Author's Notes:

This includes spoilers from the novel "Ahsoka", as well as Clone Wars and Rebels. Be warned!

Everyone from Raada had been evacuated. Or at least, most of them. She figured that at least she could claim it had been done with minimum casualties. Kaeden and Miara Larte—the closest thing she'd had to friends in the former farming planet—were safe, at least, and new opportunities were there for her to take if she wanted. And, one of them, was a few klicks away from her position, inside the Tantive III.

She didn't have much time, however, as the senator would be heading back to Alderaan in a couple of hours, once he had finished the reports from the ground teams. She glanced around the blocky ship she had borrowed from the Fardis, considering the good she had been able to do on her own.

Was this the right way? Or was she overextending herself?

Shaking her head, she made up her mind and pressed a button, allowing the doors from the bridge to open into… a bar?

Not believing what she was seeing, she stepped in, extending her senses. Could someone have snuck into her ship and trick her like this? She heard a chime behind her, but it was drowned by a loud voice from inside.

"And that's when I felt the magic just burst through me! Just like you said!" an excited young voice said with evident glee. "Even though Phantom Blot kept trying to suck my magic out, we all managed to overwhelm him! I know that Friendship is Magic, but, even though we studied so much, I never thought it would work like that back home. I always thought… I'd have to use Magica's amulet back there."

"I'm glad it worked out," another voice said, as she took a couple of tentative steps in. "I knew you could do it… I've watched you learn and grow, Lena. It was just a matter of time before you broke through, and now you're a full-blown Duckworld sorceress."

"Are… you crying?"

"No. Yes. You grew up so fast!"

"I—okay, now I know you're faking it!"

She finally stepped into the bar proper, finding herself needing a moment to take it in. It wasn't like any place she had been to before, except for the wall of liquor on the back—which was a bar-prerequisite for the whole galaxy.

The place was made of stone and wood, not metal. It wasn't as basic a construction as she would find on Kashyyyk, either. The architecture was very efficient, and pleasing to the eyes. The tables were also wood, with other materials on the seats. A music box of some sort was on the opposite corner of the entrance, and many, many pictures of creatures she'd never seen before adorned the wall to her right. There was a sense of welcoming from all around her, and her senses told her it wasn't just because of the decor.

To her left, the bar—also made of wood and polished to a shine—had several stools, and on one of them, stood a bird-like humanoid, talking to the bartender, who appeared to be a human female.

The bird humanoid started glowing with bright blue light and levitating in place, with the strange energy echoing all around in familiar and unfamiliar ways. Ahsoka didn't know what to make of it, since it reminded her a little of the Night Sister's strange powers, but it didn't exude a threat, as theirs did. Still, the power was there and the bird-humanoid clearly had plenty of it.

"I'm not sure I dig the neon-blue look," the human said, crossing her arms and seemingly not too impressed by this display of power. "And the robes would probably give Rarity a heart attack."

"Look, that was the will of the magic back home, alright?" the bird humanoid said, slowly levitating herself down to the floor and dismissing the transformation, returning to her less-aggravating and informal-looking clothes. "Anyway, it seems you have a guest. I should head back home as well."

The human bartender glanced her way and smiled, waving her over the bar as the bird humanoid picked up some books, gave the bartender a hug, and then ran back the way Ahsoka herself had come through.

When the door opened, she couldn't see her ship, but rather green fields. The door closed once more.

"Welcome to Sunset's Isekai, my little bar in the multiverse. My name is Sunset Shimmer," the bartender said, completely unperturbed by her unannounced guest. "Come, take a seat. I haven't seen a Togruta Jedi in here since Master Kiwiiks last visited."

The togruta gave her an odd look, but warily took her up on her offer. "Thanks, but I'm not a jedi," she said, sighing as she relaxed into her seat. "Not anymore, at least."

"Well, you don't seem to be a sith, so there's that,' Sunset said amiably, passing her a menu.

