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Prologue: A Deal is Made1,377 words
Chapter 1: Not Fireworks1,368 words
Chapter 2: Extraterrestrial 1,329 words
Chapter 3: Welcome to Equestria1,338 words
Chapter 4: An Exchange is Made1,863 words
Chapter 5: Divide and Conquer1,771 words
Chapter 6: Rising and Falling1,568 words
Chapter 7: Flying From Fate2,693 words
Chapter 8: Startling Events2,369 words
Chapter 9: Girls of Chaos3,200 words
Chapter 10: Discord's Revenge (Part 1)3,496 words
Chapter 11: Completing the Meeting5,798 words
Chapter 12: Gems3,208 words
Chapter 13: A Sacrifice - Part 13,187 words

Chapter 11: Completing the Meeting

Twilight had just placed the second chaos emerald in the glass case, and she took a deep breath.

She almost vaporized the glass case out of shock when the door and window burst open at the same time, letting in a blur of blue and a flash of rainbow that blew around for a moment, sending papers and quills scattering.

Then both streaks stopped in front of Twilight, revealing Sonic the Hedgehog and Rainbow Dash. After she got over the shock she sighed with exasperation. She smiled though, saying "It's bad enough when Rainbow does that, but both of you?"

She suddenly stopped short when she saw Sonic's expression. His usual cheery grin and sparkling eyes had dimmed as if somepony had turned off his light. His jaw was fixed bravely, but the look in his eyes gave him away. Twilight looked at Rainbow, who refused to meet her eyes.

Something was wrong.

"What happened?" Twilight turned worried as she looked from pegasus to hedgehog.

Sonic hesitated. Then he spoke. "Silver and Shadow, two other friends of mine, joined us in the search for the emeralds. Then Discord, he showed up and took the one emerald we had.. and then he... he turned one of them, Shadow, to stone."

His voice choked on the last word. Twilight caught her breath as she let that sink in. "... Where is he now?"

"We wrestled him through the portal. He's standing in the forest, the same clearing from when I first came."

He had barely finished when the door opened and Tails flew in. He took one look at Sonic, cried out and threw himself at him, giving him a huge hug. "Sonic! I missed you!"

"Yeah, buddy. I missed you too."

Tails peeled himself away from him. "Is something wrong?"

"Shadow got turned to stone."

"Oh."

Twilight cleared her throat. "We need the others if we want to free this... Shadow. Let's go round them up. Rainbow Dash?"

"Already there." She looked at Sonic. "You coming?"

***

Faint sunlight glinted through the closely set trees, lighting the clearing with an emerald glow. It was raining, just lightly, and colorful droplets of dew clung onto leaves and lay amongst the grass. Twittering birds were heard all around, the sweet songs like a symphony.

It was almost cruel, the breathtaking beauty glittering around the stone form of Shadow.

Knuckles and Silver stood as the party approached. They nodded politely and introduced themselves. Applejack took one look at Knuckles' spiked gloves and began bombarding him with questions. Silver took a glance at them all, as if taking in that he was looking at multicolored ponies with the ability to fly and use magic.

Twilight looked Shadow up and down. "He's a hedgehog too?"

"Yeah. Now hurry up and get him out of there." said Sonic

Twilight took a deep breath. "Okay girls, come on!"

The other five ponies assembled around Shadow's statue. Twilight closed her eyes and set her horn alight with magic. The others straightened up and began to smile as the first flickers of power began to trickle between them.

"You might wanna step back," Rainbow told Sonic.

All three guys stepped back.

Magic began to flash in the air around them, glowing brighter every second. The Elements around each of their necks were growing stronger.

Each pony began to float off the grass. A multicolored tint appeared around them, lighting up the already bright glow. Sonic narrowed his eyes to see, chuckling softly in amazement.

Rainbow Dash, who had been scowling with concentration, suddenly allowed her face to relax into a triumphant grin, eyes still shut. Two rainbows, beautiful things of harmony, burst from the Element of Loyalty. They reached out to the ponies in the air beside her, gradually uniting all five necklaces. Then they finally reached Twilight.

