//------------------------------//
// 1. A New Purpose 
// Story: Sonic The Hedgehog x My Little Pony: The Final Act - Part 1: Back to the Multiverse 
// by BronySonicFan 
//------------------------------//


Universe 010921


Ponies across Maretime Bay were walking peacefully as they went on their daily lives.

Suddenly, a figure passed by flying over them, but it wasn't anything strange. After all, magic's been back in Equestria for quite a long time, and the residents of Maretime Bay where already used to pegasi flying across Equestria.

However, this wasn't a pegasus flying, but an Alicorn mare instead. She had yellow fur; red and yellow mane and tail; red, orange and light blue feathers, orange horn, and kind of grey-ish hooves.

This mare flew happily above her home, Maretime Bay, and smiled down at the sight of the three pony tribes living together.

"Alright, everypony. Let's do this one last time...

My name is Sunset Shimmer. You might heard about me before: I used to be a unicorn, and I was Princess Celestia's number one pupil... At least until I made some bad decisions that made me travel to another world. A human counterpart world to Equestria, to be specific. And I was... a bad girl who ruled over a school named Canterlot High. You could say I was the 'bully queen' in town... Not my finest moment, I know.

A few years later, I went back to Equestria to steal Celestia's new successor and new princess' crown, Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. However, I lost track of the crown once I got back to CHS, and had to go through some obstacles to get the crown. I also had to make sure that Twilight never got it back while she reunited the Rainbooms and mend their friendship.

Yet, when I finally got my hands over the crown, I was corrupted by its dark magic and transformed into a She-Demon. Again, not my finest moment... Still, it was thanks to Twilight and the girls that I learned about the magic of friendship, which helped me to become a better person... and a better pony.

Over the years, the Rainbooms and I have had encounters of rouge Equestrian magic and lost Equestrian Artifacts that somehow came into CHS, but over time from those, our friendship has grown stronger.

However, a few years later, after we all graduated from college, I decided to meet my old friend Twilight Sparkle and see how Equestria was doing... I never expected what I found once I returned. The Equestria I remembered was gone, as well as all the friends and family I had here... Twilight included.

The Equestria I arrived wasn't the one Twilight visioned, because ponykind and all the other creatures were divided, and the magic faded away moons prior to my arrival. Yet mine still worked out for some reason. It was probably because of the geode I used on the human world, but who knows.

Just then, I came across a group of ponies that still remembered magic and wished to help me bring it back so we could bring ponykind together again.

First off: Izzy Moonbow; a cheery Unicorn I met first. She's as cheerful as Pinkie Pie and is always playful, sometimes unpredictable... just like Pinkie.

Hitch Trailblazer; an Earth Pony Sheriff of a coast town named Maretime Bay. He's kind of a law sucker... I mean, he makes sure anypony picks up their litters, but he also keeps the town in order. He has a strange thing with critters and animals because they all adore him. Heck, he can even speak to them! Just like Fluttershy... Yet, he can be really stubborn sometimes, and also a bit clueless on what's true or not. Still, he definitely is the embodiment of kindness and honesty when it's required, just like Fluttershy and Applejack.

Zephyrina Storm, or just Zipp like she likes to be called; a Pegasus Princess and heir to the throne of Zephyr Heights. Even if she really doesn't wants to be Queen, she is always loyal to her friends, has a big fascination for mysteries, and enjoys flying  a lot, just like Rainbow Dash. She also gots a competitive side that might or not might clash with mine sometimes.

Pipp Petals; Zipp's little sister and princess of Zephyr Heights as well. She's a singer and a celebrity on the web, and she also runs a salon here in the Bay. She's almost always livestreaming with her Pippsqueaks and being a great star. It kind of reminds me how Rarity used to be with her boutiques, if all what Twilight told me through the journal was true.

And last but not least important: Sunny Starscout; an Earth Pony mare that still believes in the magic of friendship. She and her father used to study Ancient Equestria, and they've been huge fans of Twilight and the girls, which they call the 'Guardians of Harmony'. Pretty catchy, if you ask me. Also, she's kind of a like a student to me, but also like the little sister I never had. She sees me both as her sister and mentor.

The six of us worked together to unite the three Unity Crystals that brought back the magic, and by doing that, we brought ponykind together again, rebuilding Twilight's legacy. That also kind of transformed Sunny and I into Alicorns, although in Sunny's case, she's only an Alicorn half of the time, because she can transform into one whenever she wants. This also makes us the two new Princesses of Friendship, tittle that really don't mean anything today, to be honest.

Now, even if we did brought magic back, we had a few hiccups along the way. Like when Earth Ponies were complaining about not having magic, but then we help them understand that friendship was they way, and we not only managed to keep the balance between harmony and magic, but we also created new Earth Pony Magic! Now they have the power to grow and control plants.

