The battle of Naboo was beginning to wind down.

The droids on the surface had all been defeated, whilst the fighters flying through the sky had been destroyed. The capital city was safe from invasion, despite most of its forces being put to sleep by a mysterious gas that was currently filling the atmosphere.

Moving through this green gas was the Sith's Destroyer ship, with the changelings flying it barely able to see. All they could do, was rely on their instruments to help them navigate.

But their instruments didn't protect them from the force that was currently stomping his way through the ship, as Tirek burst into the room with a look that could melt metal. "Alright! Which of you fools was the one that programmed the droid to take me out of that battle?" The changelings all flinched, with one standing up.

"I was sir." He was about to say more, but Tirek lifted him up by his armor and pulled him towards his hand.

As soon as he had a grasp around the bug, only using his finger and thumb, then squeezed tightly and the changeling began to panic as he was choked. "What made you think it was a good idea, to humiliate me like that?"

"I...was only..."

"Sir," another stood up, "he was following orders. He only did it because he was told to do it."

Tirek glared at the changeling, "and what idiot gave that order?"

"This idiot." Tirek turned to see Armalum, as the destroyed droid was wheeled into the room by another changeling. "Now please release that changeling. Chrysalis wouldn't be happy if we killed one of her subjects." Tirek rolled his eyes and released the bug, who gasped as soon as he hit the ground.

"What happened to you?" Tirek asked.

"I had a bit of a run in with one of the Jedi. He was a lot stronger than I had estimated."

"Whatever. Why did you pull me out of that fight? I was winning!"

"Were you?"

"I was...working on a strategy that would have turned the tables in my favour." Tirek shook his head. "That doesn't matter. You made me look like a fool. How am I supposed to strike fear into the Jedi's hearts, if I'm suddenly lifted up into the air against my will?"

"We have more important things to worry about than your ego." Armalum looked out the window. "Solara is waiting for us. She hasn't sent the signal yet, but I'm sure she's close to acquiring the last relic. We were able to weaken the Jedi forces enough for her not to get to many obstacles. We need to be ready to pick her up as soon as she contacts us. Getting you beforehand was necessary. Once we have the relic, we need to get out of here as soon as possible. We can't be wasting time picking you up."

Tirek growled, but knew he was right. "She better have the relic. If she doesn't, Lord Sombra will not be happy."

"We're about to reach the ocean coordinates," a changeling stated. "Preparing to drop the Sonic Destroyer."

"Sonic Destroyer?" Tirek asked.

"A little something I cooked up for Solara to escape in. If any of those gungans are still down there, this'll deal with them no problem." He turned to the changelings. "Drop to a distance of eight hundred feet and drop it." The changelings nodded and did just that.

Outside the ship, a large section of the Destroyer opened up. As it did, an egg-like structure folded out of the ship and aimed towards the water. The ship then released the egg and it began to fall towards the water.

Back under water, Sclash and the other gungan continued their fight.

Sclash watched as another of the gungans' aqua subs were destroyed. The ray droids were still blasting at them, or using their drill tails to cut through them and causing the ships to explode. But the gungans weren't going down easy, as they shocked as many droids as they could whilst also ripping them apart with their bare hands.

Sclash's energy was running rather low. If this fight didn't end soon, he wasn't gonna survive it.

But as another droid was destroyed, something else suddenly slammed into the water from above. The gungan looked up and saw a large metal egg, which was beginning to sink towards them. They all knew it wasn't theirs, so all prepared to fight against it.

Then, the egg began to split apart and reveal a new kind of droid. One that seemed to be shaped off of a killer whale, being a mixture of black and white. The sides of its body had laser blasters on it, whilst the end of its tail had a propeller that allowed it to move through the water. Its dorsal and side fins also had jets, allowing it to move through the water in every direction.

The gungan stared at the droid and were ready to fight it, as the lasers on the droid's side began to fire.

The beams cut through one of the subs and destroyed it, shocking them by how powerful it was. The droid then swam down deeper, his lasers threatening to cut all of them in half. Sclash and several others tried to get behind it, hoping its defences would be weaker there. But when they got there, the propellers spun even faster and they were all pushed backwards.

Sclash cried out, trying to regain control. But it was proving difficult with how powerful his micro whirlpool was.

When he finally regained control, he saw the whale swimming deeper towards the trench. He couldn't let it get too close, so he started swimming after it. And this time, he made sure to steer clear of the whirlpool it was forming.

It was then that the droid's mouth opened, revealing some kind of strange blaster weapon. And when it fired, it unleashed some kind of kinetic blast. This blast slammed into one of the gungan ships and pushed it down towards the seabed, crushing it flat.