They swirled twice around her, finally ending in the Star of her crown. It suddenly flared, and Twilight's eyes snapped open, completely filled with light. Everypony suddenly erupted in the full glory of the rainbow, causing the other three guys to throw their arms up in front of their faces.

Sonic could still see, just barely, through the blinding light. The colors were thundering over Shadow's form, sending cracks through the stone. Sonic cried out in alarm, and jumped towards him on instinct.

It almost went wrong. If it had been even slightly different, Sonic might have been turned to stone rather than Shadow being freed. But he hit an invisible barrier, which appeared for a millisecond as he slammed into it, like a transparent rainbow. He was thrown back, crackling with multicolor electricity.

The colors continued to flare, making the cracks in the statue larger. They began to glow with white light, as if an answering power was breaking through the stone. The white light suddenly flared out of Shadow's unseeing eyes, out of his open mouth. Then, with a final rumble and crack -

Shadow threw any remnants of stone from his now very active body, which was sort of unnecessary as the stone almost immediately evaporated. The rainbow bounced off from him, flashing outwards in multicolored light, much like a sonic rainboom, lighting up the forest.

The six ponies opened their eyes. They landed on all fours on the forest floor, opening their eyes and smiling at their success. Shadow looked back at them, as if annoyed. "More ponies? I really didn't need more than one..."

Rarity sniffed. "We just saved you! I would expect at least a 'Thank You'."

Shadow sighed and rolled his eyes. "Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me -"

He was cut off by a yell of "SONIC!!"

Rainbow was at Sonic's side, helping him sit up. He rubbed his head and groaned slightly. "That was a very solid rainbow."

"Wait, what happened?" Twilight cantered over.

"I panicked when Shadow started cracking everywhere, so I ran forward to help and got knocked back by this rainbowy barrier.." He shook his head. "Gosh, I'm seeing rainbow stars! Is there anything else rainbow colored that I should know about?"

"Well, there's rainbow-icing cupcakes at Sugar Cube Corner, and there's zap apples at Sweet Apple Acres that are rainbow colored..."

"There's rainbow APPLES??" Knuckles rolled his eyes.

Shadow sighed through his nose. "Can we go home now?"

Pinkie was looking at him strangely, her lips puckered as she looked him up and down. Shadow caught her staring and gave her a death glare. At this her face broke into a wide grin, much to his confusion.

"Hey! Turn that frowny UPSIDEDOWNY!!"

"What...?" spluttered Shadow.

Sonic caught Rainbow's eye. They both burst out laughing. Oh, these two were going to get on sooo well.

***

An echidna, three hedgehogs and six ponies were seated at Sugar Cube Corner about half an hour later.

Shadow was certainly ruffled. This was the complete opposite of where he would most want to be. He was stuck for the time being in a magical world of multi-colored cute little ponies. And he was trying to adjust to Pinkie Pie, who, for some reason, could not leave him alone for two seconds.

"Come on, frowny-face! Let's see a smile!"

"No."

"Are you good at making funny faces?"

"No."

"What do you like to do most?"

"No - I mean, I like to be alone."

"You can't just mope around all on your own all the time!!"

"Yes I can."

"Hey WAIT!!!" Pinkie slammed her cup of lemonade down on the table. "Since you just came YOU COUNT AS NEW!!! IF YOU'RE NEW YOU DON'T KNOW ANYPONY YET AND YOU'LL BE ALL LONELY, AND I HAVE TO THROW A PARTY FOR YOU!! WE'LL HAVE A PARTY IN THE TOWN HALL, FOR ALL OF YOU!!!!! I'LL INVITE EVERYPONY TO SAY HELLO TO YOU GUYS, AND THERE'S GONNA BE CAKE AND THERE'S GONNA BE WICKED DANCING..."

Pinkie went on and on, and the look on Shadow's face was enough to make Sonic fall off his chair, shaking with laughter. Rainbow soon followed, sliding down the window and gasping for breath. Tails rolled his eyes, speaking loudly over the noise to Twilight.

"SO, ARE SONIC AND THE OTHERS STAYING FOR A WHILE?"

"I'M NOT SURE YET. PINKIE WON'T LET THEM GO UNTIL THEY PARTY, BUT WE NEED TO GET BACK TO THE MISSION AT HOOF..." replied Twilight.

