The Resistance was on another shuttle on the way to their next destination. Sonic decided to bring along Shadow, Rouge, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Amy. Speaking of, Sonic spoke to the pink hedgehog, “Thanks for coming along this time, Amy. I thought you were going to stay behind a monitor this whole time.”
Amy smirked, “And say no to you asking for my help? I’ll take what I can get.” Sonic rolled his eyes at that.
“So I read about GUN yesterday. We’re going to their prison?” Twilight asked.
“Yes. They built a new fortified prison after the other one blew up.” Shadow explained.
“Blow up? How did that happen?” Fluttershy wondered.
Shadow crossed his arms and looked down in shame, “The doctor... and well...”
Rouge waved a hand and changed that matter, “Let’s not get into that. The old island became an uninhabitable nuclear wasteland after Eggman blew it up, and so they built a new harbor right on the border of Flicky Island per Sonic’s suggestion toe ensure the flickies’ safety. Ever since the takeover, they have used it as their own fortified headquarters. If Eggman and Chrysalis destroy it, that means we’ll have less allies to rely on.”
“But we won’t have to worry about that.” Sonic assured with a wink, “We got this in the bag.”
Amy folded her hands and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks, but she shook off her brief daydream to focus on the mission at hand. Twilight and Fluttershy were confused by Amy’s behavior, but chose not to say anything. “Just as long as Infinite isn’t there, we’ll be fine.” Twilight said.
“If he’s there I’ll just kick his butt again.” Sonic assured.
Twilight blinked and tried to forget the encounter in Metropolis, “Right...”
Sonic folded his arms, “Is something bothering you, Twilight?”
“N-No... it’s just...”
Shadow interrupted the alicorn, “We’re approaching Neo Prison Island now. We’ll rendezvous with the commander and go over a strategy to stop the attack.”
Looking out the window, Twilighy and Fluttershy were in awe at the military fortress that awaited them below. It looked heavily fortifed and was built on the end of a tropical island. They would’ve thought it was an astonishing sight were it not for the robots and changelings attacking. They spotted soldiers, both humans and animals, fending off the impending invasion. Fluttershy muttered out, “Are you sure we shouldn’t help them now?”
“Talking to the commander should only take a minute.” Rouge said.
The blimp landed, and the team set out for the main headquarters. Twilight and Fluttershy were immediately in awe at the sight of the large metallic building that stood before them. ”Pretty cool, huh? Y’know, after being locked up in the original prison, I have to admit what they did to the new one looks pretty cool too.”
“You were locked up?” Twilight asked.
Sonic shrugged, “Long story. Let’s just say being captured by Eggman reminded me of that day. It wasn’t pleasant at all. Especially when each of our foes came in each day taunting me.”
“I’m sorry you went through that.” Fluttershy apologized.
“No need to apologize. Tails and Amy helped break me out and my name was cleared.” Sonic said.
The team arrived at the main lab and were greeted by an older looking man. Fluttershy believed him to be one of the humans like she and Twilight saw on the way over. “Girls, this is Commander Tower. The acting superior to GUN and Shadow, Omega, and myself.” Rouge introduced her boss to the equines.
“We thank you for coming.” Commander Tower greeted the Resistance as he glanced over to the ponies, “Who are they?”
Shadow answered, “Allies in the war. They were brought here by the doctor and Infinite and have decided to aid us.” Twilight and Fluttershy waved awkwardly at the GUN Commander.
The Commander squinted at Shadow, looking uneasy, “As much as I want to believe it, I’d prefer if you explain why you turned traitor for the past six months before I demonstrate to our visitors why this prison is the way it is.”
Sonic said, “Look, Commander. Infinite did something to his mind. The other baddies running around were... what’s a good way to describe them?”
“Fakes created by the Phantom Ruby. For the sake of it we should call them Phantoms.” Twilight finished stating for him.
“Right, that.”
Commander scowled, “Very well. Just know I’m keeping a close eye on you, Shadow.”
“Of course. Just know that I want the doctor gone as much as everyone else.” Shadow assured. “Now, where are Eggman and Chrysalis at?”
Tower said, “Our troops are scattered throughout the Metal Harbor and the mainland. Changelings and Eggman’s robots are with them as well. It’d be for the best if you split up.”
Sonic cracked his knuckles, “Alrighty then. Twilight and Fluttershy can come with me in the jungle. Amy, Shadow, and Rouge can stay in the harbor.”
Shadow smirked, “Who says you get to lead us around?”
“Got any other ideas, Shadow?” Sonic asked his former rival.
