//------------------------------// // 2. New Visitors in Equestria // Story: Sonic The Hedgehog x My Little Pony: Make Your Mark - Season 4 // by BronySonicFan //------------------------------// Universe 220822 - Before the Prism shattering... "Stay focused, everyone!" Sonic instructed. "Whatever Eggman has at stake, we must be really careful!" "We still don't know the capacities of the Paradox Prism, so we must stay alert!" Tails stated. "Smash anything Eggman related and keep it away from the Prism!" Knuckles added, sending a Buzzer flying away and exploding on a wall. Sonic noticed from the corner of his eye that a Buzz Bomber was charging up an attack in the air. He smirked and charged up his Spin Dash to launch it against said enemy. However, Shadow also noticed said Buzz Bomber, but his eyes widened in shock, since he could felt that it wasn't a badnik. "Sonic, wait!" Shadow shouted. Unfortunately, Sonic already launched himself against the 'Buzz Bomber', but just a second before smashing it down, the badnik transformed into Sage, who was smirking and had her left hand raised, and just when Sonic was about to hit her, she sent him flying backwards... straight towards the Paradox Prism. Sonic uncurled from his ball state in pain, but before anyone could react or do anything at all, Sonic crashed against the Paradox Prism, and the Prism itself split into four pieces, each one from a different color. Everything from here seemed to go in slow motion: Everyone covering from the explosion of the Prism, both Eggman and Sage grinning over Sonic's crash against it, and Shadow looking in genuine panic at Sonic traversing some kind of portal with the shape of an 'X' that opened once the Prism shattered. At the end, Sonic ended up traversing the portal, and it soon enough closed, while everyone but Sage flew backwards because of the impact of the explosion. Tails crashed against a wall, and the blue fragment landed near him, while the red one fall near Shadow. Unlike the rest, who groaned and tried to recover their senses, both Shadow and Tails grabbed the fragments that felt near them, while the remaining two fragments, the green one and the yellow one, fell right in front of the remaining Big Arms. Eggman saw this and smirked, so he jumped from his position and landed right in front of the Big Arms, before opening up the panel control cabin and turn on the machine, grabbing with one arm the two fragments in front of the machine, while everyone else finally stood up and looked at him in concern. "Seems like the Hedgehog finally said Goodbye!" Eggman stated with a smirk. "Now: Faker, young Prower, hand over the remaining fragments of the Paradox Prism, or else––" However, Shadow pulled out the Green Chaos Emerald and shouted "Chaos Control", causing Eggman and Sage to stop temporally. "Sunny, use that Alicorn magic of yours and get us out of here!" Sunny simply nodded, made her Alicorn form appear, and then lightened up her horn to teleport everyone out of there, which she did. With them gone, the Chaos Control effect left, returning Eggman and Sage to their regular speed. The doctor smashed the panel control of the Big Arms with rage, and then he exited the machine to let out a loud yell of frustration, also kicking away the head of one of his badniks. "Ugh! I-I-I can't believe those pests escaped! WITH TWO FRAGMENTS OF THE PRISM!!!" Eggman shouted in rage, before turning to see Sage with a frown. "And you, young lady! What did you did? I mean, yes, the hedgehog's gone, but where? Where did you sent him? And why destroy the Paradox Prism in the process?! WHY ARE YOU SO CALMED?!" "This is exactly what I predicted that would happen. It had to happen this way to work," Sage replied with a smirk. "What are you talking about?!" Eggman shouted in anger and confusion. "THIS MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SE––" He tried to shout again, but Sage placed a finger on his mouth and looked at him with a bored expression. "Can I finally explain myself before you yell again, father?" Sage asked with a sarcastic tone, and Eggman deadpanned before slowly nodding, so Sage retired her finger from his mouth. "Listen: Sonic has been sent to a different universe after the crash with the Paradox Prism. That means he'll be back eventually? Yes, but it's gonna take a while for him to do that. Now, why did the Prism needed to be shattered? I read every available piece of information on the Prism, and it still works, even broken." Eggman's eyes widened after hearing that. "What?!" He asked on disbelief. "The Prism was built to work even if it's shattered," Sage explained. "That means that all the four fragments work individually with the same amount of power than when their together," She added, and Eggman was about to protest on something else, but Sage raised her hand, and Eggman closed his mouth with a raised eyebrow. "You might think that Sonic's friends can use the fragments they took with them, but they do not have all the codes and specific instructions to make the Prisms work properly. I do," She pointed out with a smirk. Eggman's eyes widened, and soon enough, he was grinning with joy. "Ohohoho! I see where are you going with this!" He said with happiness. "So, if you have all the codes and instructions to properly use the Prism, we could travel to any universe we want without even trying it! It's perfect!" He stated with a grin. "Actually, I recalculated our chances, and changing plans could bring out a more satisfying result," Sage replied. "What do you mean?" Eggman asked with a raised eyebrow. "I sent Sonic to an unknown universe. Even if the chances of crashing in the exact same universe he fell are very low, it still exists," Sage explained. "I suggest we stay in this universe, and instead, we bring more Doctor Eggmans from other realities to ours," She suggested. "What?" Eggman said, now frowning a bit. "But that wasn't the plan!" "Father, think about it: Three minds as smart as yours, working together to take over the entire multiverse!" Sage stated. "Once every single universe is yours, you could ditch your variants and control them as well. You could rule every reality out there, you could be superior than Sonic, and all that it took was sending him to another universe." "Even with the rodent out, his friends are still a problem!" Eggman pointed out. "They do not have the codes and instructions to use the Prism yet! Once they find out, they could bring Sonic back, and everything I've been working over for the past three months will be worth nothing!" He added with worry and concern. "It took me seconds to learn everything about the Prism," Sage pointed out with a smirk. "To them? It could take months to even know half of what I already know. Sonic's out of your way, father. His friends have no knowledge over the Prism, and the power of travel through the multiverse and bring anyone from it is in your hands now." Eggman couldn't believe everything he was hearing, and yet, he grinned sinisterly after Sage finished explaining. "Look at you, little girl. You learn fast! You fill me with pride, Sage!" He stated with a smile. "Alright, then. Let's go back to the lab. I must test out the fragments