Her guest took a glance at it, blinking when she realized it was a variety of teas. She still looked up from it to arch an eyebrow at her. "You know you're parked in my spaceship, right?"

Sunset grinned. "I've turned up in many strange places. The bar has had a surprising amount of bathroom doors open into it."

The togruta snorted, shaking her head. "The name's Ahsoka Tano, Jedi Apprentice, and former Commander of the Republic. Currently…" She sighed. "Unemployed."

"Hm," Sunset said, leaning over the counter and studying the former jedi. "You seem pretty bothered about that."

"I think I'll have the Deychin tea please." Ahsoka said. She tilted her head, looking at Sunset quizzically. "You said you spoke to another Jedi, right? I'm not familiar with the name. Was it recently? Did she tell you about the war?"

Sunset paused, trying to remember the details. "It was some time ago. She had just finished a battle in planet… um… Rem? Ren? Ren Bar?"

"Rhen Var?" Ahsoka asked, leaning in, as curiosity crossed her face. "My master was there, alongside Obi Wan Kenobi. But you said Master Kiwiiks? Doesn't ring a bell, and I'm certain I knew most of the Jedi Masters by then, especially if they were also togruta."

"Might've been before your time then," Sunset said as she stepped back from the bar to prepare the tea.

"I don't know," Ahsoka said, shaking her head. "There haven't been any major battles involving jedi in Rhen Var for thousands of years. Do you recall any other jedi?"

"She came in alone, but she mentioned a man named Ngani Zho was her master?"

The human busied herself working behind the bar. Usually tea was just simply served in Coruscant without much fanfare, but here it seemed to be a bit of a process. Although some machinery was involved, it seemed that the main intention here was to take your time and enjoy it… something she hadn't done since that first night in Raada, when Kaeden had introduced her to her team.

Even then, this place felt much more comfortable and inviting. There was a calming aura here, as if the living Force was not only present, but rejoicing. Her thoughts turned to her host. The human had immediately identified her as a Jedi, and then not even blinked when she had said she was not. She seemed knowledgeable enough to know about the Sith, or maybe even the mysterious Inquisitors, and yet she hadn't acted threatened or suspicious.

That was either foolish or indicating that there was a lot going on here. That and the earlier conversation was nagging at her. She didn't recognize the togruta jedi the bartender had mentioned, but the other one… Master Zho rang a bell. Something had come up at the start of the Clone Wars, when she was just a youngling.

Master Plo had mentioned previous wars against the Sith, and one major event had indeed taken place in Rhen Var, and a Master Zho had been mentioned… almost four thousand years before.

Ahsoka's eyes widened just slightly. She leaned back, studying the place more carefully. Once more her eyes were drawn to the pictures on the wall, where hundreds of different species—some familiar-looking, most not—were depicted with the bartender. Just how many of those could someone feasibly take in a set period of time without aging a day?

"How… old are you?" Ahsoka whispered when her attention was dragged back to the bar by the sound of the cup and plate being placed in front of her. True, four thousand years would more than cover the entire wall, but if this human (if that's what she was) had met a Jedi from the war between the Sith Empire and the Great Republic, she had to be ancient.

Sunset smirked, holding the tea kettle in her hands and carefully pouring the contents into her cup. "I get asked that question a lot. But a lady never reveals her secrets."

Ahsoka nodded. "So old."

"Right." Sunset's smile slipped a bit as she gave Ahsoka an unamused look. "Your tea is ready, whippersnapper."

Ahsoka chuckled a bit self-consciously. "Sorry. It's been a while since I've been around someone that much o—" she interrupted herself when Sunset's eyebrow arched up. "—I mean, uh. You know, this tea smells delicious."

"Nice save," Sunset said, shaking her head and pouring herself a cup. "It's not that I don't know it, you know?" she added a bit defensively. "But I don't really age, so it's not accurate to really call me 'older'."

"Right, right." Ahsoka laughed, already feeling a bit less tense than earlier in her ship, although the thought immediately darkened her mood.

