Queen Amidala ordered a search for Qui-Gon Jinn and Shmi Skywalker. Everyone searched everywhere. The Jedi called for Qui-Gon on his comm, by shouting, and through the Force. Anakin also helped, calling for his mom. But no one could find either of them. There was no sign either of them was dead; the Jedi would've sensed Qui-Gon at least.

Anakin was very worried about his mother. Sapphire, however, tried to help him stay calm. She let him ride on her back as they searched together, and when he got tired, Sapphire had him sit down while she licked him to groom him like a mother horse with a foal.

The Council decided they needed to discuss this matter together, but first, Yoda had to discuss something privately with Obi-Wan.

"Confer on you the level of Jedi knight the council does." Yoda said, pacing in front of a kneeling Obi-Wan. "But agree with your taking this boy as your Padawan learner...I do not."

"Qui-Gon believes in him." Obi-Wan said.

Yoda sighed. "The chosen one the boy may be. Nevertheless, grave danger I fear in his training."

"Master Yoda, I gave Qui-Gon my word. I will train Anakin."

"Ohh!"

"Without the approval of the council, if I must."

"Qui-Gon's defiance I sense in you. Need that you do not." Yoda stopped to take a breath. "Agree with you the council does. Your apprentice Skywalker will be."

___________________________

Queen Amidala ordered a search for Qui-Gon Jinn and Shmi Skywalker. Everyone searched everywhere. The Jedi called for Qui-Gon on his comm, by shouting, and through the Force. Anakin also helped, calling for his mom. But no one could find either of them. There was no sign either of them was dead; the Jedi would've sensed Qui-Gon at least.

Anakin was very worried about his mother. Sapphire, however, tried to help him stay calm. She let him ride on her back as they searched together, and when he got tired, Sapphire had him sit down while she licked him to groom him like a mother horse with a foal.

The Council decided they needed to discuss this matter together, but first, Yoda had to discuss something privately with Obi-Wan.

"Confer on you the level of Jedi knight the council does." Yoda said, pacing in front of a kneeling Obi-Wan. "But agree with your taking this boy as your Padawan learner...I do not."

"Qui-Gon believes in him." Obi-Wan said.

Yoda sighed. "The chosen one the boy may be. Nevertheless, grave danger I fear in his training."

"Master Yoda, I gave Qui-Gon my word. I will train Anakin."

"Ohh!"

"Without the approval of the council, if I must."

"Qui-Gon's defiance I sense in you. Need that you do not." Yoda stopped to take a breath. "Agree with you the council does. Your apprentice Skywalker will be."

__________________________

After his talk with Obi-Wan, Yoda and the rest of the Council had Sapphire stand in the middle of the room.

"Remarkable," said Master Mundi. "I've never seen anything like her."

"I thought flying horses were just fairytales." Master Windu said.

"No, we're real alright." Sapphire said. "Unicorns, pegasi, alicorns... all of us."

Again, the council was shocked by the fact that this mare could speak. But they also had a critical question to ask her.

"Why have you come here?" Mace asked.

It was then that Sapphire motioned to a bottle around her neck. She said it would explain everything.

"Which of you is guardian to Anakin Skywalker?" Sapphire said. "I have instructions to only give this message to the child I was assigned to. My queen was very specific."

The council then called Obi-Wan in so he could open the message.

Dear guardian of Anakin Skywalker,

I hope this message finds you well. At the moment, you may be unaware of our kingdom's existence. The mare you have received this letter from is called Sapphire Beauty, she is a jewel pegasus, a magical horse with special powers. She has been selected through a ritual in our kingdom called the Ride of Love, and Anakin has been selected because he is in need of a special friend. Sapphire is a guard in training, highly qualified to interact with children, and can sense danger from miles away. Most importantly, she will love Anakin and provide him with companionship as he grows. I pray that things turn for the best between these two and wish you the best of fortune.

Sincerely,

Queen Valentina of Equinaro

"Equinaro?" Obi-Wan said. "That is where you are from?"

Sapphire nodded.

"Yes. It is one of the Nine Kingdoms of the planet Mythiria."

"Never heard of that planet either."

Neither had anyone in the council. That might have been, according to Sapphire, because Mythiria was part of the Enchantra system, which the council was also unaware of. Sapphire described it to them as a system filled with magical worlds with all kinds of magical creatures, not just magical horses.

Fairies, wizards, griffins, dragons, even legendary figures like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. There was even a planet of magical schools that taught the youth of those worlds to use their powers and to use them for good. However, there were plenty of dangerous critters too such as gremlins, kelpies, and evil witches.

"In Equinaro, we believe in bringing out everyone's inner beauty. Through many folklore of various cultures, horses are believed to be companions of great beauty and strength. We are known to sense the good and the bad long before most bipeds can, and unlike other steeds, we have minds of our own so our riders can be refused if they decide to take the wrong path."

"And there are others who are sent horses like you?" Master Plo asked.

"Indeed. We are always sent to people who need us. And Anakin needs me, especially now."

The Jedi Council needed to think about this.

_____________________________

While the Council was debating, Sapphire was sent outside to play with Anakin. The little boy laughed as Sapphire ran around and did some tricks for him. Hopping on her back legs, spinning around, jumping over stuff, and flying up and doing loops.

Anakin never had such a fun friend before. He ran with Sapphire and she occasionally licked him as a sign of affection, making the boy laugh some more.

But Anakin's favorite way to play with Sapphire was, without a doubt, riding her.

It was night time, so Anakin and Sapphire were catching fireflies together. Anakin was fascinated by how beautiful the glowing bugs were. Sapphire guided him in how to catch the with his hands, which surprised Anakin that she knew how.

