//------------------------------//
// This Machine 
// Story: The Blue Blur 
// by MetalJrock 
//------------------------------//

"Girls, over here!" Twilight called out, the Element of Magic placed over her head. Running through the city to the castle were Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy, the three of them grateful that the robots haven't attacked them. "The Elements are still here. We have to use them to bring down that shield in the ship."

Applejack nodded, wiping the sweat from her brow, "Darn right... Let's get this over with."

Flying out of the room was Rainbow Dash, who was looking impatient and she groaned, "Finally! Hurry up and get your Elements! We gotta take down that eggshaped creep!"

"Um... We're going as fast as we can Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy mentioned, walking in. Twilight levitated the remaining Elements around the girls' necks.

"Yay! We finally got them!" Pinkie cheered. "...Now what?"

Rarity looked around, "Perhaps we should meet back with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Spikey."

Rainbow smirked, "Then let's get goin'! These robots aren't gonna trash themselves!"

"Now hold on there, Rainbow." Applejack scolded. "We gotta go together if we want this done quicker."

The cyan pegasus rolled her eyes, "Fine. Just hurry it up. Canterlot's not gonna save itself!"

Shaking her head, Rarity muttered, "Whatever are we going to do about her?"





"About time you showed up, Knucklehead!" Sonic quipped, destroying an Egg Pawn with a Spin-Dash. He moved his body back and allowed Spike to blast a Motobug to pieces, the hedgehog giving the dragon a thumbs up before turning his focus back on the battle, "I thought we'd have to trash Egghead's army without you!"

Knuckles growled, "It's not my fault the train was slow! You should've waited for us!" he uppercutted another Motobug as it charged towards him, smashing it as his fist collided with the metal bug. "Argh! At least I'm here now. The girls should be on their way with the Elements of Harmony, and we can finally end this."

Celestia used a magic beam to split a Buzz Bomber in half, "That is good to hear. Are you the other friend Sonic mentioned?" she asked, blocking a projectile from a monkey robot.

"Yep. You can call me Knuckles." the echidna introduced, "I'm hear to do what I do best: Trash some Eggman robots."

Luna smiled, "Very well, strange creature. We must hold off this army until the wielders of the Elements return."

Sonic looked at Knuckles with a confident smirk, "That's something we can handle no problem!" he decided. "Yo, Tails. Since Eggman seems to be pulling out all the stops... Don't you think it's about time you brought the Tornado here? We could use all the backup we can get, cause I don't think he's letting up this time!"

Tails nodded, "You got it, Sonic!" he spun his namesakes and flew over the town, doing his best to avoid any crossfire from the robots aiming at the heroes.

"Where is he going?" Luna wondered, deflecting a laser back at an Egg Pawn, allowing it to explode.

Sonic chuckled, "He's gonna grab somethin' real quick. I think it's gonna help us turn things around down here before the three of us head back to the Egg Carrier."

Celestia watched as Knuckles climbed a wall with his spiked fists, gliding around and driving his fists into a Buzz Bomber before drilling dowward to attack a lone Motobug, the shockwave of his dive causing every other robot in the vicinity to shortcircuit. This allowed Spike to blast them to pieces at the same time as Sonic, who used a Homing Attack like he usually did. "I see... I wonder what else this Eggman has if he wishes to find the Elements of Harmony."

"Who knows at this point? I mean, he already brought out Metal Sonic. I really can't see much more being brought out. Plus, we're slowly thinning out his Badniks." Sonic said, kicking back a robot directly towards Celestia, who destroyed it in seconds.

Knuckles uppercutted an Egg Pawn, "What? Metal Sonic was here?! He's pulling out all the tricks." he spun around and backhanded a Motobug before leaping and driving both of his hands downward, "Grr..." he snarled, destroying the robots surrounding him. The echidna leaped and punched a Slicer who's pincers were coming towards him, the metal weapons dropping in an instant once he blew it up. However, he turned around, noticing Spike shooting down a stray Buzz Bomber.

