My Little Old Republic: Trouble on Tython

Chapters

Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 8
Chapter 1
Chapter 7

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Council Chamber, Jedi Temple

Rarity galloped through the massive archway into a vast, circular room. In the center was a large table at which seven ponies sat in deep discussion. As she entered, they looked up at her with confused expressions. Applejack walked through the archway as Rarity was bowing to the ponies at the table.

“Masters, I have something to report,” she said quickly. She paused to take a deep breath before she continued. “The Flesh Raiders were driven away from the landing pad, but they escaped with two live prisoners. We... that is, me and Padawan Applejack, pursued them to a cave when they escaped with the help of a rogue Jedi named Callef.”

“Callef?” said one Jedi that Rarity recognized as Master Ghetsu. He stood up and looked around the table. “My padawan is alive?”

“Not anymore,” Applejack said. Rarity shot a glance at her, but she didn’t return the gesture.

“What?” Master Ghetsu shouted at Applejack. “He would never attack a fellow Jedi! There must be a mistake! Padawan, you have a lot to answer for-”

“Master, if I could interject,” Rarity said, raising her hoof. “I can confirm that Callef has been killed. But you see, he has given us information pertaining to a possible threat to the Order. He spoke of something he called ‘The New Order,’ and he mentioned he had a new master who plans to remove the Jedi from Tython.”

“How is this possible?” asked Master Yolan, another Jedi at the table. “How will this New Order achieve such a feat?”

“Somehow, this new master has found a way to control the indigenous Flesh Raiders,” Rarity explained. “The attack on the landing pad was coordinated and dangerous. They possessed modern weapons like blasters and vibroswords. Were it not for Padawan Applejack, I fear every youngling on that shuttle would’ve been foalnapped.”

Master Ghetsu looked warily at Applejack. “Is this true, Padawan?”

“Eeyup,” she replied with a nod.

A third master stood up from her chair and put her hooves gently on the table. Rarity recognized her as Master Ohrum, the Temple’s head archivist. “The Council will convene in private to discuss this matter. I will ask Padawan Applejack to leave for the duration of the meeting. Rarity, however, I would ask that you stay to help answer questions about this ordeal.”

“Now hold on just a cotton-pickin’ minute!” Applejack said, stamping her hoof. “Ah saw everything Rarity saw. Why can’t Ah stay?”

“You have done well today, if what Rarity says is true,” Master Ohrum replied calmly, turning to look at Applejack directly. “As such, you can expect further consideration for Knighthood. But as it stands, you are still a Padawan, and we must prioritize the information Rarity can give us because she’s proven her merit as a trustworthy pony. As it stands, you have not earned that privilege.”

Rarity turned to look at Applejack, expecting to see her angry or upset. Her face, however, betrayed sadness and desperation. As she slumped out of the Council chamber, Applejack hung her head and sighed deeply. The massive stone doors shut behind her and an awkward silence overwhelmed the room. Master Ohrum sat down again and sighed.

“I hate to be that pony,” she muttered. “She means well, even if she is stubborn and unruly.”

“Forget about the Padawan,” Master Ghetsu said. “Let’s get this over with.”

At the side of the table opposite Rarity, an older mare stood up and gestured her hooves out toward the Council. “Then this meeting is commenced. The records will show Grand Master Satele Shan presiding over Masters Yolan, Lemep, Mapio, Ghetsu, Ohrum, and Ver during this meeting. Knight Rarity is a witness to the event we are discussing. Rarity, please feel free to sit with us.”

Rarity hesitated, looking at the unoccupied chair before her. “Doesn’t this seat belong to an absent Jedi, Master Satele?”

“It does, but they are not coming back in the next five minutes, I can assure you. Please.”

With a thankful nod, Rarity pulled the chair out a few inches and sat down slowly, putting her hooves in her lap.

“Now, Rarity,” Satele said, tapping a holocron in her hoof, “tell us again, for the recorder, what exactly happened today, starting with the ambush on the landing platform.”

“A group of organized Flesh Raiders stormed the Temple landing pad right after the shuttle carrying a new bunch of younglings arrived,” Rarity began. “Among them was the sister of Padawan Applejack, who had arrived with my own sister, Padawan Sweetie Belle, to greet them. According to reports, Applejack left the platform, and about ten or twelve Raiders assaulted in unison just after that. I received an alarm here at the Temple and was dispatched to investigate, and when I arrived, Applejack was at the platform. She had dispatched the Flesh Raiders singlehoofedly, save two, who escaped with my sister, and her’s, alive.”

“So the Flesh Raiders captured your sisters,” Satele echoed. “Alive, you said? How curious. I always thought the Raiders were sub-sentient, murderous animals.”

“Of course they’re sentient, Satele,” Master Ghetsu said. “They were using blasters and vibroswords!”

“This is an alarming development in and of itself,” Master Ohrum chimed in. “If the Flesh Raiders were sentient, we have been dealing with a race that is self-aware. We’ve not had this much trouble with the Raiders in a long time.”

“Attacks have been increasing steadily for the last month,” Master Ghetsu noted. “We now know why. Clearly, my former apprentice’s new master and his so-called “New Order” is behind this. He’s been buying weapons and supplying the indigenous locals to try and remove our Order from Tython. We can’t let that happen, and I say we counteract this somehow.”

“But the Flesh Raiders are sentient!” Master Ohrum cried. “We can’t condemn any species to death. We are the protectors of peace! Isn’t there a way to reason with these aliens?”

“Our forces are spread far too thin to mount any kind of mass offensive, anyway,” Master Satele said. “Look around, Ghetsu. Half of our Council is away from home. We have masters in every corner of the galaxy, doing important work for the Republic. We can’t ask them to drop everything and return to Tython just to deal with this new threat. No, we must focus on being defensive. We must be patient.”

“But we can’t do nothing,” Master Yolan said, nodding to Master Ghetsu. “I can at least understand where the Padawan was coming from. I’d be upset, too, if my own sister was fillynapped.”

“How are you dealing with your sister being taken, Rarity?” asked Master Satele suddenly. “And what about the condition of Applejack? What insight can you provide there?”

Rarity hesitated, taken aback by the abruptness of the question. “I want nothing more than to rescue her if possible, but I do recognize this threat is much more important. Padawan Applejack was much less eager to leave her sister behind, but she seemed to have a change of heart after we left the cave together.”

“Very well. I would like to pass a motion.” Master Satele stood up slowly, placing the holocron on the table. “We must not allow our members to engage in an all-out war with the Flesh Raiders. If they are in fact sentient, we have to be very careful about how we go about this. However, Masters Ohrum and Ghetsu have expressed the need to invoke some kind of action. Therefore, I propose Knight Rarity be assigned to a Master, who can select a small force of Jedi to conduct strategic information gathering in the Tythos Ridge, where the Flesh Raider homelands are.

“Because you are the most knowledgeable about the threat we face, Knight Rarity, I want you to assist your assigned master in choosing his or her courses of action. I expect you to be proactive in the processes. While finding the fillynapped students is important, we must keep level-headed about this threat, as Rarity has demonstrated here today. All in favor of the motion?”

All six of the other masters raised their hooves, as did Rarity, who quickly put it down in embarrassment. Master Satele chuckled at her.

“Very well, it’s unanimous. Who shall head up the investigation, then? One of us? Another Master from somewhere else in the Temple?”

“I’ll do it,” Master Ghetsu said quickly, almost jumping out of his seat.

“I would prefer if one of our non-faculty Masters was in charge of this, Master Ghetsu. Master Lemep? This sort of thing is in your area of expertise. Will you head this up?”

A stallion on the right side of the table stood up to address Satele. The first thing that Rarity noticed was that he wore fine white robes that glistened in the natural light. They were made of a luxurious fabric, and he had a headband made of the same material that wrapped around his eyes. His black mane fell around his ears and face, well-kept but long. Rarity discerned from the headband that Master Lemep was a Miraluka.

While she was eyeing his outfit, it occurred to her that even in her numerous years at the Temple, she had never once met, seen, or even heard of Master Lemep.

“It would be my pleasure to head this up alongside Miss Rarity, Master Satele,” he said calmly. He had a melodic voice, and Rarity noted how he had referred to her as ‘Miss’. “We’ll get started right away.”

“Very well. This Council meeting is adjourned. Good luck, you two.”

A few minutes later, the other masters had already filed out of the Council chamber, but Master Lemep remained in his seat, motionlessly pondering something. Rarity stood and trotted up to his chair, lightly tapping him on the shoulder.

“Master Lemep?” Rarity asked. “Do you require my assistance with anything at the moment?”

“Yes,” he said quietly. It was impossible to tell if he was looking at her, due to his being a Miraluka. They were just like normal ponies, except that they were born without eyes. They saw through the Force, or so Rarity had been told. “I will need you in a few minutes. Don’t go very far.”

“Yes, Master.”

“In fact... let me pose to you the question. I'll hear your insight, from one Consular to another. What would be the best way to proceed, do you think? What approach do we take to this matter?”

Rarity stopped to consider. “Perhaps... a small force should be assembled first. To perform reconnaissance.”

“Alright. Who?”

“Err... I'm not sure. It should be a small force, maybe only four or five ponies. Somepony adept in healing should be among them. Two of our best fighters as well, just as a precaution. If we have anypony in the Order who is well known for stealth and gracefully handling situations, they could be an asset. Somepony who knows tactics and survival skills would be beneficial as well, in case the group is forced to take radio silence out on the Ridge.”

“Your wisdom serves you well, Rarity. You are absolutely right. Except one thing, though.”

“What's that, Master?”

“We only need two ponies on this assignment. And I think you need to be one of them.”

“What? Why?”

“Because this operation is volatile, and the ponies assigned to it will need to be personally motivated to work hard. Since your sister is directly involved in this, I believe you have the drive inside you to see this done.” Master Lemep stood suddenly and turned his head toward Rarity. She felt as though he was staring at her through his headband. “Although, if that is my reasoning for selecting you, I believe you may know who else I plan to induct into this operation.”

“Applejack,” Rarity whispered.

“Correct. Your first assignment under me, Rarity, is to convince Applejack to submit herself to my instruction. If she is to save her sister, she must follow orders, even if she doesn’t like them. I will talk to her directly if need be, but I have preparations to make and would prefer if you could handle this yourself. Do what you must to persuade her. I trust your wisdom.”

“You’re too kind, Master,” Rarity said with a bow. “Will that be all?”

“For now, yes.” Master Lemep walked slowly toward the door, his white cape flowing over the back of his chair as he moved. “I’ll be in the archives if you need me.”

Rarity felt something touch her shoulder, and she turned to look at what it was. There was nothing there, and when she looked back at Master Lemep, he was gone.

-~-~-~-~-~

Ponies bustled through the hallways of the Temple, on their way to and from dinner late in the afternoon. Rarity was part of the crowd moving towards the cafeteria. When she stepped inside, she saw a long, stone-carved room that buzzed with activity as Jedi moved from table to table with trays filled with food. Applejack was sitting at a table by herself near the door, and when Rarity walked inside, she looked up at her and nodded slowly.

“Howdy,” she muttered.

Rarity sat down across from Applejack and put a hoof on hers. “Are you doing alright?”

“No, not really,” Applejack said. “In all honesty, Ah’ve put up with the Masters looking down on me for so long, Ah forgot how to feel about it. Master Ohrum’s comment really got to me, ya’ know?”

“Maybe you should listen to what they have to say, Applejack. The Masters have so many collective years of wisdom and skill between all of them. You’d think that you being just one pony, they might know a little better than you do.”

“You’re rah’ght, a’course.” Applejack slid her hoof to a bowl and pulled it closer to her. “But that so-called wisdom is probably gonna get m’ah sister killed, or worse.”

“But that’s why I’m here, Applejack,” Rarity said with a smile. “Master Lemep and I are going to be working on information gathering together. He wants you to help us.”

“That sounds a might boring, if Ah do say so m’ahself.”

“We go out into the field, though.”

“Uh huh.”

“And we sneak into Flesh Raider camps.”

Applejack’s eyes slowly drifted up to Rarity’s. “Yeah?”

“And perhaps, if we’re lucky, we might find Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle while we’re at it.”

“Well, why didn’t you say so? Ah’d sure as sugar like to meet this Master Lemep fella. He’s m’ah new favorite master in the Academy.”

“It wasn’t strictly his idea,” Rarity confessed. “The Council decided this was to be our course of action, to prevent too many Jedi from engaging with the Flesh Raiders. For safety reasons, I’m sure. Master Lemep specifically wanted you, however, because he thinks you will be motivated to help him.”

“Darn right Ah am,” Applejack said. She stood up and pushed her robes back to rest her hooves on her waist. “Ah wanna go speak to this guy. Ah have questions for him.”

“I’m sure you do. He said he was in the Archives when we wanted to meet him.” Rarity shifted her gaze to the bowl on the table. “Are you not going to eat?”

“Ah got more important things to do,” Applejack replied, swinging over the bench and running toward the door. “Ah’ve gotta find m’ah sister!”

“Applejack, wait!” Rarity put a hoof up to get her attention, but Applejack was rounding the corner before she could call her back. She could have sworn that, out of the corner of her robe, something glistened in the light as she disappeared around the door. “Probably a comlink or something,” she muttered before standing up and making her way toward the door herself.

After navigating the crowded narrow hallways of the Temple, Rarity broke free from the flow of traffic and stumbled into the Archives chamber. Massives shelves lined the room from wall to wall, housing thousands of datacrons trapped inside glowing, blue boxes. The only open space was a circular center where tables and stands were placed for students to study on. Applejack was in the center of the room, surveying the tables for Master Lemep.

“Ah don’t see any masters,” Applejack muttered as Rarity trotted up next to her.

“I don’t see him either,” Rarity replied. “He said he would be here.”

“And here I am,” said a chilling voice from behind them. Both mares wheeled around to see a stallion standing near a shelf, not looking at them directly. He was plucking a datacron from the shelf. “I’m glad Applejack was as easy to convince as I had hoped.”

“Hey,” Applejack said. “Ah came of m’ah own accord. Ah don’t need t’ah be told t’ah help find m’ah sister.”

“How long have you been standing there, Master?” Rarity asked. “Did we walk by you on our way in?”

“Yes and no,” Master Lemep replied with a sly smirk. “I have a habit of disappearing. You’ll forgive me if I sneak up on you.”

“Wait,” Applejack said. “Ah’ve been here a long time, and Ah’ve never heard of no Master Lemep. How come Ah ain’t never heard of you b’fore?”

“I take great, painstaking care to make my presence on Tython as inconspicuous as possible. I am a stallion of mystery, as I always have been. There are things about me that nopony knows, not even my fellow Council members. One thing you might like to know about me, Padawan, is that these eyes of mine see a lot of things.”

He put the datacron he was holding back on the shelf and trotted up to Applejack. His blindfold made it hard to tell where he was looking, but he still faced her down in silence for a few seconds. When Applejack took a step back, Master Lemep reached into her robe with the Force and pulled out Callef’s lightsaber, eliciting a gasp from her. Rarity echoed the gasp a moment later.

“Applejack, is that Callef’s lightsaber?” she whispered.

“Yes,” Applejack muttered, eyes wide in surprise.

“You do know Padawans are not allowed to have lightsabers, right?” Master Lemep said evenly. He was neither smiling nor frowning.

“Ah... Ah did know that.”

“Well, in this particular instance, you’re under my supervision. Your Master doesn’t need to know about this.” He put the lightsaber into Applejack’s hoof and took a step back. “As a Jedi, you were taught to follow rules without question. Our Order’s laws are sacred and to be respected. In your time here, Padawan, you have displayed a need to circumvent the rules, and this is why you’ve been held back. This is just another example of your impatience getting you into trouble. So, because I am a kind Master, I will offer you the chance to make this right.”

He extended his hoof to Applejack, who glared at it with a frown. She looked back to the lightsaber, then sighed as she placed it in his hoof. “Take it. Ah don’t want any more trouble. Ah just wanna rescue my sister.”

“And rescue her you shall,” Master Lemep replied. He turned back to the shelf and picked up the datacron he’d been looking at before. “I have been researching the Flesh Raiders for a long time, but I never once came across anything that suggests this New Order has ever existed. The first assignment I need you two to do is travel to the Flesh Raider’s homeland and find some clues to the origins and the whereabouts of the New Order’s base of operations. If they are using Flesh Raiders as tools, it seems fitting that we start there.”

“Is that where m’ah sister is?” Applejack asked.

“Possibly,” Master Lemep said with a shrug. “It’s our only lead so far, and it’s where we must start. I’ll leave you two to it, but I must make one recommendation. I do not, under these circumstances, recommend start your search tonight. Dusk is about to fall, and those mountains are dangerous enough in the day. There will be consequences if you go out there now.”

“Is there anything else we should know?” Rarity asked.

“Only that I’m not going with you,” Master Lemep replied. He turned to Applejack, datacron in hoof, and moved Callef’s floating lightsaber into her vicinity. It fell to the floor a moment later, chiming as it hit the tile. “I expect you to be well rested tomorrow. Good luck.”

Applejack and Rarity both looked down at Callef’s saber with confused expressions, then back up at Master Lemep. When they looked up, however, he was gone.

“What a strange fellow,” Rarity said slowly. Applejack moved across her periphery toward Callef’s saber, and she watched her pick it up and place it back on her belt. “You shouldn’t have that.”

“He left it here for me,” Applejack replied with a smug smile. “Why else would he drop it?”

“Maybe to test you? I don’t know.” Rarity shook her head. “I’m turning in for the night. What about you?”

“Ah’m goin’ to the bike rental. Ah need a new speeder.”

“Whatever for?”

“Ah’m goin’ out there tonight.”

“Alone?!” Rarity shrieked. She instantly put a hoof to her mouth, remembering she was in a library of sorts. “But Master Lemep said—”

“He said it wasn’t a good idea, but doin’ nothin’ strikes me as a bad idea. We can’t wait ‘til tomorrow. Something might happen t’ah Apple Bloom.”

“But he just said—”

“Ah’m goin’ now. You comin’, or am Ah ridin’ solo?”

Rarity frantically searched her immediate surroundings for somepony in authority, trying to dissuade Applejack from perhaps getting herself killed. When nopony nearby appeared able to help her, she sighed. “I refuse to let you go alone.”

“Ya’ can’t stop me,” Applejack muttered. “Ah’m goin’, and that’s final.”

“And I’m going with you.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow.

“I won’t let you get killed by being reckless,” Rarity whispered. “If you’re going to insist on breaking the rules to rescue our sisters, I... may as well see you back safely.”

“Much obliged,” Applejack replied, tipping her hat to Rarity.

Together they cantered out of the Archives, down the spiral stairs in the foyer, and out the front door of the Temple. Night was falling on Tython. Leaves fell around the training pits as Padawans and Masters alike began trickling back inside for the night. The guards normally stationed around the grounds during the nighttime were not yet at their posts, so Applejack casually trotted down the front steps to the speeder pad at the other end of the courtyard.

She quickly picked out a new speeder, having destroyed hers earlier in the day, and mounted it with a mighty leap. Rarity was still coming. “Hurry up.”

“I can’t walk inconspicuously any faster,” Rarity whispered harshly.

“We ain’t gonna get told to go back inside,” Applejack insisted. “It’s not lah’ke we’re doin’ anything wrong. There ain’t no rule that Jedi can’t roam around after hours.”

“There is such a rule for Padawans, Applejack,” Rarity fired back, “and if I get caught with you out here, we both might get into serious trouble.”

“Ya’ ain’t trustin’ me.”

Rarity stopped in front of the bike and sighed. “I don’t have much reason to trust you at the moment. You left my sister all alone, and she got fillynapped.”

Applejack looked down at her evenly. “Ah made a mistake. Ah let m’ah emotions dictate m’ah actions. Why can’t ya forgive me that?”

“Because that’s exactly what you’re doing right now.”

“Can’t argue that, Ah guess. So why are ya’ comin’ with me?”

“If my sister is... gone, I would hate for you to die too.” Rarity looked up at Applejack angrily. “Even if it’s pointless, I want to say I was there, and that I tried to save you from your own stupidity.”

“Fair enough. Ah still appreciate the help.”

Rarity sighed again and climbed up onto the bike, barely having enough time to grab onto Applejack’s waist before they sped away into the ever increasing darkness.

-~-~-~-~-~

Sweetie Belle hugged onto Apple Bloom tighter as the sound of hoofsteps grew closer. In the back of her mind, she knew she was going to die in this cave. They sat behind two burly Flesh Raider guards that hit them any time they tried to talk and shoved them to the floor when they tried to move. Apple Bloom nuzzled into her neck, the closest thing to a comfort either of them had in their dark corner of the cave. The only other boon the two fillies had going their way was the lack of gags and ropes. Neither of them had been restrained. Sweetie Belle had at first considered this was intentional, as though the idea of escape was allowed to foster on purpose, but had lost the willpower to attempt it hours ago.

The only other presence in the cave, a young mare with long, flowing pink hair whimpered as a stallion marched into their corner of the cave. He looked down at the three captives from between his Flesh Raider guards, his lightsabers dangling loosely at his side.

“Have they spoken recently?” he asked kindly, addressing the Flesh Raider, who shook its head in response. “Hmm. You, filly. With the purple mane.”

“M-me?” Sweetie Belle croaked, her throat dry from hours without water.

“Yes, you. Have these aliens been unkind to you?”

“Only w-when I talk.”

“Are you hungry? Thirsty?”

“Y-yes.”

Apple Bloom looked up at the stallion with pitiful, watery eyes. “C-can Ah have somethin’ t’ah eat, please?”

“Of course,” the stallion replied, smiling warmly. “It’d be a shame if you starved. Fluttershy, dear, would you like something as well?”

“No thank you,” the mare in the corner whispered.

“A pity. I offer you food after you’ve gone three days without anything to eat, but you refuse it anyway.” The stallion knelt down next to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. His face became less shadowed as the light filtered down from the torches nearby. He had a kindly face, his eyes wide and his mane short. He almost looked like a colt. “My name is Dust Bowl. I’m an apprentice to the Order.”

“T-the Jedi?” Sweetie Belle asked. Dust Bowl chuckled.

“No, not quite. I serve a new Master. We... don’t have the same rules the Jedi do.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Dust Bowl said calmly, “that we are a little more freelance. Easy going. In fact, some of us disagree with the Jedi and their policies. Have you ever felt like that? Do you ever feel like the Jedi are too... religious? Too upright and holy?”

“No,” Sweetie Belle replied. “I’ve never thought that.”

“A pity. And you?” He turned his head to Apple Bloom. “How do you feel about the Jedi?”

“Ah don’t rah’ghtfully know,” she said, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “Ah just got here today. Ah wanna see m’ah sister...”

“Take heart, young one,” Dust Bowl whispered, stroking Apple Bloom’s mane with his hoof. “I’ve been told that your sisters are looking for you as we speak. I’m fairly certain they will join us, once they hear what he has to say.” He stood up and looked at the mare he addressed as Fluttershy. “Everypony will eventually.”

She did not reply. She didn’t even look up. Dust Bowl shrugged and trotted past the two guards, whispering to them as he left. A moment later, two bowls of fresh salad dropped in front of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. The former began stuffing her face the moment her hooves touched the food.

“T-thank you,” Sweetie Belle said, looking up at the figure that had dropped the plate. She was surprised to see a Flesh Raider guard frowning down on her, his teeth bared in disgust. He turned away and resumed his guard duty while the filly feasted on the meager meal she’d been presented with.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Tythos Ridge, Tython

Applejack started to brake as the bike broke free from the treeline, speeding onto a rocky path leading up the mountains of Tythos Ridge. As she came to a stop, she noticed the many tribal spears and markers forming a perimeter around the path. The skulls of various indigenous species sat mounted on top of the markers, the bones bleached from the light of Tython’s sun. They glistened in the moonlight that was starting to peek out from behind the mountains.

