It was an unforgettable moment, to tell the truth. What began as a journey to restore magic between an earth pony, a unicorn, and a blue hedgehog from another dimension, ended with 6 new friends fulfilling Argyle's mission: to revive the magic of friendship between earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi.
Suddenly, crystals from each pony race burst out of the rubble, and began to swirl around Sunny.
"What's up?" Sunny exclaimed. "What's going on? What's happening?"
The crystals lifted Sunny into the air, and she grew golden-colored wings and a horn, although they looked transparent. Also, a rainbow line was painted on her mane, which was kind of weird, but it was clear what happened: Sunny became an alicorn.
Her friends, and all the ponies watching, were amazed to see Sunny's new form. But the show did not end there: the 3 crystals came together on her, and let out a rainbow ring that lit up the night sky and filled it with colors.
They all closed their eyes for a moment, but when they opened them, Izzy squealed in excitement, because her horn lit up purple, indicating that she now had magic. But next were Zipp and Pipp, whose wings glowed, and when they started flapping, they lifted off the ground.
"We're actually flying!" Pipp exclaimed happily, as both she and Zipp flapped their wings and took to the sky, where they met up with Sunny.
"Whoa, Sunny!" Zipp exclaimed. "Check you out!"
"What?" Hitch exclaimed, too taken in by Sunny's new appearance.
"I can't believe it!" Sunny smiled.
"Now that's what I call a glow-up!" Izzy pointed.
"Ten out of ten with the new look, Sunny!" Sonic added.
"Hey look!" Pipp pointed up to the sky.
They all turned to see the rainbow ring traveling across the land.
In Bridlewood, the unicorns were still vey depressed, but as soon as their horns started to glow, they immediately became happy. The same unicorn colt that was there when the crystals didn't work the first time hopped off and ran to his dad. "Daddy! Daddy! The magic is real!" he exclaimed happily. Even the crystals scattered throughout Bridlewood glowed with the return of magic, as the unicorns were still becoming happy.
In Zephyr Heights, the pegasi were finally flying, and they looked quite happy, as if they didn't care about anything else, since they were having the time of their lives. They'd probably try to forget the whole thing about Haven and her daughters lying about being the only ones capable of flight, but only time will tell.
Back at Maretime Bay, Sunny watched happily as all the pony races helped clean up the place, and generally spoke naturally, as if they had never been apart in the first place.
However, seeing all the ponies become friends with each other, despite their differences, just as her father had always dreamed of, was her greatest reward, because it was thanks to her and her friends that it became possible.
Everywhere she looked, young foals from different pony tribes ran around, playing and laughing together. An earth pony foal was happily chasing after Cloudpuff.
"Aw, you made a new friend!" Haven cooed, cuddling her cheek against Cloudpuff, before he resumed playing with the foal.
"Hi there, buddy!" Alphabittle greeted a young colt, who stared in awe.
Meanwhile, Hitch and a few Earth ponies watched in fascination as Izzy and the other unicorns put the train track back in place, all thanks to their magic.
Sonic, on the other hand, was standing on a balcony, while he was looking at the sea and the colorful night sky with a smile. He closed his eyes and inhaled the fresh air that the wind blew, finally feeling that peace that he so longed for.
"Hey! Uh..." a voice asked, and Sonic turned around to find Sprout. "About the whole...trying to arrest Sunny and you thing... Can we... forgive and forget?"
"I think I can do that, yeah" Sonic said. "Just... I think you also should make up for your mistakes. How about do some community service?"
"I mean... sure, if that helps and can make everyone else forgive me, I don't see why not" Sprout said with a little smile.
"Very well, then. Hey Hitch!" Sonic called to the sheriff.
"Yes, sir?" Hitch asked.
"First of all, never call me sir again" Sonic said a little mad, but then cut the act. "Can you take an eye on this earth pony doing his community service? You know, make sure he actually does his jobs, don't let him lay down on the job, and all of that. Or else... well, you know" he winked.
"You got it!" Hitch said, returning the wink.
"Oh, and Sprout..." Sonic called the red stallion, "Sorry for what I said back in the lighthouse... I crossed the line by letting rage get over me..."
