//------------------------------// // The First Diversion // Story: Sonic and EQG Forces // by SonicAKG //------------------------------// Sonic and Rainbow Dash entered through the doors to the Resistance Base after their victory. There, they found the other members they had left behind. They were now joined by Tails, Rarity, and Rouge, who had returned from the Chemical Plant. "Tails! Good to see you back, buddy." Sonic greeted. "Likewise. So Metal wasn't too hard this time?" Tails asked. "Heh, he was nothing! Sonic and I took him down with no sweat! Even when he turned into a giant robot, we mopped the floor with him!" Rainbow Dash boasted." I'd like to see anyone top that!" "Savin the world ain't a contest, Rainbow Dash." AppleJack lectured after she rolled her eyes. "It is when I'm involved." Rainbow replied, pointing confidently to herself. "Giant robot? That explains the huge energy reading we read on the chart." Sunset realized. " Was it that dragon thing again?" Vector asked, recalling when Metal Sonic had transformed into Metal Overlord. "Nah, something different. A lot lamer." Sonic dismissed with a handwave. "Cool. And with Metal down, Eggman's lost the last of his enforcers." Manic brought up. "That's sure to deal a major blow to his army." "With that, it means we're much closer to ending this awful war." Fluttershy said, her voice filled with hope. Everyone else was feeling more optimistic about their victories now. Things were starting to look up for them. "It seems you've forgotten about the Phantom Ruby." Shadow said in a corner. "With it, Infinite can simply make more copies. Defeating our enemies doesn't matter with it still around." Shadow's word quickly got rid of the hope spot the entire room was starting to feel. "Oh, Shadow, do you always have to be a half-empty kind of guy?" Rouge scolded. "You didn't forget about the good news, did you?" "Yes. I'd say we've had two success stories today. Tails, Twilight. Please share." Rarity added. The two geniuses then stepped forward, with Spike by Twilight's side. "While you two were gone, Tails had me help him re-examine the data he found at the Chemical Plant." Twilight began. "And by going through it, we managed to come up with a plan to stop the Phantom Ruby." Sonic and Rainbow Dash's eyes lit up with curiosity. This was game-changing news. "Really? Great work guys!" Sonic praised. "So, let's hear it!" Rainbow Dash requested. "But first, we need everyone present to hear our plan. Has anyone seen Knuckles lately? He hasn't been in the room for a while. As our commander, we need him here." Tails pointed out. The Resistance members realized that Tails was right and looked around. Knuckles had been noticeably absent for quite a bit. "I haven't. I hope he still doesn't blame himself for what happened with Operation Big Wave." Amy said in a worried tone. "Ah I thought Ah saw him head down the corridor earlier. Ah'll go find em." AppleJack volunteered. AppleJack took a turn on the right and began to move down the resistance hallway. AppleJack continued down the corridor, looking for any sign of where the Resistance commander could be. She walked for a little while until she came across an open room on her right. AppleJack peered into it and there, she saw Knuckles sitting down on a bench with his back facing her. "Knuckles?" AppleJack called. Hearing AppleJack's caused Knuckles to turn around to see her. He wore a melancholic expression on his face. "Oh, it's you, AppleJack." He responded in a half-hearted manner. "What are ya doin' in here?" AppleJack questioned. "We've got big news. Tails and Twilight came up with a plan to beat the Phantom Ruby. We need ya for the briefing." Knuckles simply turned around after hearing what AppleJack said. "Yeah, right." He scoffed. "I think we're all better off without a screwup commander like me." AppleJack formed a concerned look on her face. She then walked further into the room. "What do ya mean?" She said in a quizzical manner. Knuckles then released a deep sigh. "AppleJack, what kind of commander am I? I was the one who planned Operation Big Wave and led us right into it. And what happened? It flopped and we lost a big part of our army. We had a chance to take down Eggman and under my leadership, we blew it. And this entire time, we've just barely held our own against Eggman, making no progress. It wasn't until Sonic came back that things started looking up. I just feel like this entire time, I've failed as a commander." Knuckles confessed with sorrow while hanging his head in