//------------------------------// // 6. Skirmish in the Sky // Story: Sonic The Hedgehog x My Little Pony: Make Your Mark - Season 4 // by BronySonicFan //------------------------------// Universe 060403 Ever heard about 'worlds colliding'? That's the best way to describe this universe's Sonic situation. You see, in this universe's Mobius, Sonic, Tails and Amy tried to rescue their friend Cream and her pet Chao from Eggman, who already retrieved the seven Chaos Emeralds. While attempting to destroy his base, one of Eggman's robots inadvertently shoot a machine containing the Emeralds, which activated the 'Chaos Control' technique. This teleported Sonic, Eggman (and his robots), Tails, Amy, Cream, and Cheese, as well as Knuckles, Rouge, Big, Froggy and the Chaotix to Earth, the parallel-universe version of their world with humans. Sonic was chased by the police until he landed in a mansion's swimming pool. There, he was rescued by a twelve-year-old boy named Christopher 'Chris' Thorndyke, who lives there with his movie-star mother Lindsey, corporate executive father Nelson, scientist grandfather Chuck, maid and chef Ella, and butler Mr. Tanaka. Chris tried to hide his new anthropomorphic friends from his family until Cream accidentally reveals them, but they all build up a good rapport with Chris' family and friends Danny, Frances, and Helen. Doctor Eggman, however, made himself known by bringing his robot Missile Wrist to attack the city of Station Square in his first stop in taking over Earth which led to his first fight with Sonic there. Sonic and his friends still want to return home, so they repeatedly scuffle for the Chaos Emeralds with Doctor Eggman, his robot assistants and his larger, armed robots. Now that you got the picture on this universe's situation, let's move on. In Chris' mansion, Sonic was resting peacefully over a couch, when Chris arrived with him, holding a cellphone. "Hey Sonic! I got you a cellphone!" Chris called out with a smile, as he extended it to Sonic. "This is gonna make things a lot easier!" "Oh, really?" Sonic asked sarcastically with a bored expression, as he grabbed the phone like if he was grabbing a towel or something. "Yeah, don't you see?" Chris asked him. "Now we'll be able to reach each other right away, even when you're out on a run! We can talk anywhere now! No sweat!" Sonic only replied with an annoyed growl. "Now make sure you leave it on!" Chris added with a wink. However, Sonic still felt annoyed at Chris' attitude and suggestion. Soon enough, Tails and Amy entered the mansion and approached Chris and Sonic. "Hey, Chris! It's time to get going!" Tails called out. "Huh?" Sonic said confused as he saw Amy and Tails approaching. "We've been waiting outside for you," Amy said with a frown and her arms crossed. "Oops! I forgot..." Chris confessed with a sheepish smile, as he scratched his neck ashamed. "Where are you guys going?" Sonic asked, since he wasn't informed about any plans today. That, or he didn't pay attention. "Now that we can go out in public, we're heading to Station Square to go shopping!" Amy declared with a smile. "We've spent weeks hunting down Chaos Emeralds, but now it's time to do some bargain hunting, so I'm gonna shop 'til I drop!" She stated confidently, before frowning at Sonic and crossing her arms again. "There's no point waiting for you to take me because I don't even know where you are most of the time." However, her eyes opened wide and she gasped when she saw that Sonic was holding a cellphone. "Oh!" Amy screamed excited, now zooming right in front of Sonic. "We can stay connected all the time!" The simple idea of being bothered by Amy as she constantly calls him made Sonic panic, so he launched the phone to her arms. "No thanks!" He declared in panic, before turning around and boost away. "Huh?" Amy said confused. "Wait, Sonic!" Chris called out confused as well. "What about your cellphone?" Sonic returned and smirked at him. "Leave a message for me!" He declared with a mocking tone, before boosting away once again. "I guess he wants to be left alone," Tails said with a sheepish smile as he also shrugged. "But why can't he be left alone with me?!" Amy cried out, both in sadness and anger. As Sonic boosted away, he suddenly stopped in front of a bunch of trees, so he sighed in relief. Is not that he hates Amy, but he doesn't likes her either. While he does considers her a friend and worries for her, he's overwhelmed on her amount of affection for him. If it was just a kiss or a hug every now and then, he wouldn't care at all since it's just a way to show her gratitude, but all the damn time?! "Man... Amy is a great girl and all, but I'm a free spirit!" Sonic pointed out to the air. "She cannot expect me to stand still and let her do whatever she wants with me!" He told to himself, before sighing again and lay over a tree. "Guess is the downside of being so incredibly attractive, but still... Sometimes I wished someone could understand me..." Boy, do I have news for you! Suddenly, the sky opened to show a portal with the shape of an X, and then, another Sonic fell straight from it. Sonic noticed the big X in the sky and felt alarmed, thinking it could be another trick from Eggman. However, he also noticed a very familiar figure... his figure. "What the heck?!" Sonic exclaimed. He followed up this new Sonic and saw him landing in the floor, while standing up and cleaning some dust from his body. He noticed that he looked exactly like himself, with the only difference being that he had fingerless white gloves and Soap Shoes too, as well as some strange discs over his clothes. This new Sonic looked around and made an annoyed expression. "Really? Another forest? I cannot escape these places, can I?" He said annoyed, before looking at himself and gasp in shock. "And now I'm an anime, too?!" Sonic frowned after hearing this and stepped close to him. "Hey! What comes?!" The other Sonic cringed, and slowly turned around to literally face himself, with the only difference being the clothes, of course. "...This is gonna be one hell of an adventure, huh?" The other Sonic said with a sheepish and nervous smile. Sonic stared at what seemed to be his doppelgänger with both shock, fear and anger. Who is he? And why he looks exactly like him? "Man, if you wanna panic or try to attack me, just do it already," The other Sonic spoke with a bored expression. That seemed to be enough to help Sonic snap back to reality, as he growled in anger and closed his fist, leaning to strike a punch against his doppelgänger. However, the other Sonic dodged the punch like nothing, although he didn't tried to punch back. Sonic felt both surprised and confused, and while he tried to punch him again, he also started to panic a bit. "Who are you?! And why do you look exactly like me?!" He asked, while he still tried to attack his doppelgänger. "I'm you, just not you exactly," The other Sonic replied, still dodging Sonic's attacks easily. "Ever heard about the multiverse?" "The multiverse?!" Sonic asked, before snorting on disbelief. "Isn't that a nonsense theory of alternate universes where more versions of myself, my friends and enemies exist?" He asked, now trying to kick his doppelgänger. However, the other Sonic frowned after hearing that and grabbed Sonic's leg, before moving his body and smash it against a tree, which made Sonic groan in pain. "That 'nonsense theory' is very real, man," The other Sonic said, after Sonic fell to the floor on his knees. "Also, sorry for attacking you like that, but I need you to listen––" He tried to add, but then, Sonic started to chuckle, as he slowly stood up in pain. "T-The multiverse doesn't exists..." Sonic said with a mocking smirk. "Y-You were created by Eggman, r-right? Y-You're just a cheap copy made to get rid of me..." "...You just described Metal Sonic, man," The other Sonic pointed out with a bored expression. "Also, don't you think if I was sent by Eggman, I would have been the first one to attack?" Sonic stopped chuckling, but he growled and launched to try and attack him again. The other Sonic rolled his eyes, grabbed his body, and then, he smashed him against the ground, with his back now lying on the floor as he growled in pain again. "Big shot of an advice, Sonic: do not fight back," The other Sonic warned. "Listen, if I can explain myself, you'll see that I'm no enemy here." "I have no prove that I should trust you!" Sonic pointed out, as he stood up and cracked his back, before standing to fight again. "Is that so?" The other Sonic said, now smirking and raising an eyebrow. "Then how about we settled this