After R2-D2 was rescued from the Trandoshan scavenger ship by Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker, his Padawan Ahsoka Tano, and young Princess Gabriella Skywalker, the scavenger was forced to arrive at General Griveous's listening post empty handed. And, as expected, he took it about as well as you might imagine.
"What do you mean you lost the droid?!" Grievous shouted angrily. "You had one job! How hard is it to hold on to a stupid R2 unit?"
"It was not my fault, General." The scavenger said. "Some Jedi and a magical little girl took it."
Grievous was immediately intrigued.
"What magical little girl?" the cyborg asked.
"Some little brat in pink with flowers growing from her hands." Said the scavenger.
Grievous laughed as he knew exactly who he was talking about. He knew if the Jedi were coming after him again, they would likely have something much more valuable than a droid.
Count Dooku had already tried to kidnap Gabby once for his master Darth Sidious, but was unsuccessful. During the Battle of Geonosis, he gave her to someone else for a moment, and the next thing he knew, the little one crawled away. But, Grievous knew that if he could get a hold of the child, he could potentially use her for something devious. But, capturing her wouldn't be easy. And her last ten babysitters would agree; it was impossible to get that girl to stay in one place for even five minutes.
"There might be a use for you yet. That little brat would be Princess Gabriella. She is the one Jedi unable to use her Jedi powers. My master has been after her for years. If you wish to make up for what you have lost, you can bring the girl to me. She will be much more useful than any droid."

Meanwhile, Anakin and his crew were heading to the listening post, all ready to face whatever was coming. Gabby, on the other hand, was in her seat, taking a nap, a little tired from the last battle they were in.
Anakin ordered R2 to scramble the signal so the Separatists wouldn't detect them. Then, he looked over at his sleeping daughter as she rested peacefully. He smiled at how cute she was when she slept. In the field of battle, it was unlikely she would get to nap on schedule every day. So, Gabby started taking whatever time she had between battles to nap so she would be well-rested for the next mission.
"Hopefully she'll get enough sleep this time around," said Anakin quietly enough to avoid disturbing his daughter, but loud enough for Ahsoka to hear.
Anakin used the Force to place a piece of fabric over Gabby like a blanket so she would be more comfortable.
"She's lucky she even gets a break after every battle." Ahsoka said, whining a little.
They soon got into contact with Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"Anakin," said Obi-Wan.
"Master," said Anakin, but pausing as he heard Gabby stirred. Then he lowered his voice a little. "Shh. I believe we found your Separatist listening post.
"Excellent. Back up and wait," Obi-Wan ordered, also lowering his voice. "I'll send two main line cruisers to help you destroy it."
"Good, and with R2 here, it'll be a cinch."
"Be more careful with your droid, from now on Anakin. We cannot allow him to fall into enemy hands again."
"I know. Luckily, it was easy rescuing him with a certain sleeping beauty helping." He stepped aside to look at the sleeping princess again.
"I still debate allowing a two-year-old into the battlefield." Obi-Wan said, sounding concerned.
"I know, but I've seen many learn the hard way not to be fooled by her cuteness."
"Just keep protecting her. If she fell into enemy hands, it could be much more catastrophic. She may need more than one bodyguard, now that she is joining the fight."
"No worries, the Separatists can't get to her now, and I can take care of her for now."

Of course, Anakin, being Anakin, decided they needed to fly closer to keep an eye on the Separatist battle sphere, and look for the best way to destroy it. Of course, Anakin told R2 that they were gonna stick together this time. But, when Ahsoka said they should give Goldie a chance, Anakin said...
"If Stubby wants to prove himself, he can stay here and watch Gabby." Anakin said. "Which should be easy while she's asleep. If he can pull that off, he'll have earned my trust."
"Make sure she stays asleep, Goldie." Ahsoka said. "you might not know this, but she's a wild one when she's awake."
R3 beeped at her.