"Hey," Sunset spoke up again, "it seems you have something on your mind, why don't you tell me about it? I'm here to lend an ear if you need it."

Ahsoka nodded, taking a deep breath and inhaling in the process the soothing aroma of the tea. "I just… have a lot on my mind. Things have happened in the last years that upended how I viewed the universe. Things I left behind have come to haunt me, and I have the possibility to be once again part of something bigger…" She looked down at her hand, holding the tea cup.
"But I'm afraid of getting burned again."

Sunset walked around the bar to sit next to her, not saying anything, but providing silent encouragement with a small smile.

Ahsoka took a deep breath. "All my life, or most of it, was spent as part of the jedi. Master Plo took me from my world, and to the temple. There I made my first friends, I learned to read and write, the basics of education, to feel and use the Force." She smiled at the memories of master Yoda walking among the students, all of them just slightly taller than him, gently guiding their thoughts and senses into the Force. "I was apprenticed to the greatest Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker."

Sunset, who was at that moment drinking her tea, snorted in surprise and started choking, her eyes widening in surprise before she forced the drink down and started coughing, turning away from Ahsoka, who gave her an odd look.

"What's that about?"

Clearing her throat, Sunset looked at her a bit more warily. "Skywalker, you say?"

"Yes," Ahsoka narrowed her eyes, trying but being unable to really feel what her host was thinking about. "Him."

"He's a rather famous guy," Sunset said, cleaning her mouth with a handy paper towel. "I'm just surprised you knew him."

There was more to that, but Skyguy had been pretty popular with the ladies. Maybe Sunset Shimmer had a crush on him at some point? She shook her head. "Anyway, Anakin and I went everywhere together. He trained me, and he helped me grow. I became a much better person thanks to him… I would have graduated into a Jedi Knight myself but the Council…"

The memories of Barris and the damage done were hard on her still, several years later, even if she had grown to mostly accept them. "They were tricked into thinking I was traitor. I was almost executed… and even though Skyguy found the real culprit the damage was done."

Sunset nodded. "I'm guessing that's why you're not a Jedi."

"That would be right." Ahsoka sipped her tea, her thoughts decidedly not pleasant. She decided to deviate the conversation for the moment. "There's something about this place. I shouldn't feel comfortable enough to tell you all of this. We just met."

"It's a combination of things," Sunset replied, her hand gently sliding on the bar's surface. "The bar is open when you need to clear your head. There's someone here who is not going to judge you, merely hear you out and give you an opinion if it's wanted. But this place is also away from everything, and yet close enough for it to be real." She patted Ahsoka's hand. "It's like being with a life-long friend, because that's what I try to be."

Despite herself, Ahsoka smiled. "That does sound nice."

Sunset nodded. "Hmm. Right you are."

Ahsoka shook her head at the bad Yoda impression. Clearly Sunset knew more jedi than she had originally indicated. She was about to ask Sunset about it when the bartender threw her a gentle smile. It was a silent message, and it told her it was better not to ask, lest she hear answers she was not ready yet to hear.

"Anyway," Ahsoka continued, looking away from the bartender. "I sort of made my own way after the Temple. I worked as a mechanic in Coruscant, and helped the Mandalorians to recover their planet from Darth Maul."

"Didn't Maul die early on?" Sunset asked.

"No… we—the Jedi Order thought so for some years, but he was alive. And well… it was during that final mission I was attacked by my own troops." Ahsoka leaned on the bar, holding the cup in both her hands and looking into the wavy surface of the tea as memories flashed by in her mind. "I felt Master Plo's death. And Master Windu's. I felt the Dark Side rising. I heard the voice of my master, Anakin, one last time… Rex and I barely made it out alive, but Maul escaped again into the Galaxy and all of my friends, Rex's brothers in that ship died."

She paused to finish her tea in one shot, watching grimly as Sunset poured her more. She acknowledged her thanks with a nod of the head. "I left my lightsabers there, and we pretended we both had died. That was the last I saw of him."