Darkness was falling on Tython, but the lack of clouds let the moon illuminate Applejack’s path. As she dismounted her bike and pushed it behind a bush to conceal it, she took note of the many footprints in the mud leading up the trail. Recent, large, and numerous.

“Dang, there’s more Flesh Raiders up this path than kernels on a cob!” Applejack exclaimed. “Rarity, ya comin’ or what?”

Rarity looked around nervously at the different skulls mounted before her. “Simply barbaric. Oh, Sweetie Belle...”

“Rarity?”

“Right, sorry.” She mustered the courage to step around one of the posts and joined Applejack on the path. “What was your plan again? Other than getting us into massive trouble and possibly killed.”

“We’re gonna go up this here path and see what we can see,” Applejack said evenly, ignoring Rarity’s vocal jab. “Hopefully we can fah’nd Apple Bloom quickly an' get out before anypony realizes we’re gone.”

“Yes, and what if we don’t see them immediately, hmm?” Rarity trotted beside Applejack as they moved up the mountain path. “What if we just end up treading in this icky mud for nothing?”

“Ah’ll cross that bridge when Ah get to it, alright?” Applejack shot Rarity a disdainful glare.

“I’m only trying to encourage some wisdom from you, Applejack. You’re out in the dark, looking for your sister who might already be... gone, and you’re walking up a mountain path toward the Flesh Raider homelands with no idea what you’re doing. For all we know, there could be an ambush waiting for us around the crest of this hill.”

“Fah’ne,” Applejack said. “If they wanna fah’ght, I won’t stop ‘em.”

Rarity shook her head. “You’re not invincible, Applejack. Please, come to your senses. It’s not too late for us to turn around and come back tomorrow morning-”

“Do you even care about your sister?” Applejack blurted, stomping her hoof. “Ah’m not the only one fah’ghtin’ f’er m’ah kin, am I? Do you care? At all?”

Rarity paused, her eyes locking onto Applejack’s. The glow behind them shifted from anger to sadness multiple times every second.

“More than I care to admit,” Rarity replied after a moment. “She infuriates me sometimes, but I love her with all my heart. Hear me, Applejack, I want my sister back as badly as you do. But if we died tonight looking for them, what good does it do them?”

“What good does it do them if’n we wait ‘til the morning?” Applejack fired back. “Somethin’ mah’ght happen to ‘em by then.”

“Granted, that may be the case, but logic would dictate-”

“Logic ain’t gonna bust them free. Wisdom and good intentions ain’t enough. Only action will get this done.”

“Inaction is an action, too. Sometimes it’s the better one.”

“Not now. Not this time.” Applejack stomped up to the crest of the hill ahead of her and looked over it, snorting dust from her nostrils. Rarity waited a few paces behind her, waiting for her to react. As her eyes widened, Applejack began to take a step back. “M’ah word...”

“What?” Rarity asked. She trotted up to the crest and looked down into a massive gorge. Smoke was rising from dozens of fire-lit camps dotting the ridges of the fissure, with groups of Flesh Raiders numbering four and upward huddled around each one. They moved between the camps in the darkness, toting their swords and blasters with them as they traveled. On the far end of the gorge was a cavern from which firelight emanated in vast quantities, illuminating the ground in a large radius near it. “Oh my...”

“That cave looks mighty ominous,” Applejack said. “We should start there.”

“How do you propose we get there, then?” Rarity asked pointedly. “You seem to be in charge of this mess. You make the decision.”

“Fah’ne, Ah will.” Applejack squinted and looked around for a few moments before her face lit up in glee. She pointed her hoof to the ridge at the top of the gorge, where a long natural rock bridge led from the top to the cavern entrance. Between them and there was a long, rocky ridgeline with jagged walls of stone carved in such a way that they formed a barrier along the gorge. “We can climb down from there.”

“Unseen?”

“It’s dark, and we can call on the Force to speed our steps.”

“You’re putting a lot of faith in our ability to move undetected, Applejack,” Rarity whispered harshly. “Something will notice us.”

“Not if we’re careful,” Applejack assured. She trotted down the mountainside and moved along the crest toward the bridge, hiding behind the crest of the mountain. Rarity followed after her cautiously and slowly. The path along the side of the mountain was narrow and treacherous, with the natural wall of stone being the only source of protection from the hordes of aliens on the other side. Light from the camps beyond illuminated the air above them as they traversed the rocky ridge toward the cave. After a few minutes of silence, only broken by their hoofsteps, Applejack peered over the rock wall and saw the beginning of the natural ramp only a foot below her. “Let’s go.”

“Last chance to do the smart thing,” Rarity whispered.

Applejack swung herself over the wall and landed on all fours on the stone ramp. She crawled down to her tummy and laid flat against it, watching the Flesh Raiders below her. They sat huddled around their fire, rubbing their scaly hands together to keep warm in the brisk Tython wind. The aliens constantly looked around themselves warily, as though they expected something to happen. Applejack cursed under her breath, unable to move without alerting them to her presence.

She looked around and spotted a small rock on the path beside her. Using the Force, Applejack hurled the rock off the side of the cliff towards the Flesh Raider camp. It sailed over them and careened into the gorge below, ricocheting off the stone walls and causing a clamorous echo to reverberate across the mountaintop. Immediately the nearby camps stirred with activity as all heads turned toward the middle of the canyon, some raiders even standing up to investigate.

Seizing her chance, Applejack raced down the stone path. The ninety foot sprint was cleared in a matter of seconds, and she dove into the cave mouth unseen. As she huddled herself behind a rock to stay out of sight, Rarity slid beside her and shoved herself against the wall, panting heavily.

“That was... reckless,” she managed.

“It worked, didn’t it?” Applejack replied with a smug smile.

Rarity peeked around the rock and noticed the Flesh Raiders were not approaching them. Instead, they were huddling around their fires again, like nothing had happened. “For the moment. Getting out will be another story, but I suppose you already thought of that?”

“One thing at a tah’me, Rarity.”

“Quite. So, what’s the plan now?”

Applejack pointed her hoof further into the cave. “We go that’a’way.”

“I’m following you, Applejack,” Rarity whispered, motioning her to keep moving. “You’re got the reigns on this. Lead.”

She snorted obstinately, but stood up and marched on regardless. The two Jedi moved slowly down the tunnel that led deeper into the mountain, getting progressively dimmer as they went. The many torches stapled to the walls grew farther and farther apart, casting ominous shadows around the walls and floors in varying shapes and sizes. After several minutes of tiptoeing in silence, the cave was half as lit as it had been near the entrance, and the end was nowhere in sight. It eventually broke into two pathways, one leading into total darkness, and the other curving into what appeared to be a well-lit antechamber.

Applejack looked down into the fire-lit room and, squinting, noticed two burly Flesh Raider guards standing watch over a mare. The pony on the ground wasn’t moving, but Applejack could sense through the Force she was alive.

“Look, Rarity,” Applejack whispered. “Somepony’s alive down there.”

“Yes, you’re right,” Rarity replied. “I sense she is hungry and scared. Poor darling.”

“Let’s help her.”

“Wait!” Rarity slammed her hoof into Applejack’s chest, eliciting a groan from her. “Have you learned nothing about taking action before considering the consequences? Surely you don’t intend on just running headlong into a fight like this.”

“It’s just the two guards,” Applejack muttered, rubbing her chest with a hoof. “B’sides, we can’t do nothin’. We’re Jedi. We help ponies, rah’ght?”

“Yes, but, again, we know nothing of this place,” Rarity insisted. “If we engage these guards, something might happen. What if reinforcements arrive? What if they know we’re coming, and this is a trap? We must be cautious, is my point.”

“But-”

“Do this my way, Applejack. Just see what I mean.”

Applejack grunted and hung her head. “Whatever. What are ya’ thinkin’?”

“Just watch.” Rarity took two steps forward and extended her hoof toward the two guards down the tunnel. She winced as she began channeling the Force, impressing her thoughts upon their alien minds. “You are being relieved in a few minutes. Go on break. Ignore the ponies ahead of you.”

Almost immediately, the two guards lowered their weapons and began walking toward them. Applejack inhaled slowly, but Rarity didn’t budge. She kept her hoof up until the Flesh Raiders walked past her, ignoring them both completely, and headed into the darkness behind her. As they left, one of them lifted a torch from the wall and took it into the unlit path, lighting the way for himself and his fellow guard. After they had vanished, Rarity put her hoof down and exhaled.

“See?” she said with a satisfied smile. “No fight, no noise. A clean encounter.”

“Nice work, Ah guess,” Applejack said as she trotted toward the lit chamber ahead of her. The mare at the end of the tunnel looked up at the two Jedi as they approached her, and her face lit up. Her wings extended in happiness when Applejack knelt down beside her. “Howdy there, partner. Ya feelin’ alright?”

“I, um... I’m fine, yes,” the mare replied.

“What’s yer name? Where ya’ from?”

“Um... I’m... Fluttershy. I’m just a groundskeeper in the local village.”

“Village?” Rarity echoed. “What village? You mean the illegal settlement project up the hill from the Academy? I thought the Order shut that down two months ago.”

“Well... they tried,” Fluttershy murmured. “We haven’t left yet, and... um... we don’t really... um... intend to.”

“You know why the Jedi asked you to leave, right?” Rarity asked, a hint of concern permeating her serious tone. “It’s not safe here! If you come to Tython, you risk the local wildlife tearing your village apart. On top of that, the Republic did not sanction any resettlement projects on Tython, to accommodate the Order. The Jedi can’t protect you if you’re here illegally.”

“We know. Our guards have done a wonderful job protecting us,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “I moved here with the others to study the flora and fauna of Tython. I love animals. Actually... that’s why I’m here. Those Flesh Raiders took me hostage while I was studying some Uxibeasts.”

“Why?” Applejack asked, tilting her head. “Y’er not a threat to ‘em, are ya’?”

“Well, no,” Fluttershy admitted. “The kind stallion who kept me company these last few days told me they were sent to capture roaming Jedi. I guess they thought I was-”

“Woah, hold on a minute here,” Applejack cut in, causing Fluttershy to drop silent. “A stallion? There are more of y’uns here?”

“...Umm... yes...”

“Have ya’ seen two fillies from the Order? One’s a white unicorn, and the other’s an earth pony with a pink bow.”

“They were here a couple hours ago,” Fluttershy murmured, staring at her hooves. She looked up and pointed a hoof between Applejack and Rarity, toward the dark passageway behind them. “He took them in there.”

“He?” Applejack wheeled around to see a tan earth pony holding a bucket of water in his teeth. He was staring wide-eyed at her. “And... you are...”

The stallion set the bucket down on the stone floor and cleared his throat. “Dust Bowl, apprentice of the New Order. You must be... Applejack and Rarity, yes? I’ve heard a lot about you two from my Master, and, of course, from your sisters.”

Applejack instantly reached into the hem of her robes and pulled Callef’s lightsaber to her side. The blade ignited in a flash of cyan, and Dust Bowl took a step back, the hair on his neck springing upright and his eyes widening. “Where’s m’ah sister?!”

“Calm down, please!” Dust Bowl pleaded, raising his hooves in distress. “There’s no need for violence! I can explain!”

Applejack gritted her teeth and looked at Rarity longingly, who turned to meet her fellow Jedi’s gaze with a disapproving glare. Taking a deep breath, Applejack looked back to Dust Bowl. “You best explain then. I don’t have much patience.”

Rarity couldn’t help but smile. “Good, Applejack.”

“Look, your sisters are unharmed,” Dust Bowl said, pushing his hoof down on the air, motioning for Applejack to calm down. “I heard the end of that conversation you just had with Fluttershy. It’s more than she’s said to me in the three days she’s been here. Now that I know she’s not a Jedi, I intend to release her. Your sisters, however, have been moved to our secret base of operations elsewhere in the ridge. The only way you can see them is to join our cause, as they have.”

“Liar!” Applejack screamed. Her voice echoed down the halls of the cavern. “Apple Bloom would never betray me!”

“Oh, believe me, she has no idea she is. She’s actually quite convinced you’ll join her, and I am, too. I can sense it, Applejack. You never felt attached to the Order, or its stringent rules. You only desire the power to protect those you care about, yes?”

“Ah’ve heard enough,” Applejack said, raising her saber. Dust Bowl winced. “Ya’ ain’t recruitin’ me, too. Ah may not lah’ke the Order much, and Ah may not care for their stupid rules, but Ah ain’t no traitor. Now, y’all best be tellin’ me how t’ah fah’nd m’ah sister, or y’all’er gonna be in a world of pain, ya’ hear?”

“Yes, of course,” Dust Bowl replied, his hoof shaking slightly. “But, if you’d allow, Master Jedi, I must attend to a personal matter first.” He turned his gaze to Fluttershy, who retracted her head slightly. “Fluttershy, thank you for being patient. I wish you had communicated your lack of Force sensitivity previous to now. I want you to leave with these Jedi, make your way back to your home. I’ll tell my Master you escaped with them, that they broke you free.”

“I...” Fluttershy managed.

“Ah ain’t goin’ anywhere,” Applejack insisted, pointing her saber at Dust Bowl. “Ah came f’er m’ah sister, and Ah ain’t leavin’ without her.”

“Applejack, be reasonable,” Rarity interjected, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “We need to consider Fluttershy’s safety now, and we still need to get out of here. This stallion will only lead us into a trap, if he agreed to take us anywhere.”

Applejack looked at Fluttershy, who was staring at her hooves again, and sighed. “Fah’ne. But you ain’t leavin’ until you tell me where your base is.”

“I don’t feel obligated to tell you anything,” Dust Bowl said evenly. “In fact, now that those fillies are out of your reach, and I know Fluttershy will be safe, my purpose is fulfilled. I can die here, and I just might. I’ve accepted that.”

“Beg pardon, Dust Bowl,” Rarity interrupted, “but why do you care about this mare so much? What has Fluttershy done to deserve your kindness?”

“Nothing. I was not given any instruction to detain non-convertible individuals, so I don’t see any reason to make her stay any longer. Poor thing hasn’t eaten a bite since she arrived, and she must be quite thirsty as well.”

Applejack wheeled onto Fluttershy and held her saber to her. She squealed and shied away from the glowing blade, and Dust Bowl put a hoof up in an effort to stop the motion. With her face hidden to his view, Applejack winked at Fluttershy, who did not react to the gesture. “If threatening you won’t give me what Ah want, then how's about Ah kill her?”

“Wait, stop!” Dust Bowl cried. “Don’t do this! Why are you threatening her!?”

“Ya’ aren’t scared to die, you said, but she is. And you know what Ah need t’ah know. So tell me.”

“Applejack, stop this at once!” Rarity whispered harshly. “This is going too far.”

“Please, I'll tell you anything you want! Just don't hurt her!” Dust Bowl dropped to his stomach and wrapped his hooves around Applejack's legs. “Anything!”

Applejack didn't look at him, keeping her gaze locked on a terrified Fluttershy. She was smirking so wide that any attempt at making a poker face would miserably fail. “How do we fah'nd m'ah sister? Where is she?”

“Our base is beyond the ridge, back in the Forge! It's guarded by dozens of Flesh Raider legions, and can only be accessed through an ancient tunnel system that can be sealed at will by our Master. Only members of our Order know the ritual that unlocks the seal.”

“How do you break the seal?”

“The ritual was found near the ruins of Kaleth. The old archives of the Je’daii in the caverns beyond the ruins hold that information.”

“And how do we get out of here undetected?”

Dust Bowl gulped, then sighed. “The dark passage I came from has an exit. It’ll take you back to the Temple. That’s how we navigate the mountains so easily. This whole ridge is covered in secret tunnels. Your Order is clueless to their existence.”

“Y’er a worm,” Applejack said quietly, finally turning to look at Dust Bowl. “Ya’ just sold out your entire operation. Y’all’er never gonna be able t’ah show y’er face to y’er Master ever again.”

“I do not intend to leave this cave alive,” Dust Bowl muttered, standing up. He was eye level with Applejack when standing upright. “You’re right, I’m not able to return to my Master now. I shall die here, with my honor intact.”

Applejack’s brow arched. Dust Bowl lifted a lightsaber off his belt and pressed the tip against his temple. Rarity gasped as he shut his eyes.

The lightsaber never ignited. Dust Bowl looked to his empty hoof, then up at Applejack and Rarity. They were staring at Fluttershy, who was clutching the lightsaber to her chest.

“W-what?” Dust Bowl murmured. “Y-you’re Force sensitive?!”

“Um... yes,” Fluttershy said bashfully. She looked down at the lightsaber, then up at Dust Bowl. “Please, don’t. You... you don’t need to do that.”

“You don’t understand, Fluttershy,” he insisted. “My Master would kill me if I returned.”

“Join the Jedi,” Fluttershy whispered. “They’ll take you in. If not, you are welcome at my place.”

Dust Bowl opened his mouth to argue, then went motionless. Tears formed in the corner of his eyes. “I... I cannot refuse such a kind offer. Fluttershy, thank you.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all,” Fluttershy replied with a smile. “You tried your best to make me comfortable here, so I feel I owe you my thanks.”

“Yeah, yeah, forgiveness and love,” Applejack muttered. “Time’s awastin’ here. We need to rescue m’ah sister now, so let’s get outta here.”

“Oh no you don’t,” Rarity interjected, putting a hoof against Applejack’s chest again. “You’ve made a lot of controversial decisions tonight, but I put my hoof down here. As the higher ranked of the two of us, I’m taking control of this mission. And I say, we go back to the Temple, get some rest, and bring Dust Bowl to the Council for questioning before we proceed any further.”

Applejack stared wide-eyed at Rarity. “Seriously?! We’re so close! Why in blazes would we turn around now?”

“We can confirm our sisters are in no immediate danger, correct?” Rarity asked, turning to Dust Bowl, who nodded slowly. “Then I am obligated to follow our rules. We’ve made headway on our mission, but there are matters far more important to attend to before we proceed. Master Lemep will want an update, and we have two civilians... err, Force sensitives under our vigil, and I refuse to endanger them by proceeding recklessly forward. We’re going back. Now.”

Fluttershy and Rarity trotted past Applejack, following Dust Bowl toward the dark passage ahead of them. Applejack seethed for a few moments, grinding her teeth, before she grudgingly galloped after them.

-~-~-~-~-~

Master Lemep stood at the top of the marble staircase of the Temple as a rental speeder bike zipped into the courtyard. Four ponies disembarked from the speeder and immediately froze when they saw him. Rarity took a step forward and gulped. “Evening, Master.”

“Rarity? Applejack? Who are these ponies?” he asked, pointing a hoof at Fluttershy and Dust Bowl.

“The stallion is Dust Bowl. He is a repentant member of the New Order. Fluttershy is a force sensitive from the nearby illegal settlement.”

“I see.” Master Lemep turned to the pair of guards flanking the large archway of the Temple. “You two see these ponies inside. Give them whatever they desire, and alert the Council to their presence.”

The guards nodded, motioning for Dust Bowl and Fluttershy to accompany them inside. They both followed without a fuss, and after they had disappeared inside, Master Lemep turned back to Rarity and Applejack. “So, explain yourselves. Did I not recommend you wait until the morning?”

“Yes,” Applejack answered, cutting Rarity off, “but it was just a recommendation.”

“While that may be true,” Master Lemep replied with a slow nod, “you would be wise to listen to my advice. I’m much more knowledgeable than you give me credit for, Padawan. As to the findings of your little escapade... what did you find?”

“You mean... we’re not in trouble?” Rarity croaked, her eyes wide in surprise.

“Correct. Applejack speaks the truth when I said it was nothing more than a recommendation. I did not command that you wait, and in truth, I anticipated the Padawan would try to do something like this. As I said, I am not stupid. Now, what did you find?”

Rarity stood aghast, trying to comprehend what she was hearing, so Applejack stepped forward. “Our sisters were bein’ held in a cave just over the mountain. We found where they had been, but they had already been moved to the New Order’s base. It’s beyond the Forge, and ya’ can’t get in without a special ritual or somethin’.”

“And this ritual consists of... what?”

“Ah dunno. There’s some archive or whatever in the Ruins of Kaleth somewhere that has the answer, supposedly.”

“Ah,” Master Lemep said, putting a hoof to his chin. “The old archives of the Je’daii. I know of them. Deep in a cave behind the ruins, there’s this old computer that has a vast databank of knowledge. It’s very corrupt, but the information was retrievable when our Order arrived. It’s been several decades since we last tried to recover anything from that insufferable computer. With the Flesh Raiders guarding it as fiercely as they do, and before they showed up, the droids posed enough of a problem.”

“Droids?” Applejack asked.

“The ancient Je’daii Order left behind some war droids,” Master Lemep said. “They guard the old grounds of their Masters’ temple. Nopony in our Archives staff knows what they guard. What you need to know is this: if you intend to go after those Archives, those droids will fight back. Not to mention the Flesh Raiders that will stand between you and them.”

Rarity winced, but Applejack nodded. “Rah’ght. Okay. Well, if that’s all, Ah’m gonna turn in for the night. Need t’ah be well rested for tomorrow.”

“I’m glad you won’t pursue this tonight,” Master Lemep said with a smile. “I was going to say you were forbidden to try, but I can see you actually mean to rest.”

“Ah can’t keep fah’ghtin’ this anymore,” Applejack replied with a sigh. “It seems whenever Ah try doin’ things m’ah way, Ah get shut down.”

“You’ll understand soon enough why that is, if you haven’t already. Goodnight, Padawan.”

Applejack sauntered up the stairs and passed Master Lemep on her way inside. Rarity and Master Lemep stared at one another in silence. Or, at least, she stared at him, and he faced her with his headband across his eyes. “Now, you have a question.”

“I do, Master,” Rarity replied. “When you mentioned the ruins and the droids, you also said our Archivists never discovered the true mission of the droids’ programming.”

“That’s correct.”

“When you said it, I felt... uneasy. Like there was something you left unsaid.”

“You are one of my favorite students at this Academy,” Master Lemep said with an approving nod. “You are right, I omitted details on purpose. I left my intentions unclouded, so you could pick up on them while the Padawan could not. If you ever have a premonition about something I say, it’s because I want you to seek knowledge and wisdom without Applejack’s curious ears. Does that make sense?”

“It doesn’t,” Rarity said. Master Lemep tilted his head. “Why would you disinclude Applejack like this? She deserves to know.”

“I do not trust the Padawan fully, and I know for a fact you don’t either.” Rarity blushed, turning away from Master Lemep. “Your mind is not closed to me, Rarity. I know the events that occurred tonight in full detail, from both your perspective and Applejack’s. Forgive me for being blunt, but reading minds is something I do innately, and it’s one of the greatest tools of information gathering the Force can provide.”

“That goes against our code,” Rarity noted, “to invade one’s mind so freely.”

“The Padawan is not incorrect when she says our rules are a hinderance,” Master Lemep said evenly. “In time, you will understand what I mean. Now, to answer your questions, because they multiply with every sentence I utter. The Archivists do not know what the droids guard, but I do. The very first lightsaber prototype is in those ruins. On that prototype is a map, and that map leads to a vast well of knowledge left almost untouched by the centuries. I have accessed this well, but left the lightsaber where it rests, to keep the curious away. In order to preserve the balance of the droids, the prototype must not leave the ruins, and this is, ultimately, why the Padawan cannot be told of its existence. Her obsession with obtaining her own lightsaber is too great for her to withstand. Does this make sense?”