"I deserved it, so no hard feelings" Sprout assured.
"Well then, now go and do your community service!" Sonic yelled jokingly.
"Well, you heard the hedgehog!" Hitch said, talking seriously. "Pick up those litters! That's an order!"
"Yes sir!" Sprout whimpered as he immediately went to work. "Sheesh. From and Emperor to community service... My life has taken a weird twist..."
"Sonic?" Sunny called, walking up to him and Hitch with the others. "Shouldn't you go home? Now that we have magic, maybe we can help you."
"Honestly, I think that can wait" Sonic said with his eyes closed, then opened them to find his friends surprised by what he said. "The only way I know of to get back is probably not here in Equestria. And even if it was, all of its power was drained, so I still don't have a way to get back. But that's not a bad thing at all, it means I'll be here with you guys for a while."
"So you're not leaving?!" Pipp asked, almost jumping for joy.
"I'd have to be crazy to leave when you guys are at your best!" Sonic answered with a big smile.
"Well, you did it Sunny" Hitch congratulated.
"No! We did it! Together!" she said while bumped Hitch on the shoulder.
"Now we never have to be apart!" Izzy exclaimed happily while bouncing.
They put their hooves/hand together and yelled "Hooves to Hearts!" in unison.
But then Sonic noticed someone coming to them. "Uh... What's with that guy and the balloons?" he asked while pointing at something.
Suddenly, at that exact moment, an earth pony dropped down, after his long balloon trip around the world.
"Whew! Hey, guys. What did I miss?" he asked the ponies and the hedgehog.
After helping his friends to clean up Maretime Bay, Sonic was walking through a field, whistling the melody of the song that Pipp didn't finish singing, but it was quite sticky to him. Suddenly, he noticed a trio of foals walking pass him.
"Glowing up!" a unicorn foal sang.
"Kind of love!" an earth pony followed.
"We say high! You say what?" the pegasus sang, with their friend saying the last part together with a laugh. "Race you the bridge!"
"Oh it's on!" the unicorn raced.
"No using your magic this time!" the earth pony foal shouted, chasing after her friends.
"Last on there is a rotten sardine!"
"I'm gonna win this time!"
Sonic couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head in delight at the little foals, happy to see that the Equestria Sunny always dreamed about was now a reality.
"If those legends her father told her are true, then those 6 mares did exist a long time ago, huh?" Sonic said. "All this power of friendship stuff is something I'm not used to, although I have used sometimes. I just hope that, whatever the future holds for me in this land, must be something amazing". He then looked up at the sky, still shining with colors. "And Tails, don't worry about me. I'm okay, and I promised I will go back. But until then, I'm gonna have some fun with my new friends here in Equestria."
Sonic turned around, but then look back at the sky, "Oh, and Knuckles, please take care of him. I know he can stand for himself, but it would be good if someone worried about him" he said with a little smile. And with that, he turned his sight to look at Maretime Bay, and ran at top speed to the town, ready to see what new adventures he could have with these ponies.
"123 days" Eggman growled. "123 days since that blue plague disappeared into another dimension and his friends confined me to this stupid dungeon in Station Square!"
As Eggman himself said, he was locked in a cell, very deep and hidden in the city of Station Square, in order to prevent his machines from locating and rescuing him. He had been trapped there for 4 months now, the same time that Sonic had been out in another dimension, and with each passing day he became more and more frustrated that his plans had gone to hell because of Knuckles, who knocked him out before he could even escape.
He tried every possible way to get out of his confinement for 2 months straight, but eventually he gave up and accepted that he had no way out. VERY once in a while, Shadow or Rouge would come by to deliver him some food, but they just did that, they left immediately and left him alone. If it were up to them, they would leave him there for him to die once and for all, but Tails insisted on letting him live, although he did allow them to only feed him twice a week.
"I don't understand how it all went so wrong... it was a fail-safe plan!" Eggman yelled in frustration. "I just had to knock out his friends and lure him out, then piss him off so he'd use the Emeralds, then activate the machine and get rid of him, that was perfect! But NOOOOOO! His stupid friends had to come and knock me out to send everything to hell!"