The dragon's smile grew wider, "This thing is so cool!" he cheered, aiming it upwards to destroy a Newtron hiding on the walls. Spike pumped a fist once he got a clear shot and used his fire breath to neutralize a missile coming towards him, burning it to ashes and leaving it to explode in midair.

Sonic smirked and curled into a ball, charging another Spin-Dash. Once he revved it fast enough, the blue blur sped forward like the wind, slicing apart any robot that was in his way before uncurling, landing on a knee, looking satisfied with what he did. "Heh heh... This is gettin' way to easy for us! We got this in the bag!"

"He is right, sister." Luna noticed as she dodged the claws of a Slicer, destroying it once an opening revealed itself, "I do notice that the amount of these vile mechanical beasts are dwindling."

Celestia gritted her teeth and shot a volt of magic back at the hat-wearing Egg Pawn, "It seems that way, but we must be ready for anything, Luna. Eggman has already left us one surprise. Who knows how many others are left in that airship?"

Knuckles ripped off the head of a Motobug, "Whatever it is, I'm sure we can handle it!"

The echidna blocked a Crabmeat's claw with his palm, allowing Luna to break it apart by stomping a hoof on it. "Your reflexes are swifter than I anticipated." said the alicorn.

"And your magic is a lot better than I can utilize Chaos energy." Knuckles complimented, "Makes me wonder what other surprises you ponies have for us."

"And speaking of surprises!" Sonic shouted, looking to the sky, noticing a red plane shooting down any aerial offensives that were still in the sky and nearly ready to blindside the heroes when the opportunity arose for them. "There's Tails!"

"...The Tornado?" Spike asked.

Tails pressed a button, prompting Sonic to say, "Uh, all of you may wanna take a step back. I'm not sure where it's gonna land." he warned, seeing the Tornado suddenly drop down and transform. Once they were cleared, the red plane transformed, its wings and body morphing into legs and the weapons being more obvious to see. Once he landed, Tails immediately shot down some robots in his mech, impressing the Equestrians while Sonic and Knuckles knew what it was.

Spike blinked, "Woah. I wish I had that."

The fox smiled and said, "Thanks. I made it myself. Now I'm not sure what else Eggman has waiting for us, but I just wanted to be prepared. The girls are almost here by the way. I saw them running in this direction and are pretty close. Once they use the Elements, it should be a matter of using the Chaos Emeralds to send us all home."

"If I may interject, that is quite a marvel of technology, Tails." Celestia complimented, "Maybe we can learn a few things from your world." she added.

"Ha, thanks. But it's nothing much. It's just really useful." Tails shrugged off.

"Awesome, bro!" Sonic shouted. "Let's take these things to the scrapheap where they came from!"

"Wait a minute!" shouted Rainbow Dash, flying into the battlefield, looking as determined as ever, "You aren't gonna do anything else before we show up... What is Tails sitting in? I want one."

Twilight panted, "Rainbow... Dash... We told you... To wait up..." her eyes gazed upwards, looking at Celestia and Luna, "P-Princesses? I didn't think you'd be out here."

Celestia smiled, "We must protect our subjects, Twilight Sparkle. I am glad to see you all are okay, and with the Elements of Harmony safely with you. Now, you must get rid of that shield if Sonic wishes to end this battle."

Rainbow nodded, "With pleasure."

Sonic waved as he used a Homing Attack to hit a Buzz Bomber, "We got you girls covered! Just do your thing!"

"Sure thing, sugarhog!" Applejack said.

Twilight inhaled, their Elements glowing. The Elements of Magic, Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity, Honesty, and Laughter all came together and as a result, the girls were covered in a bright aura while they hovered. Suddenly, as a result of the magic, a rainbow appeared from above them, aimed directly from the Egg Carrier. What the six didn't notice was that the robots began to short circuit and falter as a result of the sudden magic surge, allowing the heroes to take care of them with ease. The field surrounding the Egg Carrier vanished, and the girls opened their eyes, the use of the Elements done.