Meanwhile, as the grownups were searching the listening post, R3 did a little tweaking in the ship. He had to get to Grievous because he was actually a Separatist spy droid. He was programmed not just to capture R2, but to recognize any other assets that would be useful to the Separatists, including a certain magical princess the Separatists had been after for years. Already Gabby was known to be strong in the Force, but the only reason not all criminals were swarming to take her was because they didn't know she was daughter of the Hero With No Fear Anakin Skywalker. Had they known, there would really be trouble.
Gabby continued to rest as R3 was making some adjustments to force the ship to get a little bit closer, but accidentally caused the ship to tip a little bit, which made Gabby slip from her chair.
"Ouch! Hey! What's the big idea?" Gabby whined, cranky that she'd had her sleep disturbed so roughly. "These ships really need more seatbelts."
That was when Goldie rolled over to her.
"Oh, hi Goldie. Where is everyone?" Gabby asked.
But, instead of answering, Goldie just untied the pink ribbon on Gabby's head and rolled away with it.
"Hey! That's my favorite ribbon!" Gabby said angrily and ran after the droid. "Give it back!"
Gabby chased the little droid around until they came to the open door of the ship. Gabby tried to stop herself, but she slipped and she fell off the edge of the ramp, plummeting towards the sphere. Goldie used his rockets to slow himself down, but Gabby needed another way to land safely, and quick!
Gabby quickly concentrated, and created a big puffy cloud on the ground that was strong and able to be sat on, and it caught the child, giving her a safe landing. The child breathed heavily and her heart raced as she nearly met her doom before she even lived to be three.
"How does Daddy do that every day?" Gabby mumbled to herself as she got down from her cloud.
Goldie waved Gabby's ribbon around as though teasing her and quickly rolled away.
"Oh no you don't!" Gabby said. "You're gonna need more than a repairman to fix you up when I get through with you!"
Goldie then started to contact someone.

"Report," said Grievous as Goldie contacted him.
Goldie beeped to let him know he had the young princess following him right into their trap, but the Jedi were also there.
"the Jedi are here?!" Grievous said. "Quickly, bring the child to me!"
Goldie hung up while Grievous gave orders to sound the alarm. Then, he rolled away, eventually stopping, which gave Gabby a chance to grab her ribbon and tie it back onto her head.
"That was so not funny, Goldie." Gabby said. "Never touch my ribbon again."
Inconveniently, that was when a door opened behind her, and Gabby felt herself being picked up with a scream.
Gabby looked behind her to see her captor was none other than that scavenger from before.
"Happy to see me, Princess?" The scavenger sneered. Then Gabby spit a raspberry in his face. And while he rubbed the saliva off his face, the child managed to slip from his grip, only to be grabbed all over again, and become even more terrified when she saw General Grievous.
"No need for fear, dear child." Grievous said. "We're your caretakers now."
Gabby breathed heavily, then she took a big breath and shrieked at the top of her little lungs, hoping her father or someone else would hear her.
Luckily, someone did.

Ahsoka quickly found Goldie and wondered what he was doing there.
"Wait, if you're here..." Ahsoka quickly called her master as she heard the loud shriek echoing through the halls. "Master! I think Gabby's on the post!"
"I heard her!" Anakin responded. "Where is she?"
"Judging by that scream, she either saw a spider, or a certain general cyborg."
"We have to find her now!" Anakin said. "There's no time to waste."

Meanwhile, in a kingdom far away...
Queen Reigna was sitting on her throne, going over some royal business with some of the royal guards, when suddenly, the purple heart jewels on her necklace and crown changed to pink. That could only mean one thing.
"The time for the next Ride of Love ceremony is near," said Reigna. "I must go consult the Equinary."
The Ride of Love Ceremony was a very special and important event in Equinaro. You see, the jewels Reigna held were called the Hearts of Beauty. They had the power to unlock the true beauty within anyone and anything, and spread that beauty wherever their wearer brought them. But, the most beautiful thing they did was bring young equines and people in need together. Most often, the ones who were given a pony were children, but occasionally it was an adult, and each time someone was in need, the hearts changed color.
If the hearts changed pink, it meant a girl was in need. But if it was a boy, blue. And whenever Queen Reigna's necklace changed color, she would consult a magical book called the Equinary, which held the names of every pony available for adoption in Equinaro and helped select just the right one for their person.
Reigna closed her eyes and spoke to the Equinary, "Equinary, Equinary, show me the chosen girl. Find the right equine for her so the beauty of love may unfurl."
The Equinary opened up and flipped its pages until it showed a picture of a certain Jedi Princess. Queen Reigna was a little surprised, though at the same time not so surprised. Gabby had always said she wanted a pony of her own. Gabby had always loved ponies, but never had a real one to call hers. According to the book, Gabby was in need of a very special friend who was kind, gentle, and would play with her. And when it flipped its page again it showed she was in danger and needed help now, which was why she also needed a friend who could protect her when she was in trouble.
"Equinary, search quickly. This is an emergency situation!" Queen Reigna ordered the Equinary to work faster, and it flipped its pages again.
The Equinary stopped at a picture of a young royal purple alicorn with a magenta mane streaked with golden yellow, sapphire blue eyes a big pink bow on top of her head, and what looked like a music note in the center of a pattern of pink lines and gold stars that looked almost like a firework along her flank. Her name was Carousella Mareheart. This young alicorn mare was the daughter of General Armorous Mareheart of the Equinaro royal guard, as well as Princess Fantasia's best friend.

