//------------------------------//
// Negotiations 
// Story: Bounty Hunter Anon III 
// by Sunny Solaire 
//------------------------------//

You take a look at your shiny new arm and grin a little. Bulk Biceps did a phenomenal job. It was covered from shoulder to fingertip with a layer of the cortosis-infused beskar, which gave it a sleek, charcoal colored look. You couldn't even see the wiring and mechanics inside anymore.

Once you finally acquired it from the armorer, you repainted it so it matched the color scheme of the rest of your armor. If you didn't know better, you wouldn't be able to tell that it was a prosthesis.

You lower your arm and walk down the hallway of the cruiser toward the hangar. The Republic fleet had arrived over Concord Dawn. Mandalore was leading you and Sunset, along with Rainbow, Coco, Rarity, Pinkie, and a few other Mandalorians to the ships to meet with them now.

According to Mandalore, you would all be met by the Republic on their cruiser by a number of troopers and a handful of Jedi Knights. An unsurprising security precaution, seeing as how you were not exactly on the best terms with them right now.

You and Sunset didn't really talk much last night. Apparently, Rarity tried to understand what was going on between you and smooth it over as best she could. If it worked, it only worked a little bit.

You apologized profusely and she said she accepted it, but it was still tense and awkward between the two of you. You're not sure she believed you when you apologized. Not that you blame her.

It probably will be a bit awkward for a while. Maybe you both just need a bit of time away from each other. To let things cool down. You aren't sure when you'll get the chance though. You are about to walk into a war, after all.

You look at Sunset as she walks beside you. Her new shield fits great. She had painted a design of a shimmering red and yellow sun on the front that was beautiful. You can't wait to see it in action.

As your group reaches the hangar, you look outside at the Republic fleet massing over the purple world of Concord Dawn. This world has seen numerous wars and conflicts over the millennia. It was scarred and deformed in many places. According to what you heard, the small asteroid belt that orbited the planet actually came from the surface of the planet itself. Debris and rocks were hurled into orbit thanks to at least one of the wars this planet has survived.

Mandalore stops and turns around to face you all. "Anonymous. You and Sunset take your group of friends and follow us in your ship. I will take more Mandalorians in a different one."

You and Sunset both nod.

He looks to other Mandalorians in your group. Bon Bon, Lyra, Thunderlane, Coco, and Tempest are among them. "Mandalorians. We are here to negotiate a peaceful truce between us and the Republic. The fate of our people, as well as the rest of the galaxy depends on this. I command you all to keep your weapons in their holsters, and to hold your tongues if they try to provoke you. However, if they attack anyone here first, do not hesitate. Show no mercy. Until that happens, do not speak to anyone aboard." He turns around to look at Concord Dawn for a moment before looking back to the group. "To your respective ships. We depart now."

Everyone nods and you turn to Rarity and Pinkie. They both look a bit intimidated, being surrounded by all these Mandalorians.

"Let's go, guys. Hurry." You say.

The five of you quickly head to your ship and step aboard. Sunset immediately heads to the cockpit with Rainbow, while Pinkie and Rarity sit in a couple of seats in the main hold. You head into the armory and get your weapons and gear situated.

You are going into the belly of the beast right now, and you still technically aren't free of this bounty on your head. Best to be prepared. Discord is locked on Mandalore's gunship right now, so hopefully that will take care of that, but to be safe, you are prepared to shoot your way out.

However, there will also be Jedi aboard this cruiser.

You grab the lightsaber you took from Discord's room and activate it. The orange blade pierces the air and hums as you shake it around a little. Glad the cortosis exposure didn't ruin it completely.

You deactivate it and hook it on your belt before arming yourself even further. The ship rumbles beneath your boots as Sunset and Rainbow take off.

Once you finish arming yourself, you grab a spare blaster and head into the main hold. Rarity and Pinkie look at you and give you a little smile.

"You guys ready?" You ask.

"Yep! Good to go!" Pinkie says.