Applejack and Knuckles started a hoof/hand wrestling contest. They were going nowhere, even though they were both straining with effort. They were clearly just as strong as one another.

Silver sighed, covering his ears. Rarity looked at him sympathetically. "They're usually noisy, but in stereo, it's absolutely unbearable."

Silver raised his head and groaned. "Oh, I know."

Rarity frowned at him for a moment. She looked him up and down, then stared carefully at Shadow, Knuckles, Tails and Sonic. "Why on earth are none of you wearing clothes?"

"It's sort of pointless... we don't need to... you know, because..." He blushed.

"You all have the physique and shape to be wearing clothes, and it must be much easier to get dressed with arms." Rarity eyed Lyra Heartstrings, sitting quietly on the other side of the store.

Suddenly she gasped. "II-DEAAA!! If we ARE going to the party which Pinkie Pie is babbling about, then you absolutely have to have some outfits!!"

Silver recoiled at first, but then merely shrugged. "It's not a bad thought, actually."

Sonic had finally picked himself off the floor, catching the last sentence. "Wait, WHAT?"

Rainbow Dash followed. "And I suppose we get dresses too?"

"I've been working on some, just for fun, and with a few adjustments I could make them perfect for you!"

"I was being sarcastic!"

Pinkie Pie turned her attention from chattering Shadow's ears off to the new conversation. She burst into a beam of delight "So we ARE going to have a party?"

Twilight looked at her. "Pinkie, be serious! The fate of Equestria - AND Earth - is in our hooves, and we have to find the miracle gems before Discord does! It's only because of his chaotic nature that he hasn't snapped his fingers and gotten them all already. We have to find them all before he does! We don't have time to party!"

"Twilight is right," said Tails, "We're on a mission and we can't afford to be sidetracked!"

Pinkie pouted. "But it would only be for a few hours, and if we all work hard we could get it done tonight! Then we could all go back to the mission tomorrow! We deserve a rest anyway!"

"Pinkie, we've barely finished half of the quest. We just can't stop for a party."

"Well... well... RARITY agrees there should be a party! Shouldn't there, Rarity?"

Everyone stiffened, casting glances at one another. They were going to have to choose sides.

Rarity coughed daintily. "Um, well, I suppose... I suppose it wouldn't hurt..."

"I think it would be alright." Silver intervened strongly. "Doing something like a party in the middle of all this would pass for chaos, so maybe Discord would leave us alone."

"Let's hear what Applejack has to say." said Knuckles. "Apparently she's honesty."

Everyone looked at Applejack expectantly. Applejack cleared her throat, uncomfortable with all the attention. "Oh, why... I... what Silver says is true but..."

"..But we need to keep order." finished Fluttershy. She shrunk back when everyone turned their attention to her. "If.. If we want to... to..." She whimpered.
"Oh, I can't stand thinking about Discord being evil again!" A tear ran down her cheek as she buried her face in her hooves.

Well, that settled it.

"Alright then." Twilight sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this but we do actually need a rest, so I suppose just one little party couldn't hurt..."

Pinkie Pie's expression had been brightening at every word Twilight said, and now she shot up into the air with excitement. "OH, THANK YOU TWILIGHT!!!!!!"" She shrieked so loudly that Lyra Heartstrings looked up, startled. She saw Sonic and the others and let her mouth drop open.

"Lyra, you can come too if you want!" called Rarity.

"So we are going to have a party?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Yes, and you're still getting outfits for it." said Rarity with a smug smile.

Sonic sighed. "Oh no."

***

Sonic looked around at the Boutique, taking it in. "Nice place, but too girly for my type."

"Yes, it is nice." said Rarity, only half listening. She lifted vast sheets of silk and fabric and brought tape measures from chests with her magic.

Sonic frowned. "I swear I can sense some sort of chaos magic... probably just me."

Rarity stiffened slightly. "Yes, probably just you."

She turned to him and sent a tape measure floating under his arm. Sonic shifted away from it cautiously. "What're you doing?"

