"We should get indoors," said Celestia, "Sand Ponies are easily startled, but they'll be back, and in greater numbers." ---- In Celestia's home... "No way, my mother never fought in the war," said Twilight skeptically, "She was a navigator for a cruiser fleet." "That's what your uncle said," replied Celestia, "He thought she should have stayed home, and not been involved." "Wait, how would you know? You didn't fight in the Clone Wars, did you?" "I did. I was once a Jedi Knight, just like your mother." Twilight looked on somberly. "I wish I knew her." "She was the best fighter pilot in the galaxy, as well as a cunning warrior. I hear you're not such a bad pilot yourself, actually." Twilight smiled at the compliment. "And she was a good friend. Which reminds me..." Celestia trotted over to a chest in the corner of the room. "I have something for you. Your mother wanted you to have this when you were old enough. Your uncle feared you would've followed me on some idealist crusade like your mother, however, so I waited." "Um, I think I'll save on power now, if that's okay," said Flutter-3PO. "I don't mind," replied Twilight, and the protocol droid fell asleep. "What is it?" asked Twilight as Celestia gave her a strange object. It was a short silver rod, with a small button on one side and a hole in the top. "Your mother's lightsaber," explained Celestia, "The weapon of a Jedi. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster... an elegant weapon, from a more civilized age..." Twilight pressed the button, and a loud noise was heard, as a beam of blue light shot out of the hole on top of the lightsaber, forming a blade of energy. As Twilight moved the lightsaber, it hummed slightly. She pressed the button again, and the blade retracted. "For over a thousand generations, the Jedi were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic..." Celestia reminisced, "before the dark times... before the Empire..." "So, how'd my mother die? Really?" asked Twilight. "A young mare named Darth Moon, a pupil of mine before she turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt and destroy the Jedi Knights. She betrayed and murdered your mother. She was seduced... by the Dark Side of the Force..." "The Force?" "The source of a Jedi's power. An energy field generated by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together. Now, little SP unit..." "My designation is SP1-K, ma'am," he replied. "What message do you have for me?" SP1-K played the hologram of the purple-maned mare again, except this time, the message was longer, and didn't repeat: "General Celestia Kenobi... years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars, and now, he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person, but my ship has fallen under attack, and I'm afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this SP unit, and my father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Celestia. You're my only hope." Celestia gave Twilight a sly grin. "You must learn the ways of the Force, if you're coming with me to Alderaan," she said. "But that's thousands of light-years away!" protested Twilight, "My aunt and uncle need me on the farm back home!" "I need you more, Twilight, and so does she. I may not look like it, but I'm getting too old for this sort of thing. I can't do this by myself anymore."
Meanwhile... "Any attack made by the rebels against this station would be a useless gesture no matter what technical data they've obtained. This station is now the ultimate power in the universe." An Imperial Admiral proudly boasted to his other superiors and fellow Officers and Admiral. They all applauded at the news, to which the humble officer smiled and sat down before his mood changed. "But until this Battle Station is fully operational, we are vulnerable. The Rebel Alliance is too well equipped and more dangerous then we realize..." "Dangerous to your starfleet commander, not to this battle station" Another Admiral spoke. "The Rebellion will continue to gain support in the Imperial Senate an-" The officer said before being cut off by two very distinct people within Imperial Ranks as they entered the room. Darth Moon herself, and her Second in Command and current Head Admiral, the ruthless yet surprisingly efficient Grand Moff, Trixie Tarkin. "The Imperial Senate will no longer be of any concern for us." Trixie interrupted. "I have just received word that the Emperor has just dissolved the council permanently. The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away... " "That's impossible! How can the Emperor maintain control without the bureaucracy?" The first Admiral spoke. "The General-Governors now have direct control over their territories. Fear will keep the local systems in-line. Fear of this battle station." Trixie spoke back. "And what of the Rebellion? If the rebels have obtained a complete technical readout of this station it is possible, however unlikely, that they might find a weakness and exploit it." The First Admiral spoke again. "The plans you refer to will soon be back in our hands." Darth Moon spoke. "Any attack made by the Rebels against this station would be a useless gesture, no matter what technical data they've obtained. This station is now the ultimate power in the universe. I suggest we use it!" The other commander spoke again, this time showing more arrogance then before. "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force." Darth Moon told him. The other commander took this an insult and snapped back at Darth Moon. "Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Moon! Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you clairvoyance enough to find the Rebel's hidden fort..." Darth Moon merely raised a hoof at him as the Other Commander suddenly couldn't breath, choking loudly as his face started to turn blue as the other commanders looked at the scene in fear. Darth Moon looked at him directly. "I find your lack of faith disturbing..." Darth Moon said, voice dripping with venom...
