Both groups arrived back at the Canterlot castle at about the same time. Both team waved towards each other, except for Sonic and Knuckles, who locked eyes immediately.
"Well look who finally shook off the brainwashing," Sonic smirked. "How many blows to the head did it take this time?"
"Oh great, first minute back and this is what I'm greeted with," Knuckles sighed. "Maybe I should have stayed under Sombra's control until I was allowed to pummel you. No one would hold it against me."
Sonic and Knuckles walked up to each other and stared at the other for a moment, before they both smiled and shook hands. "Glad to have you back, Knuckles. Things just haven't been as fun without you."
"Of course they haven't been. You're always running by too fast, missing all the cool things," Knuckles replied. "You need to stop and enjoy a fight every now and then."
"Judging from your face, seems like you've recently enjoyed a fight yourself," Sonic pointed out. "What happen? Bunnie break your face?"
"Nope. Applejack did. Most fun I've had in a while."
"While I'm always glad to see friends reunite, how did the mission go?" Twilight asked the other team. "We recovered my Element and managed to...let's just say drive off Eggman for the time being."
"Drive off?" Bunnie asked.
"It was amazing. Fluttershy used her Element, which is kindness, to make Eggman feel kindness for the first time in his life. Which means he felt guilty about everything he ever did. You should have seen it, the breakdown was amazing," Sonic said.
"Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," Tails chuckled.
"We secured our emerald," Rainbow said, holding up the gem. "And we managed to free Knuckles. And beat Tirek into the dirt, but that's every other day for us."
"I'm glad we've saved so many of our friends," Twilight stated. Before anypony could ask, Twilight's horn flashed and she summoned those that they had rescued. Shadow, Blaze, Cadence and Spike all appeared floating behind her, all of them out cold. "Fluttershy's Element managed to free them from Sombra's control and it might have freed them from Eggman, but until we know more I'm keeping them...asleep for now."
"So ah was right. Our Elements can undo the effects of the brainwashing. Sombra's power at least," Applejack said. "That's how ah managed to finally free Knuckles."
"I thought it was the missile dropkick to my head that did that?" Knuckles asked.
"Bit of both."
"So we have four Elements and five emeralds. Two more of each," Antoine pointed out. "Which means zat Sombra and Eggman will be stepping up their game to try and stop us. We will have to be ready."
"I'm not so sure about that," Tails said. Everyone turned to look at him. "Sombra and Eggman's forces beat us to the emerald. They could have taken it at any time, but they didn't. They waited for us to get there."
"That's not right," Sonic muttered.
"I thought so too. Applejack suggested that the emerald was bait to draw us in and then kill us, but the longer I've had to think about it, the less I think that's true. Eggman isn't going for the emeralds. At least, they're not his endgame."
"Well we know that Sombra is going after the Elements. He hunted down Rarity to try to take hers," Bunnie pointed out.
"Oui, that was when we first met both her and him. The Element was his concern," Antoine concurred.
"That doesn't add up," Twilight said. "Eggman and Sombra have been practically of one mind this entire time. No backstabbing, no underhanded moves...so why would they differ on this? Why would one of them go for our best weapons and not the other? Eggman is, loathed as I am to admit it, brilliant and he would never pass up a chance to deny us of something that could aid us. So what is his game?"
"We don't know. Eggman is a mad genius. Mad being the keyword," Sonic added. "His mind doesn't work the same way mine or yours does. I wouldn't be surprised if even Sombra doesn't know how Eggman's mind operates."
"I don't see why this is a problem. If Eggman doesn't want the emeralds, that makes it easier for us to get them," Knuckles simply stated.
"Both Knuckles and Sonic are right. We'll keep that information in our back pocket for now about Eggman, but getting the emeralds, as well as the Elements, are still our key concern," Twilight said. She then looked to Knuckles. "Knuckles, was it? I know that you were just freed, but are you ready to get back into the fight? We need all the help we can get."
"I'm always up for a fight. Just point me at who I need to hit," Knuckles said with a smile. Then a thought crossed his mind and he smiled sheepishly. "Um, actually, I do need to check up on Angel Island first. I'm supposed to be it's guardian and considering it's fallen out of the sky..."
"We can take you whenever you want." Celestia and Luna entered the room, waving to everyone there. "Hello, Celestia and Luna here, former rulers of the land and now your taxi service. Just let us know whenever you want to go."
"Thanks!"
"I will take your friends to the medical wing," Celestia said. She took the friends from Twilight and teleported out a moment later.
"Where's Rotor?" Knuckles asked. "I owe him lunch."
"He's working with Rarity, one of the ponies, on a secret project."
"Okay. And Sally?"
"Off with Pinkie. They're looking into getting Nicole back. Eggman has her."
"Oh, that's not good. What about the Chaotix? Rouge? How many more?"
"Haven't heard from any of them. Silver is working with Amy and two more ponies to try to find Eggman and Sombra's base," Tails said. "You know what Knuckles, why don't I come with you and Luna to Angel Island? I can explain things while we're there."
"Please and thank you."
"That's my cue," Luna said. He horn flashed and the three vanished.
"I need to check up on Discord. I'm still worried about him," Fluttershy said. She waved to her friends before flying out of the room.
"I'm going to join Celestia in the medical wing. See if I can help her in freeing our friends," Twilight said.
"I'll come with. Shadow's cranky on his best day, so even freed he might try to start a fight. I'd better be there to be safe," Sonic added. Twilight nodded and teleported both out of the room, just leaving Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Antoine and Bunnie alone in the room.
"Well, now that we are alone," Antoine said before kissing his wife on the cheek. "I am glad to see zat you are unharmed, mi amore."