The robots all around Canterlot seemingly shut down, and Sonic smiled as he said, "Finally. Now that's over, we can finally take the fight to Eggman and end this!"

"Good." Rainbow sighed.

"Ohohohohohohoho!" laughed a voice coming from the speakers of one of the broken robots. Sonic knelt down and held the head of an Egg Pawn as the voice continued, "I must thank you all for giving me what I wanted." he laughed.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

Eggman continued, "You foolish mares. I was already aware that the Elements needed its wielders to harness its power. Even though the field of Chaos energy faded, I no longer need it, for I have also harnessed and weaponized the power of Harmony at my disposal! You thought you were one step ahead rodent, but this whole time I was!" Sonic growled at that comment, realizing they were tricked. "Now I shall unleash my secret weapon and conquer both worlds after I destroy you once and for all!" he mocked.

Fluttershy gasped and gulped nervously, "Y-You mean, it-it was a part of his plan?"

Tails regretfully nodded, "Yes. I should've known..."

"Don't beat yourself too much, Tails. None of us could've realized this would happen." Knuckles eased, "I guess we underestimated Eggman this time."

Sonic remained silent, which worried Rainbow Dash, "...Sonic?"

"..." the hedgehog inhaled and gritted his teeth as a scowl formed on his face, "I thought it was gonna be easier. That Eggman would give up like usual. Now, because of me, he has what it takes to conquer both worlds. I should've realized he was playing coy this time. It's what he does. He did it when he unleashed Dark Gaia, he did that on the ARK, and when we were on the Lost Hex. But this is different. He has all the Emeralds and the magic of Harmony with him this time. I shouldn't have run in there with the Chaos Emerald back on Mobius..." he growled.

Tails frowned, "Come on, Sonic..."

"Sonic," Twilight started to say, "We may not have known each other for very long, but in the time we did, you, Tails and Knuckles have done nothing but help us against Eggman. None of us knew this would be the result of using the Elements. So, please... We need your help more than ever to take him down."

Knuckles shook his head, "Yeah, seriously. Now's not the time to beat yourself up over this. None of us. We have Eggman to worry about. We can't dwell on that."

"Yeah, Sonic!" Pinkie cheered, "We need Happy Fighting Sonic! Not Sad Sonic here!"

Rainbow folded her hooves, "I mean, I can probably trash Eggman by myself..." that earned a nudge from Rarity, "...But I'm still staying by your side. Us blue speedsters have to stick together you know."

"It's something I keep falling for. Tails, remember what happened on the Lost Hex?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah.. but to be fair, I wasn't acting like myself either." Tails admitted. "In the end we knew Eggman had something planned behind our backs once we defeated the Deadly Six." he reminded his friend.

Sonic sighed, "But I put you in more danger than I thought. I got you captured cause I acted too rash. Like I said, I should've had more of a plan than trashtalk Eggman, and now Equestria is gonna get caught in the crossfire!"

Celestia said, "Sonic, We have all made mistakes. But it is how we learn from them that make us who we are. You could have not anticipated Eggman's schemes from what you have told us about him. None of us blame you for anything that has happened. The three of you in the short time you've been in Equestria have helped us."

"Now let us help you in this hour." Luna said, "Our world will be in your debt."

"..." Sonic managed a smirk, a plan forming in his head, "Heh. You guys are right. I can't be upset about this. Especially since I may have figured something out. It's like something I heard: Live and learn. And I don't expect a reward out of this, princesses. I just do what I gotta do, that's all!"

The ponies were intrigued by this plan Sonic mentioned, but unfortunately something began to drop from the sky, prompting everyone to watch as Eggman fell down in a giant mech shaped like him. "That's your secret weapon?" Rainbow laughed at the design.

"You won't be laughing long, pegasus." Eggman growled from the spot on the top of the head.

"You even gave it a mustache!" Pinkie held back a snicker upon seeing it again.

Celestia hissed, "Your reign of terror ends here, Eggman!"