“...Twilight and Rouge may assist me.” Shadow decided.
“Glad we reached an impasse... Wait, what?” Sonic blurted out.
“Yay!” Amy cheered before clearing her throat, “Oh uh, I mean, sure.”
Sonic rolled his eyes, “Fine then. Come on. We have to hurry.”
Green Grove...
The flicky-inhabited lands were already torn asunder. Unfortunately, the birds were not capable of fending themselves and as a result, Eggman managed to overwhelm it easily, even with GUN proving an ally to the island. A man shot a laser at the changelings, one of them creating a barrier to deflect the beams. He screamed, “Oh no, our weapons are useless!”
The swarm got closer to the soldiers fending them off, the flickies they were defending cowering behind their legs. Luckily, a blue blur swooped in and smacked the changelings back with a series of powerful Homing Attacks. “Ha! Man, that never gets old.” Sonic laughed.
Amy and Fluttershy were catching up behind him. “Can you... go slower... next time...?” Fluttershy panted as she stretched her wings. She lowered her head at the sight of the birds hiding, “Aw, you don’t have to be scared little flickies.” she cooed. The blue one walked to the caretaker pegasus and saw Sonic standing immediately. It was upon seeing the blue hedgehog that the flickies stepped out of their hiding spots to meet the friendly newcomer, “See? We won’t hurt you.”
Sonic smiled, “I guess you really do have a way with the critters.”
The man who dropped his laser stood in awe, “Sonic? We heard rumors that you were alive, but I didn’t think—“
“Reports of my death were greatly exaggerated.” Sonic quipped. “So what’s the sit-rep?”
The soldier replied, “Eggman and Chrysalis arrived on Neo Prison Island sometime before the Resistance was called. We tried to hold off the army, but their leaders are looking to be overwhelming.”
Amy asked, “Do you know where either of them are?”
“A team was sent deeper into the Rusty Ruin after Chrysalis. We haven’t gotten any reports back though.”
Fluttershy gulped, “Oh no...”
Sonic said, “Don’t worry, Fluttershy. But if you want to stay here with the troops and Flickies, you’re free to do so.”
“No... I want to help... Even if I am scared.” Fluttershy told the hedgehog.
Amy replied, “Glad to hear it. Now let’s head there now.”
And so, Sonic, Fluttershy, and Amy arrived at the Rusty Ruins. The smog pretty much covered their vision. “Wow, it looks way worse here than last time. Then again, it’s an abandoned temple that Eggman got his hands on while I was gone.” Sonic pointed out, squinting in hopes of finding something. He looked at his friends, “Wait here.”
Amy reached out a hand as Sonic zoomed away, “Sonic, wait! Ugh, I hate it when he does that.” she inhaled and decided to focus on the task at hand. Her and Fluttershy continued walking, but was greeted by Sonic a minute later, the blue hero stepping out of the fog. “Did you find anything?”
Sonic shook his head, “Nothing. Weird, huh?”
“None of the troops?” Fluttershy asked.
Shaking his head again, Sonic said, “Nah. We’re better off sticking together now.” he walked next to Amy and wrapped an arm around her and smirked, “Say, it’s pretty spooky in these ruins. You should stick next to me for protection.”
“S-Sonic?” Amy muttered out.
“What? I can’t be next to you? I thought you of all people would be cool with that, Ames.” Sonic asked.
Amy blushed at the nickname Sonic gave her, “N-No, I don’t mind it at all actually.” she reached for Sonic’s hand, and to her surprise, he held it.
Fluttershy tilted her head, “Um, Sonic. Are you okay?”
Sonic said, “Never better now that I’m with Amy. Just focus on what’s ahead of you, alright?”
As much as Amy wanted to question his sudden shift in behavior, Amy would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy it. She leaned her head on Sonic’s shoulder. Surprisingly, he didn’t resist. That immediately raised a flag and raised herself, “Okay, what’s going on with you?”
With a nervous smile, Sonic answered, “Nothing at all, Ames. I just wanted to spend some time with my favorite hedgehog.”
“It’s unlike you to be this... affectionate I noticed.” Fluttershy noted.
“Seriously, you faker! At least the Phantom Ruby would try to pretend to act like me!”
The voice echoed across the ruins and a blue blur suddenly appeared and tackled Sonic, catching Amy and Flutterhy off-guard. The pink hedgehog and pegasus watched as Sonic tackled another hedgehog who looked exactly like Sonic. “Amy, Fluttershy! I got the fake right here!”
“No, he’s the faker!” the other Sonic said.