“Yes,” Rarity muttered. Her eyes lit up as a memory flashed across her mind’s eye. “Also, earlier tonight, Applejack threatened Fluttershy to make Dust Bowl tell her what he knew. I’m concerned for her. That was, in my opinion, uncalled for and unnecessarily brutal.”

“To put your worries to rest, I will speak to Applejack directly about the manner in which she threatened Fluttershy,” Master Lemep said, crossing his hooves. “Rules exist for safety, and I’m going to drill this into her until I am satisfied. While I do admire her dedication to her sister, threatening an innocent, even in jest, is too far.”

“Thank you, Master.”

“Get some rest, Rarity. It’s been a long day, and tomorrow won’t be any better.”

Rarity trotted up the marble steps and stopped beside Master Lemep. Her eyes lingered on the steps in front of her for a moment, then she twisted to look at him directly. He was staring into space, as best she could tell. “Master... What are you?”

Master Lemep did not move.

“Err, what I mean to say is, you do not strike me as a normal Jedi. Your philosophy seems to linger somewhere between Applejack’s and my own.”

“What prompted this question?” he replied in a low voice.

“My curiosity.”

“Your instincts are impeccable.” Master Lemep smirked, still staring up into space. “The question you pose me, however, is far and beyond what you can comprehend. My destiny is not tied to any one faction. I am more than just a Jedi. I am a chronicler of knowledge, a seeker of wisdom.”

“But you are a Jedi!” Rarity said. “Are you not a member of the Council?”

“It is as you say. But remember, I have not been on Tython long. My presence on the Council is temporary, just a means to an end. I have a higher purpose to fulfill, and when it is done, I will not linger here. While I am here, however, I shall perform my duties that I have sworn to do. Rest assured that, while my methods may be unorthodox, my mission is peaceful.”

“But-”

“Go to sleep, Rarity. We will continue this conversation another time, if your curiosity is truly so great. This destiny of which I speak is not something I can explain in one day, much less in five minutes.”

“Yes... Master.”

As Rarity sauntered past Master Lemep, the wind picked up behind her, causing her to shudder. Just before she passed under the Temple archway, she turned around to look at him, but he was no longer there.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jedi Temple, Tython

Applejack yawned as she cantered into the cafeteria the next morning. She sat down at the table near the door and slammed her head against the top, groaning loudly with her face pressed against it. The sound of a plate being slid across the tabletop caused Applejack to look up at Master Lemep, who was pushing a full course breakfast toward her.

“I figured you’d be hungry,” he said, smiling as he folded his hooves on the tabletop.

“Ah am a mite hungry,” Applejack replied, reaching for the glass of apple juice that had been presented to her. “Good mornin’, Master.”

“Good morning to you, Applejack. Listen.” He leaned in closer to her. “Rarity brought to my attention that you threatened Fluttershy to interrogate Dust Bowl. Is that true?”

“Yessir,” replied Applejack glumly.

“Why would you do that?”

She took a deep breath. “All... Ah want... is mah sister back. Ah’m ready to do whatever it takes.”

“Even if it means being thrown out of the Order?”

“Eeyup.”

Master Lemep smirked. “You’re dedicated. I can appreciate that a lot more than the other Masters can. You would do well, however, to take advice with less criticism and hesitation. Your friends only want you to be safe, and rules exist for safety.”

“Ah’ll break any rule that stands between me an’ Apple Bloom.”

“Alright, granted, your sister is a priority, but try to think beyond her for a moment. What else is at stake? This entire Temple could be in imminent danger.” He gestured around the mess hall with both hooves. “There are thousands of Flesh Raiders on our doorstep, and we number less than a thousand ourselves. Your mission carries the fate of every Jedi on Tython, not just your sister’s. I’ll say this one more time, Applejack, and let me clear that this is my final word. Follow my instructions and go by the book, or there will be severe consequences. If you’re ever unsure, ask me or Rarity. And if I ever hear that you put this mission in jeopardy with your antics, I will be upset. I’m not upset now, because I sympathize with you. Can I be any clearer?”

Applejack looked down at her food, sighed, and shook her head. “Nope. Ah understand what you want.”

“Glad to hear it,” Master Lemep said with a smile. “The Council has requested you join us for the questioning of young Dust Bowl. Come at your earlier convenience.”

He stood up abruptly and trotted out of the mess hall, his black cape flourishing behind him. Applejack picked up her apple juice and sucked it down as quickly as she could.

-~-~-~-~-~

Around the large table in the Council Chamber sat eight Jedi: the seven Masters on the Council and Rarity, who sat beside a whimpering Fluttershy. Across from her, Applejack saw an empty chair as she walked into the room, and sat down in it without a word. Master Satele nodded to Master Lemep, who stood up slowly and motioned to his fellow masters.

“My friends,” he began, “last night, Padawan Applejack and Knight Rarity ran a... secret reconnaissance mission for our Order. They have discovered many secrets that will benefit our investigation greatly, all with no bloodshed from either side of this conflict, which I think we can all agree is a wonderful conclusion. However, this young colt,” he motioned to Dust Bowl, who was standing at the other end of the table, “has surrendered himself to our judgment. He has provided almost all the information we now possess about the New Order, of which he himself was a former member. Having renounced this title, I propose we pass judgment accordingly.”

“What of the girl?” Master Ghetsu grumbled with crossed hooves. “Who is she?”

“She’s nopony,” Dust Bowl interrupted, causing everypony in the room to glare at him. He shied away from their stares.

“Actually, she’s a civilian from the illegal settlement over the ridge,” Rarity said. “She studies the wildlife on Tython.”

“I thought we asked the locals to leave,” Master Ohrum said thoughtfully, putting a hoof to her chin.

“Yeah. Twice,” Master Ghetsu muttered.

“Fluttershy,” Master Satele said kindly, opening her hooves to Fluttershy, “can you please explain why the settlement is still here, despite our... reservations for their presence?”

“We, uhm, have nowhere else to go,” Fluttershy murmured, looking down at her hooves. “If you made us leave Tython, we... we...”

“I understand what you’re saying, but if you asked us, the Jedi could arrange for a better relocation project to be instated. The Republic won’t turn you away if you cooperate with them.”

“But we’ve been here for so long... and I don’t speak for all of us, so...”

Master Satele sighed, her hooves drooping back to her side. “I suppose whatever conclusion on this matter we reach will have to wait until the immediate threat of the New Order and the Flesh Raiders is dealt with. Our orders from the Republic are to let the village exist separate from our protection until they evict.”

“But Master Satele, they are beings just like us!” Master Ohrum interrupted. “Orders won’t keep us from protecting the innocent, right?”

“I understand your stance on this issue, Master Ohrum,” Master Satele assured. “You have been outspoken about this since we first started debating about it months ago. However, we do have our own Order to consider. This threat is too great to ignore, while the village, thus far, has been able to defend itself quite handily.”

“We do need to decide what to do with the young Dust Bowl, as well,” Master Lemep said.

“Quite. Dust Bowl.” Master Satele turned to him. “What do you have to say?”

“Do what you wish with me, just... please... don’t hurt Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy whimpered softly, drawing Master Satele’s gaze. “You care deeply for this mare?”

“I do, ma’am.”

“Then perhaps we should send you both to the village. I trust neither of you will cause any further trouble if we let you both be?”

Dust Bowl’s face lifted into a warm smile. “Yes ma’am, I promise we will.”

“Very well. I will debrief Master Lemep about last night’s mission. Fluttershy and Dust Bowl will be escorted by Knight Rarity and Padawan Applejack to the Kalikori Village. Neither shall be punished. I think we can forgive Dust Bowl, under the circumstances, and while Fluttershy’s village as a whole has not been responsive to our requests, we cannot punish an individual for the actions of a group. Rarity, Applejack, I trust you can oversee this to a satisfaction before you leave for your next mission?”

Applejack smiled and nodded. “Yes ma’am. We sure as sugar can.”

Rarity nodded, but kept her eyes locked on Applejack, a confused look on her face.

“Very well. Take Fluttershy and Dust Bowl to the Matriarch of Kalikori Village. See if she will take them off our hooves peacefully. Now, if there are no further issues to discuss, then we shall–”

“Satele, if I may,” Master Lemep interrupted. “I must bring something to the attention of the Council. Whether it is of consequence or not, I’ll leave to your discretion, but I have received information pertaining to Fluttershy. She has displayed Force sensitivity.”

Master Satele looked at Fluttershy inquisitively. “Is this true?”

“Y-yes...” Fluttershy murmured. “I-I’m not trained. It’s a natural gift.”

“Well... as much as I’d like to say you deserve training, you are too old for our Order to receive you officially. My decision stands. You may return to your home, and Dust Bowl is to accompany you.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy whispered.

“Very well. We are adjourned.”

-~-~-~-~-~

Applejack put a hoof to the seat of her speeder bike as Rarity, Fluttershy and Dust Bowl trotted up the dirt path leading away from the Temple. Master Lemep was a few steps ahead of them, and when he reached Applejack’s bike, he gently pushed her hoof away and hopped into the seat, gripping the handlebars with care.

“Hey, Master?” Applejack said.

“Oh, yes, I need to borrow this bike,” he replied innocently. “I have somewhere to be, and I’d prefer if you four walked together. I know you got all of you on your bike last night, but this thing isn’t built to transport four ponies at once.”

“But Ah—”

“I’ll bring it back. It’s not like it’s yours, anyway. It’s a rental.”

Applejack grimaced, remembering how she had crashed her own bike the afternoon previous. Master Lemep sneered deviously as he revved the engine and sped away, leaving a trail of kicked-up dust as he flew. Rarity trotted up to Applejack and stared after Master Lemep.

“I take it we’re walking, then?” she asked.

“Eeyup,” Applejack replied.

“Applejack, if I could make a comment.”

“What’s up?”

Rarity looked back at Dust Bowl and Fluttershy. They were engaged in their own conversation, only paying enough attention to their Jedi escorts to know when to follow them. “Back in the Council meeting, you were very ready to deviate from our mission to escort these two ponies to the village. Have you... forgotten your sister?”

“Buck no, Ah haven’t,” Applejack replied with an indignant hoof-stomp. “But Master Lemep makes a convincin’ argument.”

“Undoubtedly.” Rarity trotted forward, and Applejack kept pace behind her. Dust Bowl and Fluttershy followed behind them. Together, the four ponies began the climb up the mountain, on the summit of which Kalikori Village sat. “Listen, I haven’t been very understanding with you. I’m sorry I get so snappy. You’re following the rules a little better as of late, or, at the very least, you’re starting to listen for once.”

“Ah can’t fah’ght th’ system no more, that’s all,” Applejack muttered, her ears flattening against her face. “The Jedi have kinda broken m’ah spirit a bit.”

“Don’t let the rules stop you from getting this mission done, though. I want to rescue my sister as well, but the Temple should be our first priority.”

“Yeah, yeah. Ah’ll just smah’le an’ nod, an’ everything will be peachy.”

Rarity sighed, hanging her head slightly. Her trot slowed as Applejack pulled ahead of her. After a minute of silence, Dust Bowl moved into Rarity’s former spot and poked Applejack with a hoof.

“So?” he asked. Applejack peered at him through squinted eyes. “Was I right?”

“‘bout what?” she asked.

“You, and the Jedi. You don’t see eye to eye, do you?”

“Y’all better not be tryin’ to recruit me again.”

“I’m only stating that I might be more right than you care to admit, is all.”

“Go smooch y’er girlfriend, and leave me alone.”

A whimper elicited from somewhere behind Applejack.

“She’s not my girlfriend!” Dust Bowl retorted, blushing profusely.

“Yeah, okay,” Applejack said. “Let’s just get you two home so me an’ Rarity can rescue our sisters and save the Temple, or whatever.”

“If only it were as easy as you think it is,” he muttered, staring down at the ground.

The mountain crested as the four ponies trotted over its summit. In the distance sat a quiet community of metal structures resembling houses, with several ponies standing guard along the path towards them. As the Jedi and their escorts moved closer, the guard moved to block their entry, obscuring the little village from their view.

“Who are you?” one asked, pointing his rifle at Applejack. “What do you want, Jedi?”

“Here to make us leave your precious Tython?” another one sneered.

“Nope,” Applejack replied evenly, staring at the barrel of the rifle lazily. “We’re just droppin’ off some villagers that... got lost.”

One of the guards looked past Rarity and saw Fluttershy for the first time. Recognizing her, he moved to her side and offered his hoof to her. “We thought you were dead, ma’am.”

“I, uhm... I might’ve been,” Fluttershy murmured, “if it weren’t for these kind Jedi.”

The guard wheeled on Rarity, Applejack and Dust Bowl. “You three, Jedi. Our leader will wish to speak to you.”

“I am no Jedi, in my defense,” Dust Bowl interjected, in response to which Applejack drove her hoof into his side. He flinched, rubbing his injured chest.

“Follow me,” the guard said, ignoring Dust Bowl. The other guards motioned the four ponies through the checkpoint and remained behind, watching them leave. Applejack looked around the quiet village as she was escorted through, seeing the villagers cast curious, and sometimes scornful, gazes at her and her friends. Fillies and colts playing in the town center stopped their games and watched in awe as their friendly neighborhood watch patrol led two Jedi, a stranger, and a familiar pegasus toward the Matriarch’s office.

A modest stone building creeped into view behind a structure similar to it, pressed compactly into the corner of the settlement. Fluttershy seemed to recluse as the guard drew nearer to it, causing Rarity to bite her lip. The four ponies were ushered inside to see a sparsely decorated office room, with a pair of beds against the back wall and a desk off to the side. From behind the desk a mare stood up, eyed her four guests quietly, and smiled.

“Welcome to Kalikori Village, Jedi,” she said calmly, bowing to them. “I am Matriarch Sumari. I oversee this settlement.”

“A pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” Rarity replied, returning the bow.

“What brings you to our humble village?”

“This is Fluttershy.” Rarity gestured to a silent Fluttershy, who was fidgeting awkwardly. “She is a member of your village. We rescued her from the Flesh Raiders.”

“Ah. Fluttershy, we had presumed you were dead.” Sumari smiled. “It’s so good to see you well.”

“Umm... thank you, Matriarch,” Fluttershy said.

“But who is this?” Sumari motioned to Dust Bowl, who was looking at Fluttershy intently. His attention snapped to her when she addressed him. “Are you with the Jedi as well?”

“No, ma’am,” he replied. “I’m Dust Bowl. I’ve been instructed by the Jedi to remain in this village, if you’ll allow it.”

“I will not turn you away,” Sumari said evenly, turning to Rarity, “but with what authority does the Jedi Order, the same institution that vehemently denies us protection, banish civilians to our peaceful village?”

“The Jedi may have approved this idea,” Rarity replied, “but it was Dust Bowl’s decision. He wants to remain with Fluttershy. As a whole, the Jedi recognize the sovereignty of Kalikori Village and its ponies. We would not force anypony on you, or your villagers, without first asking your consent.”

“While I thank you for your respect, Jedi, I am not as easily fooled as you think.” Sumari sat down in her chair and put her hooves on her desk. “I am aware of how the Jedi view our village. We are an illegal settlement, we know, but if your Order had the same respect for us as you do, they would see that our presence here is not only warranted, but necessary.”

“And as much as I’d love to hear the story, I’m afraid me and my fellow Jedi have a crisis to attend to,” Rarity said with a bow. “If you would please excuse us, we must be away.”

“Very well. My guards will escort you out of the village. I do wish to thank you for returning our beloved Fluttershy home safely, though I’m afraid we don’t have anything to reward you with.”

“No reward is necessary. It’s the Jedi way to protect the innocent.”

Sumari let out a mirthless laugh before looking down at her papers and resuming her work. Rarity looked at Applejack with an apologetic frown, and together they walked out of the Matriarch’s home. The sun glowed brightly on the little village, reflecting off the metal roofs of the tightly packed houses scattered throughout. Ponies had resumed their daily affairs, traversing from one end of the village to the other in relative silence. To the north lay a garden when several ponies were harvesting crops, and to the south stood a makeshift guard post.

A group of armed ponies stood near the guard post. They wore unassuming combat armor and toted large, decrepit blasters for protection, much like the guard escorting Applejack and Rarity right then. Two of the guards near the post looked curiously at the Jedi as they walked by. A third broke off from the group and stood in their way.

“Jedi,” he said loudly, “why are you here?”

“We’re leavin’, don’t get y’er armor in a twist,” Applejack replied, the annoyance in her voice thicker than her accent.

“You didn’t answer the question.”

“We were escorting a fellow villager of yours back to her home,” Rarity interjected. “Now that we have done so, we intend to leave you be.”

“Why’d you bring her back?”

“B’cause not all of us Jedi believe in ignorin’ y’all,” Applejack said, pointing to herself with a hoof. “An’ it’s on our way, anyway.”

The soldier took a step forward, placed his hoof on his forehead, and saluted Rarity and Applejack, his grim expression not dropping even for a second. “Thank you, Jedi. The rest of the village may not understand or appreciate the Jedi, but I do. You’ve done us a kindness this day. Don’t say your work went thankless.”

“Your kindness is much appreciated,” Rarity said with a bow. “If only we were allowed to assist you more. The Council wishes to be your guardians, but the Republic refuses to give us permission.”

“Much like how the Republic denies us legal settlement rights, I know,” the guard replied with a grimace. “Those of us who have been here a long time know the truth. The Jedi would help if they could. But I know that, if this village was ever in a crisis, you Jedi wouldn’t hesitate to help, right?”

“I can’t imagine we wouldn’t,” Rarity replied slowly, a nervous smile creeping across her face. “But we really must be off now—”

“Raiders!” a voice bellowed from the north side of the village. Roars, cries and screams mingled as chaos erupted near the vegetable gardens. Ponies scattered toward two square as several Flesh Raiders poured from the treeline. Just as they broke from the trees, blaster fire erupted near the south gate. Another swarm of aliens nearly twice the size of the first. The guard hoisted up his rifle and looked at Rarity. His anxious eyes were a stark contrast to the stern demeanor he had worn up until then.

“Jedi, I... help us. Please.”

Rarity almost spoke, but as her mouth opened, she put a hoof to her chin and shut it manually. Applejack, appalled at Rarity for her hesitation, grabbed her lightsaber and turned around.

“Applejack?” Rarity said, looking at her fellow Jedi with concerned eyes. “We are under—”

“Ah’m not gonna sit and wait for orders this tah’me, Rarity,” Applejack muttered, looking back at her. “Buck the Order, and buck the rules. The Jedi way is to protect the innocent.”

“But the rules—”

Applejack turned away from Rarity and leaped into the air. The Force carried her from the center of the village to the north border, where the sea of trees appeared to be drowned in laser fire and Flesh Raiders. In a flash of blue, her lightsaber sprang to life and severed the arm of an unsuspecting alien invader, causing it to stumble backwards and drop his spear. Every Flesh Raider within twenty meters took notice of Applejack, and just under a second later she had twelve of them turning to engage her from all sides.

She tipped her stetson down and swung again. Her blade cut through the haft of a metal polearm, sending the axe head harmlessly to the ground. Then, using the Force, Applejack whipped her body into the air and pounded the earth, sending a shockwave of power out in a sphere. It impacted with several Flesh Raiders that had charged to close, pushing them into buildings, trees and boulders, knocking them unconscious.

A bloodcurdling roar, loud enough to cause every nearby militia soldier and Flesh Raider to scatter, shocked Applejack as she recovered from her flourish. A large Flesh Raider in gold armor, wielding a small, bladeless hilt in his hand, leveled its shoulders to her and roared again. It stood mere feet from her, and its breath reeked of dead animals and rotten vegetables. With the flick of its wrist, the hilt in its hand ignited into a brilliant blue lightsaber.

Applejack’s eyes widened. The Raider charged forward a step and lunged. Motionless, Applejack watched as the alien was thrown aside by a large rock, projected from beside her somewhere. She turned to see Rarity levitating several similar rocks at her side, and her lightsaber in one hoof. Rarity wore a devious smile on her lips.

“Ah thought the rules said we couldn’t help,” Applejack teased.

“Master Lemep was right,” Rarity replied calmly, eyes locked on the fumbling Flesh Raider warrior. “Sometimes, the rules are a hinderance.”

The Flesh Raider stood up and shook itself fiercely. Dirt shook from its scaly skin in clods. Applejack braced her front leg and cartwheeled into a downward slash, forcing the Flesh Raider to his knees with a decisive strike. It pushed her off and swung wide in retaliation. Ducking, Applejack dodged the swing and swept her back leg across the ground. She managed to hook it around the Flesh Raider’s leg and pull him, but he didn’t budge.

Angry, the alien slammed his saber down on Applejack, who was lying on her back underneath it. She brought her blade up in time to parry, but the force of the blow tore her lightsaber from her hooves. The brilliant cyan blade fizzled away, and the lifeless hilt dropped lazily to the soft ground. Applejack looked up, defenseless, at the Flesh Raider as it lifted its own lightsaber above its head and prepared to dismember her.

Rarity frantically looked around for something else to throw, and her gaze came to rest on her lightsaber. Closing her eyes, she hurled the hilt at the alien and focused, channeling the Force to carry her saber. The blade connected with the Flesh Raider’s as it was swinging downward, deflecting his attack harmless backwards. Seizing the momentary distraction, Applejack swung her legs around in a circle, pushing up with the Force. As she twisted back up to her hooves, a small cyclone of energy blasted the Flesh Raider onto his back.

Calling her lightsaber with the Force, Applejack charged to the Flesh Raider and lunged with her weapon. She slammed down on its waiting lightsaber, pinning him to his knees. Forced to hold Applejack at bay, the alien couldn’t block another boulder as it smacked into his shoulder. It toppled over and lay, dazed, on the ground.

Applejack threw up her hooves to impale the Flesh Raider’s head, but at the last moment, it threw up a fingered hand. A wave of Force energy bashed Applejack across the chest and sent her reeling backwards. She sat up, wide-eyed, and stared at the Flesh Raider.

“They’re Force sensitive?” she muttered.

Just as the Flesh Raider looked like he’d recover, Rarity threw a large ball of scrap metal that rammed into its head and tore gashes along its face. Bleeding, it curled over and lay motionless. Applejack looked to Rarity, who was as surprised as she was.

“This development is quite alarming,” Rarity said quietly. “The Council must be informed.”

“Even though we’re on a mission?”

“This is new information. We may be in serious trouble here. Best not to proceed further without consulting Master Lemep and the Council.”

“What about the rest of the Flesh Raiders?” Applejack asked.

Rarity looked around. The village guards had rallied to the south gate while the Jedi had fought at the north border. They were cheering and raising their rifles as the Flesh Raiders retreated en masse, unable to stay concerted with the death of their leader. The same guard from before approached her from the crowd, his stern expression having returned to his face. “Jedi. You gave us just enough firepower to keep those damned creatures away. You saved us, even when your Order prohibited you from it. Thank you.”

Applejack smiled. “Screw the rules. Y’all ever need a Jedi, you call me, you got that?”

Rarity chuckled slightly, pointing to Applejack. “And I as well, if only to keep her in line.”

Applejack glared at her, but they both started laughing a moment later.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Kalikori Village, Tython

“And you’re certain the Flesh Raider used the Force?” Master Lemep asked for the third time. “No tribal magic or electronic devices involved at all?”

“I’m positive, master,” Rarity assured. Her gaze drifted to Applejack, who was hovering over the corpse of the Flesh Raider. “It used a potent but unrefined style, definitely of the Force.”

