Anakin's group moved carefully across a cliff, ready to get off-world as soon as possible. The horses needed a proper running space to activate their horseshoes.

"R2, are you, Remix, and your battle droids ready to go?" Anakin asked on his wristcom.

R2 beeped and Remix said, "Ready whenever you are, dude."

"All right, get the ship fired up. We'll meet you at the pipeline exit and you've picked up Obi-Wan, assuming he's still on schedule."

Anakin ended the transmission.

R2, Remix, and the three reprogrammed battle droids boarded the ship and took off to retrieve Obi-Wan.

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and his group were hiding in the ducts. Unfortunately, the openings were too small for the horses to fit through, so the two-legged members of the group were on their own.

Obi-Wan looked up as he found a passage that he confirmed would get them near the landing pad. He then carried Gabby on his back as he climbed up first. Then, he called R2 and instructed him to send their shuttle to the rear landing platform.

"We've already been given the go-ahead by General Skywalker, sir." said a battle droid. "assuming you are still on schedule."

Gabby giggled. The only time she remembered her father being on time for anything was if there were treats involved. Which was why he was always on time for birthday parties. Especially when there was chocolate cake. He loved chocolate.

"The trick will be if Anakin arrives on time." Obi-Wan chuckled.

"Maybe he'd be on time more if we put chocolate cupcakes wherever he needed to be." Gabby said. "He always in time for that."

The group continued to climb. Unfortunately, a probe spotted Commander Cody. Master Piell managed to slice it though. But...

Metal doors started to seal at various sections in the passageway.

"Security doors." Obi-Wan shouted. "Move, or you'll be cut in half."

And Gabby felt pretty sure this wasn't like the magic trick where someone was cut in half and put back together.

Obi-Wan moved quickly, getting himself and the little girl he was carrying to safety.

"Jeepers! That was close!" Gabby said.

"Looks like we've got some cutting to do." Obi-Wan said, taking out his lightsaber.

"I hope the ponies are okay."

"I'm sure they're fine." Obi-Wan said. "They're highly trained, most of them. They've been through worse."

Commander Sobeck, meanwhile, was summoned to speak with Count Dooku over transmission.

"You may cease the propriety, Commander Sobeck." said Dooku. "I understand there is a problem with the Jedi prisoner."

"An incursion team attempted a rescue," said Sobeck. "but the situation is taken care of."

"Are you in possession of the information the prisoner is carrying?"

"Not yet. We will soon have it."

"You are aware that this information will tip the scale of the war to the side that controls it. Perhaps this is a matter that requires my presence."

"No, my lord." Sobeck shook his head.

"Find them, Commander. Get the information, then kill them all."

Sobeck bowed as Dooku ended the transmission. Then he held his tactical droid by the neck in anger.

"Don't ever surprise me with a transmission from Count Dooku." Sobeck said angrily. "I need time to prepare!"

"Yes, Commander." said the droid, unafraid.

Meanwhile, Ahsoka checked around the wall of a cliff and then guided everyone around it. A probe followed them, but Anakin pounced from above and sliced it. Everyone moved carefully with their backs towards the wall, watching their every step.

"I am beginning to admire the design of this fortress." Tarkin commented. "It's rather formidable to evade."

"How can you admire such a horrible place?" Ahsoka asked.

"Ah, you reveal your shortsightedness. This ordeal only demonstrates how effective facilities like the Citadel are. Pity it ended up in Separatist hands and not ours."

"He has a point." Anakin said.

"So you think we should torture people in places like this?" Boba said. "I used to be around people who would use this stuff to torture innocent kids if they had the chance, and you think we should have that kind of power?"

"You'll understand when you're older, Boba." Anakin said. "Snips, I need you and Boba to lead the group. Follow the tunnel. I'll catch up."

"Hey, where are you going?" Ahsoka asked.

"Obi-Wan's not here, so someone has to protect our flank."

"I guess it's a good thing I came along after all." Ahsoka smiled with an I-told-you-so tone.

Meanwhile, at the Jedi Temple...

Summer got Master Piell safely to the Temple. But, there were still some problems to deal with.

"We've received a coded transmission." Master Plo told Masters Windu and Tiin. "Apparently they've split up into three groups. The rendezvous points are the landing field behind the tower, where R2 will pick up Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the pipeline exit, where they'll find Anakin Skywalker."

"What about the other ponies?" Summer asked.

"They appear to have scattered across the building."

"And what if things don't go according to plan?" Mace asked.