"Enough of this! Moon, release him!" commanded Trixie sternly. "As you wish," sighed Darth Moon as she did so, leaving the Imperial officer gasping for air. "This bickering is pointless," continued Trixie, "Once Lord Moon gives us the location of the Rebel base, we can then crush them with one, swift stroke."
Back on Tatooine, a lone red speeder zooms past the desert plains before stopping along the remains of a Sandcrawler. Both Celestia and Twilight hopped out of the speeder and walk among the smoldering wreck and scattered bodies "It looks like Sandponies did this, all right. Look, here are Gaffi sticks, Bantha tracks. It's just...I never heard of them hitting anything this big before." Twilight said, looking in suprise. Celestia was crouching in the sand, studying the tracks of the wreckage. "They didn't. But we are meant to think they did. These tracks are side by side. Sandponies always ride single file to hide there numbers." Twilight then noticed something. "These are the same Jawas that old us Flutter-3PO and SP1-K!" "And these blast points, too accurate for sandponies. Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise..." Celestia said sadly. "Why would Imperial troops want to slaughter Jawas?" Twilight said before looking at the speeder, where the two droids were in the back. She put two and two together... "And if they traced the robots here, they may have learned who they sold them to. And that would lead them......home." Twilight then leapt in a sudden horrible realization, then races for the speeder and jumps it. "Wait, Twilight! It's too dangerous!" Celestia cried out
Sure enough, once Twilight got to the homestead, it was too late. The place was covered in blaster fire, with the charred remains of her aunt and uncle lying on the ground. She immediately returned to Celestia. "There was nothing you could've done, Twilight," said Celestia, noticing the look on Twilight's face, "and you'd be as dead as the rest of them, had you been there." "So, there's nothing left for me then..." Twilight sighed in sadness. "Teach me the ways of the Force. I'm coming with you to Alderaan."
The two of them headed back into their Speeder and headed to one of the largest spaceports on the planet, a sprawling city containing 362 hangars in which arrivals had to berth. A haphazard array of low, grey, concrete structures and semi-domes. Celestia just sighed deeply. "Mos Eisley Spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious" She said, before heading her way with Twilight and the two droids
Soon, they came to an Imperial checkpoint. "Good afternoon, miss," said a Stormtrooper to Twilight, "I need to see your license and registration, please." "You don't need to see her license and registration," said Celestia, waving her hoof. The Stormtrooper suddenly turned to his fellows and said, "We don't need to see her license and registration." The others were confused, but did not question this. "These aren't the droids you're looking for." "These aren't the droids we're looking for." "She can go about her business." "You can go about your business." "Move along." "Move along." And so the speeder took off once more. "How'd that happen?" asked Twilight incredulously, "I thought we were in hot water!" "The Force can have plenty of influence on the weak-minded," explained Celestia with a slight chuckle. "What's so funny?" "Nothing important, Twilight... Let's just get to the cantina. I need a drink." They parked outside said cantina not too long after. "Be careful, now, Twilight," said Celestia as she and the others climbed out of the speeder, "This place can be a little rough." ----- Various sentient beings from around the galaxy could be found at the Mos Eisley Cantina. Many of them chattered to each other in alien tongues as they drank exotic beverages. Twilight and Celestia trotted in slowly, followed closely by SP1-K and Flutter-3PO. "Hey!" shouted the bartender at the arrivals, "They need to wait outside! We don't serve their kind here." "Did an alicorn kill your family, mister?" Twilight snarked in reply. "He's talking about us, Twilight," said SP1-K in irritation, "and as for you," he added to the bartender, "you need to check your biological privilege. It's not our fault we're droi--" "I'm sorry, SP1, but rules are rules," said Flutter-3PO somberly, "we'll just have to leave." And she dragged SP1-K away by his tail. Twilight took a seat at the bar and ordered two shots of Hoth vodka, while a pony with a spider-like face began ranting at her in a language she didn't understand. "Yeah, okay," Twilight replied before being tapped on the shoulder. She turned to face the source, a female griffon with gold eyes and purple eyelids. "He doesn't like you," she said, referring to the spider-faced pony. "You don't say?" said Twilight sarcastically