Sclash's eyes went wide with shock, as the whale droid fired yet another sonic blast. This one they all managed to dodge, but the sonic attack struck the area next to the trench, causing it to shake.

Sclash saw this and began to worry, fearing what kind of effect that blast would have on the temple at the bottom of the trench. He had no idea where Twilight and Tidal were. If they were still in the temple, they might get crushed under the debris if the trench's walls broke off.

He gave an order to attack the droid, several gungans charging towards it. But the droid's lasers forced many of them back and killed even more. This thing was truly a deep-sea devastator.

Back in the temple, Twilight and Solara's fight continued.

They were still in the main area of the temple, where the six columns were waiting to be unlocked in order to release the relic. But whilst Solara was trying to release it, Twilight was doing everything in her power to keep the relic out of Solara's hands.

As the pair slashed at each other, Solara attempted to move one of the column rings into place. But as soon as she did, Twilight made another column spin so that the symbol didn't match. "Stop that!" Solara cried, getting more and more frustrated.

"I'm not going to let you have the final relic," Twilight stated. "I don't care how long the two of us have to stay here. I'll keep you locked in a stalemate as long as I need to."

"You'll regret this," Solara told her. The Sith charged and attacked Twilight with wild yet powerful strikes, Twilight doing her best to block each attack. But it was proving trickier than she had hoped. On occasion, Twilight attempted to break through her attack and deal a strike of her own. But Solara was able to counter everything she did, eventually capitalising on it by spinning around and sweeping Twilight's leg.

The girl screamed, as she fell to the ground and her Lightsaber flew out of her grasp.

Solara tried to slash at her again, but Twilight was able to recover and roll out of the way. Solara chased her, as Twilight tried to summon her Lightsaber back to her. But as the weapon flew towards her, Solara used a Force Push to throw Twilight back.

The girl cried out, as she was sent backwards and her Lightsaber sailed past her and out of sight whilst she slammed into one of the pillars.

She groaned, holding her back in pain, whilst Solara rolled her Lightsaber around whilst pacing. She glared at Twilight, as she began to push herself up and staggered away from the pillar. And as she did, Solara took several breaths to try and get herself more and more angry. With each pant, she felt her blood boil and her strength rise. And eventually, Solara hit a breaking point.

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" She screamed, charging forward at top speed with her Lightsaber at the ready.

Twilight panicked, but remembered her Jedi training. Especially words that Celestia had once told her during saber training. "In the heat of battle, a person's true nature is revealed. No matter how composed a person may seem, they can always let it slip in a fight. And when a person is close to victory, is when they're also at their most vulnerable. I learned a long time ago that the final attack is the key to both victory and defeat."

'I have to strike whilst she thinks she has me beaten.' As the red laser flew towards her, Twilight acted and leaned backwards. The blade flew above her chest and as she began to fall, she used her hands to catch herself before kicking her hoof upwards.

She moved so fast, that Solara couldn't react in time and she suddenly found her Lightsaber being knocked up and out of her grasp.

The sword went flying out of sight and as Solara tried to find where it went, Twilight completed her back flip and was back on her hooves. And before Solara could do anything, the Padawan let out a roar as she jumped forward and slammed her hand into Solara's stomach.

The Sith gasped, as she suddenly felt an invisible force smash into her and she was sent flying backwards at high speed.

She spun through the air until she crashed into one of the temple walls, the impact sending pain shooting through her body and causing her to scream out. She then slid down and hit the ground, her entire form going limp as she just sat there. She was defeated, with no way to fight back.

Twilight panted, finding her Lightsaber on the ground and summoning it to her. She then turned her attention back to the pillars, using this chance to slide them all into place. As soon as she did, the floor finished opening and a small podium extended upwards to reveal the final relic key.

It looked just like the other two, having a gem in the middle with three others in each of the three corners. And as soon as the podium was fully up, Twilight took the relic and placed it within her robes. She had succeeded. All she needed to do was get out of there and she would have stopped the Sith from acquiring the final key.

But then, she heard a moan and looked over at Solara.

The girl was beginning to come around and slowly lifted herself up, clearly not in the best of shape. And as she raised her head, she found Twilight staring down at her. Having no way to defend herself in her current state, Solara sighed. "Go on. Finish it." But Twilight did nothing, "DO IT!"

Twilight stared at her for another few moments before extinguishing her Lightsaber. "No." Solara stared at her in shock. "I won't destroy you, Sunset." That name made the girl's heart sting. "You may have done some awful things, but I won't kill you whilst you're injured and unarmed. I told you. The Jedi defend life when possible. And I won't be the one to end yours."

"You're a fool," Solara told her. "You still think you can make me turn to your side?"

"I don't know," Twilight sighed. "I do know there is good inside of you. No matter how hard you try and hide it."