"Good. Rarity, have you got all the info ready to give to the Republic?"

"I do indeed, darling. I've got it all right here." She holds up her datapad.

Fantastic.

"Rarity, I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for us on this little adventure." You say. "I'm sorry you lost so much in the end. I never wanted that for you."

She smiles softly at you. "It's alright, Anonymous. I don't blame you at all. It was a risk I took and will pay for in time."

Pinkie wraps an arm around her and smiles. "Besides, she might have help from that Coco girl! She seems like a real sweetheart, compared to other Mandalorians!"

You chuckle a little. "Coco is a good girl. She can be pretty feisty when she needs to be though." You hand Rarity the blaster and she takes it cautiously. "Hold onto that. You probably won't have to use it, but keep it on you, just in case."

She inspects the blaster for a moment and nods before putting it on her hip. She smiles again and you leave them to join Sunset and Rainbow in the cockpit.

Directly outside the viewport, you follow Mandalore's gunship through space as it heads toward the Republic fleet. Hammerhead cruisers, frigates, and three large Venator-Class Star Destroyers hover in formation over the planet. A small escort of Mandalorian ships were following you as you flew your way toward the fleet, their weapons hot and ready for anything.

You can't help but feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up a bit as you slowly approach the large Republic fleet.

Sunset speaks up. "Just keep following Mandalore's gunship, Rainbow. Where he goes, you go."

Rainbow nods. "Got it."

You stand behind them both and watch as your ship maneuvers through the fleet and toward one of the Star Destroyers. It's impossible to shake the feeling of eyes all over you, watching your every move. In reality, that's probably what's happening right now. All these ships and cruisers, they're probably just as on edge as you are right now.

Mandalore's gunship flies over the nose of the Star Destroyer and around to the starboard side, approaching the hangar bay on the belly. Your ship follows right behind him as he ascends into the hangar bay. Inside, a few handfuls of soldiers are there waiting for you. You can spot Applejack's signature hat from here.

She's standing next to Shining Armor, and someone else you don't recognize, although you can tell it's a Jedi.

Mandalore's ship starts to descend onto the hangar floor while yours follows suit.

As soon as you touch down, Rainbow deactivates the ship and stands up with Sunset. "Okay... We're here."

Sunset looks at you and takes a deep breath. "You ready for this, Anon?"

You nod. "I think so. Come on."

You lead the girls out of the cockpit and into the main hold, where you usher Rarity and Pinkie to follow you.

"Like Mandalore said, don't rise to their bait if they try. We're here to make friends." You remind them.

Pinkie and Rarity both nod and you all step outside onto the hangar floor. There to greet you is Grand Master Luna, along with Master Maud and a handful of other troopers, all of whom are armed.

Pinkie smiles softly when she sees the Jedi Master. "Master Luna!"

Luna smiles in return as Pinkie picks up the pace to greet the Jedi. "Pinkamena Diane Pie. How wonderful it is to see you again."

Pinkie stops in front of the pair of Jedi and gives a respectful bow in front of her, which she returns. This is very good. Pinkie is showing that you can be nice and mean no harm by warming up to her old Jedi Masters.

When Luna rises, she shifts her gaze toward the rest of you. Her smile fades slightly. "So you are the Mandalorians I've heard so much about recently."

You stop in front of her, nodding. "That we are."

She stares at you for a moment. She's probably using the Force to stare into your mind or something. Don't let her in. Block her. Think of something else.

Think of Sunset. The red and yellow hairs on her head. Count them in a random order. One. Six. Eleven. Thirteen.

Luna blinks for a moment before taking a breath. "Jedi Master Pie has told me quite a bit about your endeavors lately, Anonymous. Perhaps we should continue to the Chancellor now, so we can clear this mess up?"

...Nineteen. Twenty two...

"I couldn't agree more, Master Jedi." You reply.

"Please. Follow me." Luna turns around, her dark blue Jedi robes flowing behind her as she walks into the Star Destroyer.