"No it won't, Celestia. With the power of Harmony with me, I shall rule this world and mine under the Eggman Empire!" Eggman declared, pointing a finger at the princesses.

Sonic put his hands on his hips, "Not if we say anything about it, Egghead. It's gonna be just like before. Your robots are smashed and gone, Metal's gone and your Egg Carrier is exposed. I say it's about time to pack your bags, cause this Death Egg Robot's not gonna be spared." he chuckled.

Eggman smiled, "I don't need my Badniks this time. This shall be more than enough!" he raised a giant metal hand and instead of it stretching down like he expected, he revealed a large orb of electricity, "My creation can harness your magic in anyway I wish. Now, it is time I softened you up!"

A quiet thunk was heard. Applejack tried to kick the robot down as hard as she could, but nothing happened when she tried to jump up, earning a smack from Eggman's robot's arm, knocking her down to floor, "Applejack!" Twilight shouted.

Celestia and Luna combined their magic in an effort to break down the Death Egg Robot, but it remained still. "Ha ha! It truly works! It's able to withstand the might if alicorn magic!" he boasted, shooting some missiles from the shoulder pads of his robots. The alicorns readied a forcefield to deflect them.

Luckily, Tails and Spike used their weapons to blast the projectiles before anyone could be harmed, the missiles exploding once a few good shots were placed. The dragon and fox acknowledged each other's efforts with a nod before looking at Eggman, "Ah the fox and dragon. It seems the two of you make a good team. Such a shame I may have to end this dynamic for good."

Sonic growled again and charged after Eggman, "You won't hurt them, Eggman!" he snarled, in an attempt to strike the head, but he was pushed aside by Eggman, "Ah!" he screamed, sliding facefirst on the floor once he met it. The hedgehog spat more stones out of his mouth as he got up with a groan, "Eggman..." he hissed.

"Are you okay, Sonic?" asked Fluttershy. Said hero dusted himself off as the meek pegasus looked at the small bruises on his body.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy. I've been through worse." the hedgehog assured and he curled a fist, "Just stay here if you don't wanna fight."

Knuckles tried to climb the Death Egg Robot with his spiked namesakes, but once he held the giant arm, he was electrocuted, surprising him and forcing him to let go, his hand slightly covered in smoke. He shook off the pain as best he could, "All right! Let's try that again!" he snarled before jumping, rearing his fist back before slamming it on the ground, creating another shockwave that should've at least caught the robot off guard and staggered it.

But Eggman was seemingly prepared, since his robot's feet were stil planted firmly on the ground, "Your strength won't do you any good, echidna. The magic I wield is unparallel to anything you can throw upon this robot!"

Sonic looked to Rainbow Dash and gestured to her, realizing he needed to bring his own secret weapon, "Yo, Rainbow Dash. Think you can fly me to the Egg Carrier?"

"Huh? Yeah, why?" Rainbow wondered.

"You're fast enought to fly me there before Eggman could do more against us. We're sitting ducks like this, but I believe I know how to get rid of this Harmony boost." Sonic said.

Twilight blinked, halting her stance once she heard that, "You don't mean..."

Sonic nodded, raising a finger, "Yep. It's time I throw a little chaos into the mix. So, I need you to hold off Eggman in the meantime while I snag the emeralds. Don't let Baldy McNosehair realize we're missing." he revealed his plan to Twilight, who gulped, but understood everything. She watched as the pegasus wrapped her hooves around Sonic and the two took off for the airship.

"Alright, everypony." Twilight said, "I guess we should give Eggman everything we got."

Eggman laughed, "It will be of no use, Twilight Sparkle. This mech wil be your destruction!"

Tails scowled, "We're not standing down, Eggman! I've beaten you once alone! You're outnumbered."

Luna agreed, "He is right doctor. It would be wise to surrender."

Eggman cackled as more magic appeared from his robot, readyong another offensive, "Never! I shall have my victory! And no Mobian or Equestrian is gonna say otherwise!"