"You're wrong!" Solara tried to pick herself up. "I am a Sith. I destroy all those that stand before me. And I will not hesitate to cut you down the next time I have the chance."

Twilight stared at her, fearing she might actually mean those words. But her instincts were telling her something different. That Sunset was still in there and all she needed was a push. All she needed was someone to help her truly see the kind of person she could be.

Slowly, Twilight turned away from her and placed her Lightsaber away.

Solara saw this, as Twilight spoke to her. "If you really are a Sith through and through, then prove it. Strike me down."

"What?" Solara asked. "Is this some kind of trick?"

"No," Twilight stood with her back to Solara. "I know you're more than just a Sith. I trust you. If you really are a Sith, then do it. Kill me and take the relic from me." Twilight said nothing else and just stood there, waiting for Solara to make her decision.

Solara pushed herself up and once she was on her feet, she located her Lightsaber and summoned it to her hand.

Twilight heard the blade ignite, but didn't move. She knew she should be trying to defend herself. But she couldn't. She had to show Sunset who she truly was. And as she closed her eyes, she prepared herself to become one with the Force if she was wrong.

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" Solara ran forward and raised her Lightsaber, ready to cut Twilight in half. And soon, Twilight heard the buzzing downward swing of the blade.

Seconds past and Twilight didn't feel the pain of being sliced through. For a moment, she wondered if she had died without feeling anything. But slowly, a buzzing sound beside her ear appeared and she opened her eyes.

Glancing to her right, she saw the red blade inches from her shoulder. If it got any closer, she'd probably have been burned. But it wasn't and she was unharmed, as the panting breath of Solara made her look around and see her.

Solara's body shook, the girl clearly trying to force herself to cut Twilight down. But something was obviously stopping her. Something she couldn't control. "RAAAAAAH!" She pulled away from Twilight and slashed at the wall, sparks flying as it carved into the stone. She let out another scream and slashed again, followed by more and more slashes that carved away at more of the wall. And finally, she stabbed into the spot where all the cuts met with another scream.

She panted, as she fell to her knees.

Twilight stood there, unsure what to do for her. All she could do was step forward and place a hand on her shoulder, as Solara extinguished her blade. "It's okay. it's okay."

"No, it's not." Solara began to cry, as she thought about everything she had done in her life. "I...I don't know what I am anymore. I'm supposed to be a Sith. That's all I've ever trained to be. That's all I know. But I can't even slay a Jedi. What does that make me?"

Twilight smiled. "Someone strong enough not to let the Dark Side corrupt them." Sunset glanced back at her. "Taking a life is easy. Giving in to anger and hatred and striking out. But when you do that, it strips away your humanity. Holding onto your humanity, even when killing is easier, takes true strength."

Sunset looked down in shame, as Twilight offered a hand. "Come with me. Back to Canterlot. I swear to you. I'll do everything I can to keep you from being put in jail. You might have to prove yourself, but you can still become a Jedi."

"How can you be sure?"

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

"Mindless beasts. But nobody else."

"Then you can become a Jedi. So please, let me help you." Solara stared at the hand Twilight was offering, the Sith clearly unsure what to do. "Your mother is waiting for you." Those words seemed to click in Solara's head and she seemed ready to take Twilight's hand.

But before she could, the entire temple suddenly shook and the pair were thrown around.

The whale droid continued to fire at the gungan, its lasers cutting through the subs and even a few of the remaining ray droids.

But it was the sonic blaster that was causing the most destruction, as it fired several blasts that flattened the ships it struck or caused a major sea-quake whenever it struck the bottom of the ocean. The more the ocean shook, the more large pieces of the trench were ripped off or broke apart. It wouldn't be long before the entire trench collapsed in on itself, burying everything within it.

Sclash knew he had to find a way to stop this. But how?

He watched, as the droid's laser carved into the ocean floor and cut a large trench into it. He was still behind it, but there was little he could do from there.

As such, he swam under the ship and looked up. And there, he spotted some kind of hatch he hoped would be an access port. If he got inside, maybe he could disable it.

He swam towards it, as another sonic blast hit the seafloor and made it shake. If he didn't stop it soon, the entire ocean would be shaken apart.

He reached the hatch and pulled it open, revealing a bunch of wires inside of it. But as he tried to pull one of them out, he was suddenly bombarded with a few thousand volts of electricity. The gungan roared in agony, as his fist reflexively squeezed on the wire tighter.

The other gungans saw this and several tried to swim to his aid, only for the whale droid to suddenly shift around and dislodged Sclash.

The gungan sank down towards the seafloor, his friends swimming down and grabbing him. As they did, they could barely feel a pulse coming from him. That much lightning had to have done some serious damage. If they didn't get him medical attention soon, he might not survive.