Hitch also adopted a baby dragon he named Sparky, which was a bit odd since, according to Sunny, Equestria hasn't seen dragons in generations, but we don't really dig too much into that matter.

Over time, we had some festivals and holidays that we celebrated together, a few magic mishaps that needed to be solved and taken care of, and a festival where some creatures called Troggles appeared and tried to steal ponies voices if we didn’t stop them with rubies...

Honestly, that's a terrible way to stop a ghost, but I don't make the rules.

Oh, yeah! We also met Discord after a while. He's... complicated. He kind of tried to destroy magic, but we made him see that it wasn't the way to go, so he hangs out with us now and then.

There's also Misty, a unicorn we first met in Izzy's sleepover, but she always acted really strange and nervous around us, like Fluttershy half the time. Even so, and since then, we see her as our friend... We never really knew she was spying on us for an Alicorn named Opaline, an evil Alicorn who tore apart Twilight's legacy and divided Equestria, which I am really angry at.

Misty was so conflicted on her actions, but at the end of the day, she saw us as her friend, and she choose to help us stop Opaline, while also maintaining her cover and the Cutie Mark that she finally earned. She became a double agent for us to know Opaline's movements after an intense battle we had with her, which helped us a bunch to know her plans. When Misty finally choose her friends over Opaline's plans and prevented her from sucking out all of Sparky’s dragon fire, which she used to bring back her full power, she become part of our group.

Ever since then, we stopped Opaline time and time again to prevent what she did to Twilight's legacy from ever happening again, as well as helping other ponies and solving problems along the way. We eventually defeated Opaline for good, and now, Equestria is living in peace and harmony again.

And so, here we are today."

Sunset inhaled the smell of the air and exhaled happily. She maybe didn't liked to fly that much like Zipp, but she did enjoyed it when she did so, specially because she could get a glance on Maretime Bay and its citizens.

It's hard to believe that we managed to achieve this... Sunset thought with a smile, looking down at everypony in Maretime Bay going through their daily lives.

Soon enough, Sunset arrived to her destination: The Crystal Brighthouse, located on top in a hill, not so far from Maretime Bay. She lived here with the girls, since Hitch preferred to live close to Maretime Bay... Well, that, and also because one stallion living with six mares under the same roof... Yeah, that couldn't end well.

The Alicorn mare landed in the floor and slowly opened the door to get inside the building. The Brighthouse was a huge building from the inside, so huge that anypony that entered alone could feel really small in there.

Sunset was no exception. Despite the fact that she was starting to stretch a little bit, probably because of being an Alicorn, she always felt so small compared to the Crystal Brighthouse, specially whenever she entered on her own... Well, even with the rest of her new friends, she still felt smaller than the building.

Shacking her head from those thoughts, Sunset smiled and walked through her home. She headed towards the bedroom and entered the elevator, pressing the button with scanner to get to the top of the building.

Once she reached the Crystal Room, she sat on the floor and looked up at the Unity Crystals with a smile. The Crystals were shining as bright as usual, spreading all the magic across the land of Equestria and staying on place since there was no problem among ponykind that could affect them.

And yet, that didn't changed the fact that Sunset's smile faded away with concern. Ever since they defeated Opaline, Twilight stated she wasn't needed in Equestria anymore, then disappeared inside the necklace and refused to come out.

Of course, Sunset demanded for an answer, but Twilight gave none before going back into her collar. Worse of all, anytime Sunset tried to call her out, or anytime she purposely started to retell something from the past to catch Twilight's attention, the collar would still remain closed.

Up to this day, Sunset didn't understood what made Twilight change her mind so abruptly to the point she would close all connection with her, but she never came out of the collar ever again.

Perhaps it was a sign that she and the new ponies were ready to keep an eye over Equestria, ponykind, friendship and harmony on their own, without the guidance of who used to be the supreme ruler of Equestria... The last ruler the land ever had. Can you believe she was just the second one? And yet, she still didn't lasted long...

Sunset chuckled at this last thought. It might be bad, but thinking a bit about it, it was also hilarious that Twilight was just the second ruler after Celestia, and the last one too...

"I know you wouldn't laugh about this, Twi..." Sunset muttered, as she looked back into the Unity Crystals and snorted. "But you gotta admit... It's quite funny..."

Soon enough, a portal opened in the ceiling, and Discord came out of it as he sat at Sunset's side. "Laugh about what?" The lord of chaos asked with a playful grin.

Sunset sighed and smiled, but she kept staring at the Unity Crystals. "Twilight was the second ruler after Celestia. She was also the last one..." She replied with a slight chuckle. "Many others would think it's a massive offense, or even say that she was a disgrace for letting Celestia's legacy to die so quickly. To me? It's hilarious to think Equestria only had two rulers!"