"Then we would have to send an entire fleet to get them out of there." said Plo

Ahsoka and Boba led the group together while Anakin went to protect their flanks.

"I am concerned that the Jedi have elected this child to lead the group." Tarkin said.

"I've served with Ahsoka many times, and Boba is a good kid." Rex told him. "I trust both of them, Captain."

The kids looked around a wall.

"Uh oh."

"Dead end." said Rex.

R2's team, meanwhile, flew towards the landing field.

"It looks like there's security guards over there." said a battle droid.

R2 beeped.

"Okay, boss, we'll land and wait for General Kenobi."

And they soon landed the ship. The droids exited first.

"Uh oh, that doesn't look like General Kenobi." said one droid as a tactical droid approached. "We'll have to improvise.

"Your arrival is long overdue." said the tactical droid. "Where have you been?"

R2 beeped something as his battle droids pointed their blasters at him.

"Even so, the odds are three to one that you are a traitor. We will take you to interrogation below."

"Yes sir." said a battle droid. "Move it."

Remix peeked from inside the shuttle and saw the tactical droid talking to the commander. He stuck out his ear and listened in. Commander Sobeck planned to lure the Jedi into a trap! Luckily, Remix could contact the Jedi and warn them.

Ahsoka and her team stared at the dead end for a while, trying to figure out what to do next, when super droids suddenly attacked them. The clones fired at them, while the Jedi deflected their blasts or sliced them.

"What happened?" Anakin asked the kids. "Why didn't you blow the wall? That part of the plan was your job."

More droids came in then, this time with shields they could shoot through.

"I thought it was a dead end." Ahsoka said.

"If Master Plo really assigned you to this mission, he would have briefed you on the plan. And don't try to tell me he told Gabby and she forgot to tell you."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes and ran to the alleged dead end, where she and Boba began attaching explosives to it.

Ahsoka quickly ran back with two explosive balls and rolled them behind the droids that were attacking the others and blew them up! The wall exploded too.

Obi-Wan received a message from Remix over the comm.

"They're guarding the shuttle, Obi-Wan. They're trying to lure you into a trap, and I'm trapped here!" Remix whispered.

Cody looked through the grate.

"The shuttle's there. No sign of R2." Cody confirmed.

"We'll have to make our way around the other side." Obi-Wan said.

Gabby got the bars of the vent off and grew some vines for them to climb down. They were cautious to avoid any droids.

Obi-Wan tried to contact Anakin, but Osi Sobeck answered instead.

"I must commend you on your escape tactics, but in the end, it was easy to predict your every move." said Sobeck.

That was when some security blasters activated, then a crab droid and some shield droids entered the scene.

Anakin's group continued to move until Ahsoka found a giant pipe.

"This pipe leads up to the top of the ridge where R2 and the horses will pick us up and get us out of here." Anakin explained.

Anakin opened the hatch, which unleashed a terrible stink.

"Let's go, let's go. Everyone in." Anakin said. He instructed the clones not to use their lights and to make sure their weapons were locked. "The slightest electronic pulse could ignite this whole tube."

"I hope somebody tells the droids that." said Tarkin.

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan's team was captured, all of them brought in with their hands behind their heads.

"Welcome back." Commander Sobeck greeted.

"I must say, you're not at all what I pictured, for someone with such a soft voice." Obi-Wan said.

"Where is the Jedi with the information?" Sobeck asked, noticing Master Piell wasn't with them.

"He's safe from you." Gabby said.

"What's this? The Jedi brought a pretty little girl to the Citadel, did they? How weak have they become to need help from a delicate flower like you?"

Sobeck tapped Gabby on the nose, only for her to bite his finger.

"Ow! Why you-"

"Sir, we have located the other group." said Sobeck's tactical droid. "and our droids are closing in on them."

"Your Jedi resolve only delays the inevitable. Take them to interrogation. Torture them slowly. Use the child if you must."

The group was then escorted into the hallway.

R2 and the battle droids stood together in a hall, where Carousella happened to find them and summoned the other horses.

"The others were captured?" Carousella said worriedly.

"Not good." said one guard.

R2 beeped something else.

"And now they're moving them to the prison block?" said Crescent.

"Then let's go intercept them." Carousella said. "Our riders need us."

The blue battle droids met with the red ones escorting Obi-Wan's team to interrogation.

"We'll take them from here." said one of R2's droids.

"Uh, I think we have a-" said a red droid.

"We'll take it from here."

"Yes, sir."

And the red droids left them to go.