Pinkie takes the opportunity to give her sister a hug, which Maud hesitates to return for a moment. She's probably trying her best to look professional. It's proving to be impossible with Pinkie there.

You and Sunset lead Rainbow and Rarity after the pair of Jedi and Pinkie. Across the hangar, Mandalore proceeds into the Destroyer alongside Shining Armor. The young captain is doing his best to show authority and control, you'll give him that, but you can tell he's quite intimidated by Mandalore's presence.

As you proceed toward the hangar bay doors, you finally notice Applejack, Twilight, and Fluttershy standing there waiting for you. Twilight and Fluttershy are smiling, while Applejack looks at you with caution.

Pinkie waves her hand excitedly. "Twilight! Applejack! Fluttershy!" She runs toward them happily and wraps Twilight and Fluttershy in a hug. "It's great to see you guys again!"

Twilight giggles and hugs her back. "It's great to see you again too, Pinkie."

Pinkie just might be your secret weapon to making these meetings a success.

The twi'lek and mirialan smile as Pinkie releases them. "I'm so happy! Almost all of my friends are here now!"

Luna stops walking as Pinkie talks with Twilight and Fluttershy.

Twilight looks over at you and cocks her head. "Who are you?"

You turn around to look at Rarity. She smiles and approaches Twilight. "My name is Rarity, darling. I'm a business associate and good friend of Anonymous and Sunset."

Rarity approaches Twilight and shakes her hand. "Nice to meet you! I'm Twilight Sparkle. This is Fluttershy and Applejack."

Fluttershy waves softly and smiles. "Um, hi."

Applejack finally smiles and shakes Rarity's hand as well. "Nice to meetcha."

Rarity nods, smiling. "A pleasure." She looks back at Twilight. "I've heard quite a bit about you. So you are the one that was rescued from those dreadful Rakghouls?"

Twilight smiles, but Rainbow interrupts her before she speaks. "You've got that right! Anon and Sunset totally swooped in and saved her and a bunch of other people on that ship! It was so awesome!"

Twilight giggles again. "It was pretty awesome. Despite how scary it was at the time."

"Psssh!" Rainbow waves her hand dismissively. "Scary, shmary! Nothing's too scary for a Mandalorian!"

Applejack butts in. "Ease up there, Dash. I helped too. You're makin' me look bad."

The girls all laugh a little and you just watch the six of them with Sunset, giving a little smile under your helmet.

"They look like a nice little group of friends." Sunset says.

You nod. "They really do."

Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie. Rarity. Applejack. Fluttershy. Twilight Sparkle.

They continue talking for a second, before Luna clears her throat, getting their attention. "I hate to break up this friendly get-together, but we do have a meeting to get to and time is of the essence."

Twilight snaps her fingers. "That's right we do! Chancellor Celestia is waiting for us in the ship. Follow us, guys."

You and Sunset proceed after Twilight and the Jedi as they lead you all deeper into the Star Destroyer. The six girls talk for a bit longer as you walk, until you reach a spacious hallway filled with troopers and security personnel.

It puts you on-edge, and you don't like it.

"Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity, come here real quick." You command.

The three girls turn around and slow their pace to meet you. Pinkie smiles as she reaches you. "What's up, Anon?"

"Stay close to us." You say quietly. "We want to make friends, sure, but don't be too friendly yet."

Rainbow nods. "Right! We need to look tough and mean so they don't walk all over us."

"Exactly." You nod.

As you all proceed forward, Twilight leads you into a meeting room with a large table in the center. Mandalore is already there.

On one side of the room is Chancellor Celestia herself. She looks at you with a hint of scrutiny as you enter. Like she's trying to figure you out. A large video screen is on the wall behind her. Standing with her are a number of high-ranking diplomats and senators. Octavia Melody is among them.

