Fallen Knights

Celestia took a deep breath as she stepped forward, alone.

When the ship had landed, and her guard forces had assembled, one of her officers had called out to her. The creature in the brown robe was slowly coming towards them, his own soldiers staying behind. He wasn't alone, a shiny metal creature was following behind him.

Celestia figured it might be a diplomat or something. Thankfully she had thought of the same options, and asked her most trusted diplomat to come with her. Although he had largely retired as a diplomat, and returned to the private sector, he was still happy to help her out when times called for it, like now.

When she saw he was approaching without any guards, she decided to do the same, although her officers didn't like it. Still she was determined to show some good will. She looked at Fancypants, her diplomat, and without hesitation he stepped up beside her to walk alone towards the strange creature.

Step by step they moved towards him, when he suddenly stopped, a respectful distance from his own soldiers, and a good distance from her own. Celestia recognized the diplomatic move, putting them right in the middle between the two groups, so they could meet on a neutral spot.

Celestia was pleased, some of her worries had eased, but not vanished. The massive ship still loomed in the background. It was bigger than a town, and taller than most buildings in Equestria. In fact, the only thing that could rival this thing was perhaps Canterlot, but even that seemed small when compared to this monster.

As they got closer Celestia had a chance to look at the creature in the robes in more detail. He was tall, taller than most of her ponies, with only herself being perhaps only half a head taller than him. He had broad shoulders, and while his brown cloak hid most of his body, she could tell he was muscular too.

He had a full gray beard that had grown around his mouth and hid his chin. His mane was long, but some of it tied into a messy tail. His eyes were like thunder clouds, and as she looked into them, she could see his age, and the experiences that came with that age.

As she took him in, she could tell he was a warrior, but his stance was so relaxed, although with a degree of self discipline. It was something Celestia could recognize, because she found that trait in herself at times when she felt more like her age.

They came to a stop, perhaps just three meters apart. He watched her expectantly, apparently waiting for her to make the first move. "I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria. And this," she gestured to Fancypants. "Is my diplomat Lord Fancypants."

She noted a shift in the creature, but he was controlled enough to not let the shift show in his face. Instead he did a respectful half bow, not the kind of overly dramatic her subjects did at court, but the kind she might see from martial artists.

"I am master Ven Allusis, Jedi Knight of the Republic."

His voice was deep, but respectful. She had never heard of a Jedi Knight before, nor did she have any idea which Republic he was from, but she knew it wasn't anything she knew from this world.

"I am sorry for our intrusion into your lands, and about any distress we might have caused." The Jedi continued, his voice even and calm. "But we were attacked, and managed to flee, but we ended up crashing here."

Attacked? Celestia didn't like the sound of that, but she didn't interrupt him.

"We managed a controlled landing, and avoided any of your settlements, but our ship is beyond repair, and cannot fly again. We hope to call for help, but until then, we would humbly ask for your permission to stay here."

For a brief moment, Celestia found herself stunned. Her whole world had suddenly changed, and while some of the more pressing questions had been answered, she found millions more coming to her mind.

"Hm, bad business indeed." Fancy said beside her, which jostled her out of her thoughts.

"Yes, quite." Celestia said, regaining her focus. "I am sorry to hear of your plight. As I hope for peaceful talks, I have brought doctors and nurses, should you have injured our wounded."

The Jedi inclined his head, his eyes looking a bit softer now. "Thank you, your highness. But I don't think your doctors would be of much help at the moment. But I thank you for your kind gesture, and share your hope for peaceful talks."

Celestia favored him with a small smile. "I'm glad we see eye to eye on this. For a while, we were not sure what to expect."

"I understand," Allusis said. "It was brave of you to show up with so few soldiers, and approach me alone."

"The same goes for you, does it not, Ven Allusis?" Celestia asked, a small smirk playing on her lips. "But I am glad if this can be solved diplomatically, and of course you are welcome to stay here, provided we establish some common ground rules together."

Allusis bowed to her again. "Of course, your highness. For now though, I humbly ask your permission to send some of my men out to pick up my student, and three of my men. They got separated, and we believe they landed some miles from your city." He explained, and nodded towards Canterlot mountain.

Celestia frowned. "But of course, perhaps some of my personal guards should go with them, so your men don't startle my subjects."

"Very wise, your majesty. I thank you."