“In that case, we can assume the Raiders have been trained by the New Order’s master to be Force Adepts.” Master Lemep touched a hoof to his chin. “This is alarming. Somehow, this master has found a way to communicate to the aliens. Be on your guard, but for the time being, proceed with your mission.”

“Yes Master.” Rarity went to switch off the communicator, but as she lifted her hoof, Applejack bent over and snatched a shiny, metallic object from the ground. She fiddled with it for a moment before it ignited into a blue lightsaber blade. Wide eyed, Rarity nearly swallowed the communicator in her haste to catch Master Lemep before he hanged up. “Master, the lightsaber the Flesh Raider was wielding. What do you want us to do with it?”

“Two things,” Master Lemep said lowly, to not attract Applejack’s attention. “First, let the Padawan keep it for now. It’s her trophy, and there’s no rule that fallen foes need keep their weapons in the Jedi tradition. Two, try not to concern yourself the Padawan too much. Let me worry about what behaviors she shouldn’t develop. Only intervene if you feel it goes strictly against the best wishes of the Jedi Order.”

“Isn’t it a rule that Padawans shouldn’t have lightsabers?”

“What would you call a training saber, then? Are those not lightsabers?”

“I suppose.”

“Well, she’s training, and it’s a saber. Or two. I, as her Master, allow it. If that’s all, Rarity, I must-”

“Master,” Rarity interrupted, “where are you? You seem... rushed.”

“Not far from you,” Master Lemep replied hurriedly. “Don’t come looking for me. For your own safety.”

“Are you alright?”

“Quite fine. Thank you.” Then a click on the other end notified Rarity that Master Lemep had hung up. Dissatisfied, Rarity shoved the communicator into her pocket and grimaced. Applejack looked curiously at her.

“What’s up?” she asked. “We movin’ on?”

“Yes, we are ‘moving on.’ You going to keep that lightsaber?”

Applejack looked nervously to her belt, where both of her repossessed lightsaber hung. “Yup.”

“Very well.” Rarity looked around, searching for the path leading to the Ruins of Kaleth. “Which way are the ruins?”

“South a’ here, as best I can gather,” Applejack replied, pointing a hoof toward the gate of the village. The path dipped down the mountain and wrapped around the forest several meters beyond. A stunning waterfall cascaded into a river beside the path. “Never been back there, but Ah heard stories from other Jedi that have. It’ll be a heck of a walk, though.”

“Oh, splendid. More walking”

Rarity grimaced and trotted for the gate in a huff. Applejack sprinted after her and tapped her on the shoulder. “Rarity? Are ya’ alrah’ght?”

“No, not entirely,” Rarity replied, turning to Applejack. “It’s just... something about Master Lemep is bothering me. I’m sure it’s nothing though.”

“What’s got y’er horn in a twist this tah’me?”

Rarity looked away from Applejack, to hide her embarrassment. She did not want to speak ill of a Jedi Master. “I simply don’t approve of his methods, I suppose. We’re on a secret mission, but we detour to escort two ponies to Kalikori Village. We now know these Flesh Raiders are Force sensitive, yet we press on anyway. And you, being a Padawan, are allowed to carry not one, but two fully functional lightsabers.”

“Ah don’t mah’nd that last one too much,” Applejack replied with a smug smile.

“All the same, there’s something off about Master Lemep. I simply can’t figure out what.”

“Maybe he’s testing us?”

“Don’t be preposterous. This is far too dangerous to be a mere test.”

The sound of rushing water became too loud to continue conversation. To the left of the path was a roaring waterfall, pounding over the edge of a cliff and collapsing into the valley below. At the top of the waterfall was a rocky outcropping, shaped similarly to the lower jaw of a toothed predator, with its mouth open to catch water. Beyond the rocks was a dark cave, obstructed by the waterfall almost completely. Rarity would not have noticed it if she had not seen a pony walking out of the cave, breaking the flow of the cascading water as he stepped through the waterfall. Master Lemep’s head appeared from behind the water, and Rarity gasped.

His head turned toward them, though it was impossible to tell what he was looking at. After a brief pause, he leaped over the rocky outcropping and plunged into the waterfall, diving into the river below. When he resurfaced, Master Lemep swam to the near shore and jumped up to the path, a few meters away from Applejack and Rarity.

“Salutations,” he said simply, reaching for his hood.

“Hey, Master,” Applejack replied. “We were just talkin’ about’ch’a.”

“I’m aware.” His hoof grasped the hood on his head and pulled it off. He began wringing it rigorously, removing the water from the material in buckets. Rarity looked upon his naked face for the first time, and saw he had pale, empty eyes that stared into oblivion. They resembled pearls in both appearance and translucency. His head turned to Rarity and a smile crept across his lips. “Disturbed?”

“Only slightly,” Rarity admitted, turning away.

“I know you must have questions, like, where I’ve been, why I haven’t been helping you, and what I must be thinking to send a renegade Padawan and a stickler Knight on the most dangerous assignment of their lives. But they have to wait until we’ve resolved this crisis.” Master Lemep donned his hood again, satisfied with the lack of moisture in it, and began wringing his cape and clothes in a similar fashion. “If you can just have some faith in me for a little while longer, I promise to give you each what you want.”

Applejack looked over at Rarity with a puzzled expression, who returned the glance with equal confusion.

“Can I count on you both to see this through?” Master Lemep asked.

Both mares turned to him and nodded silently.

“Good. Hop to it, then.”

“You’re not coming with us?” Rarity asked.

“Not this time,” Master Lemep replied. He extended his hooves toward the waterfall and pulled on what seemed to be an invisible object. A few moments later, Applejack’s rental bike flew from the hidden cave behind the waterfall and careened toward Master Lemep, stopping inches from his hooves. It settled calmly onto the dirt path after he let go of his hold on it. “I’ll give you your bike back, though. I’m done with it.”

“Thanks, Ah guess,” Applejack said slowly.

Master Lemep nodded and trotted toward them. He passed them in silence and rounded the corner toward Kalikori Village. Rarity looked around the corner to see him leave, but he had disappeared off the path in the two seconds between him leaving and her looking. When she turned back to Applejack, she found her friend already sitting on the speeder bike, the engine started and her hooves on the handlebars.

“Applejack,” Rarity said as she moved to mount the bike, “if I could ask a favor-”

“Say no more,” Applejack interjected. “You wanna check out that hidden cave, don’t’cha?”

“Only briefly. I know how much you want to save your sister, but I have an uneasy feeling about what I just witnessed.”

“Yeah, me too.” Applejack felt Rarity’s hooves tighten around her waist, so she gunned the throttle and sped down the path. She made a sharp turn, accelerated back the way they had come, and soared over the side of the valley. Rarity’s terrified reflection stared back at her from the crystal waters below as the bike flew across the valley. Mesmerized by the glistening water, she kept her eyes locked on her reflection, as though she sought advice or comfort from her other half.

She didn’t have time to cry out before the rush of a waterfall smacking her in the face snapped Rarity back to reality. The bike twisted and shuddered as it came to a stop, soaking wet from its waterfall entry. Looking around, Rarity noticed they had landed inside the cave beyond the falling water. It was dark, cold and strangely breezy, but even in the dank conditions she could make out a path leading deeper in.

“What do we do now?” Rarity whispered.

“We go on, that’s what,” Applejack replied. The words echoed off the walls of the cave, reverberating down into the darkness. Both ponies ventured forward, igniting their lightsabers to use as lights. The green and blue glows illuminated their path a few meters ahead, but beyond that remain pitch black. For a few minutes, nothing changed; the darkness did not brighten, and the only audible sounds were those of Rarity and Applejack’s hooves treading on the stone floor. But finally, light broke from the dark ahead, and both mares charged forward to see where they had come out at.

They halted immediately when they noticed a cliff at the exit of the cave. Before them laid a grassy slope led down the side of the mountian, overlooking an enormous excavation sight. Seventy feet below them, at the foot of the mountain, was the remains of the temple of Kaleth. Ancient battle droids patrolled the ruins like sentinels, protecting the ancient Order of Force users that had once occupied the temple. Woodland creatures that ventured too close to the ruins doubled back at the sight of them.

“These must be th’ droids Master Lemep mentioned,” Applejack said, staring down at them intently.

“But one must wonder,” Rarity replied, “what Master Lemep was doing here. He did come from the cave we just left, did he not? And we saw no other path leading elsewhere.”

“Yeah, that’s rah’ght!” Applejack straightened her back and looked at Rarity with wide, confused eyes. “Wh’ah was he here? What was he doin’?”

“I’m not sure, but I don’t like it.”

“Well we ain’t gonna fah’nd out just a’sittin’ here. Let’s go down there.”

Applejack carefully slid her hind legs over the edge of the cliff and pushed off. She slid down the grassy hillside and landed gracefully at the base of the mountain, amid a group of patrolling battle droids. Their heads snapped to Applejack and surveyed her momentarily before turning toward her. Before they could train their rifles on her, she leaped at one and tackled it to the ground, whipping both of her lightsabers off her belt and decapitating it between them.

Rarity landed behind her a moment later, just in time to see another patrol coming toward the fight that was breaking out. She gracefully impaled the droid in front of her with her own saber, taking advantage of the distraction that Applejack was providing. It shuddered and collapsed to its knees.

Applejack swung wildly backwards, flipping through the air to dodge incoming fire, and landed beside a droid missing part of its torso. She looked at Rarity and smiled. “Ready t’ah get dirty?”

“Not if I can help it, no,” Rarity murmured, flourishing her saber in the air. The second patrol of droids quickly closed in on the two Jedi, with more approaching from behind them. “Don’t do anything foolish, and this shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Ah know, Ah know,” Applejack replied with an aloof hoof-flick. “This’ll be easy no matter how little Ah try.”

She leaped to the first droid in the incoming group and slammed her sabers down, severing the droid in half. As it split unceremoniously in two, the remaining three droids in the group fired on Applejack. She brought her sabers up and began parrying shots two at a time, dodging and ducking to avoid as much fire as she could. Rarity joined the fray a moment later by launching a boulder over Applejack’s head and slamming it into a pair of droids. The last droid, distracted by the sudden appearance of a large rock, could not react as a blue saber took its head off.

Blaster fire erupted across the ruins, catching Applejack and Rarity in a net of crossfire. They looked at each other nervously and ducked down, sprinting to cover. Breathless, the two Jedi huddled behind a slab of ornate stone as the sound of blasters firing echoed over the field.

“A few droids is one thing,” Rarity panted, “but there are hundreds of these! We can’t fight them all!”

“Speak f’er y’erself,” Applejack breathed anxiously, peering around her cover to count the incoming droids.

“We’re pinned down. We must take shelter somewhere, to defend a tighter position. If we get out from behind this corner, that is.” Rarity scanned the area for signs of better cover, and her eyes came to rest on a ridge further down the base of the mountain. She could make out the shadows of a cavern entrance, partially obstructed by foliage and ruined stone. “Over there.”

Applejack squinted to mentally judge the distance to the cave. “If’n we can make it there in one piece, which Ah reckon won’t sit well with these clankers.”

“Any ideas, then?”

“Run f’er it?”

“But,” Rarity said slowly, looking to the cave at the other end of the ruins. “doesn’t that contradict what you just said? We’ll surely get shot on the way-”

Applejack sat up and bolted from cover, diving behind another pillar briefly before sprinting ahead. Rarity sighed and stood up slowly. She dusted off her robes and galloped after Applejack, using her levitating saber to deflect blaster shots as she ran. Droids poured blaster fire on the two Jedi as they galloped toward the cave. They seemed to emerge from the ocean of crumbling stone, blending into the scenery and firing from all angles.

As she was running, a stray bolt clipped Applejack across the shoulder. The searing pain did not halt her gallop, but she cried out despite her bravery. Every step seemed to tear the burning cut wider and wider. Agony coursed through her body with every step. Even the stone around her began to melt and fade into darkness as she tripped forward and stumbled into the cavern just ahead of her, collapsing at the end of her sprint after barely arriving at her destination alive.

Rarity arrived at the cave merely seconds later, still batting away blaster fire with her saber. Noticing the wounded Applejack on the ground behind her, she reached out with the Force and grabbed hold of the loose stone pillars near the entrance of the cave. Using all her might, Rarity pulled two grand slabs of marble and slammed them before the mouth of the cavern, plunging the room into darkness and effectively sealing herself, and Applejack, inside.

Panting, Rarity moved her saber high above her head, sending a dim green glow across the cavern antechamber. A hallway of stone led deeper inside, barely visible in the darkness ahead. Applejack’s groans and grunts echoed deep into the cavern and ricocheted back at Rarity, giving the already dismal situation a more frightening atmosphere. Solid granite walls cast faded green shadows that danced across the cold ground where Applejack lay, writhing in agony.

Rarity pressed her hooves to Applejack’s smoldering shoulder and shut her eyes. Through the Force, she could feel her friend’s pain, the searing sensation spreading deeper into her skin. In a few minutes, the burn would start to blister, rendering the limb unsafe to use for quite some time. As fast a she could, Rarity channeled the Force into the wound, targeting the pain with soothing waves of healing. The mystical power subsided the pain agonizingly slowly, but even in the dark, Rarity could see the redness fading from the surrounding tissue.

“You’re going to be okay,” Rarity whispered in between two deep breaths.

Applejack groaned as she slowly regained consciousness, the pain still so great that her eyes remained glued shut. Rarity looked at her friend's pain-wrinkled face and sighed.

“I warned you that you might get shot,” she whispered. “How are you feeling?”

“Lah'ke Ah took a shot t'ah th' shoulder,” Applejack moaned.

“Yes, well, the pain will subside eventually. I would need access to medicine to eliminate it immediately. The wound is closing quickly, though, and I've managed to stop the swelling.”

“Wound m'ah hind end. Bucking oversized blister, is what it is.”

“It's more serious than that, Applejack,” Rarity said sternly, pressing her hoof against the wound to elicit a sting. Applejack hissed at the pain. “You will need to lie down for a little while, as you are still at risk for reopening it.”

Ominous howls and and crunching sounds reverberated down the cavern to where the two Jedi sat, causing them to drop silent. In the darkness ahead, two large glowing lights flickered on, and a hulking battle droid lumbered into the dim green light with a violent, stone-crunching step. Its thick metal legs ejected what looked like round spikes into the stone, rooting itself to the ground, and leveled an oversized mounted blaster at Rarity, who stared into the barrel with awe.

Applejack inhaled sharply and attempted to push Rarity's hoof away, but couldn't lift her own hoof to do so without wrenching it back in pain. Her shoulder flared and sent her prone once more in a howl of agony.

“Lie still, Applejack,” Rarity whispered as she stood up slowly, lowering her saber to her waiting hooves. She took a defensive stance and dared the droid to fire on her fellow Jedi with a determined glare.

“Rarity, y'all can't take that thing on alone,” Applejack hissed in pain. “Let me help.”

“Lie still, Applejack.”

Applejack's eyes widened. Rarity seemed more tense than she ever had, in an almost terrifying way. Nodding to herself, Applejack crossed her hooves slowly over her chest and locked her eyes on Rarity's saber, not wanting to miss what happened next.

The blaster whirred to life and fired seven shots in a straight line, one right after the other, in just under a second. Each shot deflected in another direction as it bounced off Rarity's unwavering saber. One redirected into the droid's chest plating, but did no visible damage. Rarity did not budge, her gaze fixed on the droid as she prepared for the next attack.

A large metal arm swung over the droid's head and slammed down on the two Jedi. Applejack closed her eyes and braced for death, but opened them a couple seconds later to see the arm still hovering a few feet away. It rested a few centimeters from Rarity's horn, which glowed with an iridescent blue light, similar to the light that enveloped the arm. Frustrated, the droid churned and whirred in an attempt to free its appendage, but found itself immobilized by the spell.

Rarity lifted her saber with the Force and thrust it down on the droid’s arm. The blade only cut about halfway through the metal before stopping, the momentum inadequate to slice wholly through the thick metal. Shocked, Rarity’s grip on the droid weakened momentarily, enough for it to jolt free and smash her into the rock wall behind her. Before she could recover, it leveled its gun at her and readied to fire.

A blue saber flew through the air and severed the droid’s gun arm just as the internal mechanisms sparked a shot. The destroyed blaster backfired and rocked the cave with a bright explosion, lighting the darkness with brilliant red fire. When the smoke settled, in the dim blue and green glow, Rarity could see a bent over Applejack trying desperately to stand with a smoldering droid standing over her, about to smash his remaining arm on her head.

Thinking quick, Rarity dove at the falling arm. She drove her saber through the cut she had formed earlier, slicing through the thick metal completely. The hunk of slag dropped to the ground, and the droid lurched forward, thrown off balance by its swing. Applejack was forcibly dragged by an unseen force to the side, just as the unbalanced robot toppled over and landed on a surprisingly peaceful looking Rarity.

Applejack gasped, breathing in a breathful of disturbed dust, which she coughed out almost instantly. As she struggled to get to her hooves, every horrible thought began running through her head. Was Rarity alive? How hurt was she? Would the pair of them die in this cave, wounded and unable to call for help? Even if they could move the pillars that sealed the cavern, hundreds of battle droids waited for them on the other side. Hopelessness engulfed over Applejack as she crawled on three legs, grabbing her shoulder with the fourth, trying desperately to reach Rarity.

Holding her second saber in her teeth as a light, Applejack pushed through her pain and sat beside the fallen droid. Its legs squirmed and wiggled as it desperately tried to stand up, but was unable with its lack of arms. She heaved up on the moving metal body, but succeeded in only flaring her wound at first. She kept trying despite the agony, a searing knife cutting into her very soul as she lifted with all her remaining strength. But at last, with every ounce of power she had, Applejack managed to shift the droid ever so slightly, eliciting a small squeal from underneath. Rarity pulled herself out from under the droid’s weight as Applejack’s might gave out, and with a thunderous crash, the hulking metal robot slammed to the ground.

Applejack brought her saber down on the droid’s head, permanently shutting it off. She turned to look at Rarity, who was fondling her hind leg. Her eyes were shut and tear-doused, and a agonized expression stretched her face horizontally. “Y’allrah’ght?”

“My leg,” Rarity squealed. “The droid landed on it. It’s going numb.”

“Can ya’ stand on it?”

“I... I can try.” Rarity slowly put her leg down on the ground and pushed up on it, but collapsed immediately after the attempt. She gritted her teeth and hissed in pain for a few seconds. “Ouch... It’s no good. I must remain still.”

“Well that’s just peachy,” Applejack grunted, still clutching her shoulder. “Now we’re both hurt. How’re we gonna get outta here?”

“This droid came from somewhere. We must go deeper into the cave.”

“Ah don’t lah’ke the sounds o’ that much.”

“It’s that, or we test our luck against the droids outside,” Rarity whispered, doing her best to maintain a calm expression despite her injury. “And if we’re both hurt like this-”

“Alrah’ght, Ah get it.” Applejack rested her head on the stone, tipping her hat backwards off her head. “Rarity? Ah’m sorry. This is m’ah fault, Ah reckon. Ah shoulda listened to ya’.”

“It’s alright, Applejack,” Rarity assured. “Worrying about it won’t help our situation any.”

“How long until we can get up and move, do ya’ reckon?”

“When I can, I will come inspect your shoulder again. But at the moment, I can’t feel my leg.”

“Don't worry about that, Jedi,” said a calm, unfamiliar voice. Rarity and Applejack both snapped their heads toward the source of the sound to see a robed pony step out of the darkness. He removed his hood and looked at them with a sincere smile. His brown mane laid tousled around his head, unkempt and shaggy. “I believe I can assist you there.”

“Who are ya'?” Applejack asked, letting go of her shoulder. Her hoof instinctively went to her saber, but the stranger lifted a hoof to show he was unarmed under his robe.

“I am nothing more than a visionary. A wandering disciple on a mission.” His raised hoof waved to the side, and instantly Applejack felt relief rush to her wound. She looked to Rarity in time to see her standing on her injured leg. “All better?”

“Yeah. Much appreciated, stranger,” Applejack replied.

Rarity cleared her throat and dabbed at her eyes, which still contained remnants of pain-induced tears. “Beg pardon, mister...”

“Call me Glass Bowl.”

“Glass Bowl. You said you were on a mission. What, pray tell, was your mission?”

“To save you, of course,” Glass Bowl said kindly, smiling in the dim light. “I know of your quest, and I knew you were in trouble. So here I am, to rescue you.”

“How'd you know about us?” Applejack asked pointedly.

“Your sisters told me about you.” From the darkness strode Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, as if summoned by Glass Bowl's words. Their eyes lit up and smiles broke across their lips, and neither filly could wait any longer to leap at their respective sisters. “They told me you'd come for them.”

Applejack caught Apple Bloom as she leaped to her, embracing her tightly with a relieved smile. Sweetie Belle stood at attention next to Rarity, but was pleasantly surprise when her big sister, also, picked her up and squeezed her.

“What happened to you, Sweetie Belle?” Rarity asked behind her joyful sniffles. “Did they hurt you?”

“No, sis,” Sweetie Belle replied in her high-pitched voice. “They fed us, and gave us a bed, and stuff. The Flesh Raiders were mean at first, but then Glass Bowl saved us.”

Rarity let go of Sweetie Belle to look at her sister, but slowly frowned at what she saw. The Padawan's braid in her main was missing, leaving a singed stump of hair where it once rested. Her brown robes were replaced with white ones, and at her side rested the hilt of a shoto blade, a shorter version of Rarity's own lightsaber. Her sister's smile was warm, but eerily similar to Glass Bowl's. Rarity's gaze drifted up to the stallion that had brought her sister back, and his welcoming smile was, sure enough, still plastered upon his face like an unmoving tattoo.

It didn't take Rarity long to put the pieces together, and she suddenly reared back onto her hind legs and aimed her saber at Glass Bowl, hovering it over Sweetie Belle's head. “You're the Master they talked about! You run the New Order!”

“Very astute,” Glass Bowl conceded from behind his smile. “I'm impressed.”

Applejack put a hoof in front of Apple Bloom, as if she was shielding her from Glass Bowl, but the filly slipped under her sister's foreleg and stood between them. She stared at Applejack with a concerned glare. “Sis, he's been real good t'ah us. Please don't hurt him.”

“Rarity, wait!” Sweetie Belle added. “I know you think he's evil, but hear what he has to say!”

“Sweetie Belle, get behind me,” Rarity said sternly, not lifting her attention from Glass Bowl. “I'm taking you back to the Jedi Temple.”

Instead of obeying her sister, Sweetie Belle sauntered over to Glass Bowl's side and stared Rarity, righteous defiance lighting up her eyes. Rarity finally glanced down at her, and almost immediately her continence fell.

“What have you done to her...”

“I've merely enlightened her,” Glass Bowl said evenly. “I wish you do the same for you.”

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The caverns behind the Ruins of Kaleth, Tython

“Enlightened?” Rarity repeated. She stomped her hoof on the stone ground indignantly. “What do you mean, enlightened? What have you done?”

“I helped her understand her destiny,” Glass Bowl replied calmly. “We of the New Order are made aware of the failures and the shortcomings of the Jedi, and develop new methods of both learning and teaching to supplement the old ways. Our new Order has evolved so rapidly and so efficiently, that the Jedi see us as a threat, and now, with our new allies, the Flesh Raiders, we plan to defend ourselves.”

“B’ah killin’ every stallion, mare an’ foal in the Temple?” Applejack countered angrily.