The Senator from Naboo looks like she has recovered quite well from the assassination attempt on Dantooine. She looks at you blankly. Like she doesn't know what to think. The HNN report on Hoity Toity's death showed that she was grateful to you for rescuing her, but she was also disappointed that you were the one responsible for the Senator's death. That will be cleared up in a few minutes though. It is genuinely good to see her alive and well.

All the other senators are looking at you with anger and fear in their eyes. You killed one of their own, after all. No wonder they're a bit cautious around you.

Your group splits up and you and Sunset stand beside Mandalore, with Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Thunderlane, Lyra, Bon Bon, Tempest, and Coco.

On the other side of the table is Celestia, Luna, Maud, Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, Big Mac, Shining Armor, Octavia Melody, and a bunch of other Republic diplomats and Jedi you don't recognize.

One of them, a young woman with light purple skin and wavy purple and blue hair, calls the room to order. "Alright, everyone. Can I have your attention please?"

You all stop chitchatting and turn to look at the girl.

"My name is Starlight Glimmer." She says. "I've been asked by the Chancellor to introduce this meeting. Jedi Master Maud Pie will moderate. If everyone could please take your seats, we will begin."

Mandalore sits in his seat and you follow his lead with Sunset, Thunderlane, and Tempest. Everyone else on your side continues to stand behind you. Chancellor Celestia takes her seat on the opposite side of the table, along with Twilight, Luna, Octavia and a couple other senators.

There's a bit of a tense silence in the room as Celestia stares intently at Mandalore, and he stares at her.

Starlight steps aside and makes room for Maud Pie. She looks at both sides of the room before speaking. "Supreme Chancellor Celestia. Mandalore. The purpose of this meeting is to negotiate an alliance between our two governments in order to properly deal with the resurgent Sith threat. I understand that there is a bit of a conflict between our two peoples, especially after recent events, so I will open it to you all. Who would like to begin?"

Neither side says anything for a moment until one Senator on the Republic side speaks up. "I would like to say something."

She's a young wroonian female with blue skin, dark blue and grayish hair.

Maud nods at her. "Senator Minuette."

She clears her throat and looks at your side. "I can appreciate the willingness of the Mandalorians to talk about an alliance to stop the Sith. We are desperate for help now. But I cannot sit idly by while that... terrorist is still walking free." She points directly at you.

That didn't take long...

Minuette continues. "Senator Hoity Toity was not perfect, but he-"

"Boy, you've got that right!" Pinkie interrupts.

Maud looks at her as if to tell her to stop talking and Minuette sighs. "...But he was still a well-respected government official. You had no right to take his life like you did. I cannot support any peace talks while Anonymous is free from punishment."

"Hear, hear." Another Senator adds.

They really don't like you.

Maud raises her hands up at both sides of the table. "Please. Only one voice at a time. Let us be civil." She turns back to you. "You may reply to that statement, Anonymous."

"Gladly." You sit up straight. "Hoity Toity was about as corrupt as you could get. Even for a politician."

"...Ah, the corrupt politician excuse. How original..."

You ignore that little remark from the Republic's side and continue. "Weeks before the incident on Coruscant, Sunset and I accepted a contract from him to bring in a woman named Adagio Dazzle. He paid us 10,000 credits for her capture. The night of his death, we found Adagio locked away in his apartment building. She was practically naked, extremely malnourished, and had been tortured by the Senator in nearly every way."

Celestia speaks up. "Where is this woman now?"

You shrug. "I don't know. We rescued her and helped her recover before my friend sent her on her way. I don't know where she is now."

From behind, Rarity speaks up. "I was the one who helped her recover, Chancellor. My name is Rarity."

Celestia looks at her and hums. "I thought you looked familiar. I heard about your building. Anonymous had nothing to do with that, I take it?"

Rarity smiles. "Anonymous and Sunset rescued me from my building. It was attacked and destroyed by the Sith because of what we've clearly been doing to them lately. Anonymous is a significant thorn in their side at this point, and you all would be wise to look past this little incident. Hoity Toity was an evil, evil man who, quite frankly, got what he deserved."