shame. AppleJack's expression softened after hearing Knuckle's issues. He was really taking their latest defeat hard. AppleJack approached the bench Knuckles was on and sat down next to him. "Listen Knuckles, that Operation did go pretty badly. But ya don't need to blame yerself for everythin' that went wrong. Eggman had that Phantom Ruby with em, remember? No one could have seen that coming. I promise, not a single person here holds ya responsible for what happened out there." AppleJack started. Knuckles realized that AppleJack did have a point but he still wasn't feeling much better. "But I can't blame the Phantom Ruby for why I've been such a screw up as a commander." He replied. "Knuckles, if we really thought you were a bad commander, we would have asked for a change. But that hasn't happened." AppleJack pointed out. Knuckles saw that she was right and raised his head to look at her. "We all follow ya because you've had the most experience with Eggman after Sonic and Tails. Everyone trusted ya to help us handle em. This war hasn't been easy on anyone, but you've helped us get through it. No matter what happens, ya always stayed strong and kept fighting. If ya ask me, that sounds like a mighty good commander." AppleJack praised with a smile. Knuckles looked at AppleJack and saw the sincerity in her eyes. He thought about all the various battles he'd been in. No matter how hard it got, he kept fighting on, whether it was to protect the Master Emerald or help out his friends. His mind then drifted to thoughts about the other members of the Resistance. Despite everything that had happened, they were still ready to continue. He couldn't let them down with his own weakness. He had to support them as the leader. Knuckles clenched his fist and rose up, his confidence rising. "AppleJack, thanks for the pep talk." He thanked, which made AppleJack beam. "Anytime, sugah cube." She responded. "Hey,could you do me a favor and not mention this to Sonic." Knuckles then asked. "I really don't need his 'teasing'." AppleJack raised her arms in defense. "Ah won't say a word. But if anyone asks, just remember Ah'm supposed to represent honesty." Knuckles wasn't too pleased to hear that last part and hoped the incoming conversation with the others could skip over why he was missing. With his spirits raised, Knuckles walked out of the door while AppleJack was not too far behind. Knuckles and AppleJack entered the main room of the resistance, catching everyone's attention. "There you are. You weren't thinking about quitting were you?" Rouge asked in a playful manner. Knuckles cleared his throat and faced the rest of his companions. "Of course not. I just needed a little...motivation. Everyone, I promise, I'm going to stand by all of you until the end." Knuckles vowed. "Tails, Twilight, let's hear this plan." All eyes were now on the brainy duo as they began to discuss their plan. "According to the readings I found, the Phantom Ruby needs a large amount of power, which can only be provided by the Death Egg." Tails explained. "All we have to do is cut off the transfer of power and the Phantom Ruby is useless." "You make it sound like that'll be easy." Silver said. "The Death Egg is probably Eggman's most guarded facility. Getting in there is going to be a challenge." "Tails and I thought of that, Silver." Twilight responded. "The two of us came up with a plan. First, we're going to distract Eggman. With his attention elsewhere, we use the Chemical Plant's database to hack the Death Egg's weapon system and shut it down. This will leave it totally defenseless." "With the defenses gone, we can head in and bam, take it out." Tails finished. "No Death Egg means the Phantom Ruby is useless." The Resistance took some time to digest Tails and Twilight's plan. "Sounds risky...but who doesn't love a little danger." Rainbow Dash decided. "I say we go for it!." "I'm with Rainbow Dash, sounds good to me." Knuckles agreed. The other members didn't appear to have a problem with his judgement, meaning the plan was good to go. "So we first need a distraction. How is this going to work exactly?" Rarity questioned. "Tails and I figured that the Green Hill and Seaside Hill are the best places to aim for. Eggman usually has a tighter grip on those areas for the moment." Twilight stated. "So, who wants to be our decoy?" "Pick me, pick me!" Pinkie eagerly said as she waved her hand up in the air. "I can be distracting!" "Maybe the thing is, yer too distracted." AppleJack dryly expressed. "Hang on, I think she's on to something. Eggman