In other circumstances, Discord would've laughed along. Heck, he wanted to laugh at such a comparison... But Sunset's tone was cracked and hurt, product of the pain she's been feeling ever since Twilight encaged herself on the necklace.

Sunset started to laugh at first. It sounded maniac, like the kind of laugh that would make a villain, the kind of laugh that Opaline made when she planned her next move... But after a few seconds, such a laugh broke and mixed along crying sounds, while Sunset herself started to tear up out of control.

Anyone could noticed from a mile away that the absence from Twilight affected her. Of course, it was understandable: Having her back after getting her message warning about Opaline was a relief after she came back and found her home different... But now that Twilight refused to come back, she felt a void on her heart again.

Discord understood that perfectly. He felt like that when Fluttershy died all those years ago because of old age, and he spent centuries blaming ponies and their division for that... Now, even if Sunset had no one to blame, she still missed Twilight, probably just as much as Discord missed Fluttershy.

So, without hesitation, the old draconequus decided to leave his chaotic side aside and embrace the Alicorn mare into a hug. Sunset didn't even flinched, she simply held into Discords arms and cried hardly, not holding back anymore...

She missed Twilight, every single day. It was painful to think that she lost her dear friend not once, but twice. Worse of all? She could still come back, she simply refused to, and that just burned Sunset's soul even more. Why did Twilight refused to come out of the necklace? She couldn't understand.

After a few minutes of crying everything out of her system, Sunset finally managed to calm herself down. Despite some tears still coming out, she could at least breath normally again, sorbing a bit from her nose from time to time.

"...T-Thanks, Discord..." Sunset managed to say, using her left hoof to wipe some tears away.

"Is the least I can do," Discord replied with a slight smile, before looking over at the Unity Crystals with concern. "After all, I know how it feels to loose a friend you deeply cared for. To think that we lost Twilight not one, but two times... The pain you feel is completely understandable..."

"It doesn't changes the fact that I miss her... That I need her..." Sunset said, sorbing from her nose again. "Even if Opaline isn't a problem anymore, there could still be menaces to magic out there! Sure, we dealt with Allura in Starlight Ridge, but who says she can't come to Equestria by her own methods!? Maybe Twilight's right that we're ready to face more than Opaline without her, but... But I still miss her... Worse of all, Twilight's not the only one that feels she isn't needed around anymore..."

"What?" Discord exclaimed, confused and shocked.

"Ever since we defeated Allura, I've seen how stronger my friends have become," Sunset started to explain. "Izzy, Hitch, Zipp, Pipp, Misty... Specially Sunny and her Alicorn power! What do they need me for anymore? Maybe Equestria will be safer both without Twilight and without me around..."

"Hey, look at me..." Discord called out, and Sunset did looked at him. "Sunny and you defeated Opaline without Twilight's guidance. Before getting her message through the Unity Crystals, you managed to teach these ponies about friendship and what it stands for. All of that without Twilight being around."

Then, he snapped his fingers and made a small blue sphere float in the air, while it replied some of the adventures Sunset had with her new friends.

"You learned everything you know about friendship from her, but these ponies have learned everything they know about friendship from you!" Discord pointed out with a smile. "Perhaps you miss Twilight, and you feel like you still need her... But Sunset, you already have done so much without her. You and your friends are strong enough to protect Equestria from any upcoming menace. And trust me when I tell you that, if something greater is to come for you, it'll come. Just give it time. Until then, these ponies need you to stay with them."

Sunset looked surprised at Discord. She heard before that, when he wanted, Discord could be a strong pillar of help, and the fact that he told her all of this proves that point.

So, Sunset smiled at the draconequus. "Wow... Look at you, Discord! Never thought you'll had that wise side!" She chuckled, wiping a few tears left.

"I might love to cause chaos..." Discord admitted with a smirk, before quickly teleporting at Sunset's other side. "But even a former trickster like me knows when to get serious!" He added, as he booped Sunset's nose.

Sunset chuckled again and let out a happy sigh. "You know what? I think you're right. Twilight might be hiding on that necklace for some reason that I still don't understand... But I know for sure that Sunny, the guys and I are enough to keep Equestria on track from any villain that might show up!"

"Now that's the spirit!" Discord cheered, as he multiplied across the Crystal Room and all the Discords but the main one clapped and cheered at Sunset, who rolled her eyes playfully at his attitude. "Besides, with a former Lord of Chaos, cool Cutie Mark magic, and a skilled Alicorn in battle like you protecting Equestria and these Crystals, what's the worse that can happen?"






Universe 110514


Tirek was feeling conflicted, and he had no idea on what the heck was going on.

Just a few weeks ago, he was defeated by Twilight Sparkle and her friends, whom used a strange and powerful magic that came out of nowhere to defeat him and restore the magic to everypony in Equestria.