Octavia speaks up. "Miss Rarity, I can't help but notice that no evidence has been found about these accusations against Senator Hoity Toity. How can we possibly believe any of you on this?"

Rarity smirks again and pulls out her datapad. "It's funny you should mention that, Senator Melody. We have evidence of his corruption. You, of all people, will want to see this."

You take the datapad from Rarity and stand up. Maud Pie comes over to you, probably to make sure you don't do anything rash, as you connect the datapad to the video screen behind Celestia. After a moment, everything on the datapad can be seen on the screen. The Republic side turns around to face it.

"As you can see here, there's shipping invoices for a delivery of Kath Hounds addressed to known con artists Flim and Flam. AKA, The Twins. Hoity Toity's name appears on these documents all over the place as well." You go through the datapad showing off the info on the Kath Hounds to the Republic officials. They all just watch in silence. "He also had a hand in the recent death stick craze that's been infecting the galaxy lately. Which, I understand you've looked into as well. Adagio Dazzle was a dealer that had been hired by him until she started doing her own thing. But in case any of this isn't damning enough..."

You go through the datapad and find the video file that Hoity Toity sent to the looters on Dantooine. A second later, his face appears onscreen.

"...alk to me, what is going on there?! Did you get the shipment?! Is the bomb in place?! Answer me! I want Senator Melody DEAD! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?! DEAD!"

As you play the message, you look over at Octavia who gasps softly and covers her mouth with her hand.

You grin under your helmet. You got her.

Once the message ends, Octavia breathes softly, looking a bit shocked before slowly turning to face you.

"My job on Dantooine, the one you hired me for, Senator, was to provide additional security for you during your peace talks, and to keep you from harm." You tell her. "This video message from your beloved Hoity Toity is why I succeeded, and why you are still alive right now. Taking him out was just me doing an amazing job at keeping you from any further harm."

She breathes softly, saying nothing before closing her mouth and looking at the Chancellor. Celestia seems just as distraught as her right now. All the senators and diplomats do.

Grand Master Luna clears her throat. "This is... an interesting development, to be sure."

Maud is expressionless, as always. But she does turn to you. "Anonymous, if you had this evidence in your possession all this time, why did you not present it to the Republic? Why did you take matters into your own hands?"

"Because, Master Jedi, your Republic's courts and places of law are where Hoity Toity lived and worked. It would have taken time. He would have stalled and covered his tracks long enough to probably kill Senator Melody anyway. I did what needed to be done." You turn to the rest of the senators, disconnecting the datapad. "I'm no murderer. Other people died in that explosion, and I can regret their loss, but collateral damage is sometimes inevitable. I stand by my actions."

After no one says anything else, you proceed back to your seat.

Before you get too far, you turn around once again. "Also, Captain, as promised, Discord is aboard Mandalore's gunship right now, and he's alive and well. He's yours to do what you want. No need for the 500,000 credits he's worth. You've given me an opportunity to speak. That's all I wanted."

Shining Armor looks at you like he's thinking, but says nothing.

When you reach Sunset, she unfolds her arms and casually raises her fist to point in your direction. You bump it with your own and take your seat next to her.

"Nice work." She says quietly.

"Thanks." You grin as you hand the datapad back to Rarity and look back at the Republic side of the table.

There's another pause as they try to figure out what to say next.

Mandalore takes advantage of this by clearing his throat. "So. About our situation with the Sith..."

Celestia looks around at her senators and allies for a moment before looking back at you. "Did... Did you learn anything else about Hoity Toity? Anything at all?"

"Actually, yes." You reply. "Right before I threw him out the window, he informed me that Adagio and a hefty supply of death sticks were provided to him by a Sith clawdite named Chrysalis. Apparently, the Sith are behind the death stick craze. They want to spread them out all over the galaxy for some reason."

Sunset speaks up. "We actually have data on these death sticks as well. They're much more potent and deadly than regular ones. They deteriorate the brain much faster."