"We have centaurs in Equinaro too." She said, but Anakin was confused again. "That's a creature with a human's top half and a horse's body. They tend to handle jobs that require fingers where I'm from."

Anakin carefully caught a firefly in his hands and took a peek at it. But then, he got sad again. He thought about his mother and how she would've loved to see this beautiful miracle of nature too. This was perhaps the first time Anakin ever actually felt like... well, a kid.

Anakin never really had time to play a lot on Tatooine. There were no playgrounds for him to play on, no kid-friendly places for miles... and any moisture made on the farms had to be used for fresh drinking water, so they couldn't wet the sand to make sandcastles.

But... Sapphire decided to show Anakin a better time by bringing him to a nearby park. Anakin never expected this. A whole playground just for him to play on.

Sapphire turned a few rocks into glowing sapphires and led some of the lightning bugs over so Anakin would have light to play for a while.

Anakin played on the slide, Sapphire spun the roundabout for him, and she also pushed him on the swing. But in the midst of it all, Anakin got a little dirty.

___________________________

Obi-Wan started up a bath for Anakin before he would need to be put to bed for the night.

Anakin was fascinated with how easy it was to get water around here just by turning on a faucet.

"Hold still." Obi-Wan said, shampooing Anakin's hair.

But it wasn't just water that fascinated Anakin. He couldn't believe his eyes with the sudsy bubbles that were in the bath, and he especially liked the rubber ducky he found. And, like a lot of kids, Anakin got a little... actually, more like a lot, splashy.

Obi-Wan spat and sputtered as water got into his face and on his hair and robes.

"Anakin! Enough splashing! You're getting me wet." Obi-Wan scolded.

"Oops."

"I'm supposed to be bathing, not the other way around."

Obi-Wan rinsed Anakin off once he was all scrubbed and got him wrapped up in a nice soft towel.

__________________________

After some debate, the Council made a decision regarding Sapphire. As a Jedi, Anakin would need to learn to let go of his attachments, and they thought Sapphire would just provide temptation for him. Sapphire begged them to reconsider, but the Council made up their mind.

"What do I tell my queen?" Sapphire asked. "What do I tell Anakin?"

"Notify him, we shall." Yoda said.

Sapphire's ears drooped at that response. She thought the council were out of their minds to send her away; she just got here and she already bonded with her boy.

"But... I should be the one to tell him. Can I not say goodbye to him first? This little boy has just had his mother go missing as well as the man who would've been his master. Do you really believe he needs another sudden disappearance of a loved one?"

The Jedi looked at each other and decided that perhaps Sapphire had a point. It might be less traumatizing to the boy if he got a heads up this time.

As expected, when Sapphire told Anakin what the Council said, Anakin was devastated.

___________________________

Anakin hugged Sapphire and started to cry. He just made a new best friend, and she had to leave him behind, to both of their reluctance.

"Ani, don't cry." Sapphire said, though she was shedding tears herself. "It's not goodbye forever."

But Sapphire decided to give Anakin something to remember her by. With a little help from Anakin, she untied the ribbon that had been holding her mane back and told Anakin he could keep it to remember the good time they had together.

"We may not be allowed to be together now, Anakin, but we'll always have that special time, won't we?" Sapphire said more as a statement than a question.

Anakin nodded tearfully.

"Will I ever see you again?"

"I'm sure we will, Anakin. Don't worry, this wouldn't be the first time a pony wasn't allowed to stay with their rider, but... in all the times I've heard of such an event, that equine and rider always found a way back to each other."

Sapphire licked Anakin one more time, and then she left.

________________________

Obi-Wan soon brought Anakin back to their quarters and started to put him to bed.

Anakin looked at Obi-Wan and asked, "What will happen to me now?"

"The Council have granted me permission to train you." Obi-Wan said. "You will be a Jedi. I promise. And we will continue to search for your mother. Until then, I will keep my promise to Qui-Gon and take care of you."

Obi-Wan pulled the blanket over Anakin and turned out the light. But Anakin couldn't sleep; he couldn't stop thinking about his mom, or Qui-Gon, or Sapphire. Tears filled his eyes again as he felt Sapphire's ribbon like it was a teddy bear, which he could probably use right now.

Anakin felt so alone now. How he wished his mom were here to sing to him, but he had no one but himself, so... he just quietly sang his mom's lullaby to himself and cried himself to sleep.

Meanwhile, Masters Yoda and Windu were having a serious conversation regarding the mysterious warrior. Before Sapphire took off to say goodbye to Anakin, they asked her if she could describe what she saw when she confronted Maul with the others. Sapphire had said horses could sense darkness from miles away, so it would make sense she would've been able to sense a Sith lord. Sith lord's oozed darkness, which most animals sensed very well, and Sapphire swooped in (literally) to help. And with how she got out unscathed, aside from the bump on her head from being knocked out, they could believe she was a guard in training

"There's no doubt the mysterious warrior was a Sith," said Mace.

"Mmm. Always two there are." Yoda said. "No more, no less. A master and an apprentice."

"But which one was destroyed? The master or the apprentice?"

__________________________

That debate would have to wait though, because a celebration was in order.

Crowds cheered as trumpets were blown, drummers drummed, and flags were waved. The battle was won. Queen Padme was safe and back home, the gungans and nubuians had an alliance, and everyone was ready to celebrate.

Padme was all dressed up and given a special ball which she presented to Boss Nass as a symbol of peace between the two worlds. Boss Nass raised the ball into the air and declared...

"Peace!"

The crowd cheered once more.

Anakin stood not far away. He and Padme smiled at each other. They'd been on a great journey together, and here they were now at a great celebration that marked what would be a beginning of a great new adventure.

_______________________

Now, don't think for a moment that this story ends here.