the only way a Sonic can?" Sonic felt intrigued after hearing that, and he let down his guard a bit. "What do you mean?" "I mean, that is time to race!" The other Sonic declared. Now, Sonic smirked back and crossed his arms confidently. "Oh! I see where are you going with this! So, what's the price?" "If I win, you'll stop being such an idiot and will listen to what I have to say," The other Sonic declared. "If you win, I'll leave you alone and we'll act like if this encounter never happened." "Sounds good to me!" Sonic declared with a smile, also cracking his knuckles. "How about we race from here to Station Square?" "Sounds good to me," The other Sonic replied, still smirking. "Where is it, though? I mean, I literally just arrived here. Can't expect me to know where it's located." Sonic rolled his eyes annoyed after hearing this. "We go south. Straight line." "Yeah, that'll work!" The other Sonic stated, cracking his fists with a confident smirk. "On your marks..." Sonic said. "Get set..." The other Sonic continued. "GO!" Both Sonics shouted, before boosting away and towards Station Square. At Eggman's destroyed lab, some government workers where clearing up the place. As they were doing the job, the main chief, to call him in some fancy way, was checking over the blueprints of what used to be his laboratory. "The power room was there," The chief instructed to one of the workers, as he nodded and left to a certain direction. However, as the chief looked on, he noticed something off: Some kind of closed platform among the debris of Eggman's lab. "That doesn't appear on the plans..." The chief pointed out confused. He and other worker approached to said area and inspected it, but found absolutely nothing wrong... at least not until the ground started to rumble violently. After that, the ground cracked and opened on a massive hole, while the lab started to fall from said work as the workers ran away and screamed in fear. Then, a gigantic purple ship with a yellow driller came out of the remains of Eggman's laboratory. "T-That thing... Is huge!" The chief said in fear, while everyone else around him felt all afraid of this ship. Soon enough, the wings of the ship extended and prepared to head off. "When will you half-wits realize that it's useless to try and trip me up because I'm always 10 steps ahed of you?!" Eggman declared with a huge grin inside the ship. "I was expecting your president to order an attack, and so I build this flying fortress! Now I can escape any further attacks, and then make a counterattack anytime and anywhere!" "Dr. Eggman certainly is a strategic genius," Decoe, one of Eggman's assistants, said to Bocoe, the other assistant. "I only wish that some of his strategies work occasionally," Bocoe confessed. "That's enough from you two!" Eggman declared with a frown. "Cut the chatter and get the ship ready! We've got work to do." "He certainly is skinned," Decoe said for some reason. "That is the only place where he is thin," Bocoe pointed out. "LET'S GET MOVING!" Eggman shouted in anger now. "Set the ship's course for Station Square!" And so, Decoe and Bocoe turned the ship on and boosted away towards Station Square, while the wind caused by the ship's engines cause the chief and his workers to cover themselves from all the dust. Once the ship and Eggman were gone, the chief looked on with a concerned expression. "He's more dangerous than ever now..." In Station Square, the mayor got a call that warned him about Eggman. "Are you sure? Headed in this direction?!" The mayor asked in panic, as he gulped and started to sweat nervously. "Well. can't you send the Air Force to intercept this?!" "Sir, look!" The mayor's assistant called out, while he looked outside the window in pure fear and panic. The mayor hang up his call and ran to look through the window as well, and gasped in panic when he saw Eggman's ship approaching at top speed. Sonic and his doppelgänger where racing around a field and towards Station Square. There was some kind of silent agreement between them of keep the race be fair and square, with their super speed being the only thing that they could increase or decrease at will. Sonic had to admit it: He was impressed that this doppelgänger of his was as fast as him, and he actually started to doubt that Eggman created him. "You truly are a box full of surprises!" Sonic confessed with a smirk. "What kind of rockets did Eggman gave you that you are as fast as I am, huh?" "Cut the act with the Eggman nonsense, other me," the other Sonic replied with the same mocking smirk and tone. "If I was created by him, I would have wiped the floor with you already, don't you think? Why else would he create a copy of yourself?" Sonic actually felt surprised when he heard that, and suddenly stopped running. The other Sonic noticed as well, and he also stopped. "Okay: Let's suppose you're not crated by Eggman and that you really are from 'another universe'..." Sonic called out. "If you really are from another world, what is my favorite food?" "Chilidogs, specially if they have extra chili," The other Sonic replied. "What's my favorite activity?" Sonic asked now. "Running around to be as free as the wind, with kicking Eggman's butt and save the day for everyone being a close second one," The other Sonic answered with a smile, crossing his arms. Sonic's eyes widened after hearing that, but he wasn't done with his questions yet. "And what is your philosophy?" "I do whatever I want as long as it's the right thing for me. Run around and let the wind guide me to the next adventure, help folks around and enjoy life to the max! At the end of the day, spending time with my friends and ruin Eggman's plans to take over the world is what fills me with joy," The other Sonic replied with a huge grin. Now Sonic was speechless: His doppelgänger was definitely another Sonic from a different universe. Sure, he wore different clothes, but was that really something suspicious at all? If anything, it's pretty normal. "Man... I feel... so stupid for not believing you before..." Sonic said with a sheepish smile, also scratching his head ashamed. "I'm sorry, other me... You really are me from a different universe, aren't you?" "Eh, it's fine. Previous Sonics doubted it too, and honestly? I probably would doubt it too if I were on your place," The other Sonic confessed with a smile. "I do still wonder why you're here, though..." Sonic pointed out. "And how should I call you, by the way? Is not like I'm calling you Sonic and leave everyone confused... myself included." "You can call me 'Modern Sonic'. Previous Sonics called me like that, anyways," Modern Sonic replied with a smile. "As for why I'm here... I just ended up here by mistake, to tell the truth..." He confessed with a sheepish smile. "You see, I'm trying to go home before the Eggman of my world tries to conquer the multiverse with a powerful artifact that could allow him to travel to any universe he wants. I must stop him before that happens, but as you can see, I'm still trying to get a hand on this thing about traveling across the multiverse..." "So, Eggman's the reason you ended up traveling through different universes, huh?" Sonic asked with a smirk. "Classic ol' Egghead!" Both Sonics said with smirks, before looking at each other, smirking more. "Hah! Jinx!" They said again at the same time, before bursting out laughing and fist bump each other. "I judged you really, really bad!" Sonic said. "Is nice to have someone around that understands me entirely!" "Yeah, is good to not be the only one that does what he wants with no one else saying if it's wrong or good," Modern Sonic replied with a smirk. However, they both heard screams and explosions out of nowhere, and they turned to see Station Square... being attacked by robots coming out of a giant purple ship that sent them towards the city. "What the hell?!" Sonic exclaimed. "Seems like your Eggman is having some fun..." Modern Sonic pointed out with a frown. "Oh no!" Sonic exclaimed suddenly. "My friends went there to shop! I gotta help them out!" He declared, before boosting away towards Station Square. However, Modern Sonic joined him soon enough. "Hey, what are you doing here?!" "This might not be my universe, but helping is what I do, no matter what!" Modern Sonic replied. "If you're gonna save the city and those people from Eggman, then you won't do it alone!" He declared, raising his thumbs up. Sonic smirked back and raised his thumbs up as well, before both Sonics boosted at top speed towards Station Square. Amy, Chris, Cream, Cheese, Tails and Ella where on some kind of hotel room. They're