The whale droid fired another sonic blast, which once again struck the side of the trench and caused it to shake violently.

The temple's walls crumbled and broke apart, as the vibrations flew through the building and risked bringing the whole place down on top of them.

Twilight and Solara were unable to hold on, the pair being thrown about by the sudden shaking. Twilight lost her footing and accidentally slammed into one of the pillars, crumpling to the ground and she hit her head. And as she did, part of the wall suddenly broke apart and water began to seep in. Solara saw this and realised that soon, the entire room would be flooded.

She ran for the doorway, needing to escape before she drowned.

But before she could actually get out of the chamber, she stopped before turning to Twilight. The girl was still laid out on the ground, face down with water flooding towards her. If Solara left her there, it wouldn't be long before she was in enough water to drown.

Solara's gaze shifted between her and the exit, clearly caught between saving the girl or herself. If she tried to save Twilight, would she be able to carry her through the temple and collapse before it was too late? And if she did leave Twilight, would she be able to live with herself?

"What do I do?"

Tidal swung his weapon around and knocked the statue's hand away again, as the temple once again shook due to whatever was going on outside.

The walls began to crack and as he leapt away from the guard's hand, part of the temple broke and water began to spill into the room. It wouldn't be long before the entire place was flooded and Tidal couldn't leave without Twilight.

But as he leapt at a statue and knocked it away, the door suddenly opened. "Twilight?" He spotted a bunch of purple hair and smiled, only to then notice Twilight was being carried by their enemy.

Solara carried Twilight piggyback style and as she staggered into the room, one of the statues turned towards her and tried to grab them. But Solara jumped away and ran for the door. Tidal gasped, trying to follow, but a statue got in his way.

He suddenly went into overdrive and started swinging his weapon with amazing speed and precision, burning at the arms of the statues until almost a third of their arms were melted away. This seemed to actually hurt the statues, who pulled away and all gripped their arms.

Tidal used this opening to leap towards the room's exit and race into the tunnel. He was ready to fight Solara, expecting her to use the gungan ship to take Twilight with her. He didn't know why she wanted Twilight, but he wouldn't let her take her.

Water began to spill into the tunnel, as he ran into the temple and found the place was slowly filling up.

He looked around, only to be shocked by what he saw. Twilight was sitting in the gungan ship, which had its cockpit down, but she was alone. And when he looked around, he saw no sign of Solara. And he saw no sign of the aqua scooter she had ridden in on.

Shock filled Tidal's heart, as he realised what Solara had done. She hadn't been attempting to kidnap Twilight. "She saved her." But before he could really register this discovery, the water began to reach his knees and he realised he didn't have long before he would be in over his head.

He leapt towards the sub, needing to swim the last few feet, but managed to pull himself up onto it and pop the hatch.

As the sub floated up towards the roof, Tidal jumped inside and pulled the cockpit shut. He then kicked the engine into gear and just as they were about to hit the ceiling, he pushed the ship downwards and it sank below the water.

He made his way back towards the sunken moon pool and as he made his way back through the tunnel, he remembered the ray droids that had gotten stuck in the seaweed. Twilight might have broken them, but they were still in the way.

However, as he reached the area of seaweed, he found the droids were gone. He wasn't sure what happened, but it seemed the grass had ripped and the droids had floated away. Either way, they weren't in his way anymore.

The tunnel shook and Tidal realised he needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. If he didn't, there was no telling what could happen.

He pulled the sub upwards and made his way out of the tunnel, finally escaping into the trench. And as he did, he saw that parts of the trench wall were breaking off and falling towards him. If he hadn't been such a good sub pilot, he wouldn't have been able to avoid the rocks as they fell.

One passed by him and slammed into the temple, causing part of it to break apart. No doubt, the entire place was being flooded at that moment in time. But Tidal had other worries to focus on.

Solara was right in front of them, her aqua scooter sending her upwards to the exit of the trench. She had managed to get up high before the rocks fell, meaning she had nothing to slow her down as she headed for the surface.

A groan then caught Tidal's attention, making him look around and see Twilight beginning to awaken. "You're up. Good."

"What happened?" She looked around and saw she was back in the sub. "The last thing I remember..." It was fuzzy, but Twilight remembered everything that had happened with Solara. It was after the temple shook, that she was hazy on the details.

"Solara saved you," Tidal explained. "She carried you back to the sub." Twilight could barely believe that, but smiled as she spotted Solara reaching the top of the trench.

"What's she doing?" Twilight hoped she had gotten through to Solara. But if she had, why would she be heading towards the surface on her own?