Now, out of nowhere, a strange red portal opened in Tartarus, and from it came out a pony figure, an Alicorn to be precise... One that he has never seen before, nor heard about. She was a purple mare with dark blue eyes and glittery blue eyeshadow. Her mane was white with light streaks of cyan, and it was parted into two side sections with thin braids wrapped around her ears. She also got dark bracelets around her legs, with her right foreleg's bracelet having a small red crystal over it.

"What the hell..." Tirek muttered confused. "Now who are you supposed to be?"

"Lord Tirek!" The mare spoke with a grin. "I spent years reading stories about you, but never I would though that our first meeting will be... On such weird circumstances... My name is Opaline Arcana. Pretty sure you never heard about me..."

"Opaline?" Tirek said with a snort. "Of course I have no idea on who you are! And neither do I care about it! I have enough trouble with four Alicorns out there, I don't need trouble with a fifth one! Now get lost!" He stated, as he turned around on his cage, crossed his arms and gave his back to Opaline.

However, everything the Alicorn did was let out a mocking laugh, one that confused Tirek, although it also annoyed him.

"What's so funny?" Tirek dared to ask.

After a while, Opaline stopped laughing, but she couldn't stop grinning at the centaur. "Oh, don't mind me. I just find hilarious that you even consider I'm sided up with Celestia," She explained, as she started to walk around Tirek's cage.

That made Tirek's eyes widen, and as Opaline walked around him, he frowned, while approaching to the cell bars anytime she moved around.

"What do you mean with that? Are you an Alicorn that's not on Celestia's team?" Tirek asked out of curiosity.

"Precisely!" Opaline replied with a smirk. "In fact, in a few years from now, I'll be the very reason why Equestria splits up and destroys all the hard work Twilight and her friends are making to keep peace, harmony, and bleh!" She said with a frown, also pulling her tongue out at the last thing.

"What? You're telling me that you are going to destroy Twilight's efforts? Just like that?" Tirek asked with a raised eyebrow, clearly not trusting Opaline's word.

"Oh, please!" Opaline rolled her eyes. "It took a lot of work, actually. I had to study all my moves carefully for years. It only took Celestia and Luna abdicating the throne to Twilight to split Equestria apart. But thousands of years later, a new group of idiots have thrown my plans through the window..."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Tirek asked confused. "And if you really are going to split Equestria in the future, then what the hell are you doing here?!"

"Oh, yeah. That." Opaline beamed, before launching a blast of fire magic to Tirek's cage, startling the centaur.

However, even if Tirek covered his face with his hands, he felt confused when he didn't felt anything wrong with him. So, he opened his eyes, which widened when he saw that he was fine.

Not only that, he was free as well.

Tirek noticed that his cage was burned down, and he looked over at Opaline confused. "You... you free'd me?"

Opaline scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Of course I did! And I have a really good reason for it!" She stated, now grinning again. Then, she approached Tirek. "Have you ever heard about... The multiverse?"

"The multi what now?" Tirek asked confused, as he looked around to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"I come from a different reality. One where I already did everything I told you a few seconds ago..." Opaline started to explain. "One that used to look exactly like this universe, many moons ago."

"A different un–– Ma'am, I think you should really see a doctor, because you are bluffing right now!" Tirek said with a frown.

"I imagined you were going to say that..." Opaline said, before grinning and light her horn up.

However, her horn turned red, as well as the crystal on her bracelet, and that startled Tirek, because he stepped back from her.

Then, Opaline shoot to the ground and opened a red portal below them, one that she then lifted up with her magic, something that made Tirek cover his face with his arms.






Universe 010921


Soon enough, Tirek opened his eyes again, and he gasped.

Above Opaline and him, there was the red portal the former created, but then it closed. However, what got Tirek surprised was their environment: This was Canterlot City, but it's current state was atrocious!

The buildings were all damaged and closed with wooden tables. The castle was ruined, and it was pretty noticeable that the towers have fallen down a long time ago. The place was empty, it felt like entering a ghost town.

"In the name of Tartarus, what even happened here?!" Tirek asked.

"I happened!" Opaline replied, while she looked around the town with a frown. "As I fought Twilight Sparkle for the control over really powerful artifacts full of magic, everypony abandoned this place. What you see is everything that's left not only from Canterlot, but also from the Equestria we once knew."

Tirek couldn't believe what he was hearing and seeing. This is Equestria's future? For everything Twilight Sparkle is doing to simply be forgotten? For all the efforts of Celestia, Luna and even Cadance to be wort nothing?

This was atrocious, this was horrible... This was perfect.

"Is this really the future that awaits my... How do you call it? Universe?" Tirek asked, as he looked over at Opaline with a sinister grin.

