Rainbow Dash winced, her side was sore, but thanks to one of the white armored creatures, it didn't hurt as it did before. She was walking beside Applejack as they led these strangers towards AJ's farm.

A part of her was suspicious, another part of her was curious. She'd never seen creatures like them before, nor their armor and weapons. At the time, she had been too much in shock to really say anything, and after a while, she didn't know where to begin.

She carefully glanced over her shoulder, seeing the one called Liam, walking with the three soldiers. She noted the glint of that sword thing hanging from his belt. She had never seen anything like it before. The way he had used it was amazing, and she wondered how it worked.

His eyes suddenly met hers, and she quickly looked away. Applejack noticed the quick motion, and looked at her with concern. "You okay, Dash?"

Rainbow gave a weak nod. "Yeah, I'll live..." She moved her right arm a little, feeling the soreness get some relief from it. "Just itches."

"I'm sure it does," Applejack replied dryly, then sighed. "We were lucky. If those strange fellas hadn't shown up," Applejack winced at the thought. "I don't even want to think about it."

"No kidding," Rainbow agreed.

Normally she would have given some boastful answer, but she simply didn't have it in her right now. The only thing she wanted right now was to be back at the farm, and rest. She glanced back at Liam, thinking perhaps she would have a chance to ask him more about who they were.

It didn't take them long to find the dirt road leading to the farm. It was on a white painted fence. On one side of it were rows upon rows of fruit trees. On the other hand, they had open grass fields. Liam could see the town of Ponyville maybe a mile or so away.

As they walked along the road, Dex had gotten through to the Venator. To Liam's relief, everything had gone well, and his master had even established contact with the ruler of these lands.

"We can expect pick up in about an hour, sir." Dex informed him.

"Very good," said Liam. "Be sure to report what has happened, and we will rest at a local farm."

"Roger that, sir."

As Dex reported back to the Venator, they came up to the main gate of the property. Beyond it was a wide dirt road, leading to an open courtyard. The farm consisted of three main buildings. The farmhouse, the barn, and the workshop.

When they approached the farmhouse the front door swung open, and out stepped another alien. This one was red, and clearly male. He looked shocked upon seeing them, and for a moment Liam thought he would panic.

But seeing the orange female, he made his way down to them fast. "Are you alright?" He asked, his voice deep.

"We're fine, Big Mac. These fellas saved us from becoming Chimera's breakfast." Applejack explained, earning him a raised eyebrow from Mac.

The male eyed the four of them, then gave a firm nod. "Better take her inside."

"I'm fine!" Dash said, frowning. "They fixed me up."

"Who fixed who up?" An older voice asked. Another alien, an older female stepped out the front door."Oh? Who have we here?"

Liam took it as a cue to introduce himself and his men. He stepped forward and gave a respectful bow. "Greetings, I am Liam Valar, and these are my friends. We were trying to get back to our friends when we heard screaming, and found these two in a bit of trouble." He gestured at Applejack and Dash, who both looked a little sheepish. "Luckily no one was seriously hurt. We asked Applejack if we could rest here until our friends can come for us."

The older woman regarded Liam and the clones, and then gave a firm nod. "Well, I ain't going to turn away folk who saved my grandchild and her friend. You can stay for as long as you want."

Liam bowed to her again. "Thank you."

"No need for all that bowing, sonny. I'm no royal." She said with a cheeky grin before turning back into her house.

That made Liam smirk. He turned to Lucky and the other clones. "Get through to the ship, give them our position. Then we rest."

"Yes sir."

A few minutes later they were all sitting and relaxing on the porch to the farmhouse. The old woman even decided to treat them with a tray of ice-cold fruit juice, and some freshly baked bread. Liam wasn't going to refuse her hospitality, and neither was his men.

After putting their blasters against the house, they took off their helmets, earning a small gasp from aliens around them. "Now either I'm seeing triple, or you fellas look the same." The old woman said, squinting her eyes as if testing her own theory.

Lucky smiled and took one of the glasses. "You are not wrong, ma'am."

"We're clones." Dex added as he also took a glass.

Applejack frowned. "Clones? You said that before," she looked at Liam. "Do you mean like they're twins?"

"In a sense." Liam explained. "They have a lot of brothers, but it is a bit complicated to explain." In all honesty, Liam wasn't sure about all the details. When the clone wars started, he had just been a Padawan for a little over a year. It was a sudden change, and everything seemed so muddled up back then.

"Well, it must be nice to have a big family. We know a little about that, don't we?" The woman said.

Applejack smiled, and gave a firm nod. Liam smiled too, while he had never known his parents, he knew about family. The Jedi order was his family, and there he had hundreds of brothers and sisters.

"So, you're soldiers?" A raspy voice asked.

It was the first time the one known as Rainbow Dash had spoken to them. She sat in the shade, leaning against the wall of the farmhouse. Liam looked back at her, glancing at the clones. They seemed happy to let him explain, enjoying the cool fruit juice in the shade.