wouldn't expect her at the Green Hill. To add on to our distraction, I'll go with her. I've barely been out, so this is sure to throw Eggman off." Amy offered. She then turned to Sunset. "You can handle communications while I'm gone?" She asked. "Sure thing, leave it to me." Sunset promised. Amy suddenly found herself wrapped in Pinkie's arms, who was very excited. "The two of us are going to be the best distraction, ever!" Pinkie gleefully declared while Amy just did a small smile. "A hyperactive pink party girl who can blow things up and always carries confetti?" Manic said. "Eggman definitely won't be able to ignore that." "Then we have the Green Hill covered. What about Seaside Hill?" Silver wondered. "The boys and I can handle it." Vector boasted as he placed his hand in his fist." "Yeah, we can handle it!" Charmy repeated. "Hold on. If the three of us head out, Eggman will be familiar with our attack pattern." Espio brought up. "It wouldn't be something unexpected. I propose we do a mixup in our formation." "Then Ah'll go in yer place." AppleJack said."That Eggman'll never see me comin'!" Espio then nodded to AppleJack, giving her his approval. "Well, then it's settled. Get going all of you! There's only a day until Eggman's plan is executed." Knuckles ordered. Pinkie gave a military salute in response to Knuckle's command. She and the others then prepared to head out on their missions. "Do be careful." Fluttershy called out as they all left. In the Green Hill, Amy and Pinkie were moving across a pathway. In the background, Eggman's pyramid was smoking, indicating that it was beginning to crumble due to the attack it had suffered earlier. However, the rest of the area was still suffering from heavy desertification, "So, since we're going to need to cause as much noise as we can to get Eggman's attention....." Amy started. "I have just the thing." Both She and Pinkie uttered with a sly smile. Out of nowhere, Pinkie took out a large blue cannon, much to Amy's surprise. Amy, on the other hand, had taken out her signature Piko Piko Hammer, which caught Pinkie's eye. "Where did you get that?" Amy and Pinkie both said in a quizzical tone. "One never goes anywhere without their party cannon." Pinkie responded. "And I never leave without my Piko Piko Hammer." Amy answered "Piko Piko just sounds so much fun to say!" Pinkie praised with a giggle. "I gotta look into a name like that for my party cannon!" " Party cannon, huh? Ok, let's get this party started." Amy uttered with a grin. Amy and Pinkie Pie began to wreak havoc in the Green Hill. Amy swung her hammer around, sending Egg Pawns flying as she came across them. Pinkie filled her cannon up with sprinkles that glowed the instant she touched them. She then started firing ammunition everywhere, laughing while she did. Pinkie fired indiscriminately, destroying Egg Pawns while also causing damage to the landscape. "Best...Mission....ever!" Pinkie cackled. "Eggman's can't ignore us." Amy claimed. The two distractions continued their actions while they moved through the Green Hill. Eventually, they came across a winding tunnel, which peaked Pinkie's interest. "Ooooh, this looks like it'll be a fun slide!" She voiced. Pinkie immediately entered the tunnel, her laughter being heard while going through. Amy noticed this and let out an amused smile. "She treats this like it's a video game." She commented before she went into the tunnel after Pinkie. The pink partners were transported to a more industrial area of the Green Hill after they exited the tunnel. Pipe platforms covered the entire region. Pinkie Pie looked on, not impressed with what she saw. "Wow...we went from our pretty place...to this snoozeville." She complained. "What a way to kill the mood." "That's Eggman for you." Amy said. "He ruins anything he gets his hands on." Amy and Pinkie traversed through the platforms, being greeted by a squadron of Egg pawns shortly after they started moving. Amy swung her hammer with much force, causing her to spin around like a small tornado. She knocked back any robot she came into contact with. Pinkie looked on Amy's technique with eagerness. "I so gotta try that!" She exclaimed. Pinkie began to spin herself around rapidly, firing her shots all around. She wasn't as precise as Amy when it came to hitting enemies but she managed to blow some of the, back due to this. When the enemies were dealt with, Amy and Pinkie stopped spinning. Amy was fine due to being experienced though Pinkie was slightly dizzy. "Hey, you ok?" Amy questioned as she noticed her