Twilight nods. "We had discovered that too. I actually took the liberty to analyze the death sticks' chemical makeup and work on determining an origin for every ingredient. I haven't had much luck yet, but my search is narrowing as we speak."

Mandalore looks at Twilight. "How are you tracking down the origin for each ingredient?"

"I have an AI in my quarters who helps me." She says. "He's great! He's got all kinds of resources at his disposal. In fact..."

She presses a button on her bracelet and a hologram of a small, cartoonish, purple and green reptile appears on the table in front of you.

He looks at Twilight and smiles. "Hey Twilight! How can I help?"

Twilight smiles back at him. "Spike, can you bring up all the data for the death sticks on the screen behind me, please?"

"Sure!" He fades away from the table and his head reappears on the video screen. With each direction he looks, more images of data appear.

Twilight stands up and moves over to the screen. "Now, it's no secret that death sticks' main ingredients come from the ixetal plant, which is quite common. These newer ones however, contain all kinds of other chemicals and toxins that affect the brain of the user much faster. Nearly every species in the galaxy is affected in the same way, despite some of our more obvious anatomical differences."

Twilight changes the screen to show a short video of a human in the slums on the city streets on some planet. Maybe the lower levels of Coruscant. He's waving his arms around and screaming at nothing. He's hallucinating.

"This man had been using the death sticks for about a week and a half." Twilight explains. "He's absolutely terrified of something only he can see."

She changes the video to show twi'leks, gran, mirilans, rodians, and a few other species of aliens all reacting the same way. They are all freaking out. Terrified. You pay attention to Twilight's presentation as best as you can. It's all information you're not surprised to hear about. Most of this stuff you've already discovered with Sunset.

She continues. "The fact that this compound is able to adapt to whomever is using the drug so quickly says to me that this is not just an ordinary chemical. I won't go over absolutely everything Spike and I have found in detail. We'd be here all day if I did. I strongly believe however, that this compound is somehow... alive."

Alive?

Celestia speaks up. "Like a virus?"

Twilight nods. "I believe so, Chancellor. A fear virus. Manufactured into death sticks, so they're both addictive and deadly."

A fear virus...

Fear...

"Adagio Dazzle did mention something about the Sith being obsessed with fear." Everyone looks at you. "She's Force-sensitive. One of many that were enslaved by the Sith, according to her. She's free now, but while she was subject to them, she mentioned that the Sith would go on and on about fear, and how they would spread it all over the galaxy. She said they were planning something big."

Mandalore thinks aloud. "They're using Force-sensitives to spread this virus all over the galaxy..."

You all look at Mandalore as he nods slowly, the epiphany hitting him hard.

"That's their game." He says. "They're training Force-sensitives just well enough with the Dark Side to spread it around, so they can take conquer the galaxy with ease."

Your eyes widen as you realize the gravity of the situation.

Master Luna speaks as well. "If they're using Force-sensitives to spread this virus, then it's likely that they're using them to make it as well."

It all makes sense. Cripple the galaxy with fear, then take control of it with little to no resistance.

On the screen, Spike looks worried. "Uh, Twilight?"

The purple twi'lek looks at the AI on the screen.

"Twilight, something's wrong." He says.

"What is it, Spike?" She asks.

Spike starts to flicker. "I-I don't know... Some- Something's interfering with-with my-"

Spike screams and starts to sputter. He and the screen both flicker and malfunction.

Twilight's eyes widen in horror. "Spike! Eject! Now!"

Twilight rushes to the computer station on the table and presses her bracelet onto the panel. It flashes and Spike disappears from the screen at the same time.

She brings her wrist up in front of her face. "Spike?! Are you okay?!"

The screen flashes for another moment and the image of a dark, imposing man appears. He smiles a wicked, toothy grin and stares at you all with yellow and red eyes.

A senator screams. "It's Lord Sombra!"