shopping was terrible, because people couldn't leave them alone because of how 'adorable' they were. They didn't even let them eat in peace, and so, they head to this place so they could have at least one moment of relaxation. "What a waste!" Amy complained. "Our shopping spree was a flop..." "I'm sure things'll get a lot easier once people get used to seeing you around," Chris tried to assure with a positive smile, but then he saw through the window of the room and felt startled. "What's wrong, Chris?" Tails asked, a bit confused. Chris stood up and pointed outside the window. "Look!" He said, while everyone else looked outside as well. They all saw Eggman's purple ship arriving and covering the city, while people around Station Square panicked in fear at the sudden arrival of the ship. "It's Eggman, isn't it?" Chris asked with concern. "That's him," Tails replied with a frown. Eggman, on the other hand, started to laugh maniacally. "You losers are about to learn that you can never defeat me! I'm like a rubber ball: Every time you try to slap me down, I just keep bouncing back!" Inside the ship, Eggman was grinning hugely while Decoe clapped his hands cheerfully and Bocoe threw confetti in the air, happy for his boss as well. "Since your government attacked me, and destroyed my base, I'm going to destroy your city. And rebuild my headquarters right here!" Eggman declared once again with a huge smile. Then, several purple robots with wrecking balls fell from the sky and landed in the middle of the city. People screamed in panic, as they started to run away from the robots that used the wrecking balls to destroy the streets, the roads and the buildings. Chris, Tails, Amy and Ella were running away as well, with Ella carrying Cheese and Cream. "There's nowhere to go!" Tails cried out with worry. "The whole city'll be wrecked if this demolition derby keeps up!" "I sure wished Sonic had kept that cellphone..." Chris said with concern as well However, Tails saw something and smiled. "Hey! Maybe we can get out of here!" He pointed out, as he pointed to a yellow vehicle where they could escape. Unfortunately, a wrecking ball destroyed the vehicle, making the whole group gasp, as they realized that them and other people were surrounded by those machines, approaching and getting ready to smash them. However, as one of the machines raised the wrecking ball, it was suddenly traversed by a blue blur, and it started to malfunction. "Let's move it! Hurry!" Tails declared with a determinate look, before he and the others, as well as the rest of people surrounded, began to run away. The traversed machine fell over one of the other ones, and then, the same blue blur started to destroy more of them. However, there was other blue blur destroying robots at the other side of the city, which caused Eggman to growl in anger. Once both blurs where done, they both ran over a yellow building with thousands of windows, and they both stopped on the top, now staring with smirks at Eggman's ship. People gasped in excitement and amazement when they saw not one, but two Sonics standing at the top of the building. Tails smiled once he saw Sonic, not noticing the other yet somehow. "See? Didn't I tell you he showed up just in time?" He told Chris with a smile, while Chris nodded, smiling as well. However, Amy noticed something off... and she gasped in shock when she saw Sonic's silhouette twice. "Um... guys? A-Am I seeing double, or there is another Sonic at the top of that roof?" Both Chris and Tails looked at the sky, and realized that Amy was right: There wasn't one, but two Sonics. "This is a nightmare!" Eggman exclaimed. "Now I have to deal not with one, but two Sonics?! WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL IS HAPPENING?!" "Seems like Eggman cannot handle the power of two blurs!" Modern Sonic said with a smirk. "Well, then let's give him a hell of a time!" Sonic declared confidently. Eggman suddenly smirked sinisterly after hearing the two Sonics. "Well, then... Let's play, Sonics! For keeps!" "Fine with us, Eggman!" Sonic stated with a confident smirk. "Come on! Give it your best shot!" Modern Sonic declared with the same smirk. And so, the two Sonics positioned ready to fight against Eggman. Universe 220822 Eggman was trying so hard to not explode in anger at Robotnik. Loosing the fragments of the Paradox Prism wasn't a problem at all. So far, Tails hasn't shown any signs of being able to control the fragments he and Shadow managed to take with them, so the chance of this universe's Sonic returning were not high at all... At least he hoped so. Now, not being able to capture Queen Haven to have a bait for her daughters and Sonic himself because of Ivo's universe's Sonic? That seemed to irritate Eggman a lot. Sage gave him some coffee to calm him down, and Eggman took the mug with coffee gladly. He usually preferred some tea over this, but it was calming him down before exploding over his allies. Not that he worried for them the same way he worried about Sage, but Opaline was a terrible ally specifically because he didn't seemed to trust her, so he couldn't make the same mistake two times, specially with two variants of himself. Once he calmed down, he turned his chair around and stood up, walking over while Ivo zipped some coffee as well, and Robotnik was trying so hard to calm himself down because he was beyond furious. Being defeated not only by Sonic on his own universe, but in this one too? This was starting to destroying his mind, if it wasn't already distorted already. "Are you done complaining over your defeat?" Eggman asked Robotnik. "No, I'm not. But I'm trying, at least," Robotnik replied, while his left eye twitched a lot. "I just don't understand how a mind the size of a grape can outsmart my genius... It simply has no sense!" "Oh great, there he goes again..." Ivo complained, grabbing a cookie with a plate that had some and chomping it. "Our minds are better! Our brains are bigger! Our intellect is beyond this planet, but we still. Keep. LOOSING! HOW?!" Robotnik shouted in pure rage, while some smoke came out of his ears. That seemed to be enough to make the other two Eggmans snap, as they both slapped Robotnik to calm him down. Robotnik himself stared both confused and shocked, as he rubbed his cheeks in pain and let out a low 'ow'. "It seems like you haven't learned anything yet, Robotnik," Eggman pointed out with a frown. "What doesn't kills me..." "...Makes me stronger!" Ivo finished. "That hedgehog defeated you. So what? Just because that stupid hedgehog woke up and decided to mess with your life doesn't mean you are inferior. People trembles when they hear your name, they ran away when they see your machines approaching down the street..." "They warn their kids about you before they go to sleep," Eggman kept going. "They shout your name when they see you approaching, they hide when your machines cause a rampage in the city. They recognize your greatness, but they're too scared to see the bigger picture behind your purpose. They know your name, they recognize you, and they fear you. They fear you so much that they need a tiny, little and stinky blue hedgehog to defeat you and feel safe from you." "Your name is bigger than you give yourself credit for, and here you are: Complaining because a blue rat kicked your butt!" Ivo said with anger. "You have two options, Robotnik: You either embrace your mistakes and see yourself as the biggest failure of your life; or you clean the dust and keep walking forward, hoping that you'll defeat that blue pest the next time, with more preparation, and a master plan!" "So, what would it be, Robotnik?" Eggman asked. "Are you going to embrace the Doctor Eggman deep inside you, or will you let that hedgehog get over your life and let him win over your greatness?" As both Eggmans stepped back, Robotnik's eyes widened as he started to calculate all his possibilities. His mind was working like one of the machines he loved so much, and it was analyzing all possible scenarios here. Giving up could mean never sleep again, with the eternal reminder of two different Sonics defeating him three times repeating on his mind for the rest of the eternity. Keep fighting could trap him on an eternal cycle where he always returned, and Sonic kept defeating him. This last option sounded terrible... but at least he would always be chasing Sonic, and maybe, just maybe, he would defeat him permanently one day and prove he's superior. Robotnik grinned after analyzing his options, and he looked back at his counterparts. "Gentleman..." Robotnik called out, as he stood up. "I think I