"In a way," said Liam. "They," he nodded at the clones, "are trained soldiers. I'm a Jedi."

"A what?" Rainbow asked.

"A Jedi," he repeated. "We are an ancient order of Force users who have dedicated our lives to peace, and the protection of the innocent." Liam tried to keep it as simple as possible. It had quickly become clear to him they had little, if any, knowledge of the wider galaxy.

Rainbow frowned in puzzlement, and so did the others, except for the clones. Liam had expected this, and so continued. "The Force is what gives a Jedi their power." He did his best in explaining it as he had it explained many years ago. "It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the universe together."

"So you use magic?" Applejack asked, listening just as intensely as Rainbow Dash.

Liam smiled, "we don't call it that, but I think some beings see it as magic."

Rainbow leaned forward a bit, and pointed at his belt. "And what about that blue sword you used?"

"Oh, it's a lightsaber." He said, with a little suppressed hint of pride. "It's the weapon of the Jedi. We build it while we are still younglings, as part of our trials. It's a very personal thing." His hand reached for the hilt, and unhitched it from his belt. He looked at it fondly, with a warm smile on his lips.

"Ain't it dangerous?" Applejack asked.

Liam shrugged, "no more than any other weapon. It's a tool, and we are taught early on how to use it, and respect it. One of our teachers always told us that our lightsabers are our life."

"Now that is some wisdom I can get behind." The green matriarch said, as she made her way over to an old chair and sat down. "This here farm is our life. The land and the trees are part of our history. Each tree we grow, it becomes a part of us."

Liam couldn't help but smile at her words. "Wise words, ma'am."

The old alien snorted, but still smiled good-naturedly. "Don't have to call me ma'am, sonny. You can call me Granny Smith," she said with a twinkle in her eyes. "And that goes for you clone twins too!"

"Uhm, yes ma'- oh,, Granny smith." Lucky said, sounding almost like he was talking to an officer.

Liam chuckled, and so did Dex and Jeice. Rainbow scooted just a little closer to Liam. "So, how do you become a Jedi? Do you go to school?"

"Kind of," Liam responded. "There isn't a lot who can tap into the Force. Those who can are brought to the Jedi Temple when they are about three years old. Then when we are old enough we begin our training."

Rainbow listened with rapt attention as Liam explained. "We learn how to tap into the Force through meditation, and daily exercises. We have classes, and learn the basics of lightsaber combat. Then when we are about twelve, we get selected to be the personal student of a knight, who will see to our training until we are ready to become knights."

"Then what?" Rainbow asked.

"Well, then we go on missions, try to help people. Protect them."

"That sounds awesome!" Rainbow gushed, her wings fluttering a little. "So are you still a student?"

"I am, but I hope to become a knight in a few years." Liam smiled. It felt nice to have such a casual conversation again. He could talk with his master of course, and the clone he knew back at the Venator, but it had never really felt the same.''

He often missed his friends from crèche. Before the war, he and his friends would often spar in the Padawan dojo, or send holomessages to each other, talking about the missions they went on with their masters. After the war broke out, such times had become much less frequent.

Before the conversation continued, Lucky's wrist communicator beeped. He brought it closer to his mouth and answered. After a few seconds, he gave a firm nod. "Understood, sir." He turned his head towards Liam. "Commander, our transport will be here soon."

Liam nodded and stood up. The clones followed, and put on their helmets. Granny Smith looked at the young Jedi, and smiled at him. "Guess your friends are here then?"

"They are," answered Liam. Already he could hear the familiar hum of an LAAT Gunship approaching. "Thank you again for your hospitality."

The woman waved her hand in dismissal, but still smiled. "It's the least we can do for someone who saved my grandchild and her friend. I hope you find your way home again."

"So do I." Liam managed to say just before the gunship came into view.

Applejack, her brother, and Rainbow Dash gasped as they saw it hover above their home. The dirt right under it began to move around as it landed. Its large side doors were open, revealing five clone troopers, and three alien soldiers.

Liam smiled, relieved that relations with the natives had been established without any problems. It gave him hope that everything was going to be fine now, and the worst of their ordeals were over.

As Lucky, Dex and Jeice gathered their stuff and stepped onto the ship, Liam took one final look at natives. His eyes met Rainbow Dash's for just a moment. He could sense her through the Force, then, for just a moment, he felt as if she was reaching back.

Liam hesitated, when a clone called for him. He nodded, deciding it was probably nothing, and so got onto the ship. Without another word, the gunship rose into the air. Applejack and others below waved at them, and Liam and the others waved back.

With one final look at Rainbow, the gunship flew back towards the Venator.

Author's Note

This chapter is a bit on the shorter side. At first I intended it to be part of the last chapter, but I liked it more if it was its own contained chapter.