They'd been walking for about two hours now, and the sun had brought all the colors out of the forest. Liam had little time to truly appreciate it though, as he was more focused on moving forward.

He was tired, and he wondered if he had made the right decision ordering them to travel, instead of setting up camp. Liam had hoped he would be used to command by now, but in truth he always felt nervous. It was one thing to take care of yourself and your own needs, but it was something else to think of what others might need.

Master Allusis had always told Liam that the safety of the men under their command should always come first. As leaders, it was their duty to look after them, and make the best possible decisions. Liam agreed with his master, and always strived to do what was best.

"Anything, Dex?" Liam asked over his shoulder.

"Nothing yet, sir."

Dex replied, holding a com-scan in one hand, while he carried his DC-15S blaster in the other. Lucky, who Liam saw as the leader of the two other clones also carried this blaster. Leaving Jeice with the longer DC-15A.

"Hey, can I ask you something, commander?" Jeice asked suddenly.

Liam glanced behind him to see who had actually spoken, then nodded. "Of course, Jeice."

"What's it like using a lightsaber? I mean, don't get me wrong, I like blasters, but it is pretty useful to have something to deflect blaster shots."

Liam was a little taken aback by the question, but couldn't help but smile. It was one of those questions he himself, and probably every youngling had asked before they got a lightsaber of their own.

"It is difficult to explain," Liam began. "Any being can pick up a lightsaber and swing it around, but it takes a lot more skill to wield it effectively than if you were to use a blaster."

That wasn't to say aiming a blaster did not require skill, but to use a lightsaber in an effective way, you needed to be Force sensitive. Otherwise you might as well just pick up a normal vibroblade.

Jeice hummed thoughtfully. "I bet I could use it."

Dex snorted. "Oh yeah? How would you be able to deflect blaster shots?"

"Good point," Jeice conceded. "I guess I stick to blasters then."

Liam chuckled good-naturedly. He'd served with the clones for two years now, but he was almost amazed at how individually they were despite being clones. In the Force, each and every one of them were unique. Liam promised himself to remember that lesson well.

"Commander," Lucky said, getting Liam's attention. "The forest is thinning out."

As if by cue, Dex nodded. "The signal is getting stronger, just a few more meters and I think the disturbance will be too weak to interfere."

Liam smiled. "Good, once we've contacted the ship, we should find some place to rest."

The words had barely left his mouth, when he suddenly heard screaming. Without having to give any orders, Liam ran towards the screaming, with the clones quickly following their commander.

Liam was quick, his Jedi robes were easy to move in, and so made a quick headway. As he cleared the final trees and came into the open, he was met with a horrifying sight. A massive three headed beast, snarled and growled as it towered over two aliens.

Its body was muscular, and covered in orange and brown fur. Its tail was of green scales, with the third head snarling at the two aliens on the ground. It had horns, fangs, and saber teeth. And it had only one intent, Liam could feel it through the Force.

Without hesitating for a second, Liam leaped forward as his hands reached for his belt and pulled out the hilt of his lightsaber. Using the Force to enhance his speed, he leaped forward, and ignited his lightsaber.

The blue blade sprung forth as he landed in front of the two aliens. His instinctively tightened a bit, as the hum of the lightsaber vibrated gently through the air. He didn't look back at the aliens, he could sense their fear through the Force, and he knew instantly if he did not defend them, they would be killed.

The creature roared in outrage, focusing on him as it clearly recognized he was a thread. Liam moved his lightsaber, letting the creature see it in motion. While it didn't understand what it was, it instinctively knew it was dangerous.

He hoped to scare it off, send it fleeing into the forest, but he could sense its growing anger. The beast wanted to kill, to feast, and its three heads focused on him as only a predator would. It reached out for him with its claws, but quickly redrawing them as it was testing the danger.

Liam in turn stepped away, and then moved forward, startling the creature for just a moment. It stepped back, as Liam had hoped it would.

Lucky and Jeice ran up in front of the aliens, raising their blasters while Dex came to the aliens' aid. The creature assessed them with one head, while the saber toothed head kept its glaring green eyes on him.

They moved, with the creature clearly trying to figure out how to deal with him. At this point it completely ignored the clones, and its first victims. Liam still hoped it could be chased off, but as if sensing hesitation to attack, the creature turned slightly, and let its tail, and third head lunge at him with deadly speed.