have come to a term with myself: It is time that we show every universe who we are! If we keep loosing, well... We'll just rise again, stronger than ever! Because what doesn't kill us..." "Only makes us stronger!" The three Eggmans declared with the same sinister grin, before laughing maniacally aloud. Once the three Eggmans were done laughing, Sage arrived suddenly with them. "The two hedgehogs are with Team Sonic, Team Dark and the ponies on the Crystal Brighthouse in Maretime Bay. Omega has stated that you might not attack soon..." She explained, then smirked sinisterly, even for a kid. "I suggest that you prove him wrong." "Ooh! Sounds like a party in a new universe!" Ivo declared. "Should we bring over some... gifts for the special guests?" "Well, if we're gonna give them one hell of a party, we must be polite hosts!" Robotnik stated with a huge grin. "As much as I hate to be a killjoy... I thing you two already did enough for one day full of failures," Eggman said suddenly, while his counterparts looked at him in disbelief and were ready to protest. "Before you two start to complain: You already did something that isn't stay here and watch all the fun happening. I think it is time for me to... make a quick visit to our neighbors~" He added with a smirk, while he also rubbed his mustache. "...You know what? Fair enough," Ivo replied. "But you better get much farther than us and actually achieve something!" He warned with a frown, also pointing at him. "True. All this talkery better not be just that, mister," Robotnik warned as well. "Do not worry. It won't be just talkery. In fact..." Eggman said, as he turned and glared at a machine being prepared by Sage. "I think I might get a souvenir... or two!" He declared with a maniac laugh. In the Crystal Brighthouse, Tails and Zipp seemed to finally come to a conclusion about the new visitors in Equestria. They spent an hour or two, but they finally managed to place all the pieces together and come to a conclusion on how Boom Sonic and Young Sonic, as well as the Eggmans from their universes, arrived to Equestria, and how both this universe's Eggman and Sage are behind all of this. "Mmm-hmm..." Tails muttered as he read his notes one last time, before looking up at the Sonics with a smile. "Seems like we finally get how you two got dragged here." "About time!" Boom Sonic said dramatically. "I thought we already knew that: A portal appeared, dragged us in, and here we are now!" Young Sonic pointed out confused. "That's just how you two arrived, little guy," Zipp pointed out with a smile. "We're talking about how Eggman brought you here. And maybe also how our Sonic had something to do with it unconsciously." "Huh?" Young Sonic exclaimed, even more confused now. "The what now?" Boom Sonic said, now also confused. "You see: The Paradox Prism seems to work perfectly fine, even split in fragments," Tails started to explain. "Its power can create portals to access any universe its holder wants!" "Now: One fragment can grant access to just one universe; two fragments, like the ones we have..." Zipp continued, pointing at the blue and red fragments in the table. "...Can grant access to two different universes. The entire Prism, however, has enough power to tear apart all the walls that divide every universe from each other." "Okay, so these two things, if attached to the ones the Egg-trio has, are powerful enough two blow up the barrier that keeps every universe separated, got it," Boom Sonic said with a bored expression and a sarcastic tone. "That still doesn't explains how we got here, though." "Well, Sunny found an ancient note that mentions a special machine that can support the power of the Prism, no matter if it's just a fragment or the entire Paradox Prism," Tails explained. "Our guess is that Eggman and his daughter, Sage, managed to recreate the machine too and used their fragments of the Prism to access to your universes and bring your Eggmans here to Equestria." "So this universe's Egghead brought my Egghead and his to this universe thanks to his fragments of the Paradox Prism..." Young Sonic summarized, also pointing at him and Boom Sonic at the first few words he said. "It has a lot of sense considering the walking pain in the ass Eggman is..." He added, crossing his arms with a bored expression. "But how did we got here? And how did the Sonic of this universe affected in that?" "I'm sorry, did you just said that Eggman has a daughter?" Boom Sonic asked with an anxious look. "She's half ghost, half AI and half girl. Don't think too much about it," Zipp replied with a bored expression, while Boom Sonic raised a finger to say something and opened his mouth, but he regret it after Zipp told him to not think a lot on it. "As for how Sonic is the reason why you two are here: Sage launched him against the Prism, which caused it to split apart..." "Therefore, when Eggman used the Fragments, by default, they also ended up bringing up you two here," Tails explained. "There's a small chance that he probably affected your universes somehow once he was sent across the multiverse, but we cannot say for sure. I also think that the Prism itself has a conscience and, when it detected that there was a missing Sonic in the very same universe it currently is, it dragged you two in an attempt to fill that void... But again, is just a theory." "He never explained anything on his message except that some 'Rotor' guy gave him his key back here, so... maybe once he's back, we can explain the full and precise picture," Zipp pointed out, smiling a bit now. "So our current situation is?" Young Sonic asked. "You two are trapped here, and unless Sonic decides to get you back home himself, or if we manage to finally make our replica of the machine that can control the power of the Paradox Prism... I'm afraid you cannot leave just yet," Tails explained with a sheepish smile. Boom Sonic gulped nervously and felt completely terrified at the idea of having to bond with talking colorful ponies. Young Sonic, on the other hand, just shrugged and smiled innocently. "Oh well! I guess I shouldn't be complaining. Before getting dragged here, I was seeking some adventure, anyways!" Young Sonic said happily. "Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the fact that my universe's Eggman is still alive when I thought he died months ago, but I guess it doesn't matter! As long as I can have fun, I don't care!" He added, before boosting away towards the bedroom. "Well, at least someone will enjoy their stay here..." Boom Sonic muttered with concern. Later on, the new Sonics were trying to adapt to their new environment. Well, Young Sonic actually was blending in pretty well so far. He was someone that everyone around could hang out with in general. Heck, even Shadow liked him. Shadow liked him, and we all know he barely stands his universe's Sonic. Boom Sonic, on the other hand, was having a really hard time adapting to this world. He kind of admitted already that these ponies might not be what they seem to be, and yet, he couldn't simply understand how his multiversal variants could hang out so well around them. He could barely believe that Pipp was Sonic's girlfriend, and if he wasn't trying to be a polite guest, he would either poke right there or faint dramatically. No one seemed to notice that... no one, except for Team Sonic. Or what remained of it right now, at least, since this world's Sonic was currently absent. "It is clear that this guy is not very comfortable here..." Knuckles pointed out. "Well, what can we do? Is not like he would like company, anyways," Tails said with a concerned frown. "Still, he's not very happy. At least, not around the Mane 6 and Shadow," Amy pointed out. "Maybe we should try to cheer him up?" "We're not moving out the Mane 6 out of their own home, Amy," Knuckles said, crossing his arms and frowning. "Yeah, that sounds kind of rude, even if it could help Boom Sonic," Tails agreed. "Ugh... boys..." Amy said, rolling her eyes. "I'm not saying we should make them go! I suggest we bring Boom Sonic out, you idiots!" "Ooooooh!!" Both Tails and Knuckles exclaimed, before smiling and chuckle sheepishly after they realized they misunderstood Amy. Amy herself facepalmed, and then she walked over towards Boom Sonic with a smile, with Tails and Knuckles following her close behind. "Hey, Sonic!" Boom Sonic, who seemed a bit busy minding his own business and trapped on his own thoughts, felt a bit startled when Amy called him out, but then he sighed relaxed and smiled a bit at her. "Its just you, Amy... sorry. I was, uh... thinking in some stuff, I guess." "Uh-huh..." Amy