Fluttershy’s eyes widened, “Chrysalis! She made herself look like Sonic to throw us off!”
“I should’ve realized it.” Amy said to herself, her grip on her Piko Piko Hammer tightening. She eyed both Sonics and snarled at them both, “Okay. I’m going to ask a few questions to see which of you is the real Sonic.”
One Sonic toppled over the other and pinned him down, “Alright then, bring it on!”
“...Which one of you will like to go on a date with me?” Amy asked, much to Fluttershy’s confusion.
“I’m down for that. Just tell me where to go.” the Sonic standing on the left said.
The other Sonic rolled his eyes and shrugged, “Are we really doing this now?”
With a smirk, Amy said, “Bingo!”
She ran forward and swung her hammer upwards, striking the first Sonic that answered. The fake hedgehog reared back and was launched into the air. Fluttershy squeaked at the sight, and looked at the Sonic left standing. “Are you alright, Sonic?”
“Eh, I’m fine. Faker over here tried to capture me in some coccoon, but they were in such a rush that they didn’t do a really good job of it.” Sonic explained. He crossed his arms, “Yeah, running off was kind of a bad idea because of it. Speaking of, how did you figure out I was the real deal?”
Amy teased, “Because I know you’ll never directly say yes to that question. The one time you did decide to, you used flimsy wording and then bailed.”
Sonic sighed, “I told you, I was summoned to another world to fight a bunch of knights and a sorceress.”
“Still not buying it.” Amy shot back.
“Um, guys...” Fluttershy pointed to the fake Sonic, who finally started moving again.
The fake Sonic was covered in a green aura, revealing her true form as Chrysalis. “Foolish heroes... You’re only delaying the inevitable.”
“How so? Amy saw through your lame ruse. I say it’s game over. So why don’t you do us a favor and fade away like all the other Phantom Ruby fakes right now before we embarrass you?” Sonic suggested to the changeling queen.
Chrysalis spat, “It would be unwise to face you all right now. No, I will not fall here.” she glared daggers at Fluttershy, “But mark my words, I will have my revenge on you and your little pony friends.” she warned as she hovered away, a swarm of changelings suddenly appearing from the smoke. The heroes tried to give chase, but all of them were struck by a green beam from above, Chrysalis’ horn glowing.
“Great...” Sonic said under his breath.
The bug-like beings buzzed at the sight of the heroes and charged after them. Sonic smirked, “Okay, Amy. Got a clean strategy on how to take these guys on?”
Amy winked, “Kinda. I say just go nuts!”
“My kinda plan! Woo!” Sonic cheered, using a Spin-Dash to push a few of them back. The blue hedgehog uncurled and performed a dropkick on another before hitting the ground. Each of the bugs faded in the cubes he’d come to expect. He stretched his legs and went after more of the changelings.
In a panic, Fluttershy unfurle her wings hovered over a beam of changeling magic causing it to hit their brethren, an unplanned course of action for the pegasus. She moved around in hopes of losing the creatures in the fog. Fluttershy found a broken column and hid behind it, wondering what she could do next. She never was much of a fighter... but Sonic and Amy needed her help. Looking ahead, she spotted a slope and more changelings heading their way. And so, Fluttershy grunted as she pushed down the old stone column, it landing horizontally. With one more push, she rolled it down, causing the army to fade away. Fluttershy was grateful they weren’t real changelings. Wiping the sweat off her head she muttered, “That was tiring.”
Amy slammed her hammer down, creating a powerful shockwave that made all the changelings around her stumble on their backs. “Ha!” she grunted, moving her weapon so that it smacked a bug creature trying to attack from behind. “You’ll have to do better than that!” she mocked them, spinning around so that each of the changelings reaching for her were all smacked aside by her Piko Piko Hammer. Once she stopped, the pink hedgehog shook her head, feeling a little dizzy. Amy brought her weapon down once more, making a tremor powerful enough to launch all the grounded changelings into the air.
All the tossed changelings were taken care of by Sonic, who charged a Light-Speed Attack to take them all down one by one in a matter of seconds. The blue hero was surrounded by purple cubes once he was done with them. He was about to get tackled by a changeling he missed, but Fluttershy stepped on its head, making it fade. “Nice one, Fluttershy!” Sonic complimented.
“Huh? Oh.” Fluttershy noticed the cubes scattering where she was standing. “I got tired while flying and must’ve hit one while fixing myself.”
“It worked at least.” Sonic said.
The last of the changeling swarm appeared from the fog. Sonic looked to Amy, “Yo, Amy. You up for a little tag-team Spin-Dash combo?”