"Indeed!" Opaline replied with a similar grin. "In fact, this universe in particular not only has already gone through what I told you, but I also have lost in here..." She added, as she looked over at her hoof polish. "That means that there's no ruler in this universe."

She felt satisfied when she said this, because Tirek was looking at her with wide eyes after she said that last thing.

"No ruler..." Tirek muttered, before grinning sinisterly again and rub his hands mischievously. "Ohoho! Now I start to like where this is going!"

"You're welcome!" Opaline said. "Now, before you ask why I decided to free you and bring you here: There's an entire multiverse of infinite possibilities out there. I have lost in this universe in particular, but that doesn't mean you will. After all, the ponies in this world aren't even aware that you exist!"

"So you brought me to a world free of villains so I can caught those ponies off guard?" Tirek asked with a sinister grin.

"Exactly!" Opaline said with a wide grin. "Now you start to get it! And to show you that I'm not messing with you..." She added, as she lightened her horn and willingly gave some magic to Tirek, who grew a few inches taller, his horns became bigger, and his muscles formed a bit as well. "There you go! Charged up and ready to start the hunt!"

Tirek looked over at his new physicality and smirked sinisterly again, appreciating his new muscles and even cracking his neck and fingers a bit, just to make sure his strength was back as well.

"I gotta admit, Opaline... You truly are a force of evil!" Tirek told the Alicorn with a smirk.

"Oh, please! You're gonna make me blush!" Opaline said sarcastically with a chuckle. "Jokes aside, I'm glad you see the vision of my humble doing. After all, there's not better tactic for conquering than the surprise factor!"

"And I agree on that!" Tirek replied. "Out of curiosity, though... What are you gonna do now?"

"Well, as I said before, there's an entire multiverse of infinite possibilities out there. My goal is to bring every universe a villain so they can conquer and rule it over!" Opaline replied with a grin. "Enjoy your new home!" She finished, as she opened another red portal and traversed it, then it closed behind her.

"Oh, I definitely will!" Tirek replied, as he turned around and made a massive jump from where he was.

Once he was high enough, he saw in the distance something that made his already big grin grow: A city in the mountains, at the other side of Equestria and big enough for many ponies to live there.

Tirek sniffed in that direction and exhaled in glee. "Yes... Magic!" He declared with sinister joy, also licking his lips.





Opaline went back to the realm where she had access to every universe.

She sighed in relief that she got out of that universe, and then smirked confidently. "Good. That should keep this 'Secret Society' away from me for a while. Now that I have enough universes disrupted by villains from different universes, I think it's time I start to steal some magic for myself. Also, I have a Paradox Prism to restore!"

After this, she boosted towards a random universe, not knowing that she's being watched by someone...

"This cannot be good..." Chip muttered with concern, as he drove his ship towards the universe Opaline just entered.






Universe 010921


It was a bright and sunny day in Equestria, specially in Maretime Bay.

At the Crystal Brighthouse, the Mane 7 were relaxing and having a picnic near the Brighthouse. Zipp was flying around, Pipp was taking selfies on her phone, Izzy was showing Misty on how to use her magic and also enjoying some snacks together, and Hitch was reading a book to Sparky and the critters around him.

At the top of the Brighthouse, in the Crystal Room, Sunset was enjoying the view with a smile, soon giving a sigh.

"What a beautiful day in Equestria. The sun is shining, having a great picnic, no problems, no issues, and no Opaline or Allura to ruin this day..." Sunset said as she smiled, one that faded away when she had a thought.

"It sure is!" Sunny called, out as she came next to Sunset with a smile. "It's not been that long since we stopped Opaline, but things have been great lately!"

"Yeah..." Sunset said, but she seemed to think about something with a down expression.

Sunny saw this and turned to her. "Hey, Sunset. You okay? What's on your mind?"

"Huh?" Sunset exclaimed, before realizing why Sunny is asking. "Oh, nothing, Sunny. Just having a thought in my head."

"Like what?" Sunny asked again.

"Well, it's just... I feel like I'm not needed around here anymore, and that you guys don’t need me, either..." Sunset replied with sadness.

Sunny felt surprised by that. "What?! What are you talking about? Why would you think that?!"

"During our time together, I saw how you ponies grew strong together and how close you all are. And during our battle with Opaline, you have become the strongest out of all of us, Sunny!" Sunset explained with concern. "Lately, I've been feeling like I'm not needed anymore and should return to the human world..."

"What?!" Sunny asked in shock. "Of course we need you, Sunset! You were there for us when some of us had doubts, you helped to bring back magic, you been teaching us the ways of magic and how the Equestria was during Twilight's reign, and you even helped others seen reason when some ponies make mistakes! Like with Posey!"