ally's condition. Pinkie shook her head and recovered her senses in no time. "Yesindiddily. I love being dizzy!" Pinkie said in response. The two of them found themselves at a dead end as a metallic wall blocked their path when they continued across the area. It looked like the only way was to head up. "Well, it's a good thing I can fly." Pinkie said. Before she took off, Amy grabbed her hand. "Wait, I have something you might like to try." Amy suggested. "Stand close." Pinkie did as she was told and came next to Amy. Amy took out her Hammer and whacked the floor with colossal strength, leaving a pink flash. This resulted in the two girls being catapulted high up in the air. Pinkie squealed while they headed upward. At the top, a few Egg Pawns were waiting up ahead. While mid-air, Pinkie fired a shot out of her cannon, blowing the bots to bits. Amy and Pinkie then landed, now back in the flora covered part of Green Hill. "That was so much fun! That was better than any trampoline I've been on!" Pinkie Pie gushed. "Can we go again! Can we? Can we?" "Let's finish our mission first, then we do it over and over." Amy complied. The diversion pair continued to make their way on the road while also leaping off different platforms. Pinkie was a natural at the latter part, happily humming and skipping while doing so. However, she got a little distracted and when she made another jump, she didn't notice there was no platform for her to go on. Instead, Pinkie ended up falling down into another industrial place of the zone. Amy saw her fall and quickly descended down towards her, looking slightly concerned. "Pinkie, are you all right?" Amy wondered as soon as she reached the bottom. Much to her surprise, Pinkie was standing on both legs, looking perfectly fine. "Nice of you to join me." Pinkie cheerfully greeted. "You don't need to worry, I always land on my feet." Amy and Pinkie were back in another industrial area of the Green Hill, with different layered pathways leading higher. The two of them moved ahead on the lowest path. When they reached the end, they turned the other way and jumped on the other path. Blocking their way were Egg Pawns lined up in a single row. Acting quickly, Amy took a big swing and smashed the lead robot, sending it crashing into the others before they could attack. All of the robotic minions were jumbled together. This allowed Pinkie to blow them to bits with a single shot out of her cannon. The path was now free, letting the girls move across safely. They then reached the highest pathway, which was also guarded by Egg Pawns. Pinkie rapidly fired 3 rounds from her cannon, destroying the first half of squadron. This left the other members stunned. Due to this, Amy was easily able to sweep in and smash the remaining members to bits and pieces using hammer swings. With the enemies gone, the pink heroines were free to move out of the industrial area and back to the more natural setting. "We're sure to have leveled up after that." Pinkie mused. Amy found her comment a little strange. "So, do you act like missions are a game to make things more fun?" Amy asked. "Yeah, 'act'." Pinkie cryptically answered with a wink. Amy didn't understand what she meant. The two companions moved across gaps across Green Hill before landing on another trail. Egg Pawns began to approach both of them, ready to take fire. Before they got the chance, Amy slammed her hammer on the ground, generating a giant pink shockwave which lifted the robots off the ground. While the bots were mid air, Pinkie took aim and fired multiple blasts, destroying the enemies. In the aftermath, she eyed the sparks left behind. "Ooooh, pretty fireworks!" She said with glee. "Huh, guess something nice can come out of the Egg Pawns." Amy mused. Amy and Pinkie resumed their mission and continued through the Green Hill. They shortly found themselves in another mechanical pathway, with more Egg Pawns coming their way. Amy spun around to perform her Hammer Spin as Egg Pawns were smashed all over the place. Pinkie floated mid-air and shot rounds down below. The enemies were down in no time an Pinkie rejoined Amy on the ground. The two of them then ran out of their current location and back to the Green Hills natural landscape "I think we've made a pretty good diversion." Amy stated. "I think it's time to head back." "You sure?" Pinkie said. "We haven't fought the boss yet." "Pinkie, it's fun to pretend this is a game and all, but it won't go exactly like a game." Amy told her. "I'd say our work here is done." The rosy damsels