“Not if we can help it, of course,” Glass Bowl elaborated. “We have been very accepting with the Jedi that have wandered into our midst, lost and disgruntled with their masters. When we move in to do away with the old Order, we will spare any and all beings willing to listen to us. We are a reformation, and no reformation succeeds without reformers, after all.”

“You won’t ‘reform’ me,” Rarity grunted. “The Jedi are the guardians of peace. What you’re proposing goes against everything they stand for!”

“Am I? How does one obtain peace, Jedi Rarity?”

Rarity stayed silent, not because she had no answer, but only to hear Glass Bowl’s.

“Power. The ponies with the power make the rules. The Jedi have pacified themselves so brutally, that not only did they miss their window to rule the entire galaxy, but they cannot even defend it anymore. The Sith bear down on the Republic from all sides, and the Empire is stronger than ever. If we don’t act, the Empire will have the power. The New Order will usurp the Jedi, refine its strength, and bring a lasting peace to this war-torn galaxy.”

“That ain’t peace,” Applejack protested. “That’s just causin’ more problems!”

“You would be driving ponies to more conflict only to continue an existing one,” Rarity added.

“If that’s what it takes for peace, then is it not worth it?”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shifted uncomfortably where they stood. Rarity saw them moving out of the corner of her eye, and smiled. “Causing more wanton destruction and death is peace?”

“Only those who refuse to be enlightened need to suffer,” Glass Bowl said quickly. His right eye twitched slightly. “How many times must this be explained to you?”

“Only as many times as it takes for it to sound reasonable, of course,” Rarity fired back. “Because as it stands, you sound more like a Sith than a reformer. What makes you different than them?”

“When you put it that way, perhaps nothing,” he admitted, “but on the other side of the issue, my Order preaches acceptance and the sharing of knowledge, where the Sith exist in a vicious cycle of power mongering and monumental falls. Ritual suicide by selfish gain, if you will.”

“Along that same line, the Sith promise power to those who can take it. They want power for power’s sake, and anypony with power will fall eventually. This is why the Jedi exercise their power for the good of all.”

“And this is why they fail, ultimately. At the very least, the Sith have the power to retain their strength.”

“That,” Applejack interjected, “sounded an awful lot lah’ke the Sith code to me.”

Glass Bowl stopped. His hoof lingered in the air for a moment before he nodded and took a step back. “It would seem as though you cannot be convinced.”

“You’re a Sith, aren’tcha?” Applejack prodded with a devious smirk.

“Of course not!” Glass Bowl yelled. His normally calm expression melted into an angry frown. “I do not aim to deceive my followers! The Jedi are weak, and must be culled and refined to defend the peace!”

“Ain’t culled a fancy word for kill?”

Apple Bloom gulped at the word ‘kill’. She put a hoof around Applejack’s leg and pulled herself closer to her sister. Sweetie Belle likewise moved to her sister’s side and hid herself from Glass Bowl’s vision.

“Ya’ mean, yer gonna kill the Jedi?” Apple Bloom asked shakily.

“I will do away with what makes them weak, little one,” Glass Bowl replied, trying to calm himself. “No harm will come to those who join us, much like how I took care of you two. Remember?”

“But what if I resist?” Rarity said plainly. She lifted her chin and looked down on Glass Bowl, despite him being slightly taller than her. “Will you kill me?”

“This is the thanks I get for feeding your sisters?” Glass Bowl muttered. “You put me in a philosophical corner and label me a villain?”

“Answer my question,” Rarity demanded.

“All will come to see our ways, one way or another.”

“You’re dancing around the question, sir.”

“Perhaps!”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened in shock. She had not spent much time with the New Order, but she knew that killing her sister was not something she wanted to support. Defiant, Sweetie Belle stood beside her sister and raised her sabre hilt, igniting it into a short, purple blade. Apple Bloom likewise stood beside her sister, an orange sabre lifted to meet Glass Bowl’s gaze.

“So, it’s betrayal then,” he muttered.

“In the name of the Jedi Order,” Rarity recited, fixing her sabre on Glass Bowl, “I order you to surrender your weapons and submit to questioning. You are under arrest.”

“I cannot surrender. I have a reformation to command.”

Glass Bowl turned around suddenly and leaped over the fallen battle droid behind him, disappearing into the darkness. The sound of retreating hoofsteps echoed off the cavern walls as he vanished deeper into the cave. The Jedi lowered their sabers and sighed a collective sigh of relief. Apple Bloom snuggled closer to Applejack affectionately, and Sweetie Belle embraced Rarity as tight as she could.

“I’m sorry Rarity,” Sweetie Belle said slowly. “I didn’t know any of that stuff about him.”

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom added. “He only said he was lookin’ t’ah establish peace and whatnot.”

“We don’t want you to die,” Sweetie concluded, shifting her hoof around on the ground.

Rarity looked to Applejack, who nodded to her with a smile. “Of course I forgive you, Sweetie Belle. And I love you, and I’m overjoyed to see you again. We can discuss what happened later, but right now, we need to get out of this cave.”

“Well, didn’tcha come in that’a’way?” Apple Bloom asked, pointing to the blocked entrance behind them. “Let’s just go that way.”

“We can’t, sugarcube,” Applejack said quickly, cutting Rarity off before she could respond. “There’s a whole heap’a droids out there, and Ah ain’t riskin’ y’all’s lives by goin’ out there.”

Rarity nodded slowly, impressed with Applejack’s decision. “Do you two, per chance, know another way out?”

“Only the way we came in,” Sweetie Belle replied cheerfully. “We can get you there. But the door leading out is guarded, and you need a code to open it.”

“I believe we know where we can obtain such a code,” Rarity said, remembering what Dust Bowl had told them the previous night. “Is there an archive room nearby? Some old computer from the previous Order?”

“Hey, ain’t there a computer room further down?” Apple Bloom asked, looking at Sweetie Belle. “We passed it on the way here, rah’ght?”

Sweetie Belle nodded excitedly, and Rarity smiled.

“Then let’s get out of here,” Rarity said, taking Sweetie Belle’s hoof in hers. “Together.”

-~-~-~-~-~

The cave seemed to go deeper, but Rarity paused after a few minutes of walking when she spotted a side passage to her left. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom had led her and Applejack through the cavern thus far, but they, too, stopped at the crossroads.

“This way leads to that fancy computer room,” Apple Bloom said, motioning to her left.

“And that way leads to the door outside!” Sweetie Belle added, pointing forward.

“Very well,” Rarity said with a nod. “Applejack? You and your sister wait here and make sure nopony tries to come through. I’ll go into the computer room and try to dig up the access codes.”

“You can count on me,” Applejack replied with a salute. Her sister mimicked the motion.

“Sweetie Belle, come with me, please.”

“Okay!”

The two sisters stepped into a taller chamber, the height of which was too tall for the light of their sabers to reach. On the far end of the room sat a decrepit old console, made of technology that appeared to be several thousand years old. It was falling apart, covered in cave moss and fungi, and rocks had collapsed around it, as though the cave had tried to swallow it whole. As the ponies approached it, a small holographic pony appeared on the dash of the console. It waited patiently for them to get close enough to interact with the computer, then nodded to them.

“Hello,” it said in a calm, male voice. “I am the last keeper of the records of the Je’daii Order, A.I. 3572. All files intact, A.I. suffering at 98% corruption. How may I assist you?”

“98% corruption?” Rarity echoed.

“Yes,” replied the A.I. “I am in disrepair. Despite many years of spare A.I., I am the last of the keepers. Every A.I. before me has gone to the brink of rampancy, only to be substituted by the next. All, for the purpose of retaining the precious records of the Je’daii. How may I be of assistance?”

“We need the code to open the door,” Sweetie Belle chirped, smiling at the A.I.

“I can provide the instructions needed to open the door.” The A.I. waved a hoof, and a hologram of the door materialized beside it. “Simply press one’s hoof against the door and apply a small amount of blood. The runic stones will respond, if the blood belongs to one strong in the Force.”

Before Rarity could retort, the A.I.’s form flickered momentarily, glitching into a strange shape before reforming almost immediately.

“Corruption at 99%. I have no more than an hour of life left before rampancy begins, and I must shut down the system. If I submit to rampancy, the data will become warped and reshaped, until the truth is lost. I must shut down, or risk the world discovering nothing but lies about my Order.”

“Can nothing be preserved?” Rarity asked with half-hearted concern. “Surely you can copy something down.”

“This system lacks the capability. Millenia of damage and decay have left all but the storage units intact, and those are falling into oblivion as well. All systems have been shut down in an effort to preserve what is left of the data. Neither I nor the system have the power to recover everything.”

“You’re dying...” Sweetie Belle said glumly, her smile fading.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do,” Rarity said, giving her sister a nervous glance. “Remember, we need to get out of here quickly.”

“But Rarity, he’s dying!”

“He’s an A.I., Sweetie.”

“Do not mourn me, child,” the A.I. said reassuringly, his voice beginning to crackle and warp with rampancy. “I am not worth the time it takes you to cry.”

“Can’t we do anything, Rarity?” Sweetie Belle pleaded, staring misty-eyed at her sister.

Rarity looked to the A.I., who flickered uneasily every few seconds. “What about your archives? Can we extract them manually?”

“Removal of the system memory will shut down the system,” the A.I. replied stoically. “This would accomplish the same end as shutting down manually and waiting for somepony to extract them later. I would prefer you take them now than resort to a total shutdown. I would at least die with the reassurance that our legacy lives on in its pure state.”

“And what of you?” Rarity asked.

“With either solution, my death is inevitab-wefwqqwg.” The A.I. shuddered, then seemed to recollect itself. “-inevitable. I have no regrets, other than that I could not protect all of our secrets.”

“What other secrets?” Sweetie Belle interjected. “We can help!”

“My databanks are full of lost and corrupted data. Some of that data may have been useful. All that remains is what little uncorrupted information has survived, and a trinket that belonged to an old master of our Order. It was a saber, much like the one you both wield, but in it was stored a map leading to our vast storage of datacrons, which were kept secret from me and my predecessors. One could search the entire galaxy, but their efforts to find these secrets would be in vain without the map.”

“The lightsaber Master Lemep spoke of,” Rarity said in awe. “It’s here?”

“It is contained here, in my system. It has been read by few ponies since our Order fell.”

“Can we take it?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“I-” The A.I. shuddered and flickered out of existence. It appeared a moment later, speaking in another language that Rarity didn’t understand. “Ghatrefa isjetaig efsa-... I... I do not have the power to unlock the saber any longer. The program has been corrupted. I would need to be directly inserted into the safe, and because of my integration with the system, if I were to be removed from this system, all data would become corrupted and lost.”

“So we could take the saber,” Rarity surmised, “but we would lose all the files. And if we take the files, the saber is locked away forever. In either case, you die.”

“In short, yes.”

Sweetie Belle looked to Rarity again, this time concern dominating her expression. “Rarity, what do we do?”

Rarity pondered for a moment about the choice Sweetie Belle had posed to her. In her thoughts, the words of Master Lemep came back to her. She remembered what he said about the saber, and how it was what the droids guarded. How it should never be removed from its location, or one risked the droids going berserk.

“We take the databanks,” Rarity said slowly, as though she was still unsure of her decision. “At the very least, we don’t get killed by the droids on our way home this way.”

“Then it shall be done,” the A.I. said with a nod. “Simply remove the plate covering my system. The large block you see is my knowledge stores. When you remove it, I will shut down.”

“Rarity, wait!” Sweetie Belle squealed. “What about him?”

“Please, child, I am not worth your pity,” the A.I. said in a sympathetic tone. For the first time since the computer had booted, the A.I. spoke with emotion in his voice. The holographic figure stooped to one knee and looked Sweetie Belle in the eye. “Cherish our knowledge. Help our legacy live on. That is all I ask of you.”

“O-... okay...”

Rarity nodded back and pulled away the computer terminal’s plating. Before her sister could react, she wrapped her hooves around a giant metal block and tugged on it gently. The hard drive pulled free, and the system lost power at the moment it disconnected. Sweetie Belle sniffled as the A.I. faded away, and Rarity put a hoof on her back to try and console her sister.

“Sweetie, he was a machine,” Rarity said quietly. “Why do you care so much about him?”

“D-didn’t the Jedi teach us all life is p-precious?”

“Well, sure.”

“H-he had a brain, like us. I wonder if dying hurt...”

A lump formed in Rarity’s throat. It hadn’t occurred to her that A.I. might be scared to death like sentients were. She pulled Sweetie Belle closer and hugged her tightly. “I’m sure it was painless, Sweetie Belle. And I’m sure he’s in a better place.”

“R-really sure?”

“Sure I’m sure.” Then she released Sweetie Belle and placed the data unit on her back. “Now, carry this for me, dear.”

The unit was light, but not much smaller than the total area of Sweetie Belle’s back, so the little filly struggled to maintain balance as she followed her sister out of the room. Applejack was showing Apple Bloom her two lightsabers when Rarity returned.

“Anything exciting happen over here?” she asked.

“Nah,” Applejack replied. “Some rumblin’ further down, but we didn’t see nothin’.”

“Rumbling?” Rarity echoed.

“Yeah, lah’ke, guttural growls an’ stuff. Prob’ly some cave bats or somethin’.”

“Or Flesh Raiders,” Rarity whispered, mortified.

Applejack’s eyes widened slowly. “Oh, horseapples.”

Both mares bolted into the darkness, their younger sisters trailing after them as fast as they could. Neither Sweetie Belle nor Apple Bloom understood what was going on, but their sisters urged them on in frenzied voices. With all the speed their legs would allow, the four ponies reached a large, ornate stone doorway. Loud growls emanated from the many passageways behind them, getting louder with every passing second.

“How do we open this thing?” Applejack asked nervously, looking to Rarity.

“Oh, right.” She quickly moved her hoof up to her mouth and paused. Then, as if having a second thought, she lowered it again. “Ehh. You just need to smear a little blood on it.”

“S’that all?” Applejack shoved her hoof into her mouth and bit down on it, tearing a small chunk of hair away. A drop of crimson blood bubbled up to the top of the wound. As she dragged it across the stone, lights began to shine on it, and slowly the stone started to roll away. Bright light burst into the cave from outside, blinding the four ponies, but they rushed headlong the sunlight regardless.

Once Rarity’s vision started to refocus, she noticed something in front of her just in time to topple it over. As she fell forward, she noticed she had slammed into a patrol droid. The ruins of Kaleth surrounded her again, and several leagues of battle droids were turning their attention to her as she struggled to get back up. They leveled their rifles with her and prepared to open fire, but the sound of furious roaring brought all movement to a standstill.

Behind Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, a small army of Flesh Raiders poured out of the cave and into the sunlight. They brandished their rifles and swords at the sight of the ponies, but seemed to stop when the droids took notice of them. Both armies paused while Rarity, Applejack, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom huddled together between them in fear.

One battle droid turned its head toward the Jedi and pointed a mechanical finger at the metal case on Sweetie Belle’s back. “A.I. 3572 has entrusted you with our knowledge?”

Sweetie Belle nodded carefully.

The droid turned to its fellows spoke to them in what sounded like binary. Four droids moved in front of the ponies and leveled their guns on the Flesh Raiders, who took the sign as a challenge. The two armies charged forward on each other, the droids moving past the Jedi in an effort to protect their Order’s property.

“Run,” the first droid said in metal-toned basic. “Protect our Order’s legacy.”

Then it lifted its rifle and fired into the crowd of Flesh Raiders, who were starting to break the droids’ lines. Despite the sheer number of droids and their organized defense, the brute strength and rageborn resilience of the aliens was too much to hold back forever. Rarity nodded and pulled Sweetie Belle by the robe, throwing her onto her back and galloping in the opposite direction. Applejack broke from the droids a moment later, carrying Apple Bloom in her teeth.

The sounds of battle -- blaster fire, droids being broken apart, pained scream from the Flesh Raiders -- engulfed the ruins as Rarity and Applejack made it to the base of the mountain they had first come from. They climbed the dirt paths to the summit, dodging stray shots as they climbed, and eventually ducked into the cave where they had parked their speeder bike. Hopping onto it, Applejack revved the engines while Rarity secured the two fillies between her and the driver, and without wasting a second, they sped away from Kaleth.

-~-~-~-~-~

A speeder bike zipped through the waterfall and hovered over the river toward the path that ran alongside it. As it landed on the path, the riders stopped to observe the two ponies that had witnessed the spectacle. None other than Dust Bowl and Fluttershy sat on the path, their hooves resting lazily over the side. They stared wide-eyed at Rarity and Applejack, silenced by awe.

“Howdy,” Applejack said with an awkward nod.

“Greetings,” Dust Bowl replied. His gaze drifted to the fillies on the bike, and a smile broke across his lips. “So you rescued them, I see. Hello, children.”

“Dust Bowl!” Sweetie Belle cried. She jumped off the bike and tacked the stallion, embracing him in a hug. “You’re alright!”

“Of course,” he said casually. “Your sisters spared me when I stayed behind that night.”

“Yer dad said they’d killed ya’,” Apple Bloom added as she stepped off the bike. “He said they’d found yer body in th’ cave. Ah didn’t wanna believe it, cuz m’ah sister would never do somethin’ lah’ke that, but he sounded so convincin’, and...”

Applejack shifted uncomfortably in her seat, eliciting a sympathetic pat on the shoulder from Rarity.

“My father would tell you that,” Dust Bowl murmured, his eyes shifting to his hooves. “He always had a silver tongue, of sorts.”

“Silver tongue?” Rarity said quizzically. She raised an eyebrow and hopped off the bike to stand behind Dust Bowl. “You father isn’t-”

“Glass Bowl. The master of the New Order movement. You’ve met him, I take it?”

“Ah reckon we’ve made acquaintance with that sister-snatchin’ varmint,” Applejack growled as she shut the bike off. “That monster’s yer daddy?”

“Unfortunately,” Dust Bowl said, his gaze still fixed on his hooves. “And if the Jedi have invaded his lair like you two just did, it’s safe to assume he’s going to accelerate his plans.”

“Plans? What plans?” Applejack put a firm hoof on his shoulder, but halted herself from jerking him with a restrained grimace. “What’s gonna happen?”

“He’s going to attack,” Dust Bowl murmured. “The Flesh Raiders, the adepts of the New Order... it will be a bloodbath, and not even the citizen of Kalikori will be safe. For all his preaching about peace and sparing the innocent, my father has many violent plans. Only now, with the time I’ve had away from him to reflect, can I see in hindsight what he intends to do.”

“What? What will he do?”

Dust Bowl turned to Applejack and gently removed her hoof from his shoulder. “He’s going to burn the Jedi Temple, and every pony in it. He’s going to destroy the Jedi.”

Author's Note

As always, I'm looking for grammar fixes and inconsistencies. Help me make this story the best it can be!

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jedi Temple, Tython

After a good night’s sleep, Rarity awoke early the next morning and slipped off her sleeping mask. The sun was rising beyond her window, barely poking over the horizon, still casting its sunrise oranges and reds over the predominantly green landscape of Tython. Sweetie Belle was sprawled over the bunk beside Rarity’s, snoring quietly and dressed once again in normal Jedi attire rather than the white robes of the New Order. Rarity smiled down on her little sister and kissed her gently on the forehead before moving to the window.

Out her window, she could see a balcony on the back of the Temple. High above the grounds protruded a watching platform with ornate marble railings, and on that balcony stood Master Lemep. Rarity barely recognized him in the clothes he was wearing; in stark contrast to the black, flowing robes he normally wore, he had on a brown jumpsuit with several pockets, and sported a white leather vest over it. The color configuration elicited an impressed smile from Rarity, who quickly dressed in her robes and cantered out of her room, toward the balcony.

When she arrived, Master Lemep turned to greet her. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, Master.”

“That was good thinking yesterday, not trying to fight with Glass Bowl. He was much stronger in the Force than you, as much as I hate to admit it.”

“It was Applejack’s idea,” Rarity confessed. “She thought I could reason with him.”

“And likewise, it was wise of her to be ready to fight,” Master Lemep added. “She knew it would not end peacefully, if your encounter in the cave was any indication to Glass Bowl’s intention.”

“Master... I have questions.”

“Call me Atuna.”

Rarity blinked.

Atuna sat on a marble bench and leaned against the balcony, patting the seat beside him. “Sit with me, this might take a while.”

Rarity sat down beside Atuna and sighed. “So much of the last two days still doesn’t make sense, and, if I may be so blunt, I feel as though you are responsible for a lot of it, darling.”

“I am, indirectly,” Atuna replied. “After the encounter yesterday with Glass Bowl, I feel as though I owe you and Applejack both an apology. I knew what I was getting you both into, but I underestimated the opposition, and the lengths to which they were willing to go for his revolution. He was far more dangerous than I had originally thought. Far more delusional.”

“This was all a test, you said,” Rarity continued. “Can you elaborate more?”

“I believe I explained it sufficiently before. I’m preparing you and Applejack for your destinies. I foresee you both being splendid Jedi, traveling the galaxy, defeating evil wherever it lurks, and using your unique skills to complement one another. Applejack’s direct, frontal approached to problems and your tempered, nuanced rule-hugging will bounce off one another when they need to. For example, a group of thugs that cannot be reasoned with will not be something you could handle efficiently, whereas Applejack may not know how to interact with an edgy diplomat.

“However, I designed this mission so that I can expose you both to the opposite ends of the spectrum. I hope that you, Rarity, have learned to see the benefit to rule-bending, and that you can seek knowledge by any means when it is in the best interest of your convictions. Applejack has demonstrated great strides in learning the value of patience and deliberation rather than blind action, and has also learned to observe the bigger picture instead of focusing on herself.”

“Alright, I understand that much,” Rarity said thoughtfully, “but how involved are you in what happened? What actions have you done to make this work in your favor?”

“Besides what I already told you, about Callef and the shuttle schedules, nothing. Everything fell into place as I foresaw, and you two played your parts to the letter.”

“You keep referencing to foreseeing things.”

“I’m a prolific predictor of the future. Centuries of study and practice have made me strong in the Force, and often, it grants me limited foresight on events to come. Many powerful Jedi can accomplish such feats, so it is not unheard of to have my power.”

“Centuries?” Rarity echoed. “How old are you?”

For the first time since Rarity had met him, Atuna seemed to frown. “Too old.”

“Too old?”

“I am not young, despite my appearance. Normally my race live about the expected lifespan of a normal pony, but a science experiment gone wrong has frozen me in time. I’ve searched for a long time for a way to reverse it... I want to grow old, to be an adult in body, not just in mind.”

“You’re... you’re immortal?” Rarity stammered.

“Not immortal,” Atuna corrected, his frown increasing. He sighed slowly. “Just... aging very very slowly. I’m a few years over two hundred. According to my estimations, I’ll live to be several thousand years old before I decrepify.”

“You sound like that’s a bad thing, darling! Ponies would give anything to live so long.”

“I like how you believe me at my word,” Atuna replied with a grim smirk. “I never got to experience growing up, is the problem. I grew into an adult mentally, but not physically. It has dramatically changed who I am. I used to be fun, loose, and generous with my time and money. Now I’m uptight, cold, calculating... put-off-ish. Worst of all, I have to keep it a secret, which makes me seem elusive and, ultimately, untrustworthy. It’s as you said before: you’re not sure you can trust me. Nopony does, not fully. All of this is a side effect of that stupid experiment.”

“So you’re an old stallion who exists in the shell of a younger pony.”