said with a raised eyebrow. "Anyways. Tails, Knuckles and I are going to the top of the Brighthouse to get some fresh air!" "We were wondering if you wanted to tag alone so you can have a break of all the chattery down here!" Tails added, winking at him. It seemed like Boom Sonic understood the intention behind their action and smiled warmly at them. "Uh... yeah! That... Thats sounds like a good idea... Thanks..." Once at the top of the Brighthouse, Boom Sonic immediately approached to the balcony and inhaled the fresh air, glad that he could have some 'pony-free' time after what felt like an eternity. Just to be clear, it's been only 3 hours since he arrived to the Brighthouse, he's just exaggerating. "Man... I don't want to insinuate anything here, but... are you racist towards ponies or something?" Knuckles asked confused. "Do you have any idea what being racist is, Knucklehead?" Boom Sonic asked sarcastically with a chuckle. "Being mean to others because they're a different animal?" Knuckles replied with a bored expression. "Huh... so you do have braincells in this world..." Boom Sonic said, genuinely surprised. That made Knuckles react defensively, as he grabbed Boom Sonic's scarf and dragged him to the floor so he could stare daggers straight into his eyes. "What. Did you. JUST SAID?!" He asked in rage, as his eyes turned red and he penetrated Boom Sonic's soul, who gulped after seeing this Knuckles being actually menacing. "Listen clear, pretty boy. I have no idea on what kind of reputation you have back home, nor what kind of Knuckles you deal with, but I am not stupid. So, if you try to outsmart me again, or if you try to insult me, I'll reduce every inch of your body to atoms with my bare fists. Understood?" Boom Sonic gulped again and nodded, while Knuckles nodded back and let go off his scarf, which caused him to fall into the floor and groan in pain. "You know? Usually I'll say you crossed the line, but I think he deserves it," Amy confessed with her arms crossed. "Yeah, same here," Tails added with a bored expression and his fists on his hips. Boom Sonic stood up and cleaned the dust off his body before staring back at his friends' counterparts and sigh in defeat. "You know what? You guys are right... I think I'm doing everything wrong because... I'm scared, alright?! There! I said it! Go on, laugh if you want!" He confessed, now sitting down as he hugged his legs and buried his face on his knees. However, his friends' counterparts remained silent the whole time, and they even blinked confused at him. "Why would we laugh at you? Because you're scared?" Amy asked. "Uh... yeah?" Boom Sonic replied, feeling a bit confused as he lifted his head to face his friends' counterparts. "You have a really low self-esteem, don't you?" Tails asked. "You pretend to be very confident, cocky and way too arrogant to be Sonic, but deep down... you're afraid..." "I confess that I would laugh in other circumstances, but I'm willing to let you explain yourself," Knuckled admitted, crossing his arms and still frowning, although his eyes returned to normal. Boom Sonic sighed and looked at the floor, while his ears fell flat. "...In my universe, Knuckles is literally a knucklehead. He's the 'husky guy with a brain the size of a raisin' cliche. I'm so used to him acting and even talking like an idiot, that I guess I though you were the same. I mean, I did met a Knuckles that was smart, but he was from another dimension, leaving me with the meathead Knuckles." "How cute..." Knuckles said as he rolled his eyes. "You two are pretty much the same, just... smaller. No offense, though," Boom Sonic told Tails and Amy. "Uh... none taken?" They both replied uncertain. Boom Sonic sighed again and looked at Tails. "And you're right, little buddy. I do have a low self-esteem. It's so low that I constantly treat everyone around harshly just to feel better over myself... even my own friends... Heck, I always try to convince myself that I am better than everyone else around me, but... It only convinces everyone else. Me? Hah! I only feel worse..." Tails, Knuckles and Amy felt surprised after hearing all of that, and they even looked at each other in concern when Boom Sonic admitted that he has a very low self-esteem. "I... guess that's understandable..." Knuckles confessed. "But it doesn't explains why you act the way you act towards our pony friends!" Boom Sonic snorted and shook his head. "My world's Knuckles is a cliche, but so am I. I'm the leader that worries for nobody but himself, that never thinks twice before acting, that always has to do everything on his way or else he thinks it'll never work... that has not time to deal with colors, and rainbows and girl-ish stuff... like talking ponies," He pointed out with a bored expression. "Alright, that's it!" Knuckles declared in anger, before charging up his electrical powers. "I'm about to destroy this man's whole career!" However, Tails rolled his eyes and created a shield with his powers that crashed against Knuckles' face, while Knuckles groaned in pain and covered his face. Boom Sonic, on the other hand felt startled and shocked when he saw Tails and Knuckles using his electrical powers, because they couldn't do that in his world. "H-H-H-How d-d-did they d-d-d-d-do that?!" He asked confused and shocked, but also amazed. "Get used to it. They do this all the time ever since I arrived," Amy replied with a bored expression, also checking over her nails despite being covered by her gloves. "Look, Sonic..." Tails started, as he rubbed his eyes with his fingers. "We get it. You consider yourself 'too cool' to be around talking colorful ponies. I think you almost fainted when Pipp said she's our Sonic's girlfriend." "I still kind of want to just imagining it..." Boom Sonic confessed with a sheepish smile. Tails put a bored expression, Knuckles growled while his eyes turned red again and Amy rolled her eyes annoyed. "However, you did admitted that you thought how they fought against Young Sonic's Eggman on his Egg Dragoon was cool, remember?" Tails pointed out again, now smirking. Boom Sonic blushed and started to sweat, as he looked away in an attempt to play it cool... but of course, he failed. "...Okay, yeah. I did admitted that, but they didn't hear it! So it doesn't count!" "Still, you're just judging them by their appearances and attitudes," Amy pointed out. "Maybe you should try and give them a chance to know them better instead of being such a jerk because they are ponies!" She scolded, frowning and crossing his arms. Boom Sonic still felt conflicted on what to do, but he also kind of knew that he was surrounded. So, it was either leaving and find another way back home by himself, or stay and try to interact with the talking ponies. Boom Sonic ended up sighing, standing up again, crossing his arms and looking at them with a bored expression. "...Fine... I don't promise that I'm gonna enjoy it, but... I can try, at least." Tails, Knuckles and Amy all looked at each other and smiled. "Sounds good to us!" Tails declared to him. Boom Sonic smiled back at them, and so, they all went downstairs to return with the rest, while the sun started to set in the horizon. Universe 060403 Back in Station Square, the two Sonics were ready to fight against Eggman, as they smirked at him and positioned to fight. Eggman frowned and prepared to attack the two Sonics. "Steady... Ready... FIRE!" He shouted, before smashing a red button that launched a bunch of missiles towards the Sonics. They both smirked and started to run away, while the missiles followed them. Sonic passed right below another one of the robots with a wrecking ball, and got destroyed after two missiles crashed against it. Modern Sonic, on the other hand, ran in zig zag over another of the robots and lay on it, even making a bit of mockery as he pretended to yawn in boredom, while he then boosted away as the rest of the missiles crashed against the robots and made it explode. "I have heard about a sonic boom, but this is ridiculous..." Bocoe said with concern. The two Sonics kept destroying robots, even though no more missiles were following them. However, that didn't stopped them from smashing Eggman's robots and have fun in the process. Sonic kept traversing robots at top speed, while Modern Sonic used his arsenal of attacks: Spin Dash, Stomp Attack, Homing Shot, Spin Slash, Wild Rush, Air Kick, and the long etcetera. Once Sonic seemed to be done, he started to run at top speed over the same yellow building from before, and then jumped to try and reach Eggman's ship fortress. However, he stopped moving in mid