I've spent my whole life chasing a fat, broke man with delusions of grandeur who has all the potential to do incredible things, and wastes it on ridiculous and dangerous schemes that do more damage than they repair. And yet you have the nerve to say that you plan to bring that misery to others on worlds that don't know you exist and can't defend themselves from the human scavenger you're made of, Robotnik!
Those words echoed again in Eggman's mind. Every time he felt defeated and frustrated at being locked up, all Sonic told him when he fell right into the trap. They hurt at the time, and they did now, but having plenty of time to reflect, he always came to the conclusion that Sonic was destined to kick his ass until the doctor gave up. Before, the idea of giving up would never have crossed his mind, but given his current state, since he was more and more convinced that everything Sonic told him was true, that idea haunted his mind, and he was starting to lean towards said idea.
"Never in my entire life have I ever sat down to consider giving up..." Eggman said to himself, "But unfortunately I have no other options. Besides, what's the point of continuing to fight if no one is going to listen to me even if I win fair and square? They will always rise up against me..."
"So, after so many years of defeat and humiliation by a blue hedgehog in slippers, it's only now that you're considering giving up, doctor?" a female voice suddenly asked.
Eggman was startled to hear someone else. He got up, since he was lying on the ground, and began to inspect all around him. But beyond the toilet, bed, and sink inside his cell, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Who's there?!" Eggman demanded for an answer. "Show yourself if you think you're so brave by speaking to me from the dark!"
"It is not necessary to be so abrupt, doctor" the voice spoke again.
Suddenly, a purple glow appeared in the room, releasing some smoke that clouded Eggman's vision and made him cough a little. When the smoke dissipated, what he saw in front of him confused him too much: he found an alicorn with purple fur, sky blue mane, her horn was curved and mixed sky blue and purple colors, her eyes were light blue and her purple wings. The alicorn approached little by little until she was face to face with the doctor.
"I'm glad to meet you, doctor Eggman" said the alicorn.
Eggman blinked a couple of times, and seeing that the strange equine was still there, he laughed lightly, until that laugh turned into a laugh, while he rubbed his head in some desperation.
"I finally freaked out..." Eggman said, still laughing a little. "4 months trapped in this cell have finally made me go completely crazy... I'm listening to a horse with wings and a horn speak..."
But his laughter stopped as he felt his entire body being struck by lightning that came from the alicorn's horn. The doctor got up from the ground in pain, and now he saw the horse terrified.
"Do you think that was just your imagination?" asked the alicorn
"W-Who are you? The messenger of death? Have you come to kill me?!" asked the doctor, trying to sound threatening, without success.
"Kill you?" asked the equine in disbelief. "No, no, doctor. I'm here to rescue you from this pigsty."
"What for? To use me and then throw me away when I'm no longer useful to you?" asked the doctor, now annoyed. "Because if that's the case, thanks for the offer, but I'd rather stay in the pigsty and rot here."
Eggman turned around, turning his back on her alicorn, and crossing his arms, waiting for her to get away from her and leave him alone. But since nothing goes right for him, that obviously didn't happen.
"Oh, doctor, doctor, doctor... I'm not some incompetent looking to take advantage of you. I just came because I thought you'd like to feel free and powerful again to put an end to that... what did you call it?" Blue plague" said the alicorn.
"Well, find out, doll, Sonic went to another dimension, but it's a matter of time before he comes back here... luckily for him, I won't be in his way anymore because I'm here, rotting in a cell" Eggman snapped with annoyance.
Suddenly, the doctor felt like he was running out of air. Turning around, he saw the equine's horn lit up again, and then half-noticed his neck wrapped in the same color.
"Never call me a doll again" warned the alicorn, and then released the doctor, who breathed quickly with fear. "And I know Sonic isn't in this pathetic world of weirdos. He's hanging around with new friends in my dimension."
Now the horse finally caught the doctor's attention.
"Your dimension?" Eggman asked, genuinely intrigued. "Elaborate."
"You see, doctor. I come from a world where there is magic everywhere. Unfortunately it only works when there is peace, and love, and all those sweet things. But, in the right hands, it can be a source of wealth, prestige and... She leaned close to the doctor's ear and whispered, "Power."