“Yes,” Atuna said with a nod. “And... the reason it frustrates me so much is... layered. I never experienced a middle age. I remained young forever, in many ways. I’ve graduated college seven times, and obtained several degrees in history, science, mathematics and linguistics. I’ve been to two different Jedi academies and graduated from them both. I’ve had many masters, and I have apprenticed many students. But as a side effect to my condition, I... I still lust after mares, I desire to have a family, and get married someday... I’ve never had a first kiss, or been on a date, or even had a fillyfriend... I still love to play games, and make jokes at the expense of others. I never truly grew up. I’m still... in a lot of ways, I’m still a child.”

Rarity’s shoulders sagged. “That’s... so sad.”

“And sometimes I feel like everything will get better, and that I can find love someday,” Atuna said quickly, a small flicker of hope in his voice. The hope faded almost instantly. “But then I remember my ties to the Jedi... how I maintain them out of sheer drive to learn. That is all I am, Rarity. I am a knowledge seeker, one who blindly pursues wisdom and power. One of the perks to my long life is I can gather more knowledge than a typical pony over a longer period of time. My dream is to obtain as much as I can, store it somewhere safe, and share it with those who would come seeking to learn, as I did. Like a galactic librarian, of sorts. And along the way, I get to make the galaxy a safer place, and help those who need it. Seems like a decent gig, yes?”

“So that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” Rarity asked, putting a hoof on Atuna’s. He looked at it with a surprised frown. “You came to find the lost archives of the Je’daii.”

“Yes, and when I found them, I locked myself in the chamber where the datacrons rested and spent three whole days listening to the words of the ancient masters. I didn’t eat or sleep. When I emerged, I was a mess, but I was a smarter, wiser individual for it.”

“And how long ago was that?”

“A month ago.”

“Then why did you stay so long after that?”

Atuna put his other hoof on Rarity’s. “As corny as it sounds, I stayed for you. You, and Applejack. The Force has directed me to you so that I can prepare you for your destinies. I waited, patiently, for the time to come, and when it did, I acted on the will of the Force. I gave Callef the shuttle schedule and he brought it to Glass Bowl, who directed the kidnapping of your sisters. I showed you and Applejack the way, and you ventured alone, succeeded through determination and skill, adapting and changing as you went.”

“All this for me and Applejack?” Rarity asked.

“To seek wisdom, one must act in accordance with the Force, for it is the true source of knowledge. If I am to attain my dream, I must allow it to direct my actions from time to time. Sometimes, that means deviating from what I want.”

“Does the Force ever tell you not to marry? Not to have kids, or live the life you never had?”

Atuna stopped. His mouth hung open for a moment, and he pondered the question. After a moment of silence, he lifted his hood away from his eyes and stared blankly at the marble floor. The sparkling white pearls shone in the orange sunlight, reflecting back on Rarity’s face like beautiful gems.

“I don't know anymore,” Atuna replied in a murmur. “The more I think about it, the less I enjoy being a Jedi. Rules are meant to be broken sometimes, and celibacy was never my thing.”

“Well, I certainly hope you find the love you seek,” Rarity said with a smile. “Whether it be in books, or with a girl, or in playing extravagantly elaborate pranks on unsuspecting Jedi Knights.”

Atuna laughed curtly, but made no immediate reply. Instead, he looked down at his hooves and folded them cautiously, as though he was unsure about what he was thinking. “I... I see a possible future where I do find the love I desire.”

“And?”

“It’s with you, Rarity.”

Rarity blinked. “Me? Darling, I’m-”

“-a Jedi, and you have no desire to associate with the megalomaniac that nearly got you, your best friend, and your respective sisters killed on more than one occasion any longer than you have to. I know.”

“I wasn’t... going to say...I just don’t think we could make it work, darling. You’re a bit older than me, and we have such different outlooks on life.”

Atuna shook his head and smiled ruefully. “The future is always in motion. I cannot say with any level of certainty what will happen tomorrow, or next week, or in either of our respective futures.”

“I’ve never really thought about love before,” Rarity admitted. “I suppose the Jedi Code has always lingered over those thoughts, like a wall.”

Atuna stood up abruptly and moved toward the door leading back into the Temple.

“Wait!” Rarity called out, standing up. “Where are you going?”

“Not sure,” Atuna said evenly. “The Force has directed me to Cowlick Station, for whatever reason. I’m leaving today, with no real intent to return. I’ve resigned my position on the Council.”

Rarity moved to Atuna’s side and looked him over. “Then I’ll never see you again?”

“Who knows. You’re off to bigger and better things, and I will continue my pursuit for knowledge. It is impossible to say if our paths will cross again.”

Atuna felt a hoof grab his right cheek that slowly pulled his face toward Rarity. When he turned to look at her, he felt her lips press against his with sweet gentility. His eyes fluttered closed and his mind went fuzzy, but within a moment the sensation ended. Rarity wiped her mouth off against her robes and cleared her throat, and Atuna stood as still a stone, dazed by the sudden experience.

“That,” Rarity said quietly, “was so you can say you’ve at least had a first kiss.”

Atuna blinked.

-~-~-~-~-~

Later that morning, Sweetie Belle and Rarity made their way down to the medical ward to visit Dust Bowl and Fluttershy. Ponies moved through the hallways of the Temple with unusual infrequency, but the few Rarity saw stopped to congratulate her on her accomplishments and thanked her for her good work. The news of Rarity and Applejack’s secret mission had spread through the Temple, and now everypony was hailing them as saviors.

“Wow, sis,” Sweetie Belle said cheerfully. “You’re like a superstar now!”

“Oh Sweetie, I-... You really think so?”

“Sure! Everypony’s really really impressed with how you and Applejack singlehoofedly disassembled the New Order thingy. You’re-” Sweetie Belle face-planted into a yellow pegasus pony wandering around the halls. Fluttershy stepped back and looked down at her hooves apologetically.

“Oh, I’m sorry...” she murmured. “I should’ve been watching where I was going.”

“No no, Fluttershy, darling, it’s alright!” Rarity interjected quickly. “Sweetie Belle, apologize this instant!”

“Sorry Fluttershy.”

“It’s okay,” she replied sweetly.

“It’s good to see you, darling,” Rarity said with a smile. “How is Dust Bowl?”

“Not too good,” Fluttershy admitted. “He’s in a lot of grief. His wounds are healed, but his heart has been torn by his father’s words. Back in the village, when he mentioned how his mother would feel... well, Glass Bowl actually killed Dust Bowl’s mother when he was young.”

Rarity’s ears flattened. “Oh no...”

“Apparently, Dust Bowl’s parents were both villagers in Kalikori,” Fluttershy continued. “In a fit of rage, Glass Bowl murdered his wife, and he was exiled from the community for domestic violence charges. He came back the night after and kidnapped Dust Bowl, and raised him out in the wilderness to be one of his disciples. He didn’t find out until yesterday, when the Matriarch showed him the obituary from all those years ago.”

“How tragic,” Rarity said mournfully. “I hope he finds peace in the Force...”

“He... he seems to do better when I’m around,” Fluttershy murmured with a blush. “I think I might stay with him for a little while longer. Just to help him recover.”

“That sounds like a splendid idea.”

Fluttershy nodded and smiled at Rarity. “Thank you, Master Jedi. For everything.”

“Please, darling, call me Rarity.”

“Oh, I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to call you the wrong name. I hope you’re not mad at me. Please forgive me. You will forgive me, won’t you?”

Before Rarity could reply, Applejack galloped down the hallway and ran straight up to Rarity and Fluttershy, panting heavily. “Rarity... Ah... gotta...”

“Yes?”

“Master... Atuna needs... us rah’ght... away.”

“Whatever for?”

Applejack regained her composure and took a deep breath. “He didn’t say. All he said was ‘Go fetch Rarity an’ bring her quick as a cricket.’”

“Yes, I’m sure that’s exactly how he said it,” Rarity replied with a snicker. Fluttershy giggled under her breath at the remark. “Lead on, Applejack. I’ll follow you.”

Applejack stopped and smiled at the thought of being a leader, but nodded a second later and motioned for Rarity to follow her downstairs.

-~-~-~-~-~

Every pony in the Temple was gathered into the central chamber once again. This time, the Council members were circled around the center instead of up on the overhanging balcony, and everypony was waiting for two more Jedi to arrive instead of listening to a speech. As Applejack and Rarity entered, applause broke out through the crowd, and cheers of delight echoed over the chamber.

“What’s all this?” Applejack asked, leaning closer to Rarity.

“No idea,” Rarity replied, taking a wary step forward.

The throng parted to make a path for the two heroes that had saved Tython, but every so often a pony would step from the crowd and attempt to shake hooves with Rarity and Applejack. Master Satele stood in the center of the room and motioned them closer, and upon arrival, pulled them to her side.

“My fellow Jedi,” she began, “these two mares have gone above and beyond our call to serve the Galaxy in the last two days, successfully rescuing fallen and lost members of our order, dismantling a corrupt organization, and bringing peace to our beloved homeworld.”

The crowd cheered, but fell quiet when Satele held up her hoof to silence them.

“Because of their efforts, we have begun negotiations with the Matriarch of Kalikori Village in an attempt to win legal settlement rights with the Republic. Tython shall no longer be the world the Jedi claim as home, but rather, we will share it with the ponies we’ve sworn to protect. No more isolation, and no more hiding behind the Republic. The Jedi have returned to the Galaxy.

“Moreover, the Flesh Raiders have been pacified and pushed back to their homelands beyond the Tythos Ridge. Our ecologists and xenobiologists have determined that the New Order’s hold over the clans has been broken, and the aliens are back to where they belong. The ponies among their ranks have been treated and are being held until such a time when judgment can be passed. We hope that every single one decides to join our numbers, and we’ve already succeeded on a number of counts. More reason to celebrate, right everypony?”

Another round of applause and gleeful cheers rang out.

“For their efforts, Padawan Applejack and Knight Rarity shall be commended.” Master Satele moved over to Master Ohrum, who had in her hooves a box with two silver medallions inside. Satele took one and placed it over Rarity’s head. “Knight Rarity, I pronounce you an honorary member of the Tython Jedi Council. You have displayed wisdom, clarity, and a thirst for pure knowledge, and you shall be elevated to the position of Jedi Master.”

Rarity’s eyes widened, and a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “This is such an honor. Thank you, Master, thank you! Thank you!!” She started giggling shrilly.

Master Satele looked to Applejack and frowned. “I’m afraid, however, all I can do for you, Padawan, is give you my thanks and a shiny medal.”

“What?” Applejack replied, tilting her head to the side. Her left eyebrow shot up in confusion.

“You’ve shown great improvement in the last couple days,” Master Satele elaborated, “but we feel as though you still have a ways to go in your training. Now that your training is over and your previous Master is departing, we wish to have your lightsabers returned to us.”

She held out her hoof expectantly and waited for Applejack to surrender the lightsabers. The crowd fell silent, waiting with bated breath to see what happened next. A tear formed in Applejack’s eye, and she looked to Rarity for help. She found none, instead finding her friend as confused and sad as she was. Reluctantly, Applejack nodded and, with mournful, closed eyes and a defeated frown, picked the sabers off her belt and dropped them wordlessly into Satele’s hoof.

Master Satele smiled. “Congratulations, Padawan Applejack. The Council recognizes you as a full-fledged member of our Order. You will be elevated to the status of a Jedi Knight, a vanguard of our Order, a defender of the peace, and a seeker of justice in a harsh and unforgiving galaxy. May the Force be with you, Knight Applejack.”

The moment she heard the word ‘Knight’, Applejack instantly perked up and shot a toothy grin at Rarity. Her friend winked back, but said nothing.

“These are yours to keep,” Master Satele continued, returning the sabers with a playful smile. “We only wanted to judge our decision on your reaction, and we believe this experience has shaped you for the better. You’ve passed our test, and you are a Padawan no longer.”

“Thank ya kindly, ma’am,’ Applejack choked, tears starting to roll down her eyes.

“You both shall travel to Coruscant as soon as we are able to arrange transport, so your names can be added to the Republic records personally. Then we have mercy missions and assignments for you to finish abroad. You may not see Tython again for quite some time, you two. I hope you’re ready for more adventure.”

Rarity and Applejack looked at each other excitedly.

“Everypony,” Master Satele called to the crowd as she placed a medal around Applejack’s neck, “give one last cheer for the Heroes of Tython: Master Rarity and Knight Applejack.”

A roar of applause echoed across the chamber. Every stallion, colt, mare and filly was cheering as loud as they could, stamping their hooves and whistling with great joviality. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle broke from the crowd and tackled their sisters, happy to not only be reunited with them, but to see them elevated. Applejack drove her hoof playfully into her sister’s mane, relishing the experience. These were the ponies that, two days ago, had disregarded and shunned her, and now, after a life changing journey into the maw of the unknown, she emerged a respected and cherished member of a family larger than just Apple Bloom.

Amid the dancing and cheering, however, a shadow lingered over Rarity’s mind. She was now a member of the Jedi Council, and it occurred to her that she had probably been given Master Lemep’s position. She turned to Master Satele and tugged on her robe to get her attention. “Master Satele, where is Master Lemep?”

“Didn’t you hear?” she replied. “He’s resigned, effective immediately.”

“Yes, I’ve heard,” Rarity said, “but that doesn’t answer my question. Where is he?”

-~-~-~-~-~

“Everything ready to go, C7?”

“Yes, Master,” replied the old Temple docking droid. “Your new Defender-class corvette has been delivered to Cowlick Station, and a shuttle awaits your arrival in the bay downstairs.”

“Wonderful.” Atuna picked up his one suitcase, the bag with all the possessions he had accumulated on Tython inside, and strode up to the door. “Send word to have the shuttle prepped and ready. I’ll arrive in five minutes.”

“Yes, Master.”

Atuna turned to the door and opened it. Behind it was Rarity, standing in his way with an unhappy frown. “Oh, Master Rarity. Good to see you again. Excuse me-”

“Not so fast,” she said quickly. Applejack appeared at her side a moment later. “You were going to leave without saying goodbye?”

“I hate goodbyes,” he said simply, a hint of sorrow in his voice.

“Y’er takin’ us with ya’.” Applejack poked his chest with her hoof and smiled playfully. “Y’er goin’ t’ah Cowlick Station, an’ we need a rah’de.”

“We’ve spoken to Master Satele,” Rarity added, “and she said we must travel to Coruscant to have our titles adjusted with the Republic Jedi Embassy. She can’t arrange for another shuttle to arrive for a few days because somepony is taking the only one on Tython.”

Atuna smirked. “Really. Imagine that.”

“Master Atuna,” Applejack said quietly, her voice suddenly somewhat serious, “a lot has happened in the last couple days, an’ Rarity ain’t told me much. But Ah do know there ain’t no such thing as coincidences, an’ Ah know y’er directly responsible for a lot o’ stuff. Ah wanna know what you’ve done.”

Atuna looked to Rarity, who shrugged back at him. His opal eyes narrowed at her. “Very well. It’s only fair you get an explanation. And what of you, Master Rarity? Why do you seek me out?”

“I... I wanted to see you again,” Rarity admitted slowly. “If I am to seek knowledge, I suppose you’d be as good a place to start as any, hmm?”

“You just won’t admit you have the hots for me.”

Rarity’s face turned solid red. “Oh, you are absolutely infuriating!” She smacked Atuna across the face as both him and Applejack roared with laughter.

“I deserved that,” Atuna chuckled as he rubbed his cheek.

“By the Force, you did!” Rarity screamed.

Atuna continued to smile and said nothing else. Rarity glared into his eyes and fell motionless, as though mesmerized by the pearly orbs.

“Sorry I struck you like that,” she murmured, looking down apologetically at her hoof.

“Again, I deserved it,” he replied simply. He put a hoof on her shoulder and drew her close, locking his lips onto her’s. Applejack’s eyes widened in shock. Rarity’s eyes slowly closed, and she wrapped a hoof subconsciously on his. The kiss lasted for a couple seconds, and when Rarity finally found the clarity to break away, Atuna smiled warmly. “That... was a thank you.”

Rarity blinked.

-~-~-~-~-~

The shuttle hissed steam as it prepared for takeoff. Atuna stood on the boarding ramp and waited patiently as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom said their goodbyes to Rarity and Applejack. Master Satele, Dust Bowl and Fluttershy watched from a distance, but started to move closer as the goodbyes began to wrap up.

“When will y’all be comin’ back?” Apple Bloom asked behind tears. “Ah just got here. Ah don’t want y’all to leave yet...”

“Ah dunno, sugarcube,” Applejack said quietly, rubbing her sister’s hair affectionately. “But you be strong while Ah’m gone, and you get your trainin’ done, ya’ hear? Listen to y’er masters, do what they say. Don’t make m’ah mistakes.”

“‘kay, sis.”

“Sweetie Belle, keep practicing,” Rarity said curtly, shaking her hoof at her sister with every other word. “I’ve made up a regiment for you that should help you master those pesky techniques that give you so much trouble. Do them every day, and try to have a Master oversee you when you do, so you don’t hurt yourself-”

“Oh, will you just GO already?!” Sweetie Belle cried out. She grimaced at her sister, who smiled back.

“And... remember that I love you, little sister.”

Sweetie Belle’s grimace lifted into a smile, and she embraced Rarity in a heartfelt hug. “I... I love you too, big sis.”

“Take care, and please... don’t forget to practice.”

“I won’t.”

Dust Bowl approached Rarity and Applejack as their sisters followed Master Satele out of the hangar. He had his hoof around Fluttershy, more for stability than for comfort. “Goodbye, Master Jedi. And to you as well, Applejack.”

“Good luck, Dust Bowl,” Applejack replied, extending her hoof. “Ah’m sorry for the pain Ah caused you. Ah was a reckless fool then.”

“And I forgive you,” Dust Bowl said with a nod, accepting the hoof in friendship.

“Take care of him, Fluttershy,” Rarity said quietly, giving her a hug.

“Stay safe, Rarity,” Fluttershy murmured. “And... thank you again... I’m sorry, I don’t mean to keep thanking you when I already have. I’m probably such a nuisance-”

“Oh, Fluttershy...”

Fluttershy started making low squeaking noises, as though she was embarrassed with herself, but Dust Bowl tightened his hold on her back, and she looked up at him and smiled slowly. Rarity and Applejack picked up their belongings and moved to the boarding ramp of the shuttle, seeing Atuna at the top. When they passed him, Rarity stopped and looked him in the eyes. It occurred to her that he had not replaced his hood since earlier that morning, and that his hair was neatly brushed around his head.

“You look different,” she said under her breath.

“Different how?” he replied equally quietly.

“Younger. Handsome, almost.”

“I’ve always been handsome,” he snickered, no longer keeping the conversation quiet. “You just haven’t noticed.”

“Are you trying to provoke me, Master Lemep?”

“The real question is, do you enjoy it, Master Rarity?”

Applejack started making cooing noises, playfully nudging Rarity with her hoof, who swatted her away with a disdainful frown. Atuna shooed Applejack away, and she disappeared into the hull of the ship, but not before sticking her tongue out at them both. Rarity and Atuna sighed and again directed their attention to one another.

“I know I can be a tease,” he admitted, “but... I care about you.”

“I’m still not sure I trust you,” Rarity said pointedly. She folded her hooves across her chest. “Despite what you told me this morning, I cannot overlook the fact that you sent me and Applejack to what potentially could have been our deaths.”

“I... I know.”

“Something is bothering me though. At the end, when Glass Bowl was about to attack us... you intervened, like you said you would. Nopony made any mention of that when we got back to the Temple last night, or this morning. Me and Applejack were the Heroes of Tython. What about you?”

“Me?” Atuna shrugged. “I told you, I do everything I can to be inconspicuous. My role in this Galaxy is not that of a hero. I shall remain unsung for as long as I live. It is how it must be.”

“Thing are very black and white with you, I’ve noticed. You either can or can’t do, or have, something.”

“And you,” he replied, “are slowly teaching me otherwise.”

Rarity cocked her head, then looked behind her. Nopony remained in the hangar. Atuna was the only pony visible. “How do you mean?”

“I’ve always looked to the Force for answers. In a lot of ways, I’ve devoted my life to learning. And now, with so much to look back on... I think it might do me good to pursue what I’ve missed.”

“That’s... good. But what about your ties to the Jedi? Aren’t we forbidden to love?”

“We’re forbidden to do a lot of things, Rarity my dear.” He took a step back and was about to enter into the shuttle when he stopped abruptly and turned back again. “I... I think I love you, Rarity. Do what you will with that information. But I will not keep it a secret from you.”

Rarity nodded. “Somehow... I’ve known for a while.”

“Since when?”

“This morning. When I kissed you. The way you reacted, how you held yourself... you were smitten, darling.”

“Well... now you know.” Atuna took a step forward again. “What will you do about it?”

“I suppose,” Rarity said with a sly smile, “that we’ll have something to talk about on the trip, yes?”

Atuna returned the smile. “So...”

“I’m not saying no,” Rarity continued, walking past him. “We will discuss what it is we’re both after. I do have my obligations to the Council to consider, and I will not be endangering my new position as a Master. I do have a reputation to uphold.”

The boarding ramp raised and the ship started spitting steam. After a few more seconds of prep, the shuttle lifted off and flew from the Temple hangar. Applejack looked out the window in time to see Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Dust Bowl, Fluttershy, and the Jedi Council waving from the courtyard. The landscape rapidly morphed, the forest receding into mountain ridges, where flocks of Flesh Raiders were migrating away from the Temple. Eventually the mountains shrank and the planet’s forests engulfed them once more. Applejack stayed at the window, breathlessly watching the scene unfold, until the ship finally broke the atmosphere and disappeared among the stars.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Tython, Jedi Temple Courtyard

“You can do it, Sweetie Belle. Focus!”

“I can't focus with you yelling at me, Rarity!”

“I am not yelling at you. I am encouraging you. Very loudly.”

Sweetie Belle glared at her sister. Her normally puffy pink and purple mane was damp with sweat and pressing against her face from hours of meditation. The Tython sun was beating down on the two sisters as well as the many other younglings and padawans in the courtyard of the Jedi Temple. Despite the marble cathedral being nearly four hundred meters tall, it provided no shade for the grass, the trees, and the overheated Jedi that occupied its lawn.

Rarity, despite her efforts to be conventional by Jedi standards, had opted to take a parasol with her for the day. It levitated above her, held in place by her magic. Normally she used the Force for tasks of this nature, but she found her own ability as a unicorn ample for something trivial like holding an umbrella. Unlike channeling the Force, her own magic didn't tire her if maintained in a manageable amount. No amount of sun protection, however, was going to keep her sane.

Of all the younglings she could've been paired with for the day, it had to be her sister.

“It's too hard, Rarity!” Sweetie Belle moaned. Before her sat a common boulder, not much smaller than her head. A perfectly reasonable object to levitate.

“Why is this so hard for you, Sweetie?” Rarity asked with a groan. Then, still levitating her parasol, she lifted a hoof and closed her eyes. The boulder rose a couple feet off the ground almost instantly, with no magical aura around it. It was Rarity channeling the Force, not unicorn magic. “It's quite easy. What are you struggling with? Is it the part where you envision the rock in your mind's eye?”

“No! It's just too big!”

“But can you even lift small things?”

“Yeah, I can!” Sweetie Belle frantically looked around to locate a smaller object, and her gaze came to rest on the lightsaber that hung on her sister's belt. She closed her eyes and envisioned it in her mind, and a moment later, she felt the rising sensation of the Force flowing through her body. When she opened her eyes again, the lightsaber was wiggling on Rarity's belt, and a moment later it detached itself and floated in midair. “See?”

“Ah! Sweetie Belle! My lightsaber!” Rarity snatched the lightsaber with her hoof and put it back on her belt. She then turned on her sister, angrily at first, but her gaze softened after a second. “Okay. Well done. You can levitate small objects. But do not ever take my lightsaber again, understand?”