"I know that..." Sunset admitted, still looking down. "But sometimes, it feels like I'm just there to watch what's happening while everything's fixed by you and the others. And, to be honest, I'm not sure if I should return to the human world, or if I want to..."

"And why is that?" Sunny asked confused.

"Sunny, when I first returned to Equestria, I discovered that everything changed!" Sunset pointed out. "I realized that time moves quicker here in Equestria than it does in the Human World. When I came here, I found out my home has changed, and all my friends were gone. So what do you think would happen if I return to the human world?"

Sunny's eyes widened, since she realized what Sunset was talking about. "You think that if you return to the human world, time will move a little quicker in Equestria if you are there. And, if you return here, you will find out that a lot of time has passed again and... We might not be around..."

"Correct..." Sunset nodded. "I... I-I don’t know how that's possible, but what happened when I first returned will happen again. A-And I don't wanna outlive my friends anymore, Sunny. I-I don't know if I need to be in Equestria or not so I could go b-back into the human world, a-and if I do, all the friends I made here will be gone again. Y-You included!" She exclaimed, as she began to tear up, while Sunny listened with concern. "I-I don't wanna lose you or the others... You ponies are more than just friends to me, you are family! A-And I see you as my sister, Sunny. I don't wanna leave, if it means…" She trailed off as she began to sob a bit, while tears started forming in her eyes.

Sunny looked at Sunset with sympathy and walked up to her, before wrapping her hooves around Sunset in a comforting hug, while Sunset returned it and cried on Sunny's shoulder.

"It's okay, Sunset. I'm here with you..." Sunny said calmly. "I don't want you to go through that pain again, either. I was alone too when my dad passed away. Even if Hitch was my friend, other ponies didn't saw things like me until we brought back the magic..." She explained, as she looked at Sunset in the eyes with a small smile. "When Izzy and you showed up, I didn't just meet a Guardian of Harmony, but I won a sister figure who's always there for me. I would be sad if you left, Sunset, because we have been like family for a very long time. And... I would be sad too if any of you go. But I know that no matter what happens, we will always be there for each other. And we will never forget. The choice is yours, and like you said, the Human world time is slower there than in Equestria, meaning that the friends that you made there will still be around even after centuries in Equestria, so you don't have to worry about out-living them. Besides, Equestria is your home! And you would do anything to protect it and be close to the ones you care for!"

Sunset still had tears in her eyes, but soon, a smile started to form as she sobbed a bit. "Thank you, Sunny..." She said, while the two ponies hugged again and stay like that for a moment.

"We were always meant to find each other, huh, sister?" Sunny said with a smirk.

Sunset chuckled slightly, as they broke apart and she wiped her tears. "I guess that's what you call fate!" She said, while the two ponies gave a small laugh together.

But then, the ground started to shake as a rumbling sound could be heard. 

"W-Whoa? What's going on?" Sunset asked in shock, as she and Sunny tried to keep their balance.

"I'm not sure!" Sunny answered, as she held onto the railing.

On the ground, where the rest of the Mane 7 were having a picnic, the ponies felt the shake as well, while Zipp heard the sound from the air.

"Whoa! What is happening?!" Pipp cried out, as she tried to angle her phone for her live stream, but couldn't get her balance.

"Earthquake!" Izzy called out, while having a pie flew out of her hand and landed on Hitch's head, which made him groan a bit.

"In Maretime Bay?" Zipp questioned confused.

"Is it possible?" Misty asked Hitch curiously, who was wiping his face from the pie contents.

"Could be, but not likely. We never had earthquakes here before..." Hitch explained, while looking around with concern.

Soon enough, the ponies outside the Brighthouse entered the building again, while Sunny and Sunset followed along.

They all reunited in the living room, and pretty much the other five ponies immediately went to Sunny and Sunset to bomb with questions at them.

"What's going on?!" Izzy asked first with panic.

"Did you girls felt that too?!" Misty asked as well.

"We're not in danger, right?!" Hitch asked nervously.

"Okay, everypony, calm down!" Sunset requested, and the other five ponies did so.

"We definitely felt that, too... But we don't know what's going on!" Sunny confessed.

"And whatever it is, it cannot be good!" Sunset stated with a concerned frown.

Pipp's first instinct was to check her phone and see if any social media had any idea on what happened. Of course, Sunset and Zipp deadpanned at the young pegasus for her action, but before they could scold her and complain about what she was doing, Pipp gasped loudly, which made everypony else gasp.

"Sunny, turn the TV on!" Pipp told her desperately.

"What?" Sunny said confused. "Why should I––"

"Just do it!" Pipp said, as she grabbed Sunny's face and placed her nose on hers.

Sunny still felt confused, but she decided to obey and turn the TV on in the living room.

Let's just say she's not gonna like the surprise.

Once the TV was on, the image of Sky and Dazzle hiding behind a trash container was shown, which already confused the Mane 7.