Eggman felt her 'evil genius' spark ignite within her, and then he looked at the alicorn with a sinister smile.
"Excuse me, madam. I think I was too rough with you. Shall we introduce ourselves properly this time?" the doctor asked the alicorn, who returned another sinister smile. "I'm Doctor Ivo Robotnik, but everyone around here calls me 'Eggman'. Don't worry, after a while, I don't find it offensive anymore, if it even has a certain charm."
"Well, delighted, Doctor Robotnik" said the alicorn, making a small bow. My name is Opaline, and I would like to take you with me to a magical land called... Equestria."
"Please, Opaline, continue" asked the doctor, still with that smile.
"First things first, doctor. I have to get him out of here. Oh, and I'll also need his help to investigate this Sonic guy. He moves too fast for me, and I can't detect any weak spots in him" Opaline requested.
"I'll be happy to help you, Opaline" Eggman assured. "Just get me out of here, let's make a quick stop at my lab, and then go harass Sonic and his new little friends."
The alicorn lit his horn, and in no time, they appeared in the middle of one of the doctor's laboratories.
"I won't question how you do all those things because I don't understand anything about magic" said the doctor in a sarcastic tone.
The first thing he did was take off the prisoner clothes he was wearing, and put on his usual clothes, which he is seen in all the time.
"That's how I like it!" exclaimed the doctor, feeling like the king of the world again. "The egg has been reborn!"
"You have a very... particular style, doctor" said the alicorn, looking at all the technology that Eggman had. "In a good way, of course."
"Now that I have my style back, let's put a few beauties to work," Eggman said, rubbing his hands together as he put a few machines to work. "By the way, if you don't mind my asking, how did you get from your world of talking ponies to here?"
"Oh, don't worry. I think you'll be interested to know" she stated.
She made her horn glow, and levitated two yellow and silver colored gems respectively. Eggman was speechless when he saw those stones, because the last time he saw them, he had extracted the power from him with his machine, and then they were lost in a portal with 5 other stones and with Sonic.
"C-Chaos Emeralds?! But how?? They got lost with Sonic months ago...!" he exclaimed.
"Oh, Ivo, it's simple. The Emeralds also ended up on my land, although I only found 2. I was walking quietly through my castle, when I heard a crash. I went to investigate, and found large pieces of metal and a strange machine in my garden. Inside, there were these 2 beauties you see here. If I'm not mistaken, there are 7 Emeralds, isn't there?" she asked. "I also found 7 spots on that weird machine of yours."
"Yes, and with all 7 together, its wearer can use chaos for good or ill. I guess you've learned about Chaos Control, there's no other way you'd end up here..." Eggman theorized.
"You are correct, doctor. And thanks to these Emeralds, not only will I be able to take you with me to Equestria…"
"We can also have some fun with Sonic and company, right? I love how you think, Opaline" Eggman said with a smile. "And with just these 2, I'll be able to locate the whereabouts of the other 5, if Sonic still hasn't found any, of course..."
"I can assure you that the hedgehog has no idea that his return ticket is in the same world as him. At least, he doesn't know yet" assured Opaline.
"Opaline, you and I are going to be very good friends!" Eggman assured now.
"Oh, I think so!" Opal exclaimed.
They both laughed maniacally for a while, until Eggman decided to re-prepare some of his machines to travel to Opaline's home. Having fully set them up, he helped the alicorn open a portal to Equestria. First came the doctor's machines, which appeared in a dark and gloomy castle in some unknown part of Equestria.
"After you, ma'am" Eggman said to Opaline, bowing and pointing with one hand to the portal opened by the Chaos Control of the Emeralds.
"Oh, what a gentleman!" the alicorn said, crossing the portal.
So you're still alive, you bastard Eggman thought, Well, not for long, Sonic. If you thought you had gotten rid of me, you better get ready, because now it will be 2 dimensions that fall under the clutches of my Empire! Oh, and under the hooves of this mare, of course.
And with that last thought, Dr. Eggman stepped through the portal to Equestria.