“Sorry, sis,” Sweetie Belle muttered, looking down at the ground.

“It's quite alright. We'll revisit this tomorrow. It's dreadfully hot out here, and we've been practicing all day. Would you like some dinner?”

“No, I'm not hungry.” Sweetie Belle looked up at the sky and squinted when the sun stared back at her. “It's not even dinner time yet.”

“Perhaps, but we can always have tea. It's about that time of...” Rarity's attention was slowly diverted to another pony, and she trailed off in her conversation. “Oh dear. Not again.”

“Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaw!”

A speeder bike barreled down the path leading up the mountain, the base of which the Jedi Temple sat at. The pony driving was none other than Applejack, or as some liked to refer to her, “the Prodigal Padawan.” She'd been in the Academy when Rarity had arrived, but the difference was that Rarity had graduated from Padawanship a long time ago, whereas Applejack had never moved past that level. Her constant need to do things her way and her stubbornness had held her back for nearly two years, so this display was not unexpected of her, despite having been warned several times by the Masters not to joyride on the speeder bikes.

The bike came to a sudden stop in front of the Academy, and Applejack front flipped off the seat and landed cleanly on the ground in front of Rarity. “Howdy.”

“Good afternoon, Applejack,” Rarity replied evenly. “Still breaking the rules, I take it?”

“Nah, Ah'm just excited today. M'ah sister Apple Bloom is comin' t'ah Tython today, and Ah'm on m'ah way t'ah see 'er touch down. Y'ah wanna come?”

“I'm actually about to have tea, but thank you for the offer.” Despite how often Applejack approached her, Rarity did not consider her a friend. She defied the rules that the Jedi so righteously upheld, which caused Rarity a little discomfort. “I can't wait to meet her though. Sweetie Belle? Ready to go?”

“I wanna go with Applejack!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, eliciting a grimace from Rarity. Applejack embodied the freedom and the rebellious disregard for tradition that most of the younger padawans longed for. As such, the younger students were drawn to Applejack and her more freelance nature, and her sister was no exception.

“You'd rather 'hang out' with Applejack than spend some quality sister time with me?” Rarity sang, batting her eyelashes innocently at Sweetie Belle.

“Yeah!” she replied. “Applejack is fun!”

“Yes, well, if that's what you want, then fine.” Rarity looked up at Applejack with wide, pleading eyes that betrayed the hurt she was feeling. “Take care of her, won't you?”

“Don't you fret none,” Applejack replied, ignoring Rarity's big-sister look. “She'll be f'ahne. We're just goin' t'ah the landin' pad at the retreat on the ridge.”

“Alright. I'm trusting you though. Bring her back safely and don't get into trouble.” Rarity kicked the skirt of her robes back and spun around, trotting up the smooth marble stairs and disappearing inside the Temple. Sweetie Belle frowned, thinking she might have made a mistake in choosing Applejack over her own sister. The older mare took notice of her little friend's conflict and put a hoof on her back.

“Don't worry, Sweetie Belle,” she said reassuringly. “We'll be back before Rarity's even finished her tea.”

“Really?” Sweetie Belle replied, her eyes widening. A smile crept across her face.

“Ah promise.”

“Yay!”

“Hop on. Let's go meet m'ah sister.”

Sweetie Belle jumped onto the brown speeder bike and leaned back in the seat. When Applejack mounted the bike and grabbed hold of the steering bar, she felt two small hooves wrap around her waist in a tight embrace. Smiling, she hit the ignition and revved the engine before switching into top gear and racing out of the courtyard.

The trip to the resort didn't take long. Trees, rocks and assorted bushes and flowers blew past the bike in a blur. The beautiful, lush forests of Tython were hard to appreciate at 450 kilometers per hour. Applejack, of course, had seen every tree, plant and boulder on the road leading over the mountain from the Temple, but Sweetie Belle, who had seen the path maybe twice in her lifetime, was too busy trying to hold onto her driver to take anything in other than a ripped, brown Jedi's cape in her face.

For less than a minute, the dirt road winded through the forest, dodging rocks and trees as it snaked toward a metal landing pad near the edge of the ridge. Applejack's bike broke free from the sea of trees and raced across the small open field between the treeline and the landing pad. Even from a distance, she could make out the younglings filing off the shuttle that had just landed, especially one in particular that stood out due to the soft pink bow in her mane.

Applejack's bike came to a sliding stop beside the metal platform and she rolled off the seat. Sweetie Belle flew into the air with a small squeal and landed in the waiting hooves of Applejack, who chuckled lightly before setting her down. They both looked at the coming wave of younglings and smiled at them.

“Welcome, y'all!” Applejack said to them as they looked around nervously.

“Applejack!” called the filly with the bow in her hair. She ran up to her sister and threw herself around her neck. “Ah missed you, big sis!”

“Ah've missed you too, squirt,” Applejack replied kindly, returning the hug. The two sisters embraced in a hug that had been a long time coming, and Sweetie Belle let out a small “Aww” at the sight. “It’s been years since Ah saw you last. Look at’cha! Y’er gonna be a Jedi like me!”

“Ah know! Ah’m so excited!”

“Sweetie Belle, this here’s Apple Bloom m’ah little sister.”

Sweetie Belle extended a hoof to Apple Bloom with a smile. “Nice to meet you!”

“Pleasure’s all mah’ne!” Apple Bloom replied, spitting into her hoof and slapping it against Sweetie Belle’s. “Anyway, Ah’m hungry. When do we get some grub? Ah haven’t eatin’ since Ah left home.”

“Ah’ll ask the master in charge of y’all. Ah’d love nothin’ more than t’ah take ya for a bite t’ah eat at the Temple. Wait here a sec.” Applejack looked around for somepony closer to her height and saw a pair of Republic officers in white armor standing near the shuttle. They were engineers, most likely, given that they were running tests on the ship’s internal mechanisms and taking notes on their datapads. She trotted up to them and smiled. “Howdy. Do y’all know where the Jedi master that’s in charge of these young’uns is?”

“Master Yuon is assigned to oversee these new younglings,” one of the engineers replied. “We've got orders to detain them until she arrives.”

“Can Ah borrow one of them, then?”

“No. Orders are orders. Nopony is to take them from this landing pad until Master Yuon arrives, much less a Padawan who can't walk ten steps without breaking a rule.”

“Hey now,” she said curtly. “That’s not very kind of y’all.”

“You should probably leave, ma’am,” the other engineer interjected without looking at her. “Only Masters and pre-approved members of the Order are approved to be on the landing pad right now. Sorry.”

Applejack seethed, baring her teeth at the first engineer, who snubbed his nose and turned back to the shuttle to continue his post-flight checks. She snorted loudly and stormed back to her speeder, nearly knocking over Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Without waiting, she started up the bike and zipped away, disappearing into the forest, leaving both fillies behind.

“Your sister seems upset,” Sweetie Belle whispered to her new friend. “Will she be okay?”

“Ah dunno,” Apple Bloom cried, putting a hoof to her lip thoughtfully. “That wasn't like Applejack at all. She ain't normally so moody. Somethin' fishy's goin' on, Ah can feel it.”

At that moment, one of the younglings in the crowd screamed, pointing a shaking hoof toward the forest. Out from behind the trees came a band of large, scaly beings holding swords and blasters. They looked like mutants; they walked on two legs and had wide, smooth faces with jaws as long as their heads. They had fingers and toes, and wore discarded cloth garments for clothes. To make matters worse, they opened fire the moment they appeared.

“Flesh Raiders!” yelled one of the engineers, dropping his datapad as he reached for his rifle. He shouldered it and returned fire on the incoming wave of aliens, dropping a couple. Bolts fired in all directions as the aliens charged toward the landing pad, screaming unintelligible war cries as they ran.

“Call for reinforcements!” he yelled over the fire.

The other engineer tapped his communicator frantically, opening the long-range public frequency channel. “This is Republic Pilot Wrench down on the landing pad! We’ve been ambushed by Flesh Raiders! They’re attacking the younglings! Send Jedi reinforcements immediately!” Then he cut off his radio and picked up his gun, firing on the incoming aliens.

The two soldiers managed to gun down the first two that got close, but five more slipped through the fire and charged up the ramp. A raider wielding a sword lunged at one of the troopers and ran him through, piercing his armor on the other side of his body. Horrified, the younglings ran backwards toward the shuttle they’d come in on as the aliens beheaded the remaining soldier, leaving Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle between them and the ship. They turned their heads to the two fillies and glared at them angrily, their yellow eyes glowing like hellfire.

Sweetie Belle gulped. “R-rarity!”

“Applejack!” Apple Bloom cried. She opened her mouth to scream again but was cut off when a Flesh Raided placed a large, slimy hand across her mouth and lifted her off the ground by her jaw. She screamed a muffled cry into his palm and shook her body to get free, but was soon grabbed by the other hand and pulled into the crowd of aliens. The Raider carrying Apple Bloom ran back down the ramp and disappeared into the forest.

The rest of the aliens turned to Sweetie Belle. She whimpered pathetically until she felt a pair of hands yank her off the ground, at which point she screamed. The Flesh Raider holding her jumped back a step and took off for the forest as well. The remaining Flesh Raiders, who totaled about seven, rushed forward to apprehend the younglings that had taken refuge in the shuttle.

Just as they were about to reach the boarding ramp, a speeder bike zipped onto the landing pad and rammed into one of the Flesh Raiders, jamming its stabilizers into its chest and knocking it to the ground with two large gashes from his neck to his belly. Applejack backflipped onto the pad and stood up slowly, glaring at them as she stood between them and the ship. They growled at her and charged. She put her hoof on her sword hilt and held it up, waiting for them.

The first one to reach her swung his sword down at her, and she sidestepped to dodge. She brought her sword around and gutted him, beheading the alien directly next to him with the swipe as well. Off balance from the swing, Applejack pushed her other hoof out and called on the Force. An invisible gust of wind pushed two raiders onto their backs, toppling two more behind them. She then pivoted with a backwards slash that parried an incoming sword attack. Using the opening she created, Applejack plunged her sword into the chest of the Flesh Raider in front of her, who lost his grip on his sword and sent it flying backwards.

Of the seven that she’d started the engagement with, Applejack could only count four more Flesh Raiders. They stood up after recovering from the Force Push she’d unleashed and raised their weapons. One of them charged forward with a vibrosword. She met him headlong in a charge of their own. Simultaneously, they swung their swords at one another, Applejack swinging low, and the raider swinging down. Anticipating the strike, she sidestepped with her swing and took out both of the enemy’s kneecaps without being hit by his blade. Before he even hit the ground, she thrust her sword into the back of his skull.

The three remaining Flesh Raiders looked at one another, then turned around and ran back toward the forest. Applejack shook her hoof at them as they retreated. “Y’all better not come back, if y’all know what’s good f’er ya’!”

She turned her attention to the shuttle. A filly had crept down the boarding ramp to watch the fight and was staring at her intently.

“Ah heard everything on m’ah bike’s radio. Is everypony okay in there?” Applejack asked.

The filly nodded.

“Tell everypony it’s safe, and that they can come out.”

Nodding, the youngling retreated up the ramp, and reappeared a moment later with the rest of the fillies and colts following behind her. Applejack smiled as they came down the ramp, but frowned again when she surveyed them and didn’t see her sister. “Is that all of y’uns?”

“Yes ma’am,” replied the first filly with a nod.

Applejack’s head twisted toward the forest. “Did those aliens get anypony?”

“There were the two fillies that came with you the first time,” a colt chirped from the group. “They never came on board.”

Applejack stared at the colt, mouth agape. A trio of speeders rushed down the mountainside and over the clearing toward the landing pad, stopping short of the ramp. Rarity and two other Jedi hopped off the bikes and galloped to the younglings.

“Sweetie Belle? Sweetie Belle! Where are you?” Rarity cried, frantically checking the heads of the younglings, looking for her sister. Her gaze came to rest on Applejack. “Where’s my sister!?”

“Gone...” Applejack muttered, staring down at the floor. “They got m’ah sister and y’ers.”

“They’re not... not dead, are they?”

“No, they ain’t dead. They just got fillynapped, is all.”

Rarity sniffled, then nodded her head. “If there’s a chance they’re still alive, then somepony needs to go find them.”

“Ah intend to,” Applejack said, looking up at Rarity with lowered eyes. The determination on her face was overshadowed by the anger in her eyes. Rarity realized that Applejack’s sister had been taken as well, and that the emotions they were both feeling were probably similar. Unlike Rarity, however, Applejack was not handling the situation calmly.

“Applejack, I realize what happened wasn’t your fault, but you need to remember that we aren’t qualified to handle this ourselves. We need to report this to the Council and let them deliberate over our next course of action.”

“And sentence m’ah sister to to death?” Applejack replied with a defiant stomp. “Not a chance.”

“Please, be rational!” Rarity persisted. “My sister was taken, too! But we can’t go on without help. We’d just end up dying alongside our sisters!”

“Ah’d rather die by her side than listen to the Council kill her with inaction!”

“But—”

Applejack shook her head and turned to leave, putting a hoof on her speeder bike’s handle. “Ya’ comin’ or what?”

Rarity bit her lip and turned to look at the two Jedi knights that had accompanied her. They were inspecting each youngling intently, looking for signs of injury, and asking them questions. She weighed her options and sighed, her face drooping as she mentally resigned herself to the punishment that would follow her actions. “I suppose. If only to keep an eye on you.” Then she trotted up to the bike and reached around the seat to pull herself up.

Applejack didn’t wait, hopping into the seat and hoisting Rarity up behind her. The bike revved to life and zipped toward the nearby mountainside, which was just on the other side of the forest. Wrapping her hooves around Applejack, Rarity squealed as the bike sped away. She’d never pushed a bike this fast in such dangerously thick forest before, and every tree that passed within three feet of her made her whimper again.

“Where are we going?” Rarity yelled over the bike’s engine. “Do you even know where to go?”

“They can’t be far,” Applejack said. “I wasn’t gone more than a minute.”

“You left?!” Rarity shrieked, causing Applejack to flinch. “Why on earth did you leave?”

“Ah’ll tell ya’ later.” A river loomed into view ahead of them, and crossing that river was a small group of Flesh Raiders. They appeared to be carrying something, and Rarity couldn’t see what it was, but Applejack could see a bright pink bow under the arm of one of the aliens. “There.”

The bike zipped up to the river and Applejack leaped over the handlebars, gracefully landing on her hooves. Rarity carefully slid over the seat and landed gently beside the bike. Taking notice of the Jedi, the Flesh Raiders clambered to the other side of the river and ran into a nearby tunnel. The cavern was rounded and covered in tribal paintings on the inside. Primitive torches lit a path to the far end of the cave, where the tunnel continued deeper into the mountain. As Applejack and Rarity arrived inside the cave, the Flesh Raider party dashed down the tunnel and vanished.

From within the darkness, a blue lightsaber ignited and moved steadily into the firelight. An earth pony, wearing tattered grey Jedi robes and sporting tribal tattoos on his face and forelegs, emerged from the tunnel with his weapon held firmly at his side.

“Jedi? Here?” he said. The sound of his voice reverberated off the cavern walls. “No doubt you’re trying to save the Younglings I ordered to be captured.”

“Who the hay are you?” Applejack yelled, reaching for her sword.

“What do you want with our sisters?” Rarity asked, likewise drawing her own lightsaber. The hilt magically floated to her side and from it burst an emerald blade. As it ignited, Applejack’s gaze shifted to the saber and locked onto it enviously.

“To indoctrinate them, of course!” The pony leaped forward a few steps and slammed his hooves against the ground, causing the whole tunnel to shake. Boulders and stones rained down on the opening behind him, sealing the passageway under the mountain. Rarity and Applejack both stared wide-eyed at the rock slide. “They will make fine additions to our cause.”

“What cause?” Rarity asked.

“I am but one of the many enlightened Jedi that escaped the Temple and sought training under a new master,” replied the pony. “My name is Callef. We are the New Order. And you are not worthy.”

“Not worthy of what, dar—”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw an orange hoof snatch her lightsaber from midair, shattering her magical hold on the hilt. Applejack then leapt forward several meters and brought Rarity’s saber down on Callef along with her own sword. Callef threw his own blue lightsaber up to block the attack, but was pinned to the stone floor by the sheer force of Applejack’s lunge.

She stared intently into his eyes as she pushed her weapons down. Callef struggled to maintain his grip on his lightsaber as the weight of Applejack’s pushing increased steadily.

“Where are they?” Applejack yelled, gritting her teeth. “Tell me, you slimeball!”

Callef pushed up with all his might, shifting Applejack’s balance enough to make her stumble. She tripped forward two steps and planted her face against the ground. Using the Force, Callef grabbed hold of a nearby stone and hurled it at Applejack as she stood up shakily. The rock stopped halfway, and Callef looked over at Rarity to see her channeling the Force as well. She gracefully manipulated the boulder, her hooves dancing in a flurry of motions and waves. When she finished, the rock plummeted harmlessly to the ground a few meters from Callef.

Livid, he stood up and wiped his nose. “You can’t stop us. Even if you kill me, my master has already taken your sisters far from here. You’ll see them again on the day your Order crumbles under our hooves, when you find them among the forces that burn your precious Archives.”

“M’ah sister would never help the likes of you, or your master!” Applejack shrieked. She dropped her sword and leaped, throwing her weight into a downward slash with Rarity’s lightsaber. Callef smoothly brought his blade up to counter her swing, but found the force of the blow too great, and dropped his lightsaber with a yell. He looked up to see the green blade only an inch from his throat.

“Applejack, stop!” Rarity cried, galloping up to her fellow Jedi. “This has gone too far! We can’t kill this pony!”

“Wh’ah not?” Applejack countered, her gaze locked on Callef. “Gimme one good reason.”

“It’s not the Jedi way,” Rarity said. She took a deep breath to regain her composure and lowered her voice. “Jedi never kill unarmed beings, much less their own captives. It’s not right. He must stand trial and be interrogated.”

Applejack seemed to ignore Rarity, instead leaning closer to her captive. “You, Callef.”

Callef blinked, then smiled at Applejack. “Yes?”

“Where’s m’ah sister?”

“I’ll never tell you.”

“You die here, right now, if you don’t.”

“Then I die a martyr to the New Order,” Callef replied with a shrug. His eyes traced Applejack’s expression until his gaze came to rest on the braid dangling from her mane. “Hope you said goodbye to your sister, Padawan. Aren’t you a little tall for a Padawan? Or... or are you just incompetent?”

Applejack’s eyes widened and her teeth barred even wider. She began audibly grunting.

“That’s it, isn’t it?” Callef continued. “You’re not capable of passing the trials. You’re weak. You couldn’t even protect your own sister, could you?”

A furious yell echoed off the walls of the cavern as Applejack plunged the lightsaber into Callef’s face. The blade melted through his skull and oozed burning plasma from the entry wound. His body slumped to the ground as Rarity stared at her, mouth agape.

“Applejack, what did you just do?!” she shrieked. “Did I not just say—”

“Ah don’t care,” Applejack muttered. “He had it comin’. Now use y’er Force powers to dig this hole out.”

“I will do no such thing!” Rarity said, stomping her hoof. She reached out with the Force and plucked her lightsaber from Applejack’s hoof, returning it to her belt. “We are going back to the Council to report this before we take any more measures. We may be in way over our heads, here, Applejack, and I’m not going to let the passion of the moment dictate my actions, like you so callously did with Callef.”

Applejack seethed, grumbling at Rarity’s response, but the unicorn ignored her and began her departure from the cave. “So that’s it, then? You’re just gonna let ‘em get away with y’er sister? And m’ah sister?”

“Do you think I like leaving her alone like this?” Rarity said defiantly, turning her head to look at Applejack. “I don’t. It’s the hardest thing I can ever do. But I must. Our Code has always prioritized wisdom over haste, and I’m not about to get us both killed trying to rescue our sisters. Without the support of the Council, any further attempts of rescue would be both wrong and foolish, and could result in the casualties of every Jedi on Tython. We’re the only ones who witnessed this stallion, Applejack, and we know what his motives were. There is a threat much larger than just the kidnapping here. It simply must take a higher priority.”

“But our sisters! What about them?”

“They will never leave my thoughts, Applejack. But this is a serious threat, and we can’t just rush in blindly or we risk dooming the entire Order. Honestly, isn’t that what I just said? You’re so caught up in your need to instant gratification. This is probably why the Council doesn’t trust you with a lightsaber, and I certainly won’t let you use mine any time soon.”

Applejack snorted at Rarity, but didn’t reply. As she began trotting after Rarity, her hoof touched against Callef’s body. His melting face exuded blood and pus from the circular hole extending through his skull, eliciting a shudder from Applejack. When she looked down, her eyes caught a shimmer near his hoof, where his lightsaber lay on the stone. She looked up to see if Rarity was watching her, then snatched the hilt and stowed it under her robes before galloping out of the cavern with a smirk on her face.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Jedi Temple, Tython

Breathless, Rarity pushed open the large doors and raced into the Council Chamber. All seven of the Masters fell silent when she entered, staring at her curiously. Rarity turned a shade of red in embarrassment as she stood awkwardly before the round table, desperately trying to catch her breath.

“I saw smoke rising from the ruins,” Master Lemep said evenly from his seat. “I assume that was your doing, Rarity?”

“The New Order...” Rarity exhaled slowly. “...is going to mobilize on us. The Temple is in danger, as is Kalikori Village. Everypony will be wiped out if we don’t act.”

“How did you come about this information?” Master Satele asked, suddenly interested in what was happening.

“The leader of the Order told us himself. We encountered him in Kaleth. He returned our sisters to us in an effort to convince us to abandon the Jedi, but we escaped after he tried to have us killed. Everything is true about the Flesh Raiders. They work for him, now, living under the mountain where his base of operations is. There’s an entire network of tunnels all throughout the Tythos Ridge, and the Raiders use them to traverse the ridge in secret. They even lead into the ruins, and good deeper, back into the Forge.” Rarity nodded to one of the Jedi at the table. “But I’m sure Master Lemep has already told you about all that. He knew all along.”

“I knew of the tunnels, yes,” Master Lemep responded with a nod. “I also know the Forge can be accessed through them. I have no idea how extensively they stretched through the Ridge, however.”

“The Forge?” Master Ohrum echoed. “Why are they back there?”

“It’s far enough from our Temple that we could not monitor it,” Master Lemep said thoughtfully. “It would make an excellent hiding spot for a secret organization.”

“And with an army of Flesh Raiders between us the Forge,” Rarity finished, “they could have operated without interference for a long time. Now that we’ve exposed them, they will accelerate their plans.”

“We must mobilize every able body for defense,” Satele said sternly. “Get in contact with Coruscant, see if we can pull troops to Tython.”

“I fear it will be too late by then, Satele,” Master Ghetsu said gruffly, his hooves crossed over his chest. “I sense the tides of battle rising. It won’t be long before they’re upon us.”

“They plan to strike while we’re still regrouping,” Master Lemep continued. “Clever. But is it enough?”

“They will attack Kalikori Village first,” Rarity said nervously. She feared where the conversation would go next. “Dust Bowl has provided some insight to their plan. There are two reasons to attack Kalikori first. The primary reason is to draw some of the Jedi away from the Temple -- Jedi with sympathy enough to disobey the Order’s rules and protect the villagers. Secondly, they can also convince the villagers to revolt against us before we evict them ourselves. By flying a white flag in the name of peace and revolution, not only will we have to deal with Flesh Raiders, but all the soldiers in Kalikori and whomever they recruit from our Order, as well.”