before turning back around. "I don't like you either," continued the griffon. "Yeah, sure, I'll be careful." "You'll be dead! Most of us in here are wanted! I myself have a price on my head in 12 different systems!" "You don't scare me," said Twilight, turning back to face her with a smug grin. She drew a blaster before the sound of a lightsaber was heard, and before she knew it, the griffon's front talon had fallen to the ground, the stump cauterized. "I don't think she'll be bothering you anymore," said Celestia as she turned off her lightsaber. Twilight noticed another pony next to her. This pony was about the same size as Celestia, but had stunted pegasus wings. Her orange coat was unusually thick, to the point that her dark pink mane was barely visible. She also wore a bandolier. "Hello," said Twilight to the pony. She was greeted with clucking noises in response. "This pony says she's the co-pilot of a ship that may be able to help us," said Celestia. ----- "Hey there," said a young pegasus to both Twilight and Celestia. This pegasus wore a black vest over a white, button-up shirt. Her coat was a vibrant shade of cyan, and her rainbow-streaked mane was somewhat messy. "Name's Dash Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon. Scoots here tells me you're looking for a ship." "How fast is she?" asked Celestia. "How fast is she?" repeated Dash, somewhat mockingly, before laughing. "You're kidding, right? You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?!" Celestia sighed. She didn't really like being patronized by this cocky pilot, but she really didn't want to start a fight. After all, time was of the essence. "Should I have?" she asked. "Well, yeah! She made the Kessel Run in twelve parsecs flat! She can outrun Imperial scout ships, and not just any ships, either, I'm talking Corellian freight cruisers. Fast enough for you, lady?" "Look, we don't have time for your wisecolt remarks," said Celestia angrily, "We're in a hurry to get off this planet." "Whoa, okay, why didn't ya say so?" Dash asked nervously. "What's the rush?" Celestia took a few deep breaths to calm down and said, "Let's just say we'd like to avoid any... Imperial entanglements." "So, what's the cargo?" "Only four passengers. Myself, the girl, two droids... no strings attached." "Sounds fun," said Dash. "Look, I'm sorry about angering you, so I'm going to do you a favor. I would ask for 20,000 credits normally, but since nopony wants any trouble, I'll lower it down to 18. Sound fair?" "Completely." "Perfect," said Dash, "You've got yourselves a ship. You girls come up with the money, and I'll be waiting for you in Docking Bay 94." "Thanks," said Celestia, "It's been a pleasure doing business with you." And she and Twilight trotted away. "Do you even have 18 grand?" asked Twilight with concern. "No, but I'm sure your speeder's worth a little more than that," replied Celestia, "We'll just sell it to the merchant, it'll be no problem." Meanwhile, Dash breathed a sigh of relief. However, just as she stepped up to leave, she was approached by a green-skinned mare with antennae for ears, a pair of misaligned yellow eyes, and a platinum blonde mane. "Going somewhere, Solo?" she asked in Huttese as she pointed her blaster at Dash. "Yes, Derpo, as a matter of fact, I was just going to see your boss," she replied testily, "Tell Blueblood I've got his money." "It's too late for that, you should have paid him when you had the chance," replied Derpo, "Blueblood's put a price on your head so large every bounty hunter in the galaxy will be looking for you," she added with a slight chuckle. "I'm lucky I found you first." "Yeah, but this time, I've got the money." "If you give it to me, I might forget I found you." "I don't have it with me. Tell Blueblood--" "Blueblood's through with you. He has no time for smugglers who drop their shipments at the first sign of an Imperial cruiser." Dash was clearly getting irritated with Derpo. The incident where she had to drop everything and flee wasn't something she was particularly proud of. She slowly and secretly made sure her blaster was at the ready as she said, "Even I get boarded sometimes. Do you think I had a choice?" "You can tell that to Blueblood. He might only take your ship." "Over my dead body." "That's the idea. I've been looking forward to this for a long time." "Yeah... I'll bet you have." Eyewitness accounts vary as to what happened next. Some say that Derpo shot Dash first, only for Dash to dodge with an uncanny neck movement and fire back. Others say the two shot simultaneously, but Derpo missed. Still others say that Derpo never fired a single shot, and that their account is the only correct account. All agree, however, that the result was Derpo's death, and Dash walking out, apologizing to the bartender for the mess.
