The Force In Harmony (Update 3)

>These ruins had clearly been important, once.
>You'd visited enough worlds in your time to recognize the elements of a palace.
>Massively oversized halls, regularly spaced sculptures, grand tapestries.
>It must have been a true marvel once, but now it was was crumbling, forgotten.
>What remained was still informative.
>Like the ones you'd seen outside, the inhabitants of this place had been equine in nature.
>The sun and moon also held some significance, being alternatively present on nearly every tapestry intact enough to pick out details from.
>There were shattered remnants of stained glass windows that may have once shown notable events, but they were beyond repair, the shards of their stories scattered across the floor.
>Before long, your exploration brought you to the throne room.
>Two thrones held their vigil here.
>One bore the trappings of the day, the other clearly belonged to the night.
>A large crack runs between the thrones and up the back wall, ending at a large, shattered hole.
>Despite the warmth of your robes, you find yourself shivering.
>The clopping of hooves against stone interrupts you, and you turn to find the purple equine from earlier approaching.
>"Umm... Hello?"
>Her nervousness was clear.
"Hello."
>"Are you in immediate need of aid?"
>There was still nervousness in her voice, but this was clearly a prepared question.
"Immediately, no, but I only have supplies for about a week before I'll be out of food."
>She nods, and continues with what feels like a rehearsed message.
>"Then I would ask you to please remain here until we can contact the princesses. If it ends up taking more than a week for them to come to a decision, we'll be sure to get some food out here for you. And please, try not to kill anything more while you're here."
>With that, she turns to leave, though she stops at the door and takes a final look back at you.
>"Oh, and thank you. For saving us."

>As she leaves, you turn back to the thrones.
>There was something here, and you didn't like what it felt like.
>A noticeable chill, despite the previous warmth.
>The dark side.
>Whatever happened here, it left a lingering presence.
>Perhaps this is why the Force led you here.
>These equines seemed peaceful,  but if they were to get corrupted...
>Speculation will get you nowhere.
>Your purpose would become clear in time.
>There was still plenty of ruin to explore, perhaps you could learn more about what occured here.
>Backtracking to a side passage, you take one last look at the twin thrones before pressing on.
>More ancient tapestries greeted you, and you found yourself wondering why they had been left behind.
>The lack of other furnishings suggested that this place wasn't abandoned in a hurry, so why weren't they taken as well?
>Hopefully the locals have some answers, if you can't find any on your own.
>An open door reveals a welcome sight.
>A library.
>Part of you wondered why this much information would simply be left to get forgotten, but you weren't about to forgo a chance to learn about this world.
>Moving to the nearest shelf, you discover a problem.
>You can't read the words on the spines of the book.
>That didn't make sense, they spoke Basic.
>Unless...
>Perhaps without hands, they had difficulty with Aurebesh and developed their own written language.
>If it was just a different set of characters, working it out enough to translate wouldn't be too hard, but until you got familiar enough with the writing to simply read it, learning anything would take forever from the need to translate.
>And if it was a completely different written language, the datapad with your translation program was lost to your crash landing, so you'd need a local to teach you.
>The fading light told you it was a problem for another day.
>Fishing some food from your pack, you start clearing rubble from a section of floor until you've got a clear area large enough for your bedroll.
>There's been no sign of anything living in these ruins, so you should be fine without a full camp.
>Not that you had all your supplies for a full camp.
>Before settling in for some sleep, you meditate in preparation for an attempt at communication.
>The core systems, along with the jedi temple, were far enough away that you were unsure you could even reach, but with no other means to attempt communication, it had to be at least tried.
>Once you were ready, you decided on your message.
>It needed to be simple, even over short distances such a link could only convey basic thoughts at best.
>After some consideration, you make your attempt.
'Stranded. Safe. Planet. Hidden.'
>Short and to the point.
>They knew the hyperspace coordinates you had followed.
>Taking down a spice den, you'd found the coordinates, perfectly legible, in the middle of a wall covered in the mad scribblings of a dying addict.
>After running them through an astrogation computer to confirm it wouldn't run you into any known hazards, you'd brought it before the council.
>A brief deliberation later, you'd been granted permission to investigate.
>Assuming you message reached them, hopefully it wouldn't take too long to attempt a rescue.
>And even if it didn't, they would be expecting some kind of report on your findings, and would eventually come looking.
>The coordinates would bring them to this cloaked planet's gravity well, and they'd know where to start looking.
>Though hopefully they'd attempt to contact you before approaching the planet, so you could warn them about the artificial stars.
>In any event, that was a worry for when they come looking for you.
>Until then, you'd learn what you could, and hopefully figure out why the Force brought you here.
>But for now, it was time for sleep.