Ahsoka leaned back, her eyes following the shelves of the alcohol selection behind the bar as the memories of her travels continued. "I kept pretending to be a mechanic. For a year or so I hid with the Fardies… a merchant family, working as their mechanic far away from the capital. But it didn't take long for the Empire to reach there. On 'Empire Day' I stole a ship and left."

At Sunset's startled look, Ahsoka snorted. "Don't worry, Mr. Fardi actually indicated that's what I should do. I couldn't stay there. They didn't know I was a jedi, but they could see the Empire was my enemy, that and… well, the Empire is pretty xenophobic, for all of it including thousands of populated planets with species other than human."

Sunset grimaced. "Unfortunately xenophobia is a trademark of large intergalactic empires all across the multiverse. I suppose it's because it's much easier to make enemies of those that look different, then start making things worse."

Ahsoka sighed, not surprised that it wasn't just in her galaxy that such a thing would happen. Although not all of her life in the temple was as ideal as she had thought at the beginning—now that she could look back at it with different eyes—the one thing that she was thankful for was that the Force reached all, and in its metaphorical eyes, they were truly all equal.

"The Empire rules by fear," she said, "and fear is fed by alienating others and making them your enemies. The more enemies you see, the less safe you feel. The more fear you have, the more angry you get. The more frustrated and likely to act against others, whether you truly realize it or not." Ahsoka shook her head. "The Emperor started that with the Clone Wars, and just made it worse after.

"Which brings me to today," Ahsoka said. "I was staying at this planet, Raada, after escaping yet again. I made new friends… even had one of them crushing on me." She chuckled. "They are good people. They took me in, made me part of their group of friends, had my back without knowing much about me… but when the Empire came again, I left them.

"I thought… I thought they were there for me. But I saw later on that I was fooling myself—I knew what they would do to their small world. How they would drain it of resources then leave them to die. But I left because I told myself that I would only make things worse. They didn't need a former jedi. I didn't use my powers until the very end and…" she sighed. "It took some time to get my act together, to give myself back to the force and find my crystals…" she turned around, facing toward the open area of the bar, and activated them. The white blades hummed as she gently waved them in a small, tight circle before recalling them.

"I think, like me, they were trapped. The man who had them, a force user calling himself the Sixth Brother had made them bleed…" She grimaced when she noticed Sunset's quizzical look. "That means essentially torturing them in a way. Forcing the dark side into them until they turn blood red. He had been sent to Raada to hunt me down, but when I returned to free the farmers and my friends, we fought. I could sense them calling me from within his lightsaber..." She smiled, her confidence returning as she remembered taking the bled crystals in her hands and communing with them. "And I restored them."

"Sounds like you had quite the adventure," Sunset said. "But now that you have your lightsabers and the Force back, what do you plan to do?"

Ahsoka sank into her seat. "That's the question." She placed her lightsabers gently on the bar, whether out of reverence for her new weapons or simply to avoid scraping the wood, she wasn't sure, although she'd not want to damage either. "I couldn't have saved Kaeden and the others on my own. Sen—an important person helped me, at great risk to themselves. They did it without any agreement to work for them after that… although I know they want my support.

"But I already came out of a war. I already worked and trusted others only for the ones that were supposed to guide me and protect me to betray me. They were fooled, but they didn't trust me… I lost my faith in the Jedi then, even if I still loved and respected Anakin, Obi Wan and others.

"Now, I'd have to step in again. Should I? Wouldn't a force user like myself attract the attention of the Empire to them even more than before?" She shook her head. "I don't know my place in the universe. I thought I was changing it, but I wasn't. I thought I'd be free of wars at least… but there is no escaping the Empire in this Galaxy."

Sunset nodded. "If you don't, what will you do?"

Ahsoka looked down, frowning. "There are children out there that are force sensitive. Before he went after me, the Sixth Brother was very close to discovering one of the Fardies was such a child. I could… I could search for them, and protect them."

