainbow Dash further added.

“Let’s be honest,” Trixie said, this time in a much more serious tone, “ I never really fit in around here. Sure I wasn’t an outcast but it always felt like I didn’t belong here, like I was always meant for something else, something bigger, and with all the stories Zeko told about life in the larger Galaxy out there, I feel like perhaps, it’s where I’m meant to be. As to your question Rainbow, my family understands and supports my decision. Things have changed, and it’s time I follow that change.” “ You should know that we aren’t exactly law-abiding citizens. If you come with us, it would mean that you’ll be always on the run, living life as a criminal.” Sunset said to Trixie, making sure that she knows what she's getting into but from the looks of it, she knew well of what she’s enlisting for. “It also means a life of adventure and exploration, something I’ve always desired. Besides, I had my fair share of troubles with overzealous authorities before. The Empire is no different.” Trixie answered in a fervent manner. It was clear that she wanted to be a part of it. “ I guess there’s more to you than I realized.” Rainbow Dash intoned about Trixie’s reasoning.

“ Alright if everything’s settled, We better get a move on. If Antilles is right, we don’t have much time before the star destroyers in orbit complete their rotation.” Zeko said to the rest to which R5 concurred. Sunset didn’t object to him. She knew the time had come to say goodbye and so did her friends. She turned to her friends, the very group who had been her family for all these years and addressed them. “I believe this is time for goodbye,” She said to them. “I guess it is,” Rainbow Dash concurred in a somber manner. None of them were ready to say goodbye. They knew this day would come but it came sooner than they had hoped for. Regardless, they accepted it, especially Sunset who had learnt to let go. “Make the galaxy a better place out there, sugarcube.” Applejack said to her friend as she shed a tear. “I will,” Sunset answered back as she too shedded a tear from her eyes. Karl, Zeko, R5 and their new crew member Trixie had already boarded the Gauntlet, with Sunset being the last to board. “Sunset Shimmer,” Twilight called out to her just as Sunset entered the Gauntlet to which she turned to face her friend. “May the Force be with you,” [6] Twilight Sparkle wished her. “And to you too,” Sunset acknowledged her best friend’s wishes. “We’ll see each other again, I promise,” It was the last thing Sunset Shimmer said to her friends before the ramp doors closed up, in front of her, and she could no longer see her friends. She could then hear the Gauntlet’s engines being turned on and soon after, felt the ship taking off the ground and flying off. Sunset felt an odd feeling of calmness within her. While sad that she was leaving her good friends, she had learnt to let go of her unhealthy attachments to them thus giving her tranquility and strengthening her connection to the Light Side. No longer was she troubled by the fear of having to let go. Her mind was at peace, at last. She was now truly a Jedi.

Just as she was about to head to the cockpit, Sunset noticed a pink glowing light coming from her quarters. Thinking it could be the Holcron Kara had left her, she headed to her room and the doors slid open revealing her room. The glowing light was coming not from the holocron, but instead from her journal on her bed, the very journal she would use to communicate with Princess Twilight in times of need. The glowing light from it could only mean one thing, that the Princess was writing back. Sunset quickly went for the journal and grabbed it to see what the Princess had written. She turned to the page where Rarity had warned her about the Imperial Invasion finding, finding her reply right below it: ‘ Guys that’s terrible !! I have not heard of this Galactic Empire before so it must be something from neither of our worlds. Are you guys okay ? And what of Sunset Shimmer ? You said that she came from outer space around the same time this Empire invaded ? Is she the same Sunset we know ? I know you warned me not to come through but I can’t let you guys fend for yourselves. The rest of the Mane Six and I are more than ready to come through and I’m about to seek Princess Celestia’s approval to have the Equestrian Army join us as well. I hope I’m not too late.’

Sunset felt the state her Equestrian friend was feeling at the moment. The feeling of uselessness when the people she knew were in trouble was a feeling she was familiar with. She took her pen which she always kept lodged between the pages of the journal and wrote back to the anxious and worried Princess. ‘ Dear Princess Twilight, it's me, Sunset Shimmer, and to answer your question, yes, this is the same Sunset Shimmer that you saved during the Fall Formal. A lot of things have happened and I promise to share them with you one day but DO NOT come through the portal. You’ll be putting not just the Mane six but Equestria itself in danger. This Empire is more evil than you realize, trust me. CHS is no more and so does the portal on our side. You have to Destroy the portal on your side and seal up other remaining portals. It is the only way Equestria can be protected. I know that means we may probably never see each other again. Don’t worry about me or the rest of us. We’ll find a way to fight back, we always do. Please inform Princess Celestia that I’m fine and she need not have to worry about me, and so do you Princess. This is something I alone will have to face for the greater good, for all of us. Till then, I’ll be signing off for now, my friend.’ [7] Sunset finished writing her reply. This fight is hers alone to fight, not Equestria’s. Sunset took the journal and placed it inside her drawer, along with the holocron. She then headed towards the cockpit where the rest were.