In the secret cells, under Station Square, there were only 2 inmates: Eggman and Zero - Infinite but without powers since the Phantom Ruby no longer exists. The latter was found shortly after half-dead in the middle of nowhere, but was cured and imprisoned after having contributed to world domination. And when Shadow found out that the same guy he tore apart outside Casino Forest was Infinite, he didn't stop taunting the jackal for at least 3 weeks.
Right now, Shadow himself was walking around that prison, carrying a cardboard bag with the first food he found in his fridge to throw into Eggman's cell and then out of there. If it was up to him, he would let him die in that place, but Tails insisted so much on feeding him that he had to give in in the end.
This is pathetic, Shadow thought. What's the point of letting him live? Not just him, but Zero's weakling too. They should both be dead, buried meters underground, and forgotten there. It's what they deserve.
Coincidentally, he was passing right by Zero's cell, and Shadow smirked.
I think I'll have some fun before I deliver the stupid lunch to the fat man, he thought.
Shadow touched one of the bars in Zero's cell as if it were a door, which caused the jackal to wake up, since he was sleeping soundly. Seeing who had teased him, to Shadow's surprise, he smirked.
"Boy, look what they brought me to my cell. A dirty, pathetic, broken cloned hedgehog" Zero scoffed.
"You should be thankful that these bars are between us, otherwise I would have already knocked your teeth out" said Shadow with a threatening tone.
"Oh, how scary!" Zero said sarcastically, "Your threats are worthless here, Shadow. So suck up to your bullshit and get lost, you and I have nothing left to do."
Zero turned around, and was about to lie down again, but...
"Oh I know. I just wanted to see my favorite weakling" Shadow blurted out with a smirk.
The jackal slammed to a stop, and he felt his blood boil at the word 'weakling'. He clenched his fists in anger, which Shadow saw, and smirked at this, but Zero let go of his anger by taking a deep breath and letting go of his fists, which wiped Shadow's smile away.
"I tell you something?" Zero asked, not seeing Shadow. "So much time in this cell has made me reflect. I still hate being called weak, I admit it, but I have learned to live with it. I no longer explode in anger or make rash decisions like giving up my freedom in order to be all-powerful and serve to a fat man's empire."
"...You would say that...you have matured, right?" Shadow asked.
"Yeah, something like that" Zero answered, finally turning to look at the hedgehog. "What I don't understand is why they saved me, after what I did..."
"Thank Sonic and his stupid kindness for that Zero" Shadow said annoyed. "Because if it were up to the rest of us, you'd be dead, and your corpse would be floating in a river or Lava Rift."
"Ah, yes. Sonic. Everyone's favorite hero who always gave everything for the good of others…" Zero said. "Still no news on him?"
"That's none of your business" Shadow said, crossing his arms and turning his back on her.
"I was just curious" said the jackal with obviously feigned innocence.
But even though Shadow knew it was just a trick to get him to talk, he decided to give in and tell her anyway. "We don't know anything yet. He's still trapped in another dimension we don't know anything about. Are you happy?"
"A little" Zero said, leaning back. "Oh, by the way, the doctor has been very quiet. I guess he's already dead, or just asleep. I don't know and I don't care"
Shadow just rolled his eyes and walked away from Zero's cell without saying goodbye. He approached the door that led to the doctor's cell, and realized that he was indeed very quiet inside. He opened the grill where he and Rouge usually pass their food, and slid the bag in before closing the grill tightly. But not hearing a sarcastic reply or comment from Eggman, like he used to do when he was given food, Shadow began to fear the worst. He opened the grille that allowed him to see inside, and immediately swore loudly, as he pulled his communicator and dialed Rouge.
"Rouge! If you can hear me, put all G.U.N. units in search and capture mode everywhere!" ordered the hedgehog over the comm. "This is a huge code red! This is not a drill or a joke! I repeat: This is NOT a drill or a joke!"
"Now what's wrong that you won't let me sleep?" Zero groaned from his cell, getting up and meeting Shadow's terrified gaze. In other times, that would have amused him, but now he too was a little afraid.
Shadow looked at Zero and frowned.
"Dr. Eggman has escaped!" was what he shouted.
To be continued...