The group moved until they heard R2 beeping.

"R2!" Gabby smiled. "Boy, are we happy to see you."

R2 beeped.

"The commander is happy to see you as well, Princess, but would like to return to the shuttle as soon as possible." said a battle droid.

"Yes, I couldn't agree more." Obi-Wan said.

"Then it's a good thing we're here, isn't it?" said a familiar voice.

"Carousella!" Gabby ran over and received a nuzzle from her pony.

Carousella and Peppermint undid the restraints.

"What about General Skywalker, sir?" asked Cody.

"Not to worry. He'll switch to plan "B."" said Obi-Wan.

"We equines also split into groups." Carousella said.

Anakin's group continued to climb up the pipe, the smell getting stronger, and everyone having to hold their noses.

Tarkin was getting impatient.

"How much longer are we going to wander through this tunnel in the dark?" he asked.

"Captain Tarkin, haven't you learned to trust me by now?"

"You may have earned my trust, Skywalker, but my faith in your comrades is still lacking."

Anakin looked at Tarkin. "You lack faith in the Jedi."

"I find their tactics ineffective. The Jedi code prevents them from going far enough to achieve victory, to do whatever it takes to win."

"The code was changed to allow Jedi to have families and be allowed to love. It wasn't changed to allow us to use violence as a means of achieving victory until it's a last resort."

"The very reason why peacekeepers should not be leading a war."

"I used to lack faith in the Jedi too." Boba said. "Take it from me, they can surprise you in a lot of ways."

"Have I offended you and your boy?" Tarkin asked as Anakin seemed to glare at him.

"No. I've also found that we sometimes fall short of victory because of our methods." Anakin said.

"Well, I see we agree on something."

Ahsoka, who ran on a smaller pipe within the pipe, soon reported that she found a way out.

Ahsoka unlocked the hatch and carefully peeked outside.

"What do you see, Snips?" Anakin asked.

"The coast is clear." said Ahsoka.

"Any sign of Obi-Wan and the shuttle or the horses?"

"No, I don't see any of them anywhere."

Suddenly, a droid tried to nab Ahsoka, only for her to slice it with her lightsaber as she got all the way out.

"We've got to go." she declared.

"There could be a whole battalion of droids out there." said Tarkin.

"Better than hiding in a fuel line." Anakin said, climbing the ladder, having Boba go after him so he'd get to safety quickly.

Tarkin and the clones followed suite. While Anakin and Ahsoka deflected the droids' blasters with their lightsabers, the other slide down the side of the pipe, the Jedi following after them and hiding behind some big rocks.

"The plan's been compromised" said Tarkin. "The shuttle's not coming."

"Throw me a charge," said Anakin.

Rex threw Anakin a charge, which he threw into the fuel line and blew it up.

"Let's go. Time for plan "B."" Anakin said, brushing himself off.

"There's a plan "B"?" asked Tarkin.

"There's always a backup plan." Boba said.

That was when they heard a neigh. And Anakin was bumped by Crescent's muzzle.

"Hey, Crescent. Where have you been?" Anakin stroked Crescent's muzzle.

"We thought you might need a ride." Crescent said. "Luckily, there are just enough of us to carry all of you, as long as you don't mind pairing."

Meanwhile, Commander Sobeck was alerted that the prisoners didn't make it to the interrogation level.

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?" Obviously, Sobeck was less than pleased.

The battle droid was scared.

"Um, we think they might have-"

"Sir." the tactical droid interrupted. "Count Dooku commands you to contact him immediately."

But that was when a certain pipeline blinked red on Sobeck's holo-map. He told his droid to inform Dooku that he was unreachable and ordered all units to be sent to the airfield, thinking it was their only possible means of escape.

Obi-Wan's group arrived with the horses. They had to retrieve Remix from the shuttle. However, one of the battle droids guarding it spotted them.

"Halt. Where are you taking these prisoners?" the droid asked.

"We're transferring them aboard the shuttle from Citadel to Point Tarron." said a reprogrammed droid.

"Point Tarron? There's no outpost there."

"Uh, it's new." The R2 beeped something. "We have orders. We're coming aboard."

However, as the group was about to escape, the droid guard was alerted by Sobeck's tactical droid that their prisoners were escaping with reprogrammed battle droids. That was when Obi-Wan sliced the droids and the clones blasted the others, Remix jumping out to help. Bigger blasters attempted to shoot them, but the unicorn guards held up energy shields to protect them and started blasting the droids that came in. That was also when Anakin's group finally arrived.