Amy held her hammer behind her head, “You bet!”
Sonic curled into a ball and Amy swung at the hedgehog, Fluttershy taken aback. Sonic managed to hit a changeling, bounce off another one, hit yet one more and bounce back to Amy, who swung her hammer once more. More of the swarm got wiped out one by one, purple cubes scattering all over the fog.
With one last swing, Sonic took care of the last changeling and decided to uncurl, shaking the cobwebs out of his head after spinning for so long. He dusted his hands and said, “Nice work, guys. Now we just gotta find the rest of the troops who came through here.”
“Freeze!” the voice prompted Sonic, Amy and Fluttershy to cringe as a group of GUN soldiers wandered through the smoke. One of them aimed their weapons at them, “State your business being here!”
Sonic calmly said, “Uh, I’m Sonic the Hedgehog and these are my friends. We’re here to help you. I think that should be enough to convince you to lower that laser gun of yours.”
The human said, “And how do we know that you’re not one of those changelings pretending to be them?”
“Can anyone be as cool and blue as me? Chrysalis tried and hilariously messed up.” Sonic wondered.
“...You’re the real deal.” the GUN soldier said while lowering his weapon.
Fluttershy blinked, “I didn’t think convincing you would be that easy.”
The soldier replied, “After a while you start to realize he has a distinct attitude. Pleasure to meet you, by the way. I presume you are one of the equines the Commander spoken about?” Fluttershy nodded, “Great. The more assistance the better I always say.” he added.
“We heard a small group diverged into the ruins. Where are they?” Amy asked.
Pointing behind him, the man said, “The rest of the squadron went into the Spring Stadium to help better fend off the invasion. Unfortunately, it isn’t exactly a pleasant place to wander and strategize.”
Sonic chuckled, “You’re telling me. I don’t know why any changeling would want to go in there.”
“Is there anything else you need assistance with?” Fluttershy asked.
The man said, “I think we’re in the clear thanks to you three.”
Scratching his head, Sonic suggested, “It wouldn’t hurt to round up the remaining flickies and get them to safety.”
“I didn’t know you were so protective of woodland animals, Sonic.” Fluttershy noticed.
“There’s a reason why I went after Eggman, Fluttershy.” Sonic revealed. “I can tell you the whole story while we find them.”
Amy said, “Bragging now, Sonic?”
Sonic responded, “Hey, my adventure on South Island is iconic. If he were here, Classic me would agree with me.”
Rolling her eyes, the pink hedgehog said, “Carry on then.”
Sonic, Fluttershy and Amy all looked around the ruins as Sonic spoke to Fluttershy, “Well I arrived on South Island...”
New Metal Harbor...
“Get back!”
A wolf used their grapple to reel back one of their comrades. The human sighed in relief as he narrowly missed getting stomped on by an Egg Hammer. “Thanks for the save there.” he thanked.
“Not a problem.” the wolf responded.
The Egg Hammer was ready to strike, but suddenly it combusted. From the smoke revealed Shadow the Hedgehog, looking no worse for wear. “What is the situation here?”
The human aimed his laser at Shadow, “T-Traitor! Stand back!”
“At ease, soldier.” Rouge assured the uneasy man and wolf, “Shadow is on our side. Infinite and Eggman was controlling him ever since the takeover started.”
Twilight landed next to the bat, “Sonic the Hedgehog was the one to bring him back.”
The wolf’s jaw dropped, “Sonic really is alive?! Yes! I knew he wasn’t dead! Is he here?”
Shadow folded his arms, “He’s on the island itself. Is the doctor within the vicinity?”
Raising a finger, the human said, “Yeah. He should be on the Weapons Bed.”
“Then we have no time to waste.” Shadow scowled and darted off.
“Shadow—“ Rouge spoke up, annoyed that her friend just ran off in a yellow blur to handle things himself. “Great. Looks like we have to catch up.”
“Is Shadow usually as hasty as Sonic?” Twilight asked.
Rolling her eyes, Rouge chuckled, “You have no idea. Unlike Sonic, he still acts like a loner. But he’s really friendly once you get to know him.” she assured, flapping her wings alongside Twilight to get through the harbor. More robots guarded the air and sky. Rouge held a sphere in her hand and threw it at one of the Egg Drones, it detonating upon contact. She smiled and looked to Twilight, who blasted some of the drones back, “Nice to know you alicorns are well-versed in magic. Your unicorn friend had some good spells too.”