of the Prism in order to bring myself to the universe!" He instructed. Sage nodded, made her hands glow, and in no time, they were both out of there with their fragments of the Prism. Floppy and Hitch's animal crew were running playfully around the Brighthouse, being careful to not brake anything. Yes, Floppy's alive, he's still here, I haven't forgotten about him. You still remember him, right? The little bunny Sonic adopted back in Season 1? Yeah, he's still around. However, the critters and Floppy stopped once a light appeared above the living room, and then, the Mane 6, Sparky, Team Dark, Tails, Knuckles and Amy landed suddenly in the floor with a loud thud, as well as the red and blue fragments of the Paradox Prism. Everyone groaned in pain as they all stood up slowly, some shacking their heads, and some grabbing them in pain. However, as Tails seemed to finally recover his senses, he counted everyone in the room... and noticed the pretty obvious absence of Sonic. Mostly because he always asked if everyone was okay after something like that escape happened... but now, nobody has done it yet. "Ugh... everyone okay there?" Knuckles asked, as he scratched his head and helped Izzy to stand up. Yeah, I spoke too soon, apparently. "As good as I can be, I guess..." Zipp replied, shacking her head and helping out Pipp to get back on her four hooves. "Nopony's hurt?" Hitch asked in concern, also helping Sunny to stand up, and his animal crew ran to the Sheriff immediately, which Hitch gladly greeted with a smile. "Physically, emotionally, or rhetorically?" Amy asked with sarcasm, cracking her back and stretching her arms in pain. "Because I feel like I broke all of them..." She added with a painful expression, then she went and helped Misty to get up as well. Rouge and Omega simply nodded, but Tails and Shadow... they stayed too quiet. "Guys... W-Where's Sonic?" Tails asked, a bit panicked. It wasn't until Tails mentioned it that everyone else but Shadow finally realized the absence of the blue hedgehog. "S-Sonic?" Pipp began to call out, and her heart suddenly started to bump like if she was running a marathon. "Uh... Hedgehog?" Knuckles called out as well, looking around for him, not only not getting a response, but also not seeing him anywhere. "W-Where did he go?!" Pipp asked in panic, now moving in circles and looking desperate for him. "If it helps to calm you all down, Sonic is alive," Shadow spoke suddenly, and everyone else turned to see him, facing the two fragments of the Paradox prism with a frown. "I can still feel his energy, coming from there," He explained, now pointing at the fragments of the Prism. Both Pipp and Tails, the latter also panicking a bit when he didn't saw Sonic around, sighed in relief, and Pipp felt like 75% of her worries disappeared after hearing Shadow saying he's fine. "Wait a second..." Knuckles said suddenly. "How do you know that he's fine?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow. "The real question here is: Where did he go, exactly?" Zipp interfered. "And how do you know where he is, Shadow?" She asked to the Ultimate Life Form with a glare. Shadow looked back at Zipp and frowned more, if that was even possible. "Oh, he's getting serious, This might be good," Rouge muttered to Amy at her side, who chuckled a bit. "Sage tricked him. He though she was a badnik before transforming back and launching Sonic against the Paradox Prism," Shadow explained with a frown. "After that, the Prism split apart and opened a portal with the shape of an X. Sonic crossed that portal by accident. Am I really the only one who noticed it?" He asked a bit mad. "Well, if you didn't noticed, Mr. 'Ultimate Life Form', we were trying to protect that stupid Prism!" Knuckles pointed out in anger, while Shadow frowned and approached the echidna, fire covering his eyes. "Alright, boys! Calm down!" Hitch said, as he stepped between Knuckles and Shadow before things got out of control. "B-But... If Sonic crossed a portal... W-Where did he go?!" Pipp asked in panic. "This... this is bad..." Sunny muttered in worry, and everyone else turned to see her with concern. "Sunny?" Pipp called out first. "What did you said?" Sunny slowly lifted her head and looked at Pipp with an anxious look. "The Paradox Prism can tear apart the walls that separate universes. If a portal was open when they split apart, a-and Sonic traversed the portal, then..." She tried to explain, but she had the feeling that the rest would understand. "Oh no... not this crap again!" Knuckles complained. "Big Blue... he's on the loose... again..." Rouge finished with concern. Everybody else felt either concerned, mad or worried that Sonic was sent by Eggman to a different and unknown place again. One one hand, we had Pipp, who began to hyperventilate in panic, and both Amy and Zipp had to move with her and try to calm her down in any possible way. Was this how Tails felt when Sonic disappeared the first time? This desperate? This hopeless? She didn't knew, but she was sure this was even worse... Tails, on the other hand, also felt panicked. For the very second time, Sonic was sent to an unknown location, one he knew nothing about once again. However, unlike the last time, he didn't even noticed when it happened, and it made him feel really bad... but not guilty. "...If something like this happens again, let's hope not of course, you two work together and DON'T FIGHT!" Sonic's voice echoed on his mind. He promised to Sonic, vaguely but promised anyways, that he'll work things out if he ever disappeared again... and right now, it happened. Unlike the first time, he wouldn't let negativity get through his head. Shadow wasn't guilty for not being able to do anything even if he saw what happened to Sonic, and he wasn't guilty either for not noticing. With a determinate look, Tails walked forward and took the fragments of the Paradox Prism from the ground. "I won't let my emotions blind me a second time. I may not know how to bring him back yet, nor how to reach him either, but I know I can find the solution," He stated. "Tails?" Misty called out confused. "Sonic might be lost in a different universe... but that doesn't mean we lost him!" Tails replied with confidence. "Again, I need to study the prism and learn how it works before properly planning out how to bring him back, or even how to reach him," He explained. "Wait... You're planning on using the Prism itself?!" Sunny asked in shock. "I know Shadow's the only one who technically saw it working, but isn't that a bit dangerous?" Hitch pointed out in concern. "With everything we have done so far? This being dangerous shouldn't surprise you, Sheriff," Knuckles pointed out with a bored expression. "Think you could get some help?" Zipp asked, as she approached Tails with a smile. Tails smiled back, and he gave her a quick kiss on her lips. "I could never say no to you, my princess," He told her with a smile, and Zipp blushed slightly at the compliment. "I wanna help too, in that case," Sunny stated next, approaching Tails as well. "Maybe everything I know about the Prism isn't enough, but... everything I can do to help works for me!" "Any form of help is welcome to