air, and he realized that he wasn't going to reach it in time. He tried to run in mid air, but then panted heavily. Then looked at you and shrugged, before starting to fall down. "Oh no! He can't reach Eggman's ship!" Amy said with concern. "We need the X Tornado to help him, but it's back home!" Tails pointed out with concern. "We'll never get it in time..." However, a silver car stopped at their side and beeped, which cause everyone to turn to it and smile. "You need a lift?" A man with a purple shirt and red hair like Chris asked them with a wink. "Uncle Sam!" Chris called out with a smile. Soon enough, everyone got inside Sam's car, as he ran at top speed towards Chris' mansion. "I'll get you guys home in a flash!" He assured with a smirk. "Buckle up for safety!" He warned, before boosting away in the car. Meanwhile, Modern Sonic finished up with a last robot as he used a Stomp Attack, but then he saw that Sonic was falling from the sky and frowned, before boosting twice as fast than before towards the Yellow Building. Once he was running over the building, he smashed his brakes a bit, slowly turning around... and the boosting again, but now running backwards. Then, he saw Sonic still falling from the ship, and smirked, before curling into a ball and charge his Homing Attack towards Sonic. Once he was about to hit him, he uncurled and grabbed Sonic into a hug. "Huh?!" Sonic exclaimed confused. "Where did you came from?!" "Does it matter? I'm about to rescue you from dying, other me!" Modern Sonic replied with a smirk. "Say! Ever heard about a Spin Dash?" "No! What the heck is that?!" Sonic asked in panic, as they fell towards the floor. "It's pretty simple!" Modern Sonic replied with a smirk, before raising Sonic in the air. "Just spin... and dash!" He declared, before launching Sonic towards the ground while he curled into a ball on a Spin Dash. Sonic saw this, and still screaming in the air, he also curled into a ball and dashed. Before he could even realize, he was safe and sound on the floor, but still curled into a ball, while Modern Sonic landed at his side flawlessly, with no need on staying curled into a ball. Sonic uncurled and fell on his back in the floor, feeling completely dizzy as he slowly sat down and shook his head in order to feel better. "...D-Didn't knew I could do that..." He said, still feeling a bit dizzy. "It seems like you still have to learn many of your skills yet, huh?" Modern Sonic replied with a smirk. However, soon enough, they saw five small orange drones shooting at them, and so, they started to run away again. Once they reached the corners of a street, the split up, with three of the drones following up Sonic while the remaining two followed Modern Sonic. With Sonic, he ran at super sonic speed around an entire square before hiding on an alley, while the drones passed by. He sneaky popped his head and smirked confidently, but then, the drones appeared behind him and started to shoot him again, which startled him as he dodged the bullets and ran away. "Ohohohoho!" Eggman laughed in the ship with a huge grin, as he saw Sonic having trouble with the drones. "My Falcon robots all come with special speed-seeking detectors! The Sonics are running to their doom!" Modern Sonic, after hearing that, smirked even more, as he suddenly stopped right in front of the robots, that also stopped suddenly, not because they wanted to or something, but because Modern Sonic stopped time and entered on his realm of super speed. Smirking again, Modern Sonic moved the Falcon robots so they could all crash against each other. Once he moved away and time returned to its normal state, the robots exploded once they crashed to each other. Soon enough, Modern Sonic returned with Sonic, with the two of them being chased by the remaining Falcon robots. "Yo, Sonic!" Sonic called out to his other self. "Wanna give Eggman some taste of his own medicine?" He asked with a smirk, pointing at the Falcon robots. Modern Sonic looked at the machines, then at Eggman's ship and smirked as well. "Other me? You know I want to!" And so, both Sonics jumped over one of the Falcon robots and Sonic moved it towards the ship. Once Eggman noticed that, he growled in anger. "Grr, they can't be!" "You can blow Sonic out of the sky if you order those Falcon robots to self-destruct," Bocoe pointed out with a frown. "Excellent idea!" Eggman admitted with a smile. After that, he pressed a button on his panel control, and soon enough, the Falcon robots made a beep sound. Modern Sonic noticed that, and so, he grabbed his other self and jumped off the robot before it exploded along with the others. Then, the two Sonics landed over the roof of a building and looked back at the ship with frowns. "Finish them off!" Eggman ordered, pressing another button. Then, a bunch of green robots with eyes, that looked so much like Robotnik's drones from the human parallel world to Equestria, came down of the ship and surrounded the Sonics. They looked around and prepared for everything, then moved away when they charged and launched lasers to them after making a beep sound, before chasing after them. Meanwhile, Sam was still running fast as he tried to take Chris and company to the mansion. "Hey, do you think you could slow down a bit?" Chris asked to his uncle a bit concerned. "Are you kidding?" Sam replied with a smirk. However, they all noticed a bunch of the same green robots chasing the Sonics approaching them, and one hit one of the wheels of the car, which obligated Sam to smash the brakes. Once the car stopped, they were all surrounded by the green robots, that prepared to shoot at them. Modern Sonic felt his ear twitching when he heard Tails and Amy crying out in fear, and his frown grew bigger. "Be back in a sec!" He instructed to Sonic, before boosting away towards the place where Tails and Amy needed help. Sonic simply nodded, and kept running away from the robots. Meanwhile, Modern Sonic reached the car surrounded by the robots, as they prepared to launch their lasers towards the car. Modern Sonic ran even faster, and then, he curled into a ball in the air, charging up a Homing Shot, and them letting go the spheres towards all they drones, that exploded in the air afterwards. Modern Sonic landed near the car, then made sure that the drones were destroyed, then he turned and saw his friends counterparts along some humans. "Hey Sonic, thanks!" Chris told him with a smile. He smiled at all of them and raised his thumbs up. Then, he made eye contact with Amy for a second and winked at her, before boosting away to help his counterpart. After Sonic left, Sam turning the car on and boosted towards the mansion once again, while Amy felt like a blushing mess after Modern Sonic winked at her and fainted, leaving Tails smiling sheepishly as he tried to wake her up. After a while, the Sonics were running over the roof tops, while still running away from the green robots. "Serious question: Does Eggman ever gives up on destroying us?" Sonic asked. "If he ever did, I'll be concerned rather than relieved!" Modern Sonic replied with a frown. Then, they soon heard an engine and turned to a certain direction, seeing a flying plane with the wings forming the shape of an X. "The X Tornado!" Sonic cheered with a smile. "X Tornado? That's the best you could–– You know what? Our current situation makes me realize I shouldn't be complaining about how you call the Tornado in this universe..." Modern Sonic said with a bored expression. Then, both Sonics jumped, and from the X Tornado, a golden ring was launched, which caused Sonic to catch it with a smile and then spin in the air at super speed as he destroyed some of the robots. Meanwhile, Sonic did something similar with another Homing Shot, before both him and Sonic landed over the the X Tornado and flew towards Eggman's ship. "Get them now! Blast away!" Eggman ordered in anger. After that, the tanks attached to the sides of the ship started to shoot against the X Tornado. Tails piloted it like a professional, dodging all the shots easily, but of course, he couldn't do it forever. "We can't fight Eggman here! Those buildings will get wrecked!" Chris pointed out with concern, now wearing a football helmet to stay protected. "Chris is right!" Tails said with worry. "We have to get Eggman away from the city somehow!" "Hmm..." Modern Sonic said, rubbing his chin before realizing something as he smirked. "Say, other me... What is Eggman's biggest motivation?" Sonic looked at him confused at first, but then, he realized what his other self really meant and smirked back. Then, Tails moved the X Tornado near