Carousella was only nine, but she graduated top of her class in royal guard training just last year, even passing her older brother Crescent, the current lieutenant of the guard. She was the best in the business, and at this point, there was a princess who needed that. Carousella might not have been as big as most of the royal guards, but she was a strong mare with a strong, kind heart.
"Fantasia, find General Mareheart and have him fetch Carousella immediately!" Queen Reigna told her oldest daughter. "This is an emergency Ride of Love."

Later, Carousella went with the royal family to the magic garden. Carousella was led to an aisle of beautiful flowers. She nuzzled her father and brother goodbye before walking to the center past her closest friends, and she bowed before the queen.
"Congratulations, Carousella." Queen Reigna smiled. "Your mother would be so proud of you."
A couple of centaurs presented a pillow with four silver horseshoes, but not just any horseshoes; magical horseshoes. Every pony who experienced the ritual was given a set of magical silver horseshoes to wear so after they went to their person, they would be able to return to Equinaro whenever they wished. Or, travel anywhere else. Normally all the royal guards had these special shoes, but Carousella didn't get them until now because she had just become an official guard and needed to earn them. And now she finally did.
Carousella lifted each hoof as the centaurs carefully placed the new horseshoes on her feet. Then, Queen Reigna used her magic to place a bottled message around Carousella's neck, and had her stand in the center of a field of flowers while she stood upon an angled rock like a stage. Of course, the queen remembered to mention to Carousella to keep it secret that she knew who Gabby's father was.
"Let the Ride of Love begin!" Reigna announced.
King Orpheus began stomping his hooves, and soon other ponies began to stomp their hooves in unison to unlock the bright and loving magic of the heart of beauty. Queen Reigna closed her eyes and looked to the sky and began to say a special poem:
"By light of heart, and beat of love, bring true beauty and true heart's form. To this child in need, may love be the norm. Accepting with heart, love and beauty in truth, we shall bring a smile to the needy youth."
The hearts released pink sparkles with enough power to complete the task, the hearts turning back to purple as the deed was done.
Carousella closed her eyes as she felt the magic surrounding her as it began to transport her to her girl.

Gabby started crying as she was restrained to a table by Grievous. She had never been so scared in her life, and worried that she may never see her parents again. How she wanted to be rescued by a handsome prince now, but more so her daddy so he would hold her close in his arms and reassure her that everything was okay like he always did.
"Now, now. Don't cry little one." Grievous said, almost sounding caring. "You won't be hurt as long as you be a good girl and do as you are told. Understood?"
Gabby only squeaked and looked like she would scream again.
Suddenly, some pink sparkles appeared out of nowhere, taking the shape of a heart that started beating and pulsing, and out popped Carousella, who flew in and up, swooping at the villains before landing on the table, standing protectively in front of Gabby.
"Leave... the girl... alone!" Carousella threatened.
Grievous tried to attack Carousella, but she shot a powerful magical sound wave blast that sounded an awful lot like calliope music being played too loudly, which knocked Grievous and his accomplice unconscious. Even R3 was knocked to the floor.
Gabby looked in awe at the beautiful horse before her and watched as she magically took the restraints off her arms and legs, allowing the child to sit up as the colorful winged unicorn sniffed her hair.
"Don't be scared, Princess Gabriella." Carousella said. "My name is Carousella Mareheart. Queen Reigna sent me for you. Everything is gonna be okay. I'm gonna get you back to your family, and be your friend forever."
Carousella motioned for Gabby to climb on her back, and Gabby quickly got on as the bad guys were starting to wake up, and Carousella quickly ran out of the room to look for Anakin, or anyone on their team. Unfortunately, that was when they came in contact with some battle droids. Gabby screamed as Carousella started to fly and they flew off.
"Hang on tight!" Carousella shouted. She swerved, zigzagged and spun around, making it difficult for the droids to hit them, which also gave Gabby a little time to concentrate her powers, and trap some of them in big bubbles, and blow some in a strong wind.
"Good thinking, Princess!" Praised Carousella.
"Just Gabby is fine," said Gabby.
"Now to find someone friendly around here." Carousella's horn started to glow again, and this time sweet music came from it, music like on a merry-go-round, or carousel, hence her name. "Did I forget to mention I'm a musicorn?"
"That's so cool!" Gabby said.