me!" Tails told her with a smile. "Shadow, could you, Rouge and Omega go out there and try to track down this sign of energy?" He asked, as he took out a device that he used to scan the energy from the blue prism, and then he threw the device to Shadow, who caught it and looked at it with a critical look. "If we can track down the other two Prism fragments––" "Perhaps we could find the doctor and the fragments before he can use them," Shadow finished. "If he haven't already, that is," Rouge pointed out with a slight frown. "And since the Prism works even shattered, you guys should keep moving now," Sunny pointed out in concern. "We should get going, then," Rouge stated, while Shadow nodded in agreement. And so, Team Dark left the Brighthouse to track down Eggman. "What about us?" Izzy asked. "Sunny, how did you find out about the Prism?" Tails asked her. "My father researched his entire life after all kind of artifacts, magical or not," Sunny explained. "His diary has no entries on the Prism, but I remember that there's several books on the basement he used to read a lot. Maybe one of them has information that can help us." "In that case, we should go down there and research on our own while Tails, Sunny and Zipp stay here and study the Paradox Prism," Knuckles stated. "That's pretty much what I was going to request," Tails confessed with a smirk. "Well then..." Hitch said, as he opened the door to the basement. "Let's get started. The sooner we find a way to bring Sonic back, the better." While Amy, Knuckles, Izzy and Misty followed, Pipp approached Tails, a bit more relaxed now. "Tails... if you can really bring him back... please tell me immediately when you do so." "Don't worry sis," Zipp told her with a smile. "We'll bring him back safe and sound!" "I never failed Sonic before, or so he says," Tails said. "I'm not starting now!" He stated with a determinate look. Eggman and Sage were on their hidden lab. Sage created a machine holding the power of the two fragments they have from the Paradox Prism inside. This machine could be described as the responsible for opening a portal that will bring Eggmans from other universes to this one. It was a huge machine with a tank in the middle and two capsules at each side. Eggman was fascinated but how effective Sage was when working out. In fact, saying that he was proud couldn't even make justice of all the emotions he felt whenever Sage did something that made him smile with joy. If this is what it feels like to be a father, then he was surely not regretting creating her anytime soon. "The machine is ready, father," Sage informed, as she floated back with him, since Eggman was near the panel control that made the machine work. "However, I suggest we test out that it actually works before doing something reckless," She added, before looking at Eggman with a slight frown. "I don't wanna sound... harsh, but you have a really bad record of taking reckless decisions that make your plans fail, father." ".. And you didn't wanted to sound harsh, huh?" Eggman questioned with a bored expression. "I'm just being careful enough," Sage pointed out. "Now, let's try out to bring out Doctor Eggmans from two different dimensions," She suggested. "Sounds good to me, I guess," Eggman replied, before entering up the coordinates of his universe. "Which world is this one, again?" "Universe 220822," Sage replied. "Interesting..." Eggman muttered, writing down the coordinates on the machine, then moving to enter the coordinates of which universes they would bring Eggmans from. "Now, which world, my girl?" Sage close her eyes, entering on some kind of sub-space plane were her mind travelled across the multiverse as she looked for which ones they should go after. 10 Seconds later, Sage opened her eyes and looked back at the machine. "First universe: 081114," She instructed, and Eggman placed the coordinates to sent them towards the machine. "Second universe: 140220," She instructed again, and Eggman typed the coordinates. Eggman kept typing over the keyboard before pressing enter, which made the Prism fragments to glow. Once the machine seemed to be ready, Sage created some protective goggles with her hands and put them over. "For protection," Sage said. "Right," Eggman replied blankly, before put over his own goggles from his forehead. Then, Eggman pulled a lever on the panel control, which made the machine start to work. The green and yellow fragments shone bright as they reacted to the sudden orders they were given by the machine... Sonic was falling through a strange place with white and shining lines that moved like a stream. He rosed two of those lines, and then, said lines seemed to react in some way, as the rosed part by Sonic created new lines that moved towards the universe he just came out of... The machine created two portals on the capsules at its sides. Then, two figures fell from them, one on each capsule. After the machine did its job, the fragments kept shining, just not as much as before. Eggman and Sage retired their googles, and they seemed amazed by what was on the capsules: On the one from Universe 081114, there was another Doctor Eggman, but this one seemed more... skinny. He had a larger mustache, different googles over his head, a circular blue artifact on his right arm and very different clothes... he was unconscious. On the capsule from Universe 140220, there was an even more skinnier Doctor Eggman. He had a larger mustache too, no glasses, black gloves with buttons and even screens on the wrists, and the suit was a combination of black and red. Unfortunately, he was also unconscious like the other Eggman, probably because of the trip to this universe. "...Sage... it worked..." Eggman said with happiness. "IT ACTUALLY WORKED! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He shouted in joy, also grabbing Sage and pulling her into a hug. Sage giggled at her father's action, and she was also happy that everything worked out so fine. "I'm glad you're satisfied, father!" "I'm BEYOND that at this point, my girl!" Eggman stated with happiness. "Now, let's take our guests out from their capsules and put them comfortable. Once they wake up, we have SO much to talk about!" In the middle of a forest, a green portal opened up suddenly. From it, Sonic suddenly appeared, rolling up on the ground and stopping with his face smashed in the ground. He slowly got up as he groaned and stretched, trying to understand what the heck was going on. "Eggman?" Sonic called out, but got no response at all. "Eggman! Where are you?!" Getting no response, he choose to get a little glance at his surroundings, seeing that he was in a forest, pretty much at nighttime as well. "This doesn't make any sense..." Sonic said with worry. "If not even Eggman knows what Tails detected, then what the heck was that green portal? I have to find Eggman, but first, I should find out where am I..." Not so long after that, he could heard something, which he recognize almost immediately as kids laughs. "I guess I'm near a town or something," Sonic told himself. "Better go and check up for myself." As he walked down a small road in the forest, he couldn't help but whistle at his surrounds: There