"This just in!" Sky spoke first with a panicked tone. "Zephyr Heights is being attacked!"

"The what now?!" both Zipp and Pipp exclaimed with panicked tones and wide eyes.

"On what seemed to be another peaceful evening, our city has been compromised by a strange and giant creature––" Dazzle tried to add, but she got cut off for a moment by a roar in the background, while both Sky and her covered their ears. "T-They have really big horns, and they seem to be stealing everypony's magic in the city!"

"A big creature with horns that steals magic?" Misty questioned. "That sounds weird..."

"Wait... I have heard about that before..." Sunset said with concern.

"Yeah, me too... My dad wrote down about a creature with such a description!" Sunny said with wide eyes. "Ugh, what was their name!?"

"If you're watching this from your home, stay there! Is dangerous to get out and––" Sky tried to add.

However, he got interrupted when the trash container was lifted and thrown away, just to give sight to a horrible monster: They were a creature with red skin, white hair, dark fur, black horns, and cloven hooves. Their head had bull-like facial features with a goat-like beard.

The creature lightened their horns up and lifted Sky and Dazzle in the air, before creating a yellow sphere with their horns and absorb the pegasi magic out of the two reporters, before letting go of them and leave them in the ground.

Soon enough, the creature jumped towards the camera, and the pony holding it screamed in fear, while the monster grabbed the camera and lifted it high enough, looking at it with a frown and a sadistic smile.

"To everypony watching this: Run as much as you want! Lord Tirek's coming for your magic!" The creature, a.k.a. Tirek, said with glee, followed by a maniac laugh.

After that, he raised an arm and punched the camera, immediately cutting off the signal.

The Mane 7 watched the TV in shock at what just happened.

"Did he just say... Lord Tirek?" Sunny asked in shock.

"I-I think he did..." Hitch said nervously.

"No..." Sunset muttered with a pale expression, as she stepped a bit back "No no no no no no! Not him! Any creature but him!" She said frantically and started to breath heavily.

"Sunset..." Sunny muttered with panic. "Please tell me he's not who I think he is..."

"...He is, Sunny. He's... He's back..." Sunset replied, nervously as well.

"Can somepony please tell us what's going on!?" Zipp called out in panic.

"Yeah! Zephyr Heights is being attacked by this Lord Tirek guy! We have to go over there and stop him!" Pipp called out as she and her sister were about to fly up, but then Sunset flew in front of them.

"Whoa, girls! We can't just go and confront him just like that!" Sunset called out.

"Why not!?" The Royal Sisters said with anger.

"Because that's Lord Tirek! A Centaur who sucks the magic out of any creature in Equestria!" Sunset revealed, which made the other ponies but Sunny look at her in shock. "Tirek's one of Equestria's worst ancient enemies! He nearly took all the magic from Equestria to become young, big and strong to rule, and if it weren't for Twilight and her friends, he would've succeeded!"

This shocked everypony else, but Sunny. "So, this Tirek guy is one of Twilight's old enemies?!" Hitch asked nervously.

"Indeed!" Sunset replied with concern. "And if everything she told me is true, this is one creature you don't wanna be friends with..."

"I remember now. He was part of the Legion of Doom! The one that nearly took over Equestria during the final battle with Twilight and the Guardians of Harmony!" Sunny said with wide eyes.

"I think I remember that from Opaline's stories..." Misty said with a rub of her chin. "But she said that he was trapped in stone with Cozy Glow and Chrysalis!"

"Then how is he free and still around?!" Pipp questioned loudly, since Zipp and her were worried because their hometown is being attacked.

"I don't know, but we can't just let him run rampant across town and steal ponies' magic! We gotta stop him!" Zipp called out determinedly.

"But we can't just charge at Tirek!" Sunny pointed out. "If he saw us coming, he would steal our magic fast enough before we could hit him! We need a plan before face him!"

"Sunny's right. Twilight tried that before. When she had the power of three alicorns, even with that much power, she could only hold Tirek to a standstill, until the power from the Tree of Harmony gave her and the girls a boost to stop him!" Sunset recalled.

"But we don't have the Tree of Harmony to help us!" Izzy pointed out in concern.

"That's why we need a plan before we can do anything to stop him," Sunny stated as she looked around. "But how can we stop him if he tries to steal our magic the second he sees us?"

"And up to this point, Tirek is possibly strong enough to hold us down with little to no struggle," Sunset added. "We need something to keep him from sucking our magic out without him trying."

"Maybe I could help!" A familiar voice called out, and the Mane 7 turned to see Discord, who appeared from a portal with a serious look.

"Discord!" The Mane 7 cheered in joy at seeing the Lord of Chaos.

"Once I heard from the news that Tirek is back, I figured you ponies were planning on stopping him," Discord said seriously.