As Solara got closer to the top of the trench, she heard the sound of battle and saw many gungans fighting a giant robotic whale. That was certainly not something she had known about. And as she reached the top, her belt began to beep. She feared that meant she was running out of power, but when she looked down she saw it was just about to go into the yellow.

The beeping appeared to trigger something in the whale droid, as it turned its attention towards her.

It then swam right at her, opening its mouth as the sonic cannon retracted and its propulsion pushed it forwards at high speed. Solara's eyes widened and she tried to swim backwards, but the droid caught her before she could get away.

The gungans were all shocked by this, as the droid then swam up towards the surface.

Tidal and Twilight finally arrived at the top of the trench. They looked around and didn't see Solara, but did see the gungans as they stared upwards. The two followed their gaze and saw the droid, both wondering what the heck was happening. Twilight then noticed the aqua scooter Solara had been using and despite the head injury, she put the pieces together.

"Solara's inside that thing."

"What?" Tidal asked, as he pushed the ship to follow. As they did, they looked around and saw the damage that had been done. The gungans floating around lifeless. The destroyed ships. All of it. "I can't believe this."

Up on the surface, the Shooting Star was flying through the sky towards the capital city.

Inside, Rainbow was at the controls whilst Pinkie was watching Flash work to repair Springer. The robotic dog was hooked up to the ship's main computer, which was acting as life support for his core consciousness. All the while, Flash replaced the damaged components.

"Is he gonna be okay?" She asked, as Flash placed another part into him.

"I think so." He frowned, seeing the large hole that had been blown into his side. "I won't be able to fix this outside of a fabrication workshop. But all of Springer's systems have been repaired. Time to see if it worked." He took a deep breath and switched on the droid, Springer's eyes beginning to light up as his head rose.

"What?" He looked around, "what happened?"

"Springer," Flash sighed, "you okay?"

"I think so," Springer replied. "What happened?"

"You got a pretty nasty hit," Flash stated. "I had to put you into a protective lock-down. Glad to see you're okay. I was worried you might lose some of your programming."

"I feel fine," Springer replied. "Systems feel a little sluggish, but that's probably the new parts getting synced up with the old ones." He looked around, "we're back on the ship?"

"Yup," Pinkie smiled, "Rainbow and I came to pick you up."

"What happened in the battle?" Springer tried to hover, but Flash stopped him.

"Wow, bud. Give your systems time to properly reboot. As for the battle..."

"Guys!" Rainbow cried, getting their attention. The two rushed towards the cockpit, the pair looking out the window and seeing they were no longer flying over the land.

"Why are we over the ocean?" Flash asked. "I thought we were heading back to the capital?"

"We were. But then I saw the Destroyer in the distance. We couldn't let it get away." Flash and Pinkie looked ahead and sure enough, the Destroyer ship was floating in the sky straight ahead. It was half covered by the green mist currently flowing through the atmosphere.

"Rainbow," Flash frowned, "we can't do anything against that ship. Our firepower won't even scratch that thing. All it'll take is one shot and they'll blast us out of the sky." Rainbow frowned, clearly knowing he was right.

"Hey," Pinkie pointed at the water, "what's that?" The other two looked down and saw something had surfaced from beneath the waves. Something large and made out of metal. That something was floating on the water's surface, almost right under the Destroyer.

The Deep-Sea Devastator began to make its way towards the Destroyer. As it did, the top of the machine began to open up. And from it, something folded out of it. A torpedo of some kind, which it aimed at the ship.

"You think it's a gungan weapon?" Rainbow asked. The others frowned. Its design didn't feel gungan. But if it was a Sith droid, why was it aiming at the ship.

The torpedo fired and shot into the air, flying straight towards the Destroyer at top speed. But the Destroyer pulled up into the green smoke and disappeared, the torpedo following after it whilst the whale droid seemed to deactivate.

Without even thinking, Rainbow pushed the ship upwards and they chased the two retreating objects into the green mist. They flew as fast as they could and eventually got through the mist and out of the planet's atmosphere, where they saw the Destroyer hadn't been hit by the torpedo.

Instead, it was using a tractor beam on the missile and pulling it towards the ship. They all watched, as the missile disappeared inside of the Destroyer before it began to fly away. Rainbow tried to give chase, but Flash stopped her. "We're in no position to go after them." The ship headed towards the nearest hyperspace tunnel. "Even if we could follow at lightspeed, we'd be sitting ducks the minute we reached their base."

Rainbow sighed, knowing he was right. They couldn't follow. All they could do was get back to Naboo and fix the damage they had done.

Inside the Destroyer, Tirek and Armalum were inside the main hanger.

The torpedo they had brought on board was slowly lowered by the tractor beam and once placed on the floor, the changelings started working to open it. After a few minutes, the locks were finally undone and the occupant was revealed.