were giant and glowing crystals everywhere. But when he finally reached the place where the laughs came from, his eyes widened: It was a town, yes... full of colorful and talking horses. And if that wasn't weird enough: They had horns. Sonic stepped back in panic, and thanked God that nobody noticed him for now. "A-Am I in a dream? Did I got dragged into Amy's imagination?! Because there's no logical explanation for this!" Sonic cried out lowly, running towards the forest again to get as far as he could. Once he was far enough, he stopped and lay on a tree, before sliding down and take several deep breaths. "Okay, Sonic: think!" Sonic told himself. "Tails detected weird energy coming from Eggman's destroyed lab. I went there, and the lab remained destroyed, while Eggman himself knew nothing about that the energy Tails mentioned. Even Orbot said that there was a strange energy coming from somewhere... Then, a portal appeared, we were dragged into it... and then I appeared here, in a nightmare-ish forest with a hidden town of colorful unicorns that can talk..." After staying quiet for a few seconds, he started to laugh hysterically at himself. He couldn't believe that he was actually on some weird world full of colorful unicorns that can talk, he simply couldn't. "Oh god, I went insane!" Sonic said with tears... and they were definitely not out of joy. "This is probably another trick from Eggman... and I fell straight into it!" He shouted, still laughing like a maniac. It took him a while to finally calm himself down and stand up, clean some dust off his body and close his eyes. He also crossed his arms, placed a hand on his chin and tapped the floor with a foot, trying to put his thoughts in order and find a logical explanation on how he ended up here. "...Thinking about it, Eggman didn't planned this out," Sonic pointed out to himself. "Yeah, he can be a very good actor sometimes, but... he genuinely didn't seemed to get what I was talking about when I mentioned the energy lectures Tails detected... This place might not be my cup of tea, but... it's clear that this is new world. Maybe a new dimension? Universe? heck, it could be even both!" He said with concern, before shaking his head again and smirk. "But I must stay calm so as not to fall into madness. This isn't the first time I'm in a new world, after all." He looked around, and he got to the conclusion that he was a bit lost, so he boosted away on a straight line and managed to get out of the forest, being welcomed by the sun and a vast grass field with some flowers around. He could spot several things now that he was out of that forest: A city on some mountains in the distance; a town some miles away that seemed to be near an ocean; a beautiful and gigantic tree that, for some reason, gave him a strange headache, and a vast world in general that was begging him to explore. "You know what? All of this looks... wonderful... and so peaceful," Sonic said with a smile. "Also, I still got my speed!" He added with joy. "Perhaps this world isn't so bad... Who am I kidding? I hate all of this," He deadpanned. "I must find Eggman and get out of here before running into myself - if there's another Sonic here, that is. Also, I should definitely get Eggman out of here before he finds himself too! But only if there is another Eggman around here... I really hope that isn't the case." And so, with a determinate look, this new Sonic boosted towards the town near the ocean to look after his Doctor Eggman. Another Sonic screamed loudly as he crossed a yellow portal in fright. This one was a blue hedgehog with green eyes as well, but his arms were also blue, and his eyes were separated, too. He also got Puma shoes instead of the snickers that the regular Sonic has. Suddenly, he stopped seeing the everything around him yellow... and instead saw a grass field where he ended up crashing into, with his face buried on the ground. He groaned in annoyance, and slowly got his face out of the ground. He spitted some dirt that entered to his mouth, then stood up and cleaned up some dirt from his body. "Ugh... what the hell was that thing?" Sonic complained. "It wasn't a ring portal... what was it, then?" As he tried to recognize where he was, he searched around for anything that could be helpful, or anything that could tell him where he this is... and then, he looked at the distance at some kind of City. "Huh... I have never seen a city like that before," Sonic said with a curious look. The interesting thing about this city, was that it was up in the mountains. He wouldn't say it was on the clouds, but it almost seemed like that was the case. "I should take a closer look to this place," Sonic said with a determinate expression. And thanks to his super speed, Sonic arrived to the top of the mountain and the entrance of said city in no time. However, his jaw dropped soon enough: This city was advanced, had a lot of giant screens around... and it had colorful talking horses with wings. Pegasi, to be precise. "For the love of chilidogs... what is this place?" Sonic said in awe. He seemed to feel completely amazed more by the fact of talking pegasi than all the screens around him. Why was he so surprised with talking horses? Who knows, but I think anyone would feel surprised, although some would definitely freak out. However, this Sonic seemed so... innocent, so childish, so... happy to see all of this. His eyes were sparkling, and his tail was moving a bit like if he was a happy little dog. "I have no idea of what is this place, but I love it!" Sonic said with joy, and then he started to boost all around the city. As he moved around the city, being just a happy kid that awed at every single little thing, some ponies looked at him weirdly. Some felt confused that it was Sonic, and wondered why he was acting like a little kid, while others wondered if this was a different Sonic because he had blue arms and separated eyes. Sonic, however, didn't seemed to notice the strange looks he was getting for literally just being himself. That, or he did notice it, but he didn't cared, because he was having a blast. This place seemed just so fun and entertaining, and he felt like he wasn't exploring half of the place at all. "This place is incredible!" Sonic shouted, before boosting away to have more fun. The sun was setting on the horizon, and Sonic sit down over the ceiling of one of the buildings of this city. He had a hat and a shirt that said 'I love ZH' over a red heart, and Sonic wasn't so sure of what the ZH thing meant, but he was really glad that he could make the most fun he could on this place. "Ah... What a day..." Sonic said with a smile. "I kinda wish Tails and Knuckles were here with me if I wasn't dragged by that weird port––" However, his eyes widened in realization, and he started to panic again. "THE PORTAL!" Sonic shouted in panic, ripping the shirt off and throwing the hat away. "My friends, my home! I-I didn't even had time to process that–– WHERE THE HECK AM I?!" He shouted again in fear. Sonic started to hyperventilate, to walk back and forth and to have horrible flashbacks of the times when he used to be alone on his cave... for 10 entire years... Now that he