Rarity huffed slightly. "I'm getting your measurements, of course! Now, be a dear and stay still for me." She slipped the measure under his arm again, and this time Sonic didn't move as it curled around first his arm, then his shoulder. "Hey, that tickles!"

Rarity brought it back and noted the numbers down. Then the measure wrapped around his mid-section. Sonic jumped, but the measure slipped off as fast as it came. Rarity looked at it, noting it down. She remarked casually, "You are quite slender, you know."

"I used to look extremely different. I used to be so chubby, and my spikes were in a different style. I looked like a punk!"

"You'll get an extremely nice outfit now, then. I'll make it special just for you!"

"Uh, thanks. I think. Just don't make it too serious."

"I can guarantee it."

***

Unicorn magic worked wonders. When the sun touched the horizon, lashing red and orange across Equestria's sky, five outfits were ready and waiting for Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Silver and Sonic. They were in separate changing stalls, all dressing into their new clothes.

"Alright boys! Ready?" Rarity stood back and smiled as the five boys emerged from their stalls.

"Cool!" said Tails, first noticing Sliver's suit. It consisted of a crisp black tux top with coattails and cream-colored trousers. His regular boots were replaced with smart silver and black shoes.

Tails' own shirt was a cream-white tux top. The collar and cuffs had golden design, with a single gold button in the center of his chest. His gloves were silky silver, like his trousers, which were rolled up to the top of his gold and white boots.

Shadow and Knuckles sniffed at each other's suits. Knuckles wore a black jacket with short sleeves to his elbows. There was a white shirt underneath, and he wore crisp jeans to finish the effect. He looked like a gangster in his black and white trainers with spikes around the ankles. He fingered a pair of black sunglasses.

Shadow wore a snazzy red silk shirt with black collars and cuffs designed to look like flames. He had a pair of long black trousers with red flame designs, vice-versa to his top. He had a black and red beret on one ear, but he kept taking it off and looking at it. His shoes were like his regular ones, but the white was lined with black patterns.

"Come on, Sonic! Don't keep us waiting!" trilled Rarity.

Knuckles laughed. "Sonic? Slower than us?"

Sonic's voice came from behind the door. He said, "Firstly, I can't work out this scarf and secondly, I wanna make a dramatic appearance!" The door swung open and Sonic stepped out.

His outfit had an aviator theme, with a thin light blue woollen scarf tied around his neck and a pale brown jacket with cuffs. His gloves' fingers were cut off stylishly, with short cobalt blue trousers. For a change, he wore knee-high brown and white boots. Everything was made of thin material, so he wouldn't look like it was the middle of winter, and the final effect was impressive.

"Looking good, Sonic!" said Tails.

Sonic sighed and pulled at his scarf. "I'd really rather go find more emeralds. But this could still be awesome."

***

Town hall pulsed with multicolored lights, muffled music heard all over town. Pinkie had gone around sending messages to everypony, and had decorated the hall with her party cannon in an instant. Of course, some things were hoof made, but were perfect to the extreme. Ponies trotted through the door as the moon began to rise.

Silver stepped inside and whistled appreciatively at the scene. "This could be a legitimate party."

The refreshment table was loaded with delicious treats, and ponies were checking them out. Others were on the dance floor, grooving to the beat of dubstep sounding from a DJ's panel. A white unicorn with a blue mane was nodding her head to the beat, lights reflecting off her pink-tinted shades.

Sonic looked around. Twilight was flailing about oddly in her own kind of dance, but nopony seemed to mind. Silver was dancing too, challenging other ponies to dance fights. Applejack was having an eating contest with Knuckles at the snack table. Tails was talking to Fluttershy about something. Shadow was standing in the corner with a glass of punch, trying to be incognito. Pinkie Pie was sneaking up on him.

She was wearing a flouncy minty-green petticoat over a cream dress, sequined with chocolate brown beads. Her collar was a fountain of white ruffles and her mane was piled up in a big netted bun, allowing pink ringlets to hang out. She actually looked like mint ice-cream.

Rarity was indeed a very good dressmaker. Her own dress was a contrast of indigo and purple, delicately embroidred with blue. There were white ruffles on all her hems, and sparkling sequins flashed from their places. She wore diamond earrings to match her eyes, and her face was heavily laden with make-up.