“I’ve been practicing my whole life.” Twilight admitted, shielding herself from pellets being shot at her. Looking down she spotted some taller robots, but they didn’t look like the designs she had come to expect from Eggman. Her attention was immediately drawn to the GUN on their bodies, “Are those... GUN robots?”
Rouge gritted her teeth and drill-kicked the robot to pieces. “Eggman must have hacked into our defenses. No doubt Shadow is already on his way to stop him.”
Meanwhile, Shadow boosted through the harbor, smashing through every robot that stood in his path. He was done playing around, he finally had a chance to fight back in a world that fell apart and he was going to take that chance. He growled as he jumped over a stack of crates and used his hover shoes to make his way to the next platform. He needed to catch up with Eggman as fast as possible.
More hacked GUN drones began targeting him. Shadow took no time in dismantling them as well, using his boost to tear right through Eggman’s defenses along the way. One by one, they fell by Shadow’s hand.
On the weapons platform, Shadow found Eggman, who was piloting his mech. The black hedgehog got to a fighting stance and confronted the doctor. “Finally. We meet at last once more, Shadow. Such a shame you turned to the losing side.” Eggman said to his enemy.
“I’m through playing games, doctor. I’ll make you regret using me as a puppet all this time.” Shadow hissed, walking forward to Eggman slowly. Eggman tried to shoot at him, but Shadow avoided each blast, moving as though he never teleported. He was unfazed, which caught the mad scientist off guard. He even backhanded one of the blasts as he marched forward. It was time to settle the score.
Eggman’s mech proved no match for Shadow’s unrelenting nature. He tore right through the weapons with a Homing Attack and cut right through the legs holding the mech up. He dented the metal with each precise strike. Shadow even struck through the robots that were around the doctor. Finally, the mech collapsed and the Egg-Mobile fell to its side, Eggman coughed because of the smoke and he looked up to Shadow. “W-What are you doing?”
“Finally. I can end this war once and for all.”
“You dare defy me, Shadow? You were proving quite capable as a destroyer. Did you forget that as a creation of my grandfather that you were destined to be my follower? Just like how it was all those years ago?” Eggman asked.
Shadow crossed his arms, “I made a promise to protect this planet. Because of you, doctor, you made me defile Maria’s memory and used me to cause pain and destruction in this world. I am done with this charade.” he raised his arm, “This time you’re going straight to—“
“Shadow!” Twilight called out, “What are you doing?”
The hedgehog growled at the alicorn, “Ending this war before it escalates further. Clearly you’re all incapable of doing the deed, so I’m ridding the world of Eggman’s evil myself.”
“We need him alive, Shadow. Only he knows how to stop the Phantom Ruby.” Rouge told her friend.
Eggman smiled maniacally, “Ah, yes. Of course. Come now, Shadow. Do not do it.”
Twilight said, “He needs to answer for his crimes, Shadow. Killing isn’t the only solution. Once you kill him, we still have the matter of every other rogue and... Infinite. Doing it would change nothing right now.”
“Forget this.” Shadow declared, raising his hand once more. However, he found himself unable to move, a green aura covering his body along with Rouge and Twilight. Suddenly, the three of them were pushed back by the aura. Revealing herself was Queen Chrysalis. “You...” grunted Shadow.
“More of your animal friends, doctor?” Chrysalis asked.
“Unfortunately.” Eggman said while standing up, adjusting his Egg-Mobile. “You created quite a diversion. I needed time for Chrysalis to come to my aid. I must admit I’m impressed all of you fended off the defenses though. But mark my words, in two days time, your miserable lives will come to an end by my ultimate plan!”
With a slasher smile, Chryalis hissed to Twilight, “And we will be sure to give you Equestrians special treatment. You have gotten in the way of my plans for far too long.”
Eggman started his Egg-Mobile while Chrysalis flew away, pushing the heroes into the water with her magic. Shadow got his bearings and used his hover shoes to catch Rouge and Twilight, dropping them on the platform where they once more. “I had it covered. And now they’re getting away.”
“Yeah, and you possibly almost ruined our only lead on stopping Infinite for good.” Rouge countered, “I get that your upset, Shadow. But this isn’t the solution. Not when we have a chance of truly turning the tables.”
“And imagine what would happen if Sonic found out you ended Eggman’s life. I heard you two are prone to fighting, and I imagine that’s one more reason for Sonic to do so.” Twilight pointed out.
“...” Shadow paused, “...Fine. Next time we find the doctor, we’ll get answers out of him.”
Twilight looked around the harbor, “Should we explain to the commander what happened?”
“We should. At the very least the attack is over, so we should head back to HQ to figure out our next course of action.” Rouge suggested.