continued to make their way past the Green Hill Zone. As they moved further along, they came across another modified area of the Green Hill. However, this region appeared to a racing arena of some sort, with two ramps placed across from each other, both having a smaller one lead up to them. Two tall pillars with orange tips were between the ramps. "Huh, what's up with this place?" Amy said in a quizzical manner. "It looks like some kind of racing track!" Pinkie observed. "That's pretty cool!" Suddenly, Amy and Pinkie heard the sound of a motor coming from behind them, making them turn around to see the source. Heading their way was an Egg Robo decorated as a purple colored knight. On its head was a gray colored helmet. Its torso was black and it possessed red eyes and gray appendages. Its forefeet were purple and spikes covered its chest. The robot was riding a large Moto Bug with crazy, swirling red eyes. It was also carrying a large flail in its right hand, swinging it around like a madman. "Well, would you look at that. Here's the boss." Pinkie casually told her partner. "Get ready Pinkie, we've got a fight on our hands."Amy cautioned, clutching her hammer in a battle stance. The Heavy Rider charged towards its two opponents at ramming speed while spinning its flail. When it got close enough, it brought the mace down to smash the two heroines. Luckily, Amy and Pinkie managed to avoid the attack by jumping apart. However, the Rider quickly stopped to a swerve and drove to the heroines. They noticed that due to the speed the Heavy Rider was moving at it, dodging was out of the question. In response, Amy prepared her hammer and released a swing when the Heavy Rider came closer. Amy's hammer and the Rider's flail clashed but due to the momentum the Rider had, Amy stumbled back. The Heavy Rider drove on ahead before making another turn back to its enemies. This time, Pinkie fired shots out of her cannon while the Rider was driving. In response, the Heavy Rider veered from side to side, evading Pinkie's attacks. Using its trusty stead, it bounced in the air to evade her other shots, much to Pinkie's astonishment and wonder. The robotic knight was directly above Pinkie and heading down to crush her with its ride. Pinkie formed a panicked look and used her cannon to propel herself out of harm's way as the Heavy Rider landed on the ground. Strangely, the metallic rider began to perform doughnuts afterward. This made Amy and Pinkie look on, stumped by what they were witnessing. "Ok, I'd say this robot probably has a few screws loose. Literally." Pinkie remarked. "Maybe, but that makes it unpredictable. We're going to have to be careful with this one." Amy decided. The Heavy Rider continued to drive in circles, almost as if it was ignoring the fact that it had two foes to fight. It then unexpectedly faced Amy and Pinkie once more and went straight towards them, still spinning its mace. In order to counter this, Amy performed her Hammer Spin attack, causing her weapon to repeatedly clash against her mechanized adversary when they made contact. This left the Rider unable to progress. Seeing a chance, Pinkie fired her cannon towards the Heavy Rider. Instead of taking Pinkie's shot, the machine being leaped off its Moto Bug in a manner akin to that of a stunt. This resulted in Amy ending her spinning due to the Rider going upward. Instead, the Heavy Rider's steed attempted to ram into her. Amy used her hammer as a guard against it, but she was struggling and slowly being pushed back due to the force of the ladybug robot. This left her wide open, which the Heavy Rider did not overlook. It began to descend back to the ground, its arm raised to crush Amy with its flail. Pinkie let out a small yelp when she saw what could happen. Thinking fast, Pinkie used her cannon to boost herself forward once more. With this tactic, she grabbed Amy out of the way just as the Heavy Rider came down and brought its mace down on the ground, leaving a crater where Amy used to be. "Thanks for the save." Amy expressed with gratitude. "No problem." was Pinkie' answers. She then looked at the Heavy Rider with a frown. "That robot is bonkers! And if I'm saying it, it means something." Instead of changing its direction to where its enemies were, the Heavy Rider drove up on a smaller ramp. With it, it continued to ride towards the bigger ramp. The Rider made its way towards the gap ahead and performed a stunt jump to get across the other side. Doing this made scream "Yay!" while also unleashing confetti everywhere. Pinkie beamed