Solara stepped out of the pod, looking uncomfortable after being crammed into the confined space. She stretched herself out, then spotted her two fellow Sith and focused on the damaged one. "What happened to you?"

"Doesn't matter," Armalum stated. "What of the mission? Did you accomplish it?" Solara said nothing, the girl looking down with what the pair assumed was shame.

By the time they returned to the capital city, they found many individuals were out on the street.

They were all wearing suits to protect them from the gas, as they helped those currently asleep off of the streets. The three landed in the hanger and ran back to the capital building, Springer remaining behind as he worked on calculating a cure for the green mist putting the citizens to sleep. The building had been made air tight, allowing those inside to be protected from the gas.

As they arrived, they found Celestia, Shining and Spitfire were there with the war council.

"Flash!" Shining sighed, seeing his Padawan was okay. "Are you alright? Spitfire said you fought against Armalum." Flash nodded, as he shut down his atmosphere suit.

"I'm alright. Springer still needs some repairs, but he's up and running. I got him working on finding a way to neutralise the gas those guys shot into the air. But it might take a while."

"It appears you were right about these Sith," the queen stated. "They're more cunning then we led them to believe. We tried to prepare for anything they could throw at us, but they still managed to take us by surprise." She looked down in shame. "We're still getting reports of people who were injured by falling asleep at the controls of ships and other machines. Many others were injured when the city was attacked. And all I could do, was hide in a bunker."

"It's not your fault," Celestia told her. "The first time fighting against an unknown strategy is always the most difficult. Springer will find a way to neutralise this gas and when he does, we'll be ready for the next time they use it." Celestia sighed. "Though they may not even use it again. Or they might keep from using it for so long, we forget about it until they use it again. They're too sly for their own good."

Rainbow stepped forward. "Master. When we picked up Flash, we followed the Destroyer as it crossed the ocean." The Jedi frowned, clearly not happy the Padawans did that. Flash and Pinkie both pointed at Rainbow behind her back, gesturing that it was her idea alone. "When we got there, some kind of new droid shot something at the Destroyer."

"New droid?" Spitfire asked, "what kind?"

"It was big and aquatic. And when it shot something at the ship, the Destroyer used a tractor beam to pull it into the ship before they left."

"I see," Celestia nodded. "If I had to hazard a guess, that missile probably had someone or something very important within it." Her mind was thinking of a hundred different possibilities, until her gauntlet suddenly began to beep.

The Jedi opened it up and when she did, she was greeted with the holographic image of Twilight. "Master."

Celestia smiled. "Twilight. I'm glad to see you're okay. How are Tidal and the gungans?"

"Tidal's okay," Twilight stated. "But the gungans took heavy casualties." Clearly she could see these casualties and the image wasn't something the girl was enjoying. "Master. Solara managed to get to the temple before us." Celestia frowned, now knowing who had been in the pod. "Tidal and I got in, but I got cut off from him."

Celestia frowned. "I want more details later. But the answer I need to know right now is, were you able to retrieve the relic? If Solara was with you, she might have been able to get it." But then, she saw Twilight smile.

"Don't worry, master." She reached into her pocket, "I have the relic right-" She stopped when she couldn't find the item in question.

"Twilight?" Celestia watched Twilight check her other pockets, then her entire body. Slowly, she realised that Twilight actually didn't have the relic. "What happened?" Twilight wanted to know the exact same thing.

Then, she remembered what Tidal had told her. "Solara. You didn't!" Tidal gave her a curious look, as she checked her pockets one more time. "SOLARA!"

Up in space, Solara, Tirek and Armalum were in a private room.

A holographic image of Sombra appeared, Solara staring at him as he remembered what Twilight had told him. The Sith Lord that had raised her. Trained her. Made her who she was. Could he really be her father. "Report."

Solara stepped forward and revealed the final relic, the Sith Lord smiling as he saw it. "Master," she stated, "I have retrieved the final Relic from Naboo. We now have all three needed to open the gate."

"Excellent," Sombra nodded. "You've done well, Solara. This certainly makes up for your failure in acquiring the second Relic. Bring it here at once. We must prepare for the ceremony."

"Yes, master." The Sith all nodded, as Tirek spoke up. "Master. The ceremony requires a sacrifice that is strong with The Force. You wanted to use Celestia, but we were unable to capture her. Do you have someone else in mind to use?"

Sombra remained silent for a moment. "Once we're sure the gate and keys work, then we'll begin to search for a sacrifice. I do wish for Celestia to be the one we sacrifice. However, she is far too powerful to simply hold for an extended period of time. If we capture her and the gate doesn't work, she will find a way to escape before we can fix whatever's not working. And I don't want the Jedi finding out where our base is located."