Satele nodded slowly, her eyes darting around the table at the Masters sitting with her. “A well-crafted strategy. Rarity, you have the most insight into this matter. What do you propose?”

Rarity paused, her eyes slowly shifting to Master Lemep. She felt a weight on her shoulders, as though he was staring back at her. When he nodded to her, the weight lifted. “We abandon the Temple and move our forces to Kalikori Village.”

The Masters remained silent.

“If we defend there, we not only gain the villagers as our ally, but we raise the morale of our members. We can thwart the New Order’s plans entirely by simply forming an alliance with the Matriarch, which would require recognizing them as a sovereign entity.”

“The Republic has forbid us,” Master Ghetsu said plainly, shrugging.

“Does it matter?” Master Ohrum fired back, standing up and slamming her hooves on the table. “Our job is to protect the innocent and we must protect ourselves, too. This is in everypony’s best interest!”

“Calm down, Melonna,” Master Ghetsu said sternly. “I know what you say to be true. But we must remind ourselves that, by forming an alliance, we break the rules. We must deliberate, and let the Force guide our decisions, or risk folly.”

Master Ohrum sat down and nodded slowly, then looked to Master Satele pleadingly. The Grand Master of the Jedi shrugged back. “Rarity is correct, though. Her idea foils the New Order well. It must be discussed as a legitimate option, as it would solve all our problems in one swift motion.”

Master Lemep stood up suddenly and bowed to the masters. “By your leave, I must debrief Rarity and the Padawan. If it comes to a vote, I propose we go through with Rarity’s plan.”

“Go in peace, then, Atuna,” Satele replied calmly, standing to return the bow.

Master Lemep briskly walked around the table and passed Rarity on his way out of the room. She slipped out to follow him as the Master began to deliberate over the impending attack amongst themselves. Once Rarity was out of the room, the large doors closed shut and Master Lemep approached her from somewhere behind her. “That was a wise plan you offered to the Council, Rarity.”

“Thank you, Master.”

“I would debrief you, like I said I would, but I think it would amount to nothing. We both know what happened, nothing else need be said. Instead, I believe you have questions, yes?”

“I do, and you owe me answers.”

Master Lemep seemed as though he raised an eyebrow, but it was impossible to tell. “Owe?”

“You said, once we had done as you asked, you would tell us what we wanted to know.”

“No,” he corrected, “I promised you what you wanted. That is not necessarily the same thing.”

“Well, I want answers.”

“You say that you seek knowledge, yet were it not for your sister Sweetie Belle, you would have left this-” he pulled the ancient data storage unit from behind his back, “in the cave.”

“How did you-”

“I have debriefed Applejack and your respective sisters already. I happened to be in Kalikori village when you arrived, and I approached them after you left them there to warn the Council.”

“Then how did you beat me here?” Rarity asked, awed.

“It is as you say,” Master Lemep replied aloofly. “I am most familiar with the tunnels under Tythos Ridge. I even know of one that comes out ahead of the path from the village to the Temple. You see, many millennia ago, this planet was ravaged by terrible Force storms. Such horrible conditions warped the planet’s geography, even causing mild seismic activity. This formed the Tythos Ridge, which the indigenous species of Tython would eventually burrow into and create the tunnels we now see in the landscape.”

“But you know more than that,” Rarity prodded. “You know where they go. You knew how to get into the computer room in order to access that terminal. You’ve seen the map on that saber, you’ve been inside the Forge. You’ve probably seen the New Order’s base, haven’t you?”

“I have.”

“Then why? When you could do all this yourself, and when you have all the knowledge needed, why make me and Applejack work so hard?”

“To test you.”

Rarity blinked.

“That’s right. The Padawan was correct. I orchestrated this whole mission, and every detail of it, all to test you and Applejack. And guess what? You passed. The Padawan has demonstrated improvement in her attitude and has increased wisdom and clarity. You’ve learned when to bend rules, and how to appropriately assess your surroundings. Both of you have learned to work together in order to meet two seemingly separate goals -- that is, rescuing your sisters and gathering information about this new threat.”

“What... what are you saying?” Rarity stared, aghast, at the unflinching Master Lemep. “You set all this up yourself? How?”

“It wasn’t easy. I have to admit, of all my schemes and machinations, I’ve never had to work as hard to adapt than I did with you two. But in the end, it was easy enough to have the shuttle departure and arrival records fall into the hands of young Callef. The moment the Flesh Raiders attacked the shuttle, I anticipated Applejack’s arrival and expected immediate response. When it proceeded as I foresaw, it was a simple matter to manipulate the situation in my favor, and essentially gain not only your trust, but Applejack’s, by posing as your best chance to rescue your sisters, when in fact I was plausibly able to do it myself.

“Further, young Dust Bowl and Fluttershy were factored in when you returned that night with them. After interrogating them, I learned that Glass Bowl was his father, and used that to my advantage when I traveled to the ruins ahead of you. I was lucky enough to meet a scout of the New Order: a young filly I recognized as a missing padawan from our Temple, who happened to know for a fact that Dust Bowl was dead, killed by two Jedi looking for captured fillies. Your sister, Sweetie Belle.”

“Sweetie?” Rarity echoed, her eyes wide in shock. “You saw her, and you did not rescue her?”

“And endanger the conditions of the test?” Master Lemep replied smugly. “Don’t be foolish. You had to be the one to assist Applejack in rescuing her sister, and yours, or she would not have trusted your judgment as much as she does. She reformed her ways and saw the truth of her follies because of you, Rarity. You’re responsible for Applejack’s redemption.”

“No,” Rarity whispered. “You are. And it sounds like you’re responsible for a lot more. But my real question is... to what end?”

“End?”

“Why? Why us? What good is this test? Why endanger our lives, and the lives of our sisters, for some silly test?”

“Firstly,” Master Lemep said patiently, “to help young Applejack understand her situation, and to help her along the right path. She is well on her way to Jedi Knighthood because of me. Secondly, to inspire a desire for knowledge in you, Rarity. To kindle a thirst for the truth, at any cost -- even if that means overcoming your inhibitions, like breaking rules. And lastly, the moment I stepped foot on Tython so many months ago, I knew from the get-go that your future and Applejack’s were tied. You both have a great destiny, one that is filled with danger and mystery. I took it upon myself to prepare you for what you will face in the future, and it was best that I prepare you both now, while it’s convenient for me.”

“Prepare us? Destiny? What are you talking about, Master? How do you know any of this?” Rarity shook her head. “I... I have more questions than I did before.”

“The Force is mysterious, no?” Master Lemep said quietly. “I must go. I intend to answer your questions later, Rarity, but before I depart, I want to know something. Enlighten me: what do you perceive of me? Am I a maniac with impure motives? Or do you trust me, without question, even for lack of a reason?”

Rarity looked up at Master Lemep and noticed for the first time that he’d taken off his hood while he’d been talking. His vestigial white eyes stared back at her like translucent pearls. His face was calm, almost eerily so, but his smile was warm. His face gave the impression of wisdom in age.

“I... don’t trust you,” Rarity admitted, “but for some reason I feel compelled to.”

“You are right to acknowledge your hesitations,” Master Lemep said calmly, “but your instincts may be correct. Wherever you go from here, Rarity, and no matter how mysterious or strange I seem to you, know in your heart that I mean you no harm. I only have your best interests in mind, simply because your well-being is in my best interests. Know also that, if I had sensed you, or Applejack, or your sisters in any danger, I would have been there in a heartbeat to intervene. I still will. Now, and into the foreseeable future.”

“But why? I still don’t-”

“I don’t know for certain why,” Master Lemep interrupted, “I do know our destinies our tied, as well, but for what purpose or duration, I know not. The Force is mysterious, no?”

“You already said that.”

Master Lemep smirked. “I know. Have a nice chat with Applejack.”

He turned to leave, and Rarity watched as he disappeared into the crowd of rushing ponies down the hall, leaving her standing alone outside the Council chamber.

Applejack broke from the crowd ahead of her and sauntered up a moment later. “Howdy.”

Rarity looked at Applejack slowly, her eyes wide in surprise.

“What’s got y’er mane in a bunch?”

“My hair?” Rarity snapped back to reality and reached for her mane. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothin’,” Applejack snickered. “Hey, Rarity, Ah wanted t’ah thank ya’.”

“I... what?”

“You stuck with me even when Ah was bein’ stubborn. Y’er the reason Ah even had a chance t’ah rescue Apple Bloom. She owes you her life. Ah... Ah owe ya my life, too.”

Rarity stammered for a moment, then fell silent and smiled. After a few seconds, she started giggling lightly.

“Uhh... Rarity?”

“Heh... Hmm? Yes, Applejack?”

“Y’alrah’ght?”

“No,” Rarity said with a smile. “I don’t think so. I may be crazy. But you know what? You’re welcome, Applejack. I’m just glad we were able to save our sisters.”

“Yeah... okay. Maybe y’all should go talk t’ah Master Lemep. Maybe he can help ya’.”

“Oh, I’m sure.”

-~-~-~-~-~

The Council chamber door opened slowly and the Masters filed out of the room. Grand Master Satele led the procession to the balcony overlooking the main auditorium of the Temple. Every Jedi, Padawan and soldier on Tython was gathered under the balcony as they awaited the announcement of the Council with held breath.

“Why are they gathered here?” Master Ohrum whispered.

“Rumors must have spread,” Master Ghetsu replied. “They knew we were meeting. Go on, Satele. Tell ‘em what we decided.”

Master Satele nodded. “My fellow ponies. As some of you may be aware, a crisis is rising in our midst. Tython is no longer a safe haven for the Jedi.”

Rarity and Applejack pushed through the crowd until they could see Master Satele on the balcony. Master Lemep was leaning against the wall beside them, and when Rarity noticed him, he smiled at her deviously.

Master Satele took a deep breath. “There are times in our lives when we must make choices that are wrong in order to achieve a greater right.”

Master Lemep winked at Rarity with a translucent eye. “Told you so.”

“This is one of those times. A threat known as the New Order has risen on Tython. They seek to dissolve and dismember the Jedi. They threaten our lives, and the lives of our friends. We must defend ourselves, and those we’ve sworn to protect. That said... the Republic has forbid us to interfere in the matters of the Matriarch of Kalikori Village, the illegal settlement further up the Ridge.

“This is a mandate we can no longer keep in good conscience. Let us rise up and defend the innocent, like we all know we should. The Republic has kept us on a leash for too long. Our morals must guide our actions. We must trust in the Force.”

A collective cheer started to rise from the crowd.

“We are sending emissaries to the village to contact the Matriarch about our intentions. We must make peace with the villagers and atone for our hesitation, for it is a crime against our Jedi Code. The time has come not only to defend ourselves, but to defend Kalikori Village as well. We can no longer sit idly by will the innocent suffer. Come, my brothers and sisters. Let us uphold our ancient traditions. Let us defend the galaxy in the name of peace and justice. Let us break the rules, to do what’s right.”

Applejack grinned.

“Wait,” Rarity said slowly as the applause started to die. “Emissaries? Who are we sending?”

“The only Jedi qualified to speak to the Matriarch,” Master Lemep said quietly. “You two.”

-~-~-~-~-~

The speeder ride to Kalikori Village took little time thanks to Master Lemep’s driving. Rarity had thought no pony in the galaxy could drive as recklessly as Applejack, but not only did her master drive with more speed than her, he also took dangerous shortcuts. The moment she had sat down on the bike, he’d accelerated into thick brush and exited into a well-hidden cavern. Sharp, narrow turns wound through the mountainside and eventually spat the bike out near the road leading to Kalikori Village. Applejack had a small cut on her hoof where the bike had scraped the wall on a bad corner, but otherwise the ponies were miraculously unhurt from the experience.

Master Lemep pulled up to the gate of the village and let Applejack and Rarity off. “Explain our situation, and tell the Matriarch Satele wishes to meet with her.”

“You’re not going to stay?” Rarity asked.

“I will be here in spirit. Remember what I said.”

Rarity looked disconcertedly at Master Lemep, who smiled back in amusement. He slammed the bike around with a mighty Force Push and zipped back down the road in a cloud of dust.

“Well, let’s get to it then,” Applejack said excitedly.

Rarity turned and, for the first time, noticed the guards were not stationed at the gate. “Where are the border patrols we encountered this morning?”

Applejack looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to set, and the light was turning a dark orange in preparation for the night. “It’s supper tah’me. Reckon they’re eatin’?”

“Perhaps.”

Both ponies proceeded into through village gate and looked around. The village was completely deserted. Not a single pony moved through the center, and all of the doors and windows were shut. No lights were on, and all of the weapons at the barracks were missing. Faint shouts and cries could be heard further down the path, near the other gate. Applejack and Rarity trotted in that direction until they caught sight of a crowd of ponies gathered at the entrance to the village.

The villagers were gathered around what appeared to be a speaker. A pony was giving an oratory, and he held his audience in such captivity that Rarity and Applejack’s presences went unnoticed to the village. As they drew nearer, much to their horror, they heard the familiar voice of Glass Bowl giving a speech. A good distance behind him stood an army; hundreds of Flesh Raiders, with the odd stallion or mare wielding a lightsaber among their numbers. They stood on the path that ran alongside the river, the waterfall concealing the hidden cavern crashing nearby.

“...and the Jedi have abandoned you! Take up your arms, you villagers of Kalikori. Be recognized as sovereign, and help us do away with the Jedi that have oppressed you for so long!”

Rarity gasped. “He’s already here. This ruins everything.”

Applejack nodded thoughtfully to herself, but made no move.

“What are you thinking about, darling?” Rarity asked.

“Well, Ah’m just thinkin’ what we need t’ah do here. See, Ah don’t think it’d be wise t’ah fah’ght him here in open. Not with all his supporters behind him.”

“That’s... a very wise deduction. Do you have an alternative in mind?”

“Remember in the cave? When you cornered him with y’er words?”

“Yes.”

“Do it again.”

Rarity beamed. “Applejack, that’s actually a brilliant idea. But... what about you?”

“Ah’m gonna be rah’ght here, waiting, just in case it don’t work.” She patted her lightsabers gently and grinned smugly.

The smile on Rarity’s face dropped to an unimpressed grimace. “Oh, of course. You still want to get yourself killed, you’ve just decided to try diplomacy first for a change.”

“Can’t let you hog the show,” Applejack replied simply. “Get to it quick, he looked lah’ke he’s almost done.”

Rarity nodded and snuck into the crowd as quietly as she could, using the Force to divert attention away from herself.

“Remember the insolence of the Jedi!” Glass Bowl continued. “They’re on the run, trying to save themselves from our revolution!”

“The Jedi saved us from the Flesh Raiders just this morning,” said one of the guards. He stood between Glass Bowl and the villagers, flanked by his fellow guards. “They haven’t forgotten us.”

“Is that so?” Glass Bowl replied with a chuckle. “Well, where are they now?”

“Right here.”

The crowd turned to see Rarity standing alone, on the far end of the line of guards, holding her lightsaber telekinetically at her side.

Glass Bowl’s eyes widened. “You...”

“Do not be deceived, villagers!” Rarity cried back to the crowd. “The Jedi would never allow you to be slaughtered like animals! Our entire Order is mobilizing to defend your village as we speak!”

“Lies!” Glass Bowl yelled. “The Jedi are trying to deceive you! See how they send one agent to deter you from joining us. They fear you, and they fear our movement!”

“Grand Master Satele herself sent me,” Rarity continued. “She wishes to speak with the Matriarch, to atone for our mistakes. It was wrong for us not to defend and respect this village, we knew this all along. But we no longer fear the wrath of the Republic. We risk losing their support by being here, but here we are regardless!”

“They probably got permission to support you,” Glass Bowl countered. “It’s only because it’s in your best interests that you are here!”

“It’s only in your best interests that you are here!” Rarity fired back. “You are lying to these villagers! You control the Flesh Raiders that attacked their village this morning! You are the one responsible for all the attacks previous! And you have the nerve to try and ask for their help?”

Murmurs shot up through the crowd as Rarity’s words sunk in. Glass Bowl, flustered, tried to regain his composure as a villager stepped out of the crowd. Dust Bowl emerged from among the villagers and stood beside Rarity, staring resolutely at his father.

“Hello father,” he said in a loud voice. “Remember me? Your dead son?”

The ponies in Glass Bowl’s army of supporters began murmuring as well. Whispers of “Wasn’t he dead?” and “Didn’t he say the Jedi killed his son?” started swimming around, and Glass Bowl took notice. Seething, and on the brink of losing control, he swiped at the air with an angry hoof.

“You seek to make a fool of me! Even to the very end, your arrogance is impalpable. This cannot be my son. He was slain! By you, no less! You’re trying to confuse and disrupt me!”

“Give it up, father.” Dust Bowl stepped forward and stomped his hoof. “I may not speak for the entire village, but as for myself, I have seen through your lies. You cannot convince me to join you, and any pony can see why. You are a liar, a deceiver! And as your web of lies starts to crumble, so, too, will your insignificant ‘revolution’.”

Glass Bowl drew a saber and gritted his teeth. “You pathetic, ungrateful son! What would your mother think of you if she were alive today?!”

The guards raised their rifles and aimed at Glass Bowl, but neither party made any attack.

“You see?” Rarity called back to the crowd. “He doesn’t care for his own son! Why would he care for any of us?”

Dust Bowl took a step back and fell to his bottom suddenly. Rarity looked at him and saw he was crying and mumbling for his mother and father. Fluttershy broke from the crowd and was at his side in an instant, trying to console him with hushed, soothing words. Some of the ponies in Glass Bowl’s army began to stir uncomfortably among the Flesh Raiders, who reacted minimally to the commotion. The crowd rallied around the guards and started shouting at Glass Bowl, accusing him of murder and being a liar and deceiver. He retorted as best he could, but the roar of the crowd was overbearingly loud.

At last, he shuddered with anger and threw up his hooves. Lightning shot from the tips, illuminating the trees and casting terrifying shadows over the crowd amid the ear-splitting crackling. Silence ensued in the following moments, broken only when Glass Bowl looked down on his son and threw a flurry of lightning at him. Fluttershy and Dust Bowl, being in close proximity to one another, absorbed the attack full force and slunk to the ground, smoldering and whimpering in pain.

Rarity stood over them, aghast. Applejack broke through the crowd, saw Fluttershy and Dust Bowl, and barred her teeth at Glass Bowl.

“I will bring peace to this galaxy!” he screamed. “I’ll do whatever it takes!”

“You have already failed,” said a voice from the nearby trees. “Your delusions have hurt somepony, and peace should never come at the cost of those you swore to defend.”

“Who’s there?!” Glass Bowl yelled back. “Show yourself!”

A stallion in black robes stepped out of the woods nearby. He pointed a hoof at Glass Bowl and whipped a saber off his belt with the Force. “In the name of the Jedi Order, you are under arrest.”

“Master Atuna,” Rarity said happily, a smile creeping across her face. “You’re helping us?”

“Rare, isn’t it?” he replied aloofly, smiling back at Rarity. “Remember, I promised I would be there when you needed me.”

“Did we need ya’ that bad?” Applejack asked.

Glass Bowl took a step forward and shoved as hard as he could with the Force, hurling a ball of air at Master Lemep. Effortlessly, he waved a hoof and shattered the ball. The force of the air being dissipated snapped the trees behind him; oaks trees, thick with age, broken like twigs against the power.

Applejack inhaled sharply. Rarity’s jaw dropped.

“No more games!” Glass Bowl yelled, visibly livid. “We burn the village, then the temple!”

The Flesh Raiders standing further down the path roared furiously. Several of them broke ranks and started to charge toward the crowd of villagers, swinging their makeshift axes and firing blaster rifles. Atuna turned his attention to them and lifted his hooves. The ground underneath them buckled and ruptured, and within seconds the entire pathway collapsed into the river below. The charging Flesh Raiders careened off the cliff and splashed into the raging river, and were swept away by the current almost instantly. The remaining Flesh Raiders retreated in fear while the ponies among them waited at the edge of the ruptures. None of them were hostile anymore, their delusions shattered and their morale diminished.

Applejack stared in awe at the buckled earth. “That was amazin’...”

“What are you...” Glass Bowl muttered. “You look like a child, no older than my son.”

“I am no child,” Master Lemep replied, turning his attention back to Glass Bowl. “I am Atuna Davinari Lemep, Jedi Master on the council of the Tython Jedi Order.”

“You? A Jedi Master?” Glass Bowl snickered and raised his saber toward Master Lemep. “Prove it. Show me something impressive, boy.”

Atuna brought his saber up and ignited it. The distinctive snap-hiss followed the extension of not one, but two, viridian green blades jumping from either end of the hilt. Glass Bowl leaped to Atuna and brought his saber down on him, but the attack was parried away, throwing Glass Bowl off balance. Atuna made no move to counter, but instead waited patiently for his opponent to strike again.

Another frontal attack was tossed aside with a graceful parry, this time followed up a swift counterslash at Glass Bowl’s leg. He dove forward and rolled away to dodge, and found himself kneeling at the side of Fluttershy and Dust Bowl, who were starting to recover from the lightning attack. Glass Bowl aimed his saber at Fluttershy and stared manically at Atuna. “Don’t move, or the villager dies!”

Atuna nodded. “I’m listening.”

“I’m going to walk away from this, and you’re not to follow me, or she dies.”

“Not happening,” Atuna replied.

“Then she dies!”

Master Lemep stepped forward, unphased by the threat. Glass Bowl hurled his saber at Fluttershy, who looked up just in time to scream as the whirling blade flew towards her. Blood splattered over the dirt as the blade made contact, and the hilt extinguished a moment later, falling to the ground. With a thud, Dust Bowl fell to his knees and dropped prone in front of Fluttershy, the large gash across his chest spewing copious amounts of red ooze.

“Dust Bowl!” Fluttershy squealed.

Glass Bowl stared wide-eyed at his son. For the first time in a long time, he realized just how much his ambition had cost him. Fluttershy crawled gingerly up to Dust Bowl’s unmoving body and wept over his shoulder. Rarity and Applejack rushed to her side, both ponies looking for ways to preserve what little of his life had not spilled into the dirt.

Atuna leaped to Dust Bowl and threw his hooves against the wound in his chest. Bright green light shone off the tips of his hooves, blinding the ponies nearby. The wound started to close itself, as if by magic. Light seeped into the wound until it closed over itself completely, and when the light finally faded after nearly a minute, Dust Bowl inhaled sharply and clutched his chest, as if in pain.

Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around his neck and sobbed uncontrollably on him. Rarity and Applejack sighed in collective relief, but their attention was drawn away from the two lovers when Atuna stood up and faced Glass Bowl again, this time a menacing air hanging over the Jedi Master.

He reached up to his hood and pulled it off. His eyes opened to reveal the pearly, translucent orbs that occupied the sockets. Glass Bowl saw them and instantly dropped to his knees, whimpering quietly at first. Atuna took a step forward, and his sniveling grew louder. With every step closer, he seemed closer and closer to screaming, until finally, Atuna placed his hoof on Glass Bowl’s head. The moment his hoof made contact, Glass Bowl writhed and screamed in terror, his eyes wide in shock.

Light began to glow from his eyes and mouth. His hooves grasped at the air frantically, searching for something to hold onto. After a few agonizing, unnerving seconds, Atuna let go of Glass Bowl, who slumped to the ground and exhaled slowly. He did not inhale.

Rarity shook her head and stared at Atuna. “What have you done to him?”

“Something a Jedi should never have to do,” Atuna replied remorsefully. “Good thing I’m not a Jedi, right?”