"But would you be able to do it alone?" Sunset asked gently. "I don't doubt you'd be able to find many of them, but do you have a way to really hide them from the Empire?"

Ahsoka grumbled, seeing her point. Suddenly she really missed her friends. "I could really use Anakin and Obi Wan right now. Sure, Skyguy would be ready to jump in and fight the Empire, but Obi Wan would have the plan for after we rescued the children and took some fortresses down." She sighed. "But they're gone. They're all gone."

Sunset coughed in a very conspicuous way.

Looking at her, Ahsoka growled. "Oh no, I'm not letting you go that easy. You know something."

Sunset grimaced. "Alright, alright," she said, raising her hands. "I know that Obi Wan and Yoda are still alive, but I'm afraid I can't give you details. That would be too much interference."

Ahsoka glared at her for a moment, but there was no anger from her. Quite the contrary. They were alive. That alone was worth… she couldn't even compare it to anything. She relented, smiling a little. "Thank you. That gives me hope."

"You'll always have at least a new hope," Sunset said, fighting a smile. "Just make sure to be ready in case the Empire strikes back, and who knows, maybe you'll see the return of the Jedi."

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes. "Why does the Force make me feel like the sudden urge to smack you would not land me on the Dark Side?"

Sunset laughed, waving her hands to appease her. "I'm just trying to liven things up. It seems that you do know what path you must choose, but you haven't made up your mind on the how."

Ahsoka blinked. "Oh?"

"You have decided to act," Sunset said, "but you also recognized that you can't do it alone. You had help to rescue your friends, and you'll need friends to help you in the future. Maybe you'll come up with crazy plans, and you'll have someone level-headed to keep track of you. Or maybe… maybe you don't need to be up front and center," she added. "You stayed hidden for a long time, right? It's not that they caught you, but rather circumstances forced you to act in a way that revealed your identity."

'True.' Ahsoka hummed as she tipped the cup to her lips, letting the warm tea relax her once again. 'But now that she mentions that… maybe…' she looked up at Sunset. "I-I think you might have given me an idea."

Sunset smirked. "Really?"

Ahsoka, however, was thinking too furiously now for that smug look to matter. "Yeah… yeah, it makes sense. Back in the Clone Wars, we had many people help us, and not all of them were in the spotlight." She nodded, standing up and attaching her lightsabers to her belt. "I think I know what to do."

Sunset smiled. "Well then, go on." She pulled out a card and gave it to Ahsoka. "Only rule is we need a picture together, and this will let you come back when you need to."

Ahsoka took the small card in her hand, then watched as Sunset levitated a small flat object over. It wasn't the Force… but those questions would have to wait. After all, she needed to meet Senator Organa, and introduce him to Fulcrum.

Ahsoka headed out with… well, not a spring in her step, but certainly more assurance than earlier. Once the door closed behind the former Jedi, it opened again, almost immediately. There was no ship behind this older-looking Ahsoka, but rather bridges made of light, floating into the infinite.

She walked over, a strange owl-like creature on her shoulder, and sat at the one of the tables, watching Sunset as she prepared yet another batch of tea, then went over to sit with her. "So you watched this whole thing over again, huh?"

Ahsoka nodded, smiling a little as she put a few credits on the table. "I forgot to pay last time."

Sunset chuckled. "Nah, it was on me."

Ahsoka nodded. "You knew, didn't you?"

Sunset grimaced, but nodded. "I did."

Ahsoka sighed, closing her eyes. "Yeah. So did I, on some level."

Sunset reached over and took her hand. "Want to talk about it?"

Ahsoka looked up, smiling a little. "Yeah. I do." She looked around the place. "I didn't understand it then… but once I got into the World Between Worlds I understood the feeling from before." She chuckled. "It was such a long time since I had belonged anywhere… I just couldn't recognize what it felt like." She grinned, sitting up a bit straighter. "I'm back."

Sunset nodded, pulling out a small key from her pocket and presenting it to Ahsoka. "Welcome home."