realized how serious his current situation was, he didn't wanted to go back to those days. He didn't wanted to go back to those times were he barely had anything to eat, where he only had himself to talk to, where he slept shivering since he never had a bed before moving with Tom and Maddie... his parents. Gosh, they were going to be so worried. Tom and Maddie turned into his parents the moment they decided to let him live with them, and now he was on an unknown place that, despite being so fun and being full of charming ponies that weirdly enough didn't panicked when they saw him, could be also dangerous if he let his guard down. And Tails... he was probably devastated. Knuckles, he was kinda neutral, but he'll lie if he says that he wouldn't miss him... that he doesn't miss him. He missed them all: Tom, Maddie, Tails, Knuckles, Ozzy... it was really horrible how he had to find out about his current state. He finally reminded some tricks that Maddie taught him on desperate situations. He closed his eyes, and then, he began to breath in and breath out. He repeated this process a few times, until he finally could breath normally again. Once he was calmed, he crossed his arms, placed a hand on his chin and tapped the floor with a foot, trying to put his thoughts in order and find a logical explanation on how he ended up here. "Alright, Sonic... think..." Sonic told himself. "Tails detected... how did he call it again? Chaos Energy, right? Near Seattle. We all went there, and found nothing... but then a portal literally came out of nowhere and tried to drag the three of us. I pushed Tails and Knuckles off so they wouldn't get dragged... but I did.. So... this portal brought me to a world full of colorful little horses with wings that remind so much of a series Jojo made me watch with her for some reason... What was that thing called again? 'My Little Horsy' or something?" That made him shiver as he shook his head and deadpanned with annoyance. "Geez... just remembering it makes me shiver... although that rainbow-hair pegasus was kinda cool–– What am I talking about?! I need to focus!" Sonic stated to himself with a frown, then slapped his own cheeks to stop wasting time on weird thoughts and focus on what's important. "This place isn't home, and I highly doubt there's an entire planet full of horses out there, so... could this be another universe? Kinda like that Spider-Man movie with Miles Morales? Because if so, it's so cool and terrifying at the same time!" He said with a little smile. After that, he boosted away from that city in the mountains, and soon enough, he was running across a grass field with some flowers. "Perhaps I should literally find myself, if he exists here. Maybe he can help me!" Sonic said with a smirk. And so, he boosted away once again, ready to literally look after himself. Back at the Crystal Brighthouse, Tails placed the two fragments of the Paradox Prism on the dinner table. Analyzing the energy of this thing was complicated for both Tails and Zipp. None of them could understand how much energy the fragments had, nor how exactly did they worked out. Usually, when Tails scanned energy lectures with his Miles Electric, he got numbers and percentages to calculate the power level, but with these lectures, he got weird symbols that neither he nor Zipp installed on his device. In other words: They had no progression so far, which means they can't bring Sonic back... At least not yet. "This is incredibly confusing..." Tails muttered with concern. "I was able to scan the energy levels of the Unity Crystals, and they're from this world like the Paradox Prism!" "Yeah... It is weird that we cannot get any information about the Prism out of a scan," Zipp said with worry. "That's because there's not a lot of information of the Prism online," Sunny pointed out, as she was looking for information about the Prism on her dad's journal. "You'll only find basic info and that it's just a legend. My dad, however, wrote some other things, like the fact that it can work even shattered, just like I told you before; or the fact that the Prism cannot work on its full potential without some specific instructions." "What kind of instructions?" Tails asked. "Sorry guys, but that's everything my dad found, apparently" Sunny replied with a sheepish smile. "It's fine, Sunny," Zipp told her with a smile. "However, it doesn't help to the fact that we're still stuck in square one..." She pointed out with concern, as she turned to face the fragments of the Prism. "Maybe the rest had luck down there in the basement," Tails said with a little smile. "Sorry to disappoint you then, Tails, but... we had no luck," Knuckles confessed with shame, as he approached along Hitch, Izzy, Misty, Amy and Pipp. "We looked over every single book in there, but... there's no information about the Prism, either," Amy explained. "My father probably got rid of some books and I never noticed it..." Sunny guessed with an ashamed expression. "That, or they were lost as well when the lighthouse was destroyed. Sorry, guys... seems like we truly are stuck on square one." "No..." Pipp muttered in panic. "D-Don't tell me it means––" "That we'll go to Plan B!" Tails stated, now suddenly using protective gloves and a welding mask, while Zipp at his side was also using a welding mask. "Uh... what's 'Plan B', exactly?" Misty questioned with a raised eyebrow. "We'll test this Prism until we have unleashed something. Anything!" Zipp stated, and even if her face couldn't be seen, it was pretty obvious that she had a determinate look. "Isn't that something that could tear apart our reality? Even if it's by mistake?" Knuckles questioned confused. Tails was about to replicate, but then he realized that Knuckles was right. "...I never though I would ever say this, but... Knuckles has a very good point..." He confessed, lifting up his welding mask and showing a shocked expression. "What part of 'I'm not a meat head at all' do you not understand, Miles?" Knuckles asked with a bored expression. "Call me like that again, and I'll brake your bones!" Tails warned with a glare. "Anyway. We will test this thing, just not with the same intensity as I expected to." "Dang it..." Zipp complained, also removing her welding mask with a frown. Universe 180993 Sonic was just chilling near that lake with small waterfalls, but then he opened his eyes widely. He stood up and sat down over the rock he was laying over, looking around, and then scratching his head as he had a very weird though. Or rather... a very weird feeling. "Huh... I swear I feel like there's a disturbance in the force..." Sonic told himself. "I mean, the chance of Knuckles saying something smart is really low... yet not impossible... could it be...?" After a few seconds of overanalyzing this sudden thought, he ended up bursting out laughing. "Nah! There's no way that Knucklehead could say something that smart, anyways!" Sonic said with a confident smirk. After that, he sighed in relief, and then, he decided to return to Knothole and see what else were Classic Sonic and company up to. Universe 220822 One of the new Eggmans felt a massive headache. He decided to slowly stand up, until he managed to sit