the ship's pilot capsule, and Sonic took out his tongue while smashing his butt in a mocking way, while Modern Sonic made the L letter with his finger and positioned over his forehead while pointing at Eggman in a mocking way as well. Then, the X Tornado moved away, leaving Eggman in pure rage. "Grr! That's the last time they'll diss me. Move it!" Eggman ordered with a scream. "Turn this ship around and go after those Sonics!" "What chance does he have against two Sonics?" Decoe asked, while Bocoe facepalmed. "I estimate his chance of defeating the Sonics at zero," Bocoe replied. After boosting away far enough from Station Square, the Sonics turned around over the X Tornado and smirked. "It worked!" Sonic said. "Yeah, Eggman stands anything but being mocked up," Modern Sonic added with a grin. "It's been what, 15 years? How's he still falling for such an old trick is beyond me, but hey! As long as it works, it's fine for me!" The ship kept shooting against the X Tornado, but of course, it wasn't hitting it a single time. "Charge up the Blaster Cannon!" Eggman ordered with anger, and after said cannon was charged up and ready, Eggman grinned. "FIRE!" The cannon shoot against the X Tornado, and everyone gasped in fear, except for Modern Sonic, who activated his watch and then punched the plane. The blaster cannon reached them, and even created a massive splash of water in the ocean, since they were flying above it. Eggman chuckled and smirked. "Victory!" However, that confidence faded away once he saw the X Tornado flying away intact... and protected by a blue shield. "Whoa!" Sonic said, once he saw that Modern Sonic was surrounded with electricity on his quills and eyes. "What's the matter with you?!" "A little upgrade I never knew I had since birth," Modern Sonic replied with a smirk. "Although it's all thanks to the little guy from my universe and the little watch he gave me!" He added, now pointing at Tails. "What? Another universe?" Tails asked confused, while Modern Sonic deactivated the shield. "Let's talky-talk later! We still have an Egghead to deal with!" Sonic stated with a determinate expression. Meanwhile, Eggman was beyond furious after seeing the blast didn't affected them. "I won't miss Sonic this time. Get ready for another blast!" On the other hand, we have the Sonics and company. "So, this 'power ring' you mentioned basically works like a Spin Dash that goes ten times faster..." Modern Sonic asked, rubbing his chin. "Pretty much! Why?" Sonic asked. "Eggman is used to deal with one Sonic with one power ring," Modern Sonic pointed out, before looking at his other self and smirking. "Maybe we should give him a taste of two Sonics and four power rings!" Sonic's eyes widened, before he smirked. "Man, where have you been my whole life?" "Is the Blaster Cannon powered up yet?" Eggman asked to his assistants. "Almost, doctor," Decoe replied. "Uh, it appears that we have company..." Bocoe pointed out with wide eyes. "Oh?" Eggman said confused, while the X Tornado stopped moving right in front of the ship, with the two Sonics frowning at him. "What is this?" Then, both Sonics extended their hands, while 4 power rings came out of the plane. Sonic grabbed two and Modern Sonic caught the other two as well. Then, they crossed their arms to form and X and where surrounded by a blue aura as they charged the power of the rings on their bodies. Modern Sonic's electrical powers even activated as his eyes turned blue. "Hang on! Here we go!" Tails instructed confidently. After that, the X Tornado boosted towards the ship at top speed, while Eggman growled for the millionth time today. "Blow them away!" "The cannon is still recharging!" Bocoe said with worry, while Eggman screamed in panic. Then, both Sonics jumped from the X Tornado and stood in the air for a while, before staring to spin at super sonic speed. and then, they started to traverse the entire ship thanks to the power of their rings. "Oh no!" Eggman exclaimed in panic, while the floor started to shine as it indicated that the ship was going to explode. "We have lost all our controls, doctor!" Decoe said with a worried expression. "We must abandon ship at once!" Bocoe added as well with concern. "Course you, hedgehogs!" Eggman shouted in pure rage and anger. "I'll get you!" And then, both Sonics landed on the X Tornado, while Eggman's ships exploded entirely and fell to the ocean. Then, the X Tornado landed over a military ship in the water, now turned into some weird plane with legs, but that doesn't matter, does it? The pilot's capsule opened and Chris stood up from his seat with a big smile. "Great job, Sonic!" "You mean: Great job, Sonics!" Tails said with a smile as well, while he and Chris chuckled at the joke. While both Sonics smirked and fist bumped each other, Amy suddenly embraced both Sonics in a big hug. Of course, Sonic felt annoyed immediately, but Modern Sonic didn't seemed to mind that much. "Two Sonics in one place?! I'm in heaven!" Amy exclaimed with a huge smile and sparkling eyes. "Oh dear..." Sonic said with annoyance. "You still haven't got used to this, huh?" Modern Sonic asked with a mocking smirk. "You're my heroes!" Amy said as she made the hug tighter. "N-No... And I don't think I ever will..." Sonic replied in pain. "Well, we stopped Eggman again, but I'll bet he'll be back!" Tails stated with a frown. "Looks like we're gonna be fighting against Eggman for a long time..." Chris pointed out with concern. "He'll never surrender." "You're right," Tails said, still frowning. "Eggman's got plenty of tricks up his sleeve. This battle is only beginning." Sonic frowned as he looked on, while Amy looked concerned as she hugged his arm. Modern Sonic, however, felt even more worried about how things could be going on his universe now that he could finally stop and think about it. Dealing with this Eggman was fun and everything, but he's as dangerous as any other Eggman, probably even more than his considering he had robots with wrecking balls, all ready to destroy the city and kill a bunch of people with no shame. He only hoped things were going well back there, and that Eggman wasn't being such a pain in the ass... Universe 220822 Boom Sonic decided to fulfill his promise and tried to enjoy the talk with the ponies. He was on a talk along Knuckles, Amy, Sunny, Izzy, Misty and Pipp. So far he wasn't hating it, and he wasn't bored either. He was just not too comfortable yet, but at least he was trying to blend in with the rest better than before. Young Sonic, on the other hand, was having a nice chat with Hitch and Shadow, and thanks to the walking miracle that he seems to be, Shadow was smiling more often and even talking more than usual. Rouge and Omega were outside in Maretime Bay, making guard and looking out for any other attack by the Eggmans, while Zipp and Tails returned outside to keep trying to replicate the machine that could control the power of the Paradox Prism. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! So, you can literally stop time just by holding one those gems I still cannot learn their name, say two words... and then stop time entirely?! Even things that are moving?!" Young Sonic asked to Shadow, as he was over Hitch's back while his tails wagged. "Yeah, that's pretty much how it works," Shadow replied with a proud smirk. "Though, you can do that without an emerald, if everything you told us about your life is true. Why does this surprises you?" "Dude, you can do a lot of cool stuff just by existing, weird would it be if I wasn't surprised!" Young Sonic pointed out. "Now, what's that Chaos Spear and other cool stuff you mentioned that start with the word 'Chaos'?" "Well, all the 'Chaos' techniques require Chaos Energy," Shadow explained. "Your body is full of it, little man, so if you want, I could show and teach you some of those techniques. You'll be quite powerful once this is over and you go back to your home." "Oh, I'll definitely look forward to that!" Young Sonic replied with a smile, while his tail wagged happily. Suddenly, however, he noticed that Hitch was sighing happily as his tail wagged happily as well. Young Sonic raised an eyebrow, and looked on the same direction than him, just to see that Hitch was staring at Sunny, who was talking happily and laughing along Izzy, Pipp, Amy, Knuckles and Boom Sonic. Young Sonic grinned mischievously and got down of Hitch, just to lay on him and clear his throat, which caused Hitch to feel startled as he screamed lowly while he turned to see Young Sonic. "So... are you seeing something special that you like, Donut Lord?