"Sorry I'm late." said Anakin.

"How nice of you to join us." said Obi-Wan.

Ahsoka looked around the wall of the box they hid behind.

"The ship is surrounded. And there are too many droids for the horses to apparate us out of here safely." Ahsoka said.

"We need to launch a full forward assault and take that vessel." said Tarkin.

"We may have a bigger problem, those turrets." said Obi-Wan. "If we don't take them out, they will use them to destroy the shuttle."

"Why don't we just let them?" Gabby suggested. "They don't seem to know that the horses can get us out of here just as easily."

"This is not child's play, little one." Tarkin said. "We must get aboard that shuttle and use the weapons systems to decimate those droids."'

"Whatever we're gonna do, we better do it fast." said Anakin, pointing out more droids coming in.

The Jedi used their lightsabers to deflect the shots, while Gabby made storm clouds that struck the droids with lightning. Anakin managed to swipe one of their hovercrafts too.

Gabby jumped up to ride with her father and blasted the battle droid with magic, causing it to plummet to the ground.

But down below, the battle with the droids got more intense, and a droid got into control of one of the turrets.

"They're gonna blow up the shuttle, sir." Echo warned.

One of the turrets tried to blast Anakin and Gabby, and it hit their ride. Luckily, Gabby made a soft cloud for them to land on just before they could hit the ground. Anakin picked up his daughter and ran.

However, the turrets managed to blast the shuttle, catching the clone named Echo in the blast.

"We have to go now." Obi-Wan said, hopping onto Peppermint. "Everyone, get on the horses!"

Everyone climbed onto the horses, each of them carrying as many people as they could. Obi-Wan contacted the temple to let them know they were about to apparate home. And the horses began running at top speed to activate their horseshoes until they all disappeared from the Citadel in a bright flash.

Everyone managed to apparate back to the Jedi Temple thanks to their horses' magical shoes. They met with some of the Jedi Council, Master Piell, and Queen Reigna.

"Mom!" Fantasia said, standing on her hind legs, not realizing she dropped Tarkin and a clone, who had been riding her before she ran over and nuzzled with her mother.

Anakin helped Tarkin up and said, "Just be glad she didn't drop you before we got here."

"To see you all safely returned, glad we are." Master Yoda said.

"You arrived back here a lot sooner than expected." Mace said.

"We now have the Nexus Route coordinates," said Plo Koon.

"Captain Tarkin and Master Piell have each memorized half." Obi-Wan said.

"Debrief them both, we must." Yoda said.

"With all due respect, Master Jedi, I was instructed by Chancellor Palpatine to bring the intel directly to him for debriefing." Tarkin said.

None of the horses got a good feeling about that, and neither did Gabby. She already distrusted the Chancellor the most, but she also got an odd feeling about Tarkin she didn't like.

"The coordinates were to be strictly shared with the Jedi Council," argued Piell.

"Personally meet with the Chancellor, I will." Yoda said. "Decide what is best to do, we shall."

"Master Plo, there's something we want to ask you." Anakin said. "Did you assign Ahsoka and/or Gabby to the mission?"

The Togruta and the child looked at Master Plo, Gabby using her 'puppy eyes.'

"It appears I did." Plo said, wrapping an arm around Ahsoka and walking off with her.

Gabby just walked to her father, and so did Tarkin.

"A job well done, Master Skywalker." Tarkin said before shaking hands with Anakin. "I wish more Jedi had your military sensibilities. Or at least an admittedly resourceful princess on their squad."

Gabby said nothing and just forced a smile, but Anakin knew that smile meant she had something on her mind that she wanted to hide.

Tarkin began to leave, but before he did, he said, "Perhaps I can inform the chancellor of your valor and your daughter's capabilities."

"I'm not sure what to think of your new ally," said Obi-Wan.

"I don't get a good feeling about him." Gabby said.

"First the chancellor, now Tarkin?" Anakin said. "What is it with you and not trusting certain people?"

"I'm not the only one who doesn't get a good sense from them. Carousella doesn't trust the chancellor either. I can't say why, but I'd be careful what we say to him and/or Tarkin."

"You know, if we aren't willing to do what it takes to win, we risk losing everything we try to protect."

"And if you go too far in trying to win, you'll very likely lose more than you gain." Reigna said.

"Unfortunately, war tends to distort our point of view." Obi-Wan said. "If we sacrifice our morals, even for victory, we may lose that which is most important. Our honor."

"And the people we love. Not just by death." Gabby said.