Applejack's red and white dress was like old-fashioned western style, the puffs around her shoulders attached to the white bodice disappearing beneath a saddle and poofing back out up into a flouncy hoop skirt. She even had a red bonnet with white lace, her mane in a plait.

Twilight bucked the air, almost hitting Tails as he flew to join her. She had a dress like the colors of a twilight sky, all beautiful with azures and violets and purples. Her mane was a glossy indigo wave, curling behind her ear beneath a purple hairband.

Fluttershy wore a dress of pale blue, like summer skies. It trailed long and graceful, with see-through gossamer hanging from her sapphire sash. Her sleeves reached to her elbows, the same pretty blue silk as her petticoat. Her collar matched her sash and curved up to the middle of her neck. Her mane was adorned with a ring of blue flowers. It was a beautiful dress, but the sad look on her face ruined it all.

But Sonic scanned the crowd for someone else. Where was she?

And then he felt a playful tap on the shoulder. He turned to find two daring magenta eyes staring back at him.

Rainbow Dash was wearing a dress. He found it unsettling, as Rainbow was so much of a tomboy that he thought she would never be caught dead in frou-frou puffy skirts. But the gorgeous rich scarlet and the tiny white cloud-like ruffles lining her neck and hem suited her greatly. Her sash was glittering gold, and the skirt behind toned from bright magenta to blood red. It was embroidered with real rubies. A golden lighting bolt earring was the only jewelry she wore, and her mane was glossy and tied with gold and red ribbon in a ponytail down her shoulder. She wore no make-up whatsoever.

She looked absolutely stunning.

And she clearly thought the same of him. She looked at his outfit, eyes wide. "Wow. Rarity really decked you out."

"Pfft." he replied. "You should see Shadow."

She smiled. "It suits you."

Then somepony else tapped Sonic on the shoulder. He turned and found himself face to face with Lyra Heartstrings, along with a few of her friends.

"I hope I'm not interrupting, but we just wanted a little of your time. Could you PLEEEASE tell us about yourself? It's not every day we find a hedgehog standing uprights with hands." Lyra looked enviously at Sonic's gloved fingers.

He laughed. "Sure, why not?" He turned around and looked at Rainbow Dash. "Catch you later?"

"Fine with me."

So Sonic vanished into the crowd, mobbed by excited ponies.

***

He was eating a rainbow cupcake at the refreshment stand, thoughtfully looking at the multicolored icing, when a voice rang out over the crowd.

"FILLIES AND GENTLECOLTS!! (And of course, our non-pony guests of honor.) IT'S TIME TO SHIFT YOUR FLANKS TO THE DANCE FLOOR, AND GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!"

It was the white unicorn speaking, with a huge beam on her face. Ponies began heading to the multicolored floor as the music pumped up. Rock music began to pound, although how such music was created by ponies was unknown. Sonic began to dance unshamefully in the crowd, and not badly too.

He flipped himself onto a single hand, spinning a couple of times. Then he spun of his finger. He got back to his feet and found he wasn't alone. Rainbow Dash was now dancing beside him, grinning all over her face. She was rearing up on her front legs, bucking her legs one at a time, doing the best dancing a type of horse could possibly do. She looked at him, challenging him. He accepted.

There was an epic dance battle between the two. They laughed at each other, trying to outdo one another. Bright colors flared as they swept the floor, fooling around with wacky swings and moves. Rock kept pounding out the amplifiers, and the DJ unicorn kept spinning her vinyl discs. The air was filled with good heart and high spirits.

Then the song ended. The lights faded to pink and red, orange and yellow. A new song began, a sweet song, but not too slow. The dancing became more swaying, ponies floating gracefully about the floor, eyes half closed and smiling. The atmosphere became sugary, but not too sappy.

Sonic looked at Rainbow Dash. She looked back.

He made a split second decision. He made a mocking deep sweeping bow.

"Care to dance with me?"

For a second, she froze. His heart skipped a beat when he thought she would refuse.

Then she replied. "Sure."

She stepped forward and smoothly put her hooves on his shoulders. She raised herself onto her back legs. He put his hand on her waist. They began to sway together.