~ Maybe a girl in specific that's making your tail wag happily~?" Hitch blushed a lot after hearing that, and he looked away while trying to hide his blush. "N-No! O-Of course not! I-I'm not looking at Sunny!" "Sheriff, he never said who you're looking at," Shadow pointed out with a smirk, while Hitch's blush grew bigger and his ears fell flat. "You just exposed yourself." "...Dang it..." Hitch complained lowly. "So, the orange girl with the lavender hair and the rainbow streak, huh?" Young Sonic asked, still mocking him and now even pushing his shoulder a bit. "When are you getting after her, sheriff?~" "N-Not happening yet..." Hitch confessed. "I'm–– We are waiting for the right moment to take such a step and responsibility." "The right moment?" Young Sonic asked confused. "What do you mean?" "Not even him knows what he's baffling about," Shadow pointed out, rolling his eyes annoyed. "He says he's waiting for the right moment everytime someone brings this subject up, but he's just wasting his time." "Hey! I'm just waiting for her to be ready, alright?" Hitch said, now frowning at Shadow. "Hitch, you've been in love with her since childhood, and you still haven't say a single thing about it," Shadow pointed out, frowning back. "And what are you guys waiting for? The entire multiverse about to collapse or something so we can all die and you two finally confess your painfully obvious reciprocal love for each other?" "We don't want to rush things, that isn't something bad!" Hitch pointed out in concern. However, Young Sonic's jaw dropped after Shadow said that Hitch has been in love with Sunny since they were kids, that their feelings are reciprocal and that they still haven't confessed to each other. His right eye even began to twitch, and then, he grabbed a bunch of pillows, launched them in the air to cover both Hitch and him, and slapped Hitch in the face. Shadow was the only one that witnessed that, so he spilled some water he was drinking and bursted out laughing, covering his mouth so it wasn't to loud. Nobody noticed any of this happening, because they kept talking between each other normally. "What the heck is wrong with you?!" Young Sonic asked Hitch in anger, after some seconds of silence, where Hitch rubbed his cheek in pain. "What?! You're the one who sla––" Hitch tried to point out with a frown, but Young Sonic shushed him. "Man, Shadow has a point!" Young Sonic said with a frown. "At any second now, the entire multiverse could collapse in front of us, and you are wasting so much time right here and now! You two like each other and absolutely nobody is trying to stop that... but you two, pair of idiots! Good piece of advice: If you can still tell her that you love her and that you wanna be with her, JUST DO IT, FOR GOD'S SAKE! There's nothing and nobody that can stop you! And if you keep using the lame excuse of 'we want time' or 'we wanna be ready for it to happen', then consider this: If the Eggmen succeed, there won't be anymore time for you two to go for it already." Hitch's eyes went wide after hearing all of that, and then, he looked back at Sunny, who was still smiling and laughing with the rest, and he saw himself smiling as well. He could feel that Young Sonic was right, and that maybe it is time that Sunny and him take the next step on their relationship. Hitch looked back at Young Sonic and sighed before smiling. "I... I appreciate the words, Sonic... I'll think about it..." Young Sonic looked at him on disbelief, before looking back at Shadow and making a gesture that said 'You seeing this?!', while Shadow shrugged with a bored expression, and Young Sonic groaned in annoyance and facepalmed. Universe 060403 Modern Sonic was dragged by everyone back to Chris' mansion. Of course, he had no option but explain everything he lived so far: Eggman discovering the Paradox Prism; a 'badnik' launching him towards the Prism, which made him travel to other universes; all the worlds he visited so far, and how he eventually ended up here because he was just trying to reach his home. "Whoa... So you come from an entire different universe from ours!" Tails exclaimed happily and excited. "I never thought the theory of the multiverse could be real!" "Well, hang onto your horses, little guy, because it's very real!" Modern Sonic replied with a smirk. "Still, I can barely stand fighting one Eggman around here!" Sonic pointed out. "Now imagine dealing with many of them! It gives me shivers just thinking about it..." "Yeah, well, if there's a multiverse, it's only logical to think that there are other Eggmans out there as well," Modern Sonic pointed out with a frown. "Still, Eggman is not my biggest concern over here... You guys say you never interacted with humans before, right? Well, that's weird, because I do that most of the time where I come from. They just live in another part of the planet, but my friends and I still visit them from time to time. Why did you never heard of Earth until Eggman activated Chaos Control by mistake?" "No clue!" Sonic replied with a relaxed smile. "But I wouldn't worry too much about it," He added, as he stretched over the couch he was lying over and prepared to take a nap. Modern Sonic raised an eyebrow and leaned to Chris and Tails, who were sitting over another couch. "Is he always like this?" "Pretty much..." Tails replied with a sheepish smile, while Chris only nodded in agreement. Suddenly, Amy zoomed by with a huge smile and side-hugged Modern Sonic from his arm. "Well, I'm just glad that there's a Sonic that doesn't runs away from me!" "Yeah! I was wondering why you don't care that much myself," Chris confessed with a smile. "Well, I did used to run away, but after she stopped chasing me back in my world, I kind of stopped caring whenever she did," Modern Sonic replied with a bored expression. Suddenly, everyone else's eyes widened, Sonic's included, as they slowly turned to him and Amy stepped back nervously. "I... I stopped?!" Amy asked in panic. "Don't worry, you still feel the same towards me," Modern Sonic replied, and that made Amy sigh in relief. "But... why did she stopped?" Tails asked. Before Modern Sonic could reply, he realized that he would have to mention Pipp, and therefore, cause some trouble between this universe's Sonic and Amy. Yeah, they were two different Sonics, but this Amy seemed to be stubborn too, so it was better to avoid his counterpart any problems. So, he shut his mouth and quickly thought on how to excuse himself from answering that. Modern Sonic smirked once he knew how to answer without mentioning Pipp, soon enough. "She stopped because I kind of do the same back with her, so she just tries to do it now and then to surprise me," He lied, although his smirk made it sound really convincing. "Oh... Ooooh~" Amy said, now blushing a bit at the idea of Sonic flirting back with her. Sonic himself, however, gulped nervously and tried to excuse himself before boosting away... just to be stopped by Modern Sonic, that grabbed him from his quills. "Your attitude tells me you're still 15 years old..." Modern Sonic said with a bored expression. "Man, grow up and confront your problems the same way you confront Eggman! It isn't so difficult!" "Dude, you sound a bit boring now..." Sonic said with a little frown. "And why do you mention my age, anyways? What are you? 20 years old or something?" "I'm 27," Modern Sonic replied with a neutral expression. Everyone gasped in the room, and Amy ran upstairs immediately. "I'M STILL A MINOR! I CANNOT BE WITH SOMEONE 15 YEARS OLDER THAN ME!" She screamed, before a door was smashed upstairs as it closed. "...27... Years old?!" Sonic said, surprised and scared. "B-But you look as good as me! What kind of weird energy are you using to stay so young at 27?!" "S-Sonic is right!" Tails said, also amazed. "You look too young to be so old!" "I said I'm 27, not 45 or something like that," Modern Sonic replied with a bored expression. "Geez, if this is how you guys act over a 27 year old Sonic, I don't wanna see your reactions over an actual 45 year old me..." "Well... what are you going to do now?" Chris asked him. "I mean, you said your Eggman wants to conquer the multiverse! Shouldn't you go now before that happens?!" "Hey, Chris is right!" Tails pointed out. "You should go!" "Eh, I might stay around in this universe for a while," Modern Sonic replied with a smirk. "I know I should worry about Eggman and all, but time goes different in every universe, as far as I know. So, I'll just stick around and have some fun!" However, none of them noticed that some kind of brown eye was looking at them, before it simply disappeared on thin air.