Meanwhile, on the Death Star... "I'm surprised. Her resistance to the mind probe is considerable. It will be some time before we can extract any information from her" Darth Moon spoke to Grand Moff Tarkin, to which the blue unicorn scratched her head. Just before Trixie was about to speak, an Imperial Officer walked into the two's conversation. "The final check-out is complete. All systems are operational. What course shall we set?" The officer spoke. Trixie rubbed her chin before an idea came to mind. "Perhaps she would respond to an alternative form of persuasion from the Great and Powerful Tarkin" "What do you mean?" Darth Moon questioned. "I think it is time we demonstrate the full power of this station." Trixie told Moon before looking at the solider. "Set your course for Princess Rarity's home planet of Alderaan. It's time for the Princess to return home" She added darkly. "With pleasure" The Officer replied before heading off to carry the order.
As the Death Star arrived in orbit around Alderaan, Princess Rarity was brought to the observation deck. "Governor Tarkin," she said with considerable snark and disgust in her tone, "I should have known it was you holding Moon's reigns. But then again, I could smell that foul stench of yours the moment I was brought aboard." Trixie simply took the insult in stride. "Charming to the very end," she snarked in reply, "You have no idea of the difficulty I had in signing your death sentence." "I'm surprised to hear that you had the guts to take that initiative yourself," replied Rarity in an equal amount of sarcasm. Trixie simply decided to cut to the chase. "Princess..." she said, savoring the moment, "before you die, I would like you to be a guest of a ceremony marking the operational status of this battle station." "You just don't get it," replied Rarity, "The tighter you grip the galaxy, the more systems slip out of your hooves." "Not after we demonstrate the power of this station," replied Trixie ominously, "In a way, the decision of the first planet to be destroyed... rests with you." Rarity's eyes widened. "What do you mean?" she asked in fear. "Due to your reluctance to provide the location of the Rebel base, I have decided to test this battle station's capabilities on your home planet of Alderaan." "NO!!" Rarity shouted in terror, "ALDERAAN IS A PEACEFUL PLANET, WE HAVE NO WEAPONS!!" "Oh?" asked Trixie with dark satisfaction, "Well, if you wish for an alternative target, then name the system. Your choice." Rarity was faced with a dilemma. On the one hoof, if she withheld the location of the base, Alderaan would be destroyed. If she gave away their location, however, she would betray the Rebellion. Eventually, however, Rarity decided to come up with a third option... She would lie. So she thought up something plausible. Something that Trixie would easily believe. "Dantooine," she said nervously, "The base... is on Dantooine..." "See, Lady Moon?" asked Trixie smugly, "I told you she could be reasonable with enough coercion." She then turned to the operators of the main demolition beam. "You may fire when ready." "WHAT?!? NO!!" cried Rarity in desparation. "Oh, Princess, you trust too easily..." said Trixie, "Dantooine is far too remote to make an effective demonstration. But don't worry. We'll deal with your Rebel friends soon enough." "YOU MONSTERS! STOP THIS MADNESS!!" "Commence primary ignition." ----- As Celestia and Twilight approached a speeder dealer to get the money they needed, Celestia stopped dead in her tracks. A look of horror crossed her face and a shiver traveled down her spine. "Celestia?" asked Twilight, "What's wrong?" "I sense... a great disturbance in the Force..." she said in absolute shock, "as if billions of voices cried out in terror... and were suddenly silenced... I fear something terrible has happened..."
Celestia and Twilight both stood still in a sleazy used speeder lot, talking with a tall, grotesque, insect-like used speeder dealer. Strange exotic bodies and spindly-legged beasts pass by as the insect concludes the sale by giving Twilight some coins. Twilight looked at Celestia "He says it's the best he can do.Since the XP-38 came out, they're just not in demand." "It will be enough." Celestia told the younger mare before they both turned around to leave. "If the ship's as fast as he's boasting, we ought to do well." Celestia said confidently.
Once the two mares and their droid companions entered the docking bay, they found a rather worn-out looking circular ship. "Wow," remarked Twilight, "what a piece of junk!" "Would a piece of junk be able to go .5 past lightspeed?" asked Dash, looking at the Falcon in awe, "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. I even did a few special modifications myself." Suddenly, blaster fire was heard, as Stormtroopers appeared in the doorway. "Quick, everypony get aboard! Scoots, get us outta here!" Scootbacca clucked loudly in response as she fled up the ramp. She was followed by Celestia, then Twilight, then the droids, and finally Dash as she tried to fend off against the Imperials before they took off.