If it wasn't for Liam's Jedi reflexes, the tail head would have plunged its fangs into him. Instead he quickly side stepped and made a quick cut!

The beasts roared as its tail head fell to the ground. It retreated a few steps, its eyes going from shocked pain, to intense hate. Liam could feel it through the Force so clearly that he was startled for just a moment. As if in a blind rage, the creature was about to leap at him, when three to five blue blaster bolts took the massive beast down.

Liam let out a sigh, as he deactivated his lightsaber. As the blue blade retracted back into the hilt, he watched as both Lucky and Jeice carefully approached, their blasters still aimed at the now dead beast.

"Nice shot," Liam complimented as the clones lowered their blasters.

"The girls are secure, sir." Lucky reported. "Dex is seeing to their injuries now."

Liam frowned as he turned towards the alien girls still on the ground. They looked dumbfounded at them, which Liam couldn't exactly blame them for. As he secured his lightsaber hilt back in his belt, he made his way back to them.

As he came closer, he had a chance to really look at them. Both were female, or at least Liam assumed as much because of their body shape. They were largely humanoid, hands, walking on two legs, but no feet. Their eyes were colorful, and so were their fur and manes.

One of the females had blonde hair and tail, her eyes were a deep green. The second female, she was the most colorful out of both of them. Cyan colored coat, her eyes magenta, and her hair and tail in multiple colors.

Liam stopped maybe a meter from them, giving them space as Dex looked over the cyan colored female's wounds. She's been hid in the side, the cut had torn her shirt, and stained it with blood. She looked at him with wide eyes, her chest rising and falling as the adrenaline still rushed through her body.

He could sense their fear, so he tried to put them at ease by lowering his hood, and giving them what he hoped would be translated as a friendly smile.

"How bad is it, Dex?"

Dex was kneeling next to the wounded female. The backpack from the pod opened, as he used the medical kit to tend to the girl's wound. "It looks worse than it is, sir. But she should be okay."

Liam let out a relieved sigh, and returned his attention to the girls. They looked about his age, he noted. "Can you understand me?" After a moment's hesitation, they both nodded. "My name is Liam, and these are my friends. Don't worry, you're going to be okay now."

The blonde haired girl stared at him, then glanced at the clones for a moment as Lucky and Jeice stayed in the background. Her eyes fixed on him once again as she opened her mouth to speak.

"What are you?"

It sounded like a simple enough question, but there were so many answers to it. "Like I said, my name is Liam. These are my clone troopers." He gestured to each of them as he introduced them. "Dex, Lucky, and Jeice." Liam decided to keep it simple for now, as they were clearly still in shock.

"We crashed not far from here, and got separated from our ship. We want to return, so we were passing through when we heard you scream." Liam noted the cyan colored girl looked away, her cheeks flushing. He decided not to ask her about it, and pushed on. "So what are your names?"

The orange one hesitated for just a moment, glancing at Dex as he patched up her friend. "I'm Applejack, and this here is my friend, Rainbow Dash."

Liam nodded. "Alright, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, nice to meet you." He said with a friendly smile.

"Same," Applejack replied, although she still seemed a bit reserved.

Dex finished with the one called Rainbow Dash and gave a satisfied nod. "There we are. This should do just fine until you can see a doctor of your own."

Both Dex and Liam stood up, holding out their hands to help the girls up. They looked a bit unsure for a second, but did take their hands and stood up.

The one named Rainbow Dash winched as she stood up, holding a hand to her side where the wound was. Liam let out a bitter chuckle, she had been hurt in the same place he had. Thank the Force she was going to be okay. As if feeling her eyes on her, Rainbow looked up at him, her eyes a mix of suspicion and wonder.

"Do you live nearby? Perhaps there is a town nearby?"

"Sure is, Ponyville ain't that far," said Applejack. "But my family has a farm just over the hill there." She pointed to a large hill not far from there.

"Do you think we could rest there until help arrives?" Liam asked.

Applejack narrowed her eyes as she thought it over. "I don't see why not, seeing you helped us and all. But I can't say if my granny will fancy the idea." She shrugged. "But there is no harm in asking."

Liam inclined his head to her. "Thank you."

"Well shucks, no need to thank me." Applejack said, her stance more relaxed now. "You saved me and Dash here, it's the least I can do."

"All the same," Liam smiled, and bowed respectfully.