"Clever," Tirek nodded.

Sombra nodded back and spotted Armalum's state. "What in the name of The Force happened to you?"

Armalum groaned, "don't ask." He didn't want his master to hear about his defeat at the hands of a Padawan. "On the bright side, this gives me an excuse to upgrade my body. Once my repairs and improvements are complete, the Jedi won't know what hit them."

"Very well. Head to your droid factory and begin your repairs and upgrades. I want everyone ready for our next assault."

"Next assault?" Solara asked.

"Yes. As Tirek mentioned. I intend to make Celestia the sacrifice to the gate. We must attack Canterlot again. And this time, we will take Celestia and bring her back. But only when the gate is complete."

"Yes, master." Solara nodded. "We'll be there as soon as we can." Sombra nodded before disappearing. Once he was gone, Tirek chuckled.

"Another victory for the master's golden girl." He turned to leave, "you should be glad you were given another chance. If any of us had failed our mission, I doubt Sombra would have let us off so lightly." Armalum nodded. "Still wonder why Sombra was willing to keep you around."

Solara frowned, as she remembered what Twilight had told her down in the temple. Could it be true? Could she really be the daughter of Sombra and Celestia? If so, what did that really make her? What was the purpose of her creation?

Back on the planet, the mood had gone sour due to what had happened. Everyone felt angry, disappointed and just plain upset.

"I can't believe this!" Flash cried, punching part of the wall in frustration. "We went through all that. Lost so many lives and what do we have to show for it? Nothing!" He punched the wall again. "It would have been something, if we'd been able to take out one of the generals." He thought about Armalum and how he could have destroyed him completely. But now, the droid had gotten away and would likely be rebuilt in no time at all.

All the other Jedi in the room were feeling just as upset. Each of them thought about the battles that they had fought and how they could have done things differently. How they could have made things turn out better for their side.

But Celestia stood up and looked around. "That's enough." Everyone turned to her. "Simply laying around, thinking about what's happened and how you wish it could be different won't help up. We can't change the past. Focus now on the future and what this battle has taught you."

They all nodded, as the doors opened and Twilight stepped into the room with Tidal.

Celestia could see the look of despair on her student's face. The grandmaster moved over and placed a hand on her shoulder, "it's alright. I know you did your best."

Twilight sighed. "I had it. I had the relic and Solara was down for the count. If I had just left when I got the relic..."

"Then the battle might very well still be going on," Celestia explained. "As much as I wish we had acquired the relic, keeping Naboo safe was just as important. Even if you had gotten the relic and escaped, Solara and those droids would have been attacking you the whole time you were trying to get back here."

"I guess." Twilight moved over to an empty chain and sat upon it, as she remembered how the battle had gone. "I just...I thought I'd managed to get through to her."

"What makes you say that?" Shining asked, as Twilight retold what had happened before she had been knocked out. To say her friends were shocked by her statement of letting Solara kill her was an understatement.

"So she didn't kill you?" Pinkie asked, the others giving Pinkie a look at how ridiculous that question was.

"She almost did," Twilight sighed. "But she stopped herself at the last minute. She tried. I knew a part of her wanted to. But a bigger part couldn't do it and stopped her."

"I see," Celestia nodded. "Then maybe there is a chance for her to turn away from the Dark Side."

"Why are you so sure she can be turned back to the light?" Spitfire asked. "She betrayed us, stole the relic from us, attacked this planet and so many others. And that's just the horrible things we know about her. What makes you think she'd turn to our side?"

"She did save Twilight," Tidal pointed out. "I thought she was trying to kidnap her, but she saved Twilight. If she hadn't carried Twilight out of the temple, the two of us would probably be dead by now. She put her own life on the line, carrying her to safety and slowing herself down."

Twilight nodded, whilst Spitfire didn't seem so sure.

Twilight then gave everyone a worried look, but turned to her master. "I...I told Solara the truth." Celestia tilted her head, "about you and her. Your connection."

"I see," Celestia nodded whilst everyone else looked confused.

"I'm sorry. I hoped it would help her see that she could return to the Temple."

"What are you talking about?" Rainbow asked, making Twilight and Celestia share a look. And after a few moments, they both nodded before Celestia turned to the others.

"I guess it's time you all knew. Solara is actually my daughter." Every jaw in the room dropped, as the Jedi stared at her in shock. "Biologically, anyway. I never gave birth to her. We believe that Sombra created her, using DNA he somehow acquired from me. Solara's DNA is a mix of mine and one other. We believe that other is Sombra."

"Seriously?" Flash asked, the two nodding. "Wow. That's...that's insane."