"Aw sug, ya should know that it would take more than a robotic, giant death centaur who can destroy worlds to stop me," Bunnie giggled.
"Oui, you are right. No force is a match for you," Antoine agreed. "So Applejack, how was fighting ze Knuckles?"
"Ah think ah found mah new sparring partner," Applejack chuckled. "Haven't had a good fight like that in a long time."
"So what's next?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Everypony's off doing their own thing. Anypony here need to check up on family or anything?"
"Mah family's all here in the castle. Figured it was safest," Applejack said.
"Mah family...is long gone," Bunnie said.
"Same. Zey have passed."
"Oh wow, sorry."
"Non, you did not know. Zat is the cost of fighting Eggman sometimes," Antoine bitterly smiled. "So zat is why I hold onto those I love while zey are still here and enjoy every second with them. Ah, how about we go check out zat flying city Rainbow Dash was taking about?"
"Actually, I was just hoping that we could just...take a break...enjoy some time with each other," Rainbow Dash asked. "Like Knuckles said...take it slow."
"That sounds good, actually. Ah could use a break. Especially after that fight," Applejack agreed. "How about we go out to the garden and watch the stars? With our realities merged, even the stars are different now. It's honestly very pretty."
"That...sounds like a swell time," Bunnie agreed. She wrapped her fingers around Antoine's and headed out towards the garden, with Applejack and Rainbow Dash following after them.
"Ya wanting to go slow? Who are ya and what happened to mah Rainbow Dash?" AJ teased.
"Well, it's like Antoine said. About enjoying every second you can with those you...care about. Nothing wrong with that, right?" Rainbow gently placed her wing around Applejack as she said this and pulled her closer, getting the orange mare to smile.
"Yer right, Rainbow. Nothing wrong with that at all."
||==O O==||
"Mental note. Beware of Fluttershy," Sombra muttered.
Robotnik was curled up on a couch, covered in blankets and had a hot water bottle on his head. Metal had dumped him there, while Nicole had ordered his minions to actually help the doctor. Sombra had walked in to find him like this and had only managed to worm the truth out of him after an hour of trying.
"It was the worst moment of my entire life. To feel bad for any of them would be agony enough, but to feel compassion for HIM...I will unleash everything I can upon that bleeding heart mare and make sure she suffers a slow, painful death," Robotnik snarled.
"Well, it seems you're feeling better at least," Sombra said. "Half an hour ago you were upset that you were worrying Metal and that was just hard to listen to. Did you at least manage to scar Twilight for life using Spike like you had planned to?"
"No, that accursed Element threw my entire plan out of balance," Robotnik sighed. "I had them, though. I had them at my mercy. Twilight couldn't hurt me, Antoine was out, and Sonic, for once, was on the back foot. And then that stupid, cowardly...GRAH!"
"I didn't even know the Elements could do that, though," Sombra muttered. "To actually be able to force an emotional state upon another living being...that's something I would do."
"It's worse than that, it's basically free will erasure," Robotnik added. "Imagine getting hit with all six. I'd be puking up lessons about friendship in no time."
"You joke, but that's what they've done to several of our foes," Sombra said. Robotnik motioned for him to continue. "Luna became evil once when she finally had enough of being in her sisters shadow. She was darker, eviler and way hotter than she is now. Celestia banished her to the moon until she figured out how to deal with her. And a thousand years later, she dealt with her by having Twilight and her pukes use the Elements on her."
"How did that go?"
"Turned her into the Luna she is now. Sweet, friendly and, once again, second to her sister," Sombra said with a shake of his head. "Still hot, though. But the worst part about it? None of that was by Luna's choice."
"What do you mean?"
"Luna chose to become Nightmare Moon. She chose to give into evil. When Twilight and her friends used the Elements on her to turn her back...it was forced. The Elements power forced her to become Luna once more by erasing her evil and changing her emotions, similar to what Fluttershy did to you. Luna did not choose to become good again. It was forced upon her. She was stripped of her evil emotions...and her choice."
"That is actually terrifying. I wonder how hard it would be to replicate?" Robotnik muttered, before narrowing his eyes. "But this sounds like the actions of villains, not heroes."
"Harmony is all about balance. Harmony does not care about the individual," Sombra said. "It is one of the most terrifying forces I have ever gone up against. Twilight and her friends say they wield it for good. Good is just a matter of perspective."
"Trying to say that you're the good guy now?"
"My hearts as black as the night and I would slaughter everypony in this nation without a second thought. But it's something I have thought about. By the way, I take it that we should consider Shadow, Blaze, Spike and Cadence lost to us?"
"Might as well. Whatever, they served their purposes," Robotnik said with a shrug. "Knuckles? Tirek? The six?"
"Knuckles is gone. Tirek is being repaired and I blasted the six into the dark world. They are completely useless."
"You're right. That was the best course of action," Robotnik said. "But isn't that the point of pieces on a board? To use and sacrifice them so that the person playing wins the game?"
"You are right. Who cares if we lose some pawns or even a few bigger pieces so long as we win the game? And we will win the game."
"Speaking of, how many pieces do we have left? Who are they?"
"Just villains, mostly. Tirek, Chrysalis, Ixis, Starlight...does she count? Eh. Nicole, I guess. Flurry Heart's around here somewhere. And then of course, our final surprise," Sombra said. He smiled as he said this and Robotnik chuckled in response.
"Of course. Our last surprise. I cannot wait to see how Sonic and his friends react to this," he chuckled. Then he looked down towards a door on the lowest level, one that was more heavily fortified than any other place in the entire base, even more than his or Sombra's room. So reinforced that nothing could get in or out until the time was right. But despite all that, Robotnik was certain that he could hear screaming coming from down there.
And it made him smile wider.