Meanwhile, Anakin and R2 rushed through the ship, searching desperately for Gabby.
"If Grievous touches a single hair on my baby girl's head..." growled Anakin. "I don't know what I'll do, but it won't be pretty."
That was when he started to hear something. It sounded like... a merry-go-round?
"Since when do the Separatists like riding wooden horses up and down to music?" Anakin said.
"I think the real question is whether they know what Equinaro horses are capable of," said a new voice.
That was when Carousella landed not far from Anakin. "I believe this one belongs to you?"
"Daddy!" Gabby got down and ran right into her father's arms.
Anakin spun Gabby around and held her in a tight hug.
"Gabby! I was so worried about you." Anakin said. "What were you thinking?"
"It wasn't my fault, I swear." Gabby said. "Goldie tricked me into coming here! He's a Separatist in disguise."
"What?!" Anakin said in shock. "I knew there was something I didn't like about that scrap heap."
"Grievous tried to get me, and then Carousella rescued me." Gabby said.
"Well, thank you, Carousella." Anakin said, petting the alicorn's muzzle. "But there'll be time for introductions later. We gotta get you out of here."
Anakin placed Gabby back onto Carousella and told her to get to the landing bay and keep Gabby safe.
"If we're not there in ten minutes, work your magic and get Gabby somewhere safe." Anakin said. Then he kissed his daughter's cheek and told her, "Do everything Carousella tells you, Princess. And be safe."
"Okay, Daddy." Gabby said.
Carousella began running with Gabby on her back. Then, Gabby, being curious, asked Carousella why they didn't just use her magical horseshoes to apparate out of there.
"Because they're mainly intended for long-distance travel and/or emergencies." Carousella explained. "Once we use them, they take about a few minutes to recharge, and can drain a little bit of the wearer's energy because they require fast-paced movement to warm up and activate."
So, while Anakin took care of a few droids, Carousella rushed Gabby to the landing bay, where they were soon met by the ship.

Carousella quickly got Gabby onto the Twilight.
"Don't worry, Gabby. You're safe now." Said the alicorn.
Gabby looked out the window and saw R3 starting to mess with the controls.
"Oh no, it's R3!" Gabby exclaimed. "Daddy! Look out!"
That was when Carousella rushed out, and she kicked the droid hard with her hind legs, making him lose his connector.
"Not so powerful without all your parts, are you?" Carousella mocked. But it wasn't quick enough to stop a few droids from coming down and attacking.
Anakin, the clones, and Carousella all began fighting the many droids that shot at them.
Gabby knew that her father didn't want her to leave the ship, but she knew exactly how she could help.
As it seemed there was no escape, some bigger green Venus flytrap-like plants grew seemingly from out of nowhere and began attacking the droids. Some of them spat sticky sap that trapped the droids in place, while others grabbed them in their jaws and chomped and swallowed them like a hungry dinosaur devouring a big slab of meat.
"Wow, Gabby's learning to grow big plants." Anakin said, amazed and shocked by how quickly his daughter's power was growing.
"All those were grown by a two-year-old?" Said one clone, also shocked.
"She's certainly a one-of-a-kind princess." Rex said.
"She sure is," smiled Anakin, seeing how his daughter's assistance was working.
The team had to hurry, as the chargers they planted would soon explode. So, once Ahsoka arrived, the whole team ran as fast as they could to get back onto the ship.

Later...
"So, let me get this straight, Anakin." Obi-Wan began. "You risked the mission to destroy the sphere yourself, Gabby was captured by Grievous, and then you got her a pet?"
"I'm a royal guard and a friend. Not a pet." Carousella said. "And yes, Gabby was in danger, but now she has me to protect her."
"She really saved our skins out there, Obi-Wan. And who knows what Grievous would've done with Gabby if she hadn't come." Anakin said, and then started getting licked by Carousella. "Yuck! Carousella, down!"
"She's not a dog, Master." Gabby said. "She just likes you."
"By all means, if she can keep the girl safe, Carousella is welcome to stay." Obi-Wan said with a shrug. "But you'll need to speak to Senator Amidala about letting her daughter have a horse."
"That's who Queen Reigna wrote the message for," said Carousella. "I intend to be here for Gabby as long as she needs me. Still, Anakin, one day, you need to stop being so reckless."
Obi-Wan hung up.
"Anakin Skywalker, not be reckless?" Gabby joked. "That's like telling a princess not to have some animal by her side."
Gabby grew a little branch, which had a big red apple on it for Carousella, which the alicorn was quick to bite and start munching. She really earned it after what she did for Gabby and her family.
"I'll take good care of you, Carousella." Gabby said, hugging her pony. Together, they would have many adventures, risking life and limb to end the war and prove their bravery. A princess and her magical pony. A perfect match. What could go wrong?