while Amy was totally baffled. "What is this? First, it's trying to kill us and now it's putting on a show." Amy said with disbelief. "Confetti!" Pinkie shrieked with delight with her hands on her face. "Maybe this robot isn't so bad..." What appeared to be a harmless show then turned deadly as from the two pillars near the ramps, spews of flames suddenly emerged, spraying everywhere. Amy and Pinkie immediately took down ground to make sure the flames didn't touch them. "Forget what I said." Pinkie flatly said as she and Amy turned to each other. The flames died down shortly after, with the robotic stuntman driving back on the ground again . Amy and Pinkie picked themselves up, ready to continue their battle. "This thing is a real pain in the neck. It's just so unpredictable." Amy complained. The Heavy Rider turned in the direction of its opponents and began to rev up its Moto Bug. "What could it be now?" Amy wondered out loud, gripping her hammer tightly. Pinkie took into acconunt about Amy's recent comment of the Heavy Rider being so erratic. If they were going to counter it, they had to be wild too. "I've got an idea!" Pinkie suddenly said. "I'm going to shoot you out of my cannon!" Pinkie's suggestion caused Amy to look at if she was absolutely insane. "What?! Are you crazy?" She replied. "Well, don't we have to out-crazy this robot in order to win." Pinkie brought up. Taking Pinkie's statement into consideration, Amy realized she had a point. They had to match the unexpected by acting in the same manner. She then performed a shrug. "Ok, it's better than nothing. Let's do it." Amy finally agreed. Amy placed in herself inside Pinkie's cannon, surprisingly managing to fit. When she finished doing so, the Heavy Rider finished revving up and burst towards her and Pinkie, leaving behind a trail of flames in the aftermath. Amy looked slightly anxious as she saw the robot incoming while Pinkie formed a mad grin. "Let's see how you like our stunt!" Pinkie yelled as she pulled the trigger on her cannon. Amy was then shot out as a projectile, travelling at an incredible rate. She and the Heavy Rider were getting closer and closer very quickly. With this occurring, the Rider displayed it's mace, preparing to attack. Amy clenched her hammer as tight as she could. When she and the Rider prepared to collide, Amy brought her hammer forward. Her weapon landed on the Heavy Riders chest before it brought down its mace.This caused Amy's attack to form a powerful pink shockwave that sent the robot flying several feet while also creating a giant dent in its chest. This also left her Moto Bug without a rider and it just moved forward towards Pinkie. Pinkie then blast a hole in front of it, making the robotic insect fall into the pit. It was now trapped while its wheel kept turning, but to no avail. The Heavy Rider rose from the ground, damaged due to Amy's hit. It looked up to see it's rose colored opponents getting closer "Not so tough without your little ride, are you?" Amy taunted, holding her hammer with a sly smile. In response, the Heavy Rider started to swing it's flail and launched it to Amy. Amy released a swing of her own, with her hammer crashing into the Rider's flail. The impact caused the Rider's mace to be crushed into pieces, leaving the robot shocked and defenseless. Amy gave it a menacing look while Pinkie's was smugger. The Heavy Rider started to back up a bit, realizing things were only to get worse. "My turn!" Pinkie called out. Pinkie unloaded her entire can of sprinkles into her cannon after they started glowing. Inside her cannon, the sound of an explosion building up was heard until Pinkie fired. This unleashed a larger blast than the ones before that tore the Heavy Rider apart after hitting it square in the chest. "Yes, we did it!" Amy cheered. Amy and Pinkie grabbed a hold of each other's hands and did a victory jump. "Wait a minute." Amy said, interrupting their celebration. "Why didn't you destroy that robot's ride?" "Because...this!" Pinkie claimed. Pinkie rushed back to hole that the Moto Bug fell into. With some difficulty, she pulled it out of the pit and placed it on the ground. She then immediately jumped on the Moto Bug, rocking back and forth excitedly "Let's ride!" Pinkie exclaimed as the Moto Bug started to rev up before it took off with Pinkie as it's new rider. Pinkie rode around the area, laughing loudly while doing so. Amy looked on, certainly not expecting this. She then looked up at the sky. "I hope the others at the SeaSide Hill are doing ok." She wishfully said.