"Yes," Celestia nodded. "It was a shock when I discovered it too. I didn't say anything, because I wasn't sure if Solara knew the truth or not." She turned to Twilight, "what was her reaction when you told her?"

"She was shocked. She clearly had no idea you were her mother. She thought she had been abandoned on a dying planet as a baby and found by Sombra. He's been lying to her her entire life."

"Why would he do that?" Pinkie asked. "Why would he create Solara, then lie about who she was?"

Celestia sighed. "My best bet, would be he was trying to get Solara to embrace the Dark Side. Anger and sorrow are powerful paths to the Dark Side. If Solara believed she was abandoned and left by her real parents, she would likely feel angry. That would allow her to awaken the Dark Side of the Force. And once one falls, it can be very difficult to pull yourself back into the light. That is the issue Solara currently faces."

"I guess that makes sense," Flash nodded. "So Solara's so angry and sad that she can't pull herself out of the darkness."

"No," Twilight shook her head. "I think it's fear that's keeping her from leaving the Dark Side behind. She spent her entire life in the darkness, being trained to be an unstoppable killing machine. If she left the Dark Side, it would be like leaving her entire self behind her. She's probably scared that if she abandons the part of herself that's committed to the Dark Side, there might be nothing left of herself. That she'd just be an empty shell."

The Jedi all thought about that and realised she was right. For someone who's known nothing but the Dark Side for so long, stepping into the light might be too terrifying for her.

"And that's why I won't give up on her," Celestia announced. "I might not have birthed her, but she's still my daughter. And I refuse to let Sombra corrupt her. If there's still a chance I can save her from the Dark Side, I have to try." They all nodded, understanding now why Celestia was so determined to help her. Twilight as well.

The lot of them weren't sure what would happen if they ran into Solara before them. But they knew they had to at least try and talk her down from the Dark Side.

It was in that moment, Flash's gauntlet beeped and he quickly answered it to find Springer on the other side. "Hey, bud. You doing okay?"

"I'm fine," Springer replied. "And I've finished the analysis. I've got the formula needed to neutralise the gas in the atmosphere and leave it daisy fresh. According to the ship's sensors, the gas is already dispersing on its own. If we left it, the gas would disappear within a day or so. This should just speed up the process."

"Great," Flash smiled, "I'll head back to the ship and we can begin to synthasize the gas as soon as possible. We can use The Shooting Star to disperse it." He looked over at the Jedi, wordlessly asking if that would be okay.

"Go," Celestia nodded. "The sooner we get this mist dealt with, the sooner we can help fix up everything."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" The queen, who had been silent up to this point, asked as Celestia turned to her. "Those Sith have the last of the keys they need for whatever plot they're planning. Would it not be prudent to return to Canterlot and begin counter measures?"

"Yes. But I refuse to leave this planet as it is now. The Naboo and the Gungans have all suffered because we couldn't stop the Sith before this. We will work to get the planet back on its feet before heading back to Canterlot."

The queen nodded, as Flash began to head for the door. Twilight followed, hoping to do some good by helping with the antidote. The pair quickly activated their atmosphere suits and headed out, as people continued to carry the unconscious and injured through the city.

Amongst them were a large group of gungans, who were taking those injured by the droids to a Naboo medical centre.

Amongst them, a glass canister was hovering through the city and Twilight instantly recognised the gungan inside of it. "Sclash!" She rushed over to it, shocked when she saw that his body was badly burned and he was using a mash to breathe. "No. What happened?"

Another gungan frowned as he pushed the canister away. "Sclash try disable big droid. Get zapped. He in very bad way." Twilight's heart felt like it was going to break, as she watched Sclash be pushed away.

"This is all my fault." She rubbed her arm, as Flash placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's not your fault. You didn't make the Sith come here. And you didn't make them send down droids to attack. Don't blame yourself for what they did."

Twilight nodded. "We have to stop them. Now. If we don't, more people are gonna get hurt. We have to stop the Sith before they get too strong to stop at all."

Flash nodded, agreeing with her. They would need to help Naboo recover and when they did, they would need to find the Sith and bring them to justice one and for all.

The war between the Jedi and the Sith was reaching a turning point. One which could very well decide the fate of the Galaxy. If the Jedi couldn't find the Sith soon, the Dark Side of the Force could very well gain the strength needed to completely destroy them.

The Sith's plans were slowly falling into place. Very soon, things in the Galaxy would change. Planets could fall and millions of lives could be ruined. It was only a matter of time before something like that happened. If the Jedi couldn't put a stop to it, the darkness would reign over the Galaxy.

Author's Note

And so, the Sith acquired the last relic. But Solara/Sunset is at some kind of crossroads. How will she decide what to do next. And what will the others plan to counter the Sith. Only time will tell.