>Back at the treebrary, you paced back and forth, trying to figure out what to say.
>You'd had a long discussion with your friends after finding the alien, and now it was time to report back to the princesses.
>Feelings about the creature were very mixed.
>Yes, it had saved all of you, but its methods were so extreme.
>You could still see that brilliant green glow of its spell, effortlessly cutting through everything in its way.
>None of the spells you knew came anywhere close to that.
>Then there was its impossibly long leap, you've never heard of anything without wings managing something like that.
>Perhaps that had been magic as well, you knew of a few spells to boost physical ability, but you weren't sure how strong it would need to be to make it so far.
>It was clearly powerful, and not afraid to use its power.
>The sun was beginning to set, if you wanted to get that report to Celestia today, you needed to get it written.
>Turning back to the empty scroll on your desk, you sigh and pick up a quill.
'Dear Princess Celestia,'
'We have made contact with the alien. It speaks our language, though it called it "Basic". We've asked it to stay in the old ruins in the Everfree until you can make a decision, but its food supplies will only last for a week.'
'The reason we left it out there instead of bringing it to Ponyville is somewhat complicated. Before we'd found it, it had run across a nest of shocker lizards, and they'd chased it all the way to the old castle. When we got there, the lizards came for us, since the rope bridge had been severed, with the alien on the far side.'
'Before the lizards could reach us, the alien intervened. It took a single running leap across the chasm, making it all the way to right in front of us, putting itself between us and the lizards.'
'While it was still in the air, it used some kind of magic, launching a beam of green energy at the lizards. It all happened too fast to see clearly, but whatever that beam was, it literally cut them to pieces, yet the alien was able to safely hold it a moment later, protecting us from the remaining lizards, until it scared them off.'
'Once the lizards were gone, the alien immediately turned and asked if we were all right. We were, but seeing what happened to those lizards was difficult, especially for Fluttershy.'
'The aftermath of our rescue left little opportunity to talk to and learn about the alien, but given that it saved us, I do not believe that it means us harm.'
'Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.'
>The letter finally written, you roll it up and pass it off to Spike to be delivered.
>There.
>Your part was done for now, it was up to the princesses to decide what to do next.
>Today's events left you weary, so you decided to go to bed early, instead of your usual reading long into the night.


>A noise out the window woke you from your slumber, and you got up to see what it was.
>An eerily familiar scene awaited you.
>Down below, you could see the equines from before, though there was another one present.
>All you could make out from this distance was their color, a deep blue.
>The lizards were also present, making their charge.
>With no way to reach them in time, you could only watch the events unfold.
>Until you saw yourself intervene.
>The leap, the saber throw, a pause after landing, and then the charge, all exactly as you had done.
>In stark contrast to how the others reacted, the newcomer merely stood back and watched.
>As the dream you entered the ruins, the equines you'd rescued shimmered and faded, leaving only the newcomer, looking up at you.
>There was clearly significance in this mystery arrival, so you turned from the window and made your way back through the ruins.
>You were closely observed as you leapt the chasm and approached, and you observed in turn.
>This one was taller, more slender, with both wings and horn, and bore ornamentation suggesting a position of importance.
>Though the most interesting details were the mane and tail, which flowed in a nonexistent breeze and glittered like the night sky.
>"You are proving to be most interesting. What is thy name, stranger?"
>Her voice was authoritative, regal.
"I am Anonymous, Knight of the Republic."
>"A noble title. We are Luna, Princess of the Night."
>At the mention of her title, you move to show proper respect, but are waved off.
>"Ceremony can wait until we meet in the waking world. What can you tell me of that green energy you used against the lizards?"
"My lightsaber? Not that much to tell, I know how to construct one, given tools and materials, but i dont know the details of how it works."
>You unclip your saber from your belt and hold the hilt up for Luna to examine.
>"A sword with no physical blade? You possess impressive magic."
>Magic?
>That didn't speak well for your chances of getting your ship repaired or replaced.
"A lightsaber is not magical, though it can certainly seem that way to those unfamiliar with one."
>Your answer seemed to upset her, and her tone becomes increasingly accusatory.
>"You mean to say something as potent as this weapon is entirely mundane? What of you throwing it, then? How could you be sure it wouldn't bounce and hit the ponies you were trying to protect?"
"The /weapon/ is mundane, the wielder, less so. I did not simply throw it, I guided it through the Force."
>To demonstrate, you lifted the hilt from your hand and sent it lazily orbiting around yourself.
>"Hmph. Your point is made. What of your vessel?"
"Scrap. The reactor survived, but with all the damage it'd be cheaper and easier to build a new ship than to try and repair it."
>"Unfortunate. Have you the knowledge to do either?
>You'd already been assuming what her question implied, but the impending confirmation left a pit in your stomach.
"No, I am a jedi, not an engineer."
>"Most unfortunate, it sounds to be well beyond what we are capable of."
>And there it was.
>You were well and truly stranded.
>Any chance of getting off this planet would have to come from offworld.
>"We shall see about arranging more suitable lodgings, a ruined castle in the middle of the Everfree is hardly proper."
"What happened here, anyway?"
>The question seemed innocent enough in your head, but it caused Luna to pull back, avoiding your gaze.
>A momentary chill fell across the clearing as the princess finally gave her reply, absent her previous commanding tone.
>"...A mistake"
>It doesn't take her long to recover.
>"There are other dreams to attend to. Farewell, Knight Anonymous."
>She took to the air, and her retreating form shimmered and faded away as the other dream ponies had, leaving you alone in your dream.
>With little else to be done, you returned to the ruins, made your way back to your bedroll in the library, and went back to sleep.