down over a very comfy couch, were he was lying apparently. "What the––" The other Eggman muttered. "Where... What the hell is this place?" He questioned, as he looked around confused. He seemed to be in some kind of living room, just not his living room. It was a bit tight place with a black table on the middle, two red couches, a black chair that seemed to spin, vending machines of food and drinks, and walls painted in black with his head marked on red. Or at least, it looked like his logo, just a bit different. "Huh... weird..." The other Eggman said. "This place feels kinda familiar... yet, I know I'm not in my lab. It isn't even finished!" "That's a shame" Eggman's voice spoke again... but it wasn't the other Eggman who talked. "It sounds like your lab gets destroyed every now and then, my mustached equal!" "W-Who said that?!" The other Eggman asked in panic. "Show yourself instantly, or I will––" He tried to add as he pressed a button on the device over his right arm. "Egg Net not available," The device replied with a female voice. "H-Huh?!" The other Eggman said confused. "What do you mean this isn't available?! My network still worked this morning!" He pointed out in anger and concern. "Ugh! Could you shut up?! I'm trying to sleep!" A third voice complained, and thankfully, this one didn't sound like him. "Wait a second! I live alone!" From another couch, the other other Doctor Eggman woke up and screamed like a little girl when he saw his counterpart, and he only frowned and cringed from the sudden outburst of the other other Eggman. I'm still trying to figure out how to name them, okay? Leave me alone. "Geez, and I thought my screams were childish..." The other Eggman complained. "Also, why do you remind me so much to that guy that made a movie with a green suit? How was it called... The Grinch? The Mask? Maybe even both?" "W-W-Who are you?! How do you got in my house?! You have no idea who you messed up with!" The other other Eggman stated, as he pressed buttons on his glove and pointed at his counterpart. "Network not currently available," A female voice spoke from one of the screens on his gloves. "Excuse moi?!" The other other Eggman exclaimed confused, pressing buttons again, but still getting the exact same message. "My network is the most advanced piece of technology on that scum planet I have to call Earth, so DON'T YOU DARE TO BETRAY ME AND––" "Threatening your own technology won't make it work any better, Ivo," Eggman's voice spoke again, but like last time, it wasn't the other Eggman who spoke. "Did you said something?" The other other Eggman asked with a twitchy eye to his counterpart. "Believe or not, that wasn't me," The other Eggman replied with a bored expression. "He's right, he's not the reason we're gathered here today," Eggman spoke, and then, the spinning chair spin to reveal Eggman with his left leg crossed, his hands together and a big grin. "I am!" "HOLY MOLY MACCARONI!" The other Eggman exclaimed. "What in the name of science is going on here..." The other other Eggman said confused. "Kon'nichiwa, my fellow partners in crime!" Eggman greeted. "You probably already know it, but I'll introduce myself regardless: My name is Doctor Ivo Robotnik!" Yeah, it wasn't a good idea. "What?! No way! I am Doctor Ivo Robotnik!" The other Eggman shouted in anger, as he stood up from the couch. "You wished, fat man! I am the real genius known as Doctor Ivo Robotnik!" The other other Eggman stated with a proud smirk. "Fat man?! Well, have you seen yourself in a mirror, Baldy McNosehair?!" The other Eggman replied to his counterpart. "Oh, you think you're so smart that you can stand against me? I was spitting formulas at 3!" The other other Eggman replied, now standing up as well and glaring at his counterpart. "Well, I spit them at 2!" The other Eggman stated. Suddenly, Eggman smashed the table in front, startling his counterparts as they turned to face him. "I was writing schemes when I was just 6 months old, and you don't hear me bragging about it!" Eggman said in anger. "Now, gentleman, could you please sit down and allow me to explain what's happening? Or do I have to use extreme measures for you to finally pay me attention?!" He asked with a frown, also removing his glasses for a second to show his red pupils and black sclera. The two other Eggmans gulped and decided to sit down back on their couches. "No need to tell me twice!" The other Eggman said with a sheepish smile. "Yeah, we're sitting down. Just continue, sir," The other other Eggman said, although he tried to sound a bit more sure of himself. "Good," Eggman stated, placing his glasses back on place. "Now, as I was saying: My name is Doctor Ivo Robotnik, and I know you two have the same name. That's because we are the same person but not at the same time." "What kind of nonsense is that?" The other Eggman said. "For once, I agree with this guy," The other other Eggman agreed. "This is bullshit." "I know it sounds hard to believe for you, Mr. Robotnik. However, Dr. Eggman... You have worked with yourself in the past, if I recall correctly," Eggman told to his counterpart. "Uh... yes? I mean, he looked exactly like me but wearing black," The other Eggman pointed out. "He didn't looked more fat... although you do dress a lot better than me, I recognize that." "While I also agree with the fact that your clothes are divine, how is it that we are the same person, exactly?" Robotnik decided to ask with a frown. "Ever heard about the multiverse?" Eggman asked with a grin. "That's what gathered us here today! Now, while we do not share the same thoughts nor events in life, we do have certain points in time that we share in common." "I mean, you literally just said that I worked with myself before, so I know you're not lying at all," The other Eggman said. "I think our friend here, however, thinks otherwise..." He pointed out, since Robotnik was frowning. "Indeed. While I have researched about the possibility of a multiverse, I concluded that it was just a bunch of bullshit and nonsense turned into a 'theory'," Robotnik stated. "If anything, I should have discovered the multiverse already," He added with a confident smirk. "Technically, you already did," Eggman stated. "You also invented a very effective vaccine that managed to stop the acceleration of your cousin Maria's cancer when you were 12," He told to his two counterparts with a smirk. Both of his counterparts stared at him in awe after hearing that. "W-What?! H-How do you know that?!" The other Eggman asked in disbelief. "Because I did it too!" Eggman replied with a smirk. "But that's not all: I also know perfectly how little you felt when everyone payed attention to her death and forgot about us. How that single, little action was the bomb that exploded. Whoever Ivo Robotnik used to be before that day died, and here we are today: The result of our family's ignorance turned into something greater. An evil mastermind!" He stated with a sinister grin. The other two Eggmans, for the first time since they woke up, grinned back at Eggman. "Look at that... looks like the multiverse exists after all," Robotnik said with a joyful grin. "Though, I always considered myself a