Sonic's mind blanked after that. The only thing that he was really aware of was the little pang in his chest, as if he was freefalling.

The song continued to play. Pink light glowed. Then red. Then orange.

Dash lifted her gaze and looked him in the eyes. Something blossomed inside him, something not foreign, but not familiar. He knew it was there to stay.

Then there was a great crash and the doors came down. Wind whipped around the room, causing ponies to cry out in fear as their manes flew and paper plates to fly around. Sonic and Dash stumbled, breaking apart.

Each member of the mane six and each of Sonic's friends were instantly in focus, running to one spot in the middle of the room and getting ready to face whatever threatened them.

Then everything froze. Literally. Time stopped as it was, food and plates dangling in midair, ponies with terrified expressions stuck in mid run. Everything but the group of heroes froze in place. The chaos paused itself.

Lightning flashed in the cloudless night, illuminating the sillhouettes in the doorway. One tall and thin, mismatched and hideous. One short and stout but dark and dangerous.

"Oh sugar." swore Applejack.

Discord and Eggman.

"So sorry to interrupt your little party, my little ponies." Discord's voice dripped with sarcasm.

Sonic whistled. "A+ with the chaos this time, Discord."

"Now whaddaya want?" growled Knuckles.

"Patience, Knucklehead." said Eggman. "Sonic and his pathetic friends have already been robbed of their single emerald. We're bored of Discord's game of waiting for you to get more emeralds and then stealing them from you. We want yours NOW."

"Go find the rest yourselves, you lazy sobs." said Silver.

"If you want our Emeralds, you're gonna have to get through us." Twilight raised her chin defiantly.

"Cute. But you'll soon find that you're wrong." Discord smiled cruelly, a tone in his voice that chilled to the bone.

"What do you mean?" asked Sonic.

Discord snapped his fingers. The air shimmered as three capsules appeared in between the group of heroes and the villains. Each held an unconscious creature.

Sonic's clenched fist fell to his sides. All positive attitudes dropped from him. "No..." He breathed.

The first held a sweet little girl in an orange dress, a bunny rabbit. The second held a young lady, a white bat in skin tight black and pink clothing. The third held another young woman wearing a short red dress, a pink hedgehog.

Cream. Rouge. Amy.

"LET THEM GO, YOU MONSTERS!!! THEY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS!!" Sonic tried to fly at them in rage, but Shadow and Silver restrained him.

"Give us the Emeralds, or they get hurt." Eggman pulled out a console, another thing of loathing.

He pressed the button before Sonic could argue. Electricity crackled around the capsules. All three girls' eyes flew open at the same time, mouths flying open in soundless screams.

"NO!!" Sonic struggled, but they held him back. Discord tutted at him.

"More of that and it'll just get worse. Now hand over the Emeralds."

"Fat chance of that happening." said Sonic. "If we give up our only Emeralds then you'll still just kill Amy, Rouge and Cream anyway."

"So what choice do you have?" Discord looked smug. Sonic longed to knock it right off his snout.

"We can fight."

Before the words could even process in Discord's head, Sonic was already driving his fist into his cheekbone. Discord fell silently. Even the embodiment of Chaos could be punched unconscious when caught off guard. There wasn't much he could do then.

Sonic lashed out at Eggman, but mechanical shields were faster. Eggman was instantly encased in his own protective bulletproof bubble, and Sonic's kick only bounced off, knocking himself to the ground. The others ran forwards, ready to help in any way they could.

Rainbow Dash gave an almighty roar and shot up to the high ceiling, dress and all, flying back with enough momentum to dent Eggman's shields. The plump villain was looking stressed, and he jumped in alarm as Rainbow began pounding his barrier with everything she had, along with Knuckles and Applejack. He pressed another button and the shield turned electric, making the attackers fall back.

Discord was already waking, and Twilight was trying to use her magic on him. His chaos magic repelled the spells before he was even conscious. He was stronger than before.

Twilight changed tactics. Instead of trying to harm him, she cast a different spell. Purple light enveloped him as he opened his eyes. They grew wide. Before he could even speak, the light flashed white and blinding, and everyone had to shield their eyes.