At the cockpit, she found Trixie, their newest member seated at Karl’s previous seat as he moved up to the co-pilot’s seat, once Kara’s seat. The Gauntlet had already left the planet and Trixie was marveled by the sight of more than a million blinking stars and the vastness of space outside. “It’s more beautiful than I imagined.” She muttered to which R5 sarcastically remarked in binary beeps. “ What did he say ?” Trixie asked out, having sensed that the astromech was mocking her. “ You have a lot to learn, my friend.” Zeko gleefully answered. “ So, where to next ?” Karl asked with his eyes directed towards Sunset. Zeko and Trixie also turned towards her, expecting a reply. “ Captain Antilles did say our next mission is on Dantooine,” Sunset cooly answered. “Dantooine it is,” Zeko said as he turned back to the controls and setting the coordinates and flipping a few switches, the hyperdrive was activated, the stars ahead turned into blurry blue lines and with that the Gauntlet jumped into hyperspace. One chapter was ending, and another was beginning.

END OF SUNSET SHIMMER’S SAGA: CALL OF THE FORCE.

Author's Note

Well, that's a wrap to the FIRST INSTALLATION of Sunset Shimmer's Saga trilogy. Yep, as guessed from the ending of this story, there will be not just one, but two sequels !!. Before discussing further about them, let's look back on our final chapter. Sunset Shimmer makes the difficult decision to leave her home and her friends to protect them from the mighty hand of the Empire and to help others across the galaxy. She has learnt to not let her attachments to her friends to control her. She has learnt to let go of everything she feared to lose. The Rainbooms, on the other hand have chosen to remain and fight the Empire's occupation of their world. It's time they stopped relying on the help of others and fight to reclaim their planet. Besides that, our protagonists are also joined by an unexpected new member, Trixie Lulamoon. I know this must be a surprise to most of you guys but someone had to take the vacancy left by Kara. Plus, I've been writing Trixie up to this moment since her introduction to the series in Chapter 15. She's now a part of our rag tag Gauntlet team. Now, onto the easter eggs.
[1] Their clothing resembles closely to that of Rebel fleet troopers (the first time we see them is in the opening scene of a New Hope)
[2] The famous Captain Antilles who dutifully serves the Royal House of Organa and is one of Senator Organa's most trusted men. He was later chocked to death by Darth Vader in the capture of the Tantive IV in a New Hope. (https://www.starwars.com/databank/captain-antilles)
[3] A little cameo appearance by one of the franchise's most recognisable characters and original trilogy member, C-3PO. ( https://www.starwars.com/databank/c-3po)
[4] Dantooine would later serve as the site for the first Rebel base. There might probably be one right now, or at least parts of it in the making.
[5] As I've said earlier, Gererra's statement would play a big part in later chapters and this is the big moment. It played a big influence in their decision to stay back and fight. After all, if they're not gonna fight, who else will ?
[6] A classic Star Wars line.
[7] I almost forgot about the journal and Princess Twilight. So I had written this part to close up some plot holes.
That's all for the easter eggs. Now to the sequels. I've already have a draft of the first sequel completed and ready for typing. With that to do and other commitments, I estimate the sequel to released within 6- 12 months from August 2022 although I do hope to release it earlier if possible. I can't reveal much details about it now other than its title. The second entry of the saga will be known as Sunset Shimmer's Saga: Rebel Rising. That's all for now. Do check back on my page occasionally or follow me for any updates on the story. Do tell me how you felt about this story and areas which I could improve on for the second part in the comments. Until then, May the Force be with you.

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away.....

Sunset Shimmer’s Saga:The Call of the Force

Separatists pushed to the Brink ! Republic forces continue to mount victories on battlefronts across the Galaxy.

After the Jedi Knights thwarted an attempt to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine, the evil droid General Grievous retreated to the Outer Rim. With his legion of battle droids severely depleted, Grievous mounts a desperate and brutal counter attack across several star systems.

On the planet of Cato Neimoidia, General Plo Koon and his new padawan Kara Antra fight to bring about a Republic victory, unaware of the darkness that is about to be unleashed….

Author's Note

Hello there, fellow readers. Before I start, just a heads up that this is my very first story after creating an account so please bear with me if the writing isn't up to par or if there are spelling/grammar errors but I'm open to any form of criticism as it will guide me in writing future stories. Now back to the story, as you guys can tell from the title card, this is nothing more than an opening crawl to start off the story as per tradition in Star Wars movies. I actually have a complete video version of the crawl crafted as how a Star wars opening crawl would be with the soundtrack and all, but unfortunately, I'm unable to despite my numerous efforts. But anyhow, this is the written version of the crawl and I guess you guys will have to just imagine the full version with the soundtrack in your heads. Sit back and relax, the saga is just beginning......