unique mind, because––" "Because you're a genius, you're IQ is superior, everyone else is stupid, blah, blah, blah..." Eggman finished with a smirk. "The three of us have been there. Isn't that right, Doctor?" He asked to the other Eggman. "Oh, definitely!" The other Eggman replied. "However, I'm still curious about a few things..." "Like how I brought you here? Why are you here? Where is here? And maybe why we're not in a fancy lab to show off my tech?" Eggman questioned with a grin. "Among other stuff, but yeah, that covers the basic questions" Robotnik said while placing his hands together. "Let me tell you all of that and more!" Eggman stated happily. "We have so much to talk, anyways~" He added with a grin. Universe 081114 Tails was walking back and forth around his lab with a frown. It's been an hour since Sonic left to look after that energy sign, and he hasn't returned yet. He was getting really worried, and while he didn't felt like Sonic was in trouble (they were used to deal with Eggman's stuff every week at this point), he did felt a bit anxious since he wasn't answering his calls. Amy was also with him, and she was also a bit worried about Sonic, but she decided to try and stay a bit calm. After all, one of them had to be calm and have a cold mind before jumping to conclusions. "Tails, maybe you're worrying too much," Amy said with a forced smile. "I mean, Sonic tends to enjoy himself while beating Eggman a little bit too much sometimes." "That still doesn't explains why it's been an hour since I told Sonic about that strange signal, and he still hasn't said anything!" Tails pointed out with a worried frown. "Besides, he's literally the fastest thing alive. How long can it take for him to defeat Eggman? Last time I checked, he didn't even lasted 5 minutes!" Amy was now panicking a bit, but she still took a deep breath before smiling again. "Tails, Sonic has to be fine. I even sent Knuckles and Sticks to look after them!" Tails stopped walking, and he turned to see Amy with a panicked expression. "YOU DID WHAT?!" "Don't worry, Tails!" Amy said with a smile. "I'm pretty sure they're all fine! We're a team! And we can take down Eggman without trouble! Any second now, those two are going to enter through that door and say––" "SONIC AND EGGMAN HAVE DISAPPEARED!" Knuckles shouted, as he kicked the door to the lab and entered along Sticks, Orbot and Cubot. "You see?" Amy said, before opening her eyes widely and realize what Knuckles said, panic now running through her whole being. "Wait, what?!" "Allow us to explain, miss Amy," Orbot said with a calmed voice. "You see, Sonic did arrived to the island. He asked Doctor Eggman about a weird energy sign that Tails detected, and the doctor seemed very confused at that." "However, when we told Eggman about that sign, a weird green portal opened suddenly, and it swallowed both Sonic and Eggman!" Cubot added. "We actually saw kind of that when we arrived," Sticks confessed. "I still think these two did something!" She added, glaring and growling at the two robots. "No... No, I know they don't," Tails said, crossing his arms and frowning. "If Eggman didn't knew about that energy, then something else is going on... both Sonic and Eggman were dragged away. This smells like something bigger... some kind of threat that doesn't compares to Eggman. Or it could be Eggman, just not the one that we know..." "But what kind of threat could need getting rid of both Sonic and Eggman?" Amy asked confused. "I don't know... But we'll find out our answer! One way or another!" Tails stated with a determinate look. Universe 140220 After Sonic pushed Tails and Knuckles off the Space Needle, Tails managed to grab Knuckles and fly with effort back to the top of the building. However, once they returned there and Tails let go Knuckles because of how heavy he felt, Sonic was nowhere to be seen. "Sonic?" Tails called out, before starting to panic a bit. "S-Sonic?! SONIC!" "Hedgehog?" Knuckles called out as well, looking around, and also feeling a bit panicked since he didn't replied... at all. "He... He didn't fall, did he? He still had some warp rings, so even if he did––" He tried to add, but then Tails grabbed him and started to shake him in panic. "What if he didn't?!" Tails asked. "What if he fell with no rings?! What is he's already gone?! What do we––" He shouted, but then he stopped when Knuckles slapped him hard enough to make him recover his senses... just a bit. "Calm down, fox!" Knuckles told him with a frown, while Tails rubbed his cheek in pain. "Also, sorry for slapping you so hard. But listen: Sonic cannot be dead. Not that we know of, anyway." "W-Well... There was a portal that came out of nowhere..." Tails pointed out, still rubbing his cheek in pain. "M-Maybe the portal dragged him?" And then, reality hit them like a bullet train. "He was dragged by the portal!" They both shouted in shock and panic. "Oh no! OH NO, OH NO, OH NO!!!" Tails said in panic. "This is bad... this is so, so bad! What do we do now? How can we know if he's fine? WHAT DO WE TELL TO TOM AND MADDIE?! WE CAN'T JUST GO IN AND TELL THEM SONIC'S GONE!" "Tails!" Knuckles screamed, not slapping him this time. "Let's try to think without panicking, alright?" He requested, and Tails nodded slowly. "Good. Now: Sonic went into some weird portal. We don't know what happened after that, but we do know that we can reach him." "Reach him?" Tails questioned confused, before widening his eyes in realization. "Y-You mean you want to use the Master Emerald to look after Sonic?!" "Is the biggest shot we have to take him back from... wherever he's supposed to be now," Knuckles pointed out with concern. Universe 220822 Eggman informed his counterparts on almost everything he has done so far in Equestria. At first, both of his counterparts laughed like maniacs when he said that this was a world full of colorful talking ponies, but Eggman's serious expression made them realize how serious he was being. Of course, Eggman also told them about all the crazy stuff he ever lived fighting against Sonic... that unfortunately included telling them about his looses, but he didn't mind. After all, he preferred to embrace his mistakes and learn from them rather than let them consume him all over again. Right now, the three doctors were at the main lab, where the machine that brought the two Eggmans of another dimension was located, and with Eggman showing off several videos that demonstrated how powerful Sonic and company really were, despite his Sonic not being on that universe at the moment. "So... Project Shadow was a complete disaster in your worlds..." Robotnik said with a frown. "That complicates everything for me back home..." "Eh, I wouldn't call it a disaster," Eggman replied. "Yeah, his purpose of destroying humanity as my grandfather Gerald wanted because of Maria's death was changed, but that doesn't means he's an angel now. He has killed people, but of course, the public eye has never found out. That's what makes him an anti-hero." "At least you got lucky. In my world, he's obsessed with destroying all reality once and for all," The other Eggman said with a frown. "In fact, last time I saw him, he almost