Discord was gone when it faded. Tails stared at Twilight. "Did you just teleport the Lord of Chaos?"

"Yes, and let's hope he stays teleported for the time being. Now get to those poor girls in those capsules!"

"Oh no you don't!" Eggman let his finger hover over the electrocution button. "One more step and they get it!"

Then Rainbow Dash swooped into the shield from behind, finally breaking through it and slamming Eggman in the back of the head. He crumpled like paper.

"Discord clearly underestimated what we can do." Rainbow flashed a grin.

"Nice one, RD!" Sonic got up and sauntered over the capsules. Cream sat in quietly in hers, shivering in fear. Amy and Rouge were pounding on the walls of theirs, Rouge out of desperation and Amy out of getting to Sonic.

Sonic carefully tapped the metal on Amy's prison. He wasn't electrocuted. He punched the metal as hard as he could. It dented deeply, making Amy scramble backwards. He punched it again and broke through. Knuckles, Applejack and Rainbow Dash stepped forwards to help, Dash helping Sonic and Knuckles and Applejack working on the other two.

The door of the capsule finally fell away, and a blur of pink leapt out. The next thing anyone knew was that Sonic was pinned to the ground, being hugged to death by Amy Rose.

"Oh Soooniiic!!" she crooned. "I knew you'd come to save me!! Oh, you're my hero!!"

Sonic sighed and peeled the enthusiastic pink hedgehog off him. "Yeah, sure, Amy."

Applejack had turned around and bucked Cream's capsule open. She carefully lifted the quivering little girl out. "It's alrigh' now, Sugarcube. You're in safe hooves."

"Thank you..." whispered Cream.

Rouge's door fell away, and Rouge stepped out as if she was getting out of a limousine, not her previous prison. She stretched out her wings and moaned softly. "Oh, it's soo good to be out of there." she said.

She glanced over at the ponies. "Who and what the heck are you?" She looked around the room at the frozen scene. "Damn."

Twilight realized that everything was still frozen in time. She stared around in panic, but Discord still hadn't reappeared. She carefully let her magic into the air, to see what it would do. At once, the scene unfroze, ponies stumbling and blinking as they looked around and found that the danger was gone, but there were more weird animal creatures standing among them.

"Don't panic, everypony!" shouted Twilight. "Please stay calm! These are new visitors!"

"We are?" asked a baffled Rouge.

As everypony began to calm down, Sonic quietly thought that these creatures were similar to real horses in one way. They were easy to control, which could be a problem later on.

"Let's go outside for a moment." He suggested.

As the doors swung shut behind them, the air turned cooler in the presence of night. The moon glowed gently. The town was silent.

The new three girls were looking warily at the ponies, and all around at the town, how the animation looked slightly different. Sonic caught Twilight's eye, and cleared his throat.

"Guys, you are now standing in Ponyville, Equestria. This is the place that Discord, the ugly guy, came from. These are my friends, Applejack, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. They are the heroes here, and they're helping us to find the chaos emeralds."

Rouge looked at him, an eyebrow raised. "You scattered them again? Do you actually like going treasure hunting for them all the time? And another thing, you're acting weird. Usually you wouldn't speak so formally to us like you just did. Is something up?"

"No, nothing's up." Sonic simply looked at his old friends and new ones, and an idea came to him. "Hey, you guys are new to this place! And Pinkie's welcome party's not over...."

Discord rubbed his cheek. "That Sonic is really very rude. That was a horrible thing to do."

He was reclining on his fancy chair, in the corner of Eggman's control room. He was nursing his bruise while Eggman argued with him over the recent events.

Eggman grunted. "I still don't think it was a good idea. If what you say is true, and that we've completed the meeting, if things go wrong the opposition will be extremely hard to beat."

"Things won't go wrong, my dear sir. You forget that I am practically Chaos itself."

"But can we cope with it until the time is right?"

"Of course we will. And the time to bring my pawn into action is drawing near. Just wait a little longer, Eggman."

He closed his eyes and smiled.

"She took me into her world of goodness and harmony. Now I will bring her into mine of chaos and disorder."

"The feat will be easy. I can sway the strongest of pony wills. And Fluttershy always was a doormat."

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