You, Sunset, Mandalore, Tempest, and Thunderlane all rise to your feet and clench your fists as you look at the Sith Lord. Most of the senators and diplomats on the Republic's side of the room flee, while the Jedi assume a defensive stance as Sombra glares at you all.

His voice booms as he speaks. "An astute observation, Mandalore. It is no wonder that you lead the 'greatest warriors in the galaxy'."

Beside you, Mandalore growls.

Celestia and the few senators that remain all stand and look at Sombra as well.

He shifts his gaze to you and Sunset. "It's so nice to finally put faces to the names I've heard so much about, Anonymous. You and Sunset are quite popular."

"Maybe later I'll give you my autograph, Sith." You reply.

Sombra laughs and looks at Celestia. "I have to say, Chancellor, you must be truly desperate to accept help from these mercenaries."

Celestia stands as firm as she can. "Any chance for peace is a chance I'm willing to take, Sombra."

Sombra flashes his teeth at her. "I can taste your fear, Celestia. It's delicious."

"Speaking of fear, why'd you go with death sticks to spread it around?" You ask.

Sombra's eyes widen, almost with glee as you speak. "I am so glad you brought that up, Anon! I can call you that, right? Of course I can... I really wanted to take this opportunity to show you exactly how I'm going to execute my 'evil plan'."

Sombra's face switches to a view of a greenish planet with a single Sith cruiser in orbit.

"That's Cerea!" Fluttershy exclaims.

The Sith cruiser stays still for a moment while Sombra speaks. "I am a man of science, Anon. The death sticks were just a little test, and they worked perfectly, despite your meddling." He pauses for a moment. "Fire at will!"

Onscreen, the cruiser fires a single red missile toward the planet at incredible speed. After a moment, a tiny explosion on the planet spreads a thick cloud of red smoke all over the surface.

Senators in the room gasp and cover their mouths as they watch the planet slowly be consumed by the plume of red smoke. The entire planet is covered with it in a matter of moments.

The screen's view shifts to one on the surface. Cereans, both male and female of all ages, are shown gasping for air and reacting the same way the individuals did during Twilight's presentation. They scream, yell, cry, panic, and kill themselves and each other in sheer terror after inhaling the smoke.

Celestia gasps in horror as the brutal scene of carnage unfolds in front of her. Applejack and Big Mac just watch with their mouths agape. Twilight covers her mouth and Fluttershy starts crying.

You watch as a Cerean woman literally tears her own eyes out on the screen, in front of her own children. She's reduced to nothing more than a mindless lunatic.

It's horrible... They're losing their minds. There's nothing you can do right now but watch.

To make it worse, creatures and beasts that roam the primitive world react to the virus as well. They tear each other apart. Limbs, heads, and bodies fly all over the place in front of you, painting the ground in blood as the planet plunges into chaos.

Sombra chuckles darkly and the screen shifts back to him as he glares at you, looking even more sinister than before. "You are, all of you, vermin! I shall cleanse this galaxy of your filth and reshape it in MY image! Everything will belong to the Sith, forevermore! And not you, nor the Jedi, nor the Mandalorians will be able to prevent our great and terrible revenge!"

At that, Sunset pulls her blaster out and shoots the video screen, shattering it and ending the show of horror and gore from continuing. Sombra laughs one last time before his connection finally ends.

Celestia pants softly, her chin shaking in fear over what she just saw. She turns to Shining Armor. "Captain, send a detachment of the fleet to Cerea! Now! Help them!"

Shining Armor gulps and nods. "Y-Yes Ma'am!"

He quickly leaves the room, taking a couple troopers with him.

Twilight watches her brother leave the room and Celestia turns to your side. "Mandalore, I'd say we just found our grounds for a truce."

"I couldn't agree more, Chancellor." Mandalore replies.

The two leaders move around the table toward each other and shake each others' hands. You're officially clear in the eyes of the Republic now.

Twilight looks over at them, obviously worried. "What's our first step?"