succeeded! I don't want to destroy the world, I wanna rule it! Yet Shadow's an obstacle rather than an ally! He's nothing but trouble in my world, so you better make sure he's under control if you ever release him from his capsule!" He warned to Robotnik. "I got plenty of excuses to make sure Shadow follows my every order," Robotnik stated with a smirk. "Perhaps that'll show you that I'm not such of a looser as you two." "Says the guy who lost on a 1 to 1 battle against a human with a lower IQ," Eggman said, typing something on his keyboard and then turning to see his counterparts. "And don't make me remind you how many times Sonic escaped alive from you, Grinch!" He added with a frown. Robotnik growled after hearing that, and he pressed buttons on his glove by instinct, but then the message of his network not working came out again, and he frowned in annoyance. "Anyways... Perhaps it is time you explain us the exact reason why we're here, right?" The other Eggman requested. "Also, tell us why a world of ponies of all places..." He added with a bored expression. "You know? It feels that you kind of read my mind, because I was getting into that..." Eggman replied with a grin. "Sage!" "Yes father?" Sage asked as he appeared out of nowhere. Robotnik screamed like a girl again, but this time, the other Eggman joined him as well, after they both saw Sage coming out of nowhere. "By your reactions, I'm gonna guess you don't know who's Sage yet, do you?" Eggman asked with a raised eyebrow. "You never mentioned there was a ghost girl here!" The other Eggman said in fright. "Ghost girl? She's my daughter!" Eggman said with a frown. "This is Sage Robotnik, and she is the reason to why and how you were dragged to this universe." "Okay, first: You have a daughter?! And second: Didn't you said a powerful artifact called the Paradox Prism is the reason we are here?" Robotnik questioned. "Yes, I have a daughter. No, I'm not married, and no, I'm not divorced either," Eggman explained. "She used to be an AI, but I happened to be so smart that I created her a body, and now she's a real girl! Of course, being a father doesn't makes me less of a master mind! If anything, it gives me a bigger reason to take over the entire multiverse!" He stated with a smile. "As for your other question, she made the Paradox Prism work." "So... you turned an AI into your daughter..." The other Eggman said. "Well, that's pretty impressive, to tell the truth." "Still... how's that she's floating? And how did she just... came out of nowhere?" Robotnik questioned confused. "I'll love to answer that, but we're going to loose focus, you know? Evils business first!" Eggman stated. "True! I seriously want to know what we're doing here already!" The other Eggman stated with a frown. "Sage, dear. Please be a sweetheart and show this two why they're here," Eggman told Sage with a smirk. Sage nodded, and with a snap, several digital screens appeared. "You're ambition to conquer your worlds is big... but what if you could take over every single world at once?" She asked the other two Eggmans with a smirk. "Oh, that would be amazing!" The other Eggman said with a grin. "Agreed," Robotnik added with a nod. "Well, that's exactly why you're here, mes!" Eggman stated with a huge grin. "You were gathered today to become the best of the best! The entire universe is in our hands, and all thanks to the Paradox Prism fragments we have!" He added, presenting the machine with the green and yellow fragments of the Paradox Prism. The two other Eggmans approached the fragments and felt amazed by how much they were glowing, as well as how big they seemed to be, specially to Robotnik, considering he had his hands over the Master Emerald. "Fascinating..." Robotnik said. "Not even the Master Emerald of my universe seemed to have this much energy." "I barely have things this impressive in my world..." The other Eggman confessed. "You say we can travel through the entire multiverse with this?" "We can do so much more than that! Just imagine it: Taking over our universes, and then conquering every single one until none is free from our wit!" Eggman stated with joy. "What do you say? Should we take over the entire multiverse and defeat our Sonics once and for all... together?" The other Eggmans looked at each other, before grinning and then look back at Eggman. "Let's get started!" They said in unison. And so, the three Eggmans laughed like maniacs, ready to conquer the entire Multiverse. Tails and Zipp experimented the entire day with their fragments of the Paradox Prism. Unfortunately, they were still at square one: They tried to open up a portal with the machine that Tails built for the Chaos Emeralds, the machine exploded; they connected the Prisms to a quill from Sonic, another one from Knuckles and a yellow hair from Tails, the quills and hair turned into dust. Tails even tried to use Chaos Control over the Prism, but it did nothing. Thankfully, neither Tails nor the Emeralds ended up affected by this experiment, but still... they were going nowhere yet. "I'm running out of options here, Zippy..." Tails said with shame, as he lay on Zipp's shoulder with a down expression, while Zipp wrapped him with her wing and nuzzled her head over his. "We already tried out half of what I wrote down, and we're still going nowhere..." Zipp kissed his head and nuzzled a bit there again. "Hey, we'll find a way to bring Sonic back, little guy. We just... haven't found the right note to do so. At least not yet, but we'll eventually open our way to Sonic." "I hope we can..." Tails replied with worry. Soon enough, Sunny arrived in her alicorn form, which she made disappear after she landed in front of Tails and Zipp. "Hey guys. Still nothing?" Sunny asked with concern. "No..." Tails confessed with shame. "We tried everything we can, but... whatever those fragments require to work properly... it seems like we're still some steps away to figure them out," Zipp added with a worried frown. "Well, I decided to take a second look at the basement, and I found this," Sunny said, as she took out a paper from her bag and extended it to Tails. He grabbed the paper and examined it. At first it looked like just an old paper that had a draw of the Paradox Prism... but then, he noticed something in the corner of his eye. "Zippy... could you handle me the ultraviolet light, please?" Tails requested. Zipp raised an eyebrow, but she still gave him the ultraviolet light anyways. Tails turned it on... and then both him and Zipp smiled like never before when Tails putted the light over the paper, because it was giving the exact instructions on how to properly built a device that could make the entire Prism, or even just a fragment, work out properly without destroying the multiverse in the process and by mistake. "Sunny... have you any idea of how good this is?!" Zipp asked her with joy. "This thing can help us to built a machine that could bring Sonic back!" She cheered, before launching to give her a big hug. "Sunny, you're a hero!" "I-I am?!" Sunny asked on disbelief, but still hugging back Zipp. "So much more than you imagine, Sunny," Tails replied with a bright smile. "We... we can bring Sonic back..."