"You have no idea!" Zipp confirmed, while Pipp at her side nodded.

"He's attacking Zephyr Heights and stealing ponies magic!" Pipp added in concern.

"And that's why I'm here. Besides, I've been looking to get some payback on him for centuries!" Discord said with a serious tone, which made the others concerned.

"What do you mean?" Sunset asked slowly.

"That son of his centaur mother made me think he was my friend, right before stealing my magic!" Discord roared in anger, while his eyes showed flames for a second. "I also need to amend my mistake of bringing him, Cozy and Chrysalis together, which nearly destroyed me and Equestria! Now it's payback time!"

"But how can we stand up against him if he will suck our magic out of us?" Sunny asked concerned.

"That, I can help!" Discord stated, as he snapped his fingers, which made him and the Mane 7 glow a bit, before the effect fade away. "There. I temporarily shielded us from magic draining. It should protect us from Tirek's magic-suck abilities for a while so we can stand against him!"

The Mane 7 were surprised by this as they looked at Discord. "Discord, you are amazing!" Izzy cheered in joy.

"I know. I know," Discord said. "I had my experience with my magic being sucked out, and so were other ponies, including Twilight herself… I figured that, if he ever came back, a way to repel the draining effect was required. The spell I just used might not be much, but it should last long enough to deal with Tirek."

"Well, it's better than nothing!" Sunset said, then she turned to the others with a determined look. "Okay, guys. I know Tirek might be out of your league, but if we don’t stop him, he will become more powerful with all the Equestrian magic. If you want to back down, this is the time to do so!"

"Like we would sit by and watch our home get threatened!" Zipp commented playfully.

"Nopony messes with Zephyr Heights!" Pipp called out.

"And if some creature is stealing ponies' sparkles, they are crossing the line!" Izzy called out angrily, since she rarely shows anger.

"Nopony messes with the law on my watch!" Hitch called out with a serious expression.

"I don't want anypony messing with Equestria. I'm in, and I'll help as much as I can!" Misty said with a slight determined and nervous expression.

"You know we got your back, Sunset. As Alicorns, it's our duty to protect Equestria from incoming threats!" Sunny said with a determined smile, as she summoned her Alicorn form and spread her wings. "We are with you!"

Sunset smiled at them, before looking at Discord, who smiled back and nodded, so she turned to the rest.

"Then let's go stop Tirek from sucking the magic out of the ponies!" Sunset called out.

After that, they all left the Brighthouse and got into the Marestream, as they flew off to Zephyr Heights to stop a magic sucking Centaur from stealing magic and causing chaos.






???


A camera was recording everything that was happening in Zephyr Heights from Universe 010921.

Soon enough, however, a digital anthropomorphic beige lynx appeared and stared at the cameras with concern, as she turned to see someone. "Chief? We got another disruption."

Two unknown figures, one anthropomorphic and one equine, approached to the lynx and looked at the camera images with frowns.

"She's moving villains from all ages and worlds to different ones..." A male voice, coming from the anthropomorphic creature, spoke with anger.

"I told you we shouldn't had ignore this!" A female voice, coming from from the equine figure, spoke with anger as well.

"What did you expect? He's as stubborn as a mule," The digital lynx said with a bored expression.

"Now's not the time, Nicole," The male voice spoke with annoyance.

"Well, then tell me who are we sending!" The lynx, a.k.a. Nicole, said with anger.

"No one," The male voice replied. "I'll take charge of this myself."

After that, he turned to another direction and looked over a strange watch he had on his left wrist.

Then, he started to type several commands on said watch, finishing by writing '010921' in the watch, as it soon enough opened a heptagon-shaped portal, which the mysterious male figure traversed.






Universe 010921


Tirek was causing chaos all across Zephyr Heights.

The centaur was grabbing ponies all across the pegasi city with his mysterious magic and absorbing theirs, removing their Cutie Marks in the process and even leaving the ponies in a weakened state.

What filled Tirek with glee was the fact that none of them were trying to even fight him back, not even the pegasi that were in some kind of 'Royal Guard' costumes. They all tried to ran away or hide from him, but he always managed to spot them and use his magic to absorb theirs.

He even decided to play with them just for the fun of it. For example: He spotted from the corner of his eye an Earth Pony mare and a unicorn stallion hiding from him behind a bush.

At first, he smirked sinisterly and kept walking away, which made the couple hid behind the bush again and sigh in relief... A relief that didn't lasted long, because the bush was ripped apart, and Tirek appeared to steal their magic with a maniac laugh, which he did so.

In another occasion, he saw a group of colts shaking and crying when they saw him. At first, he thought on letting them go, but once one of the colts tried to run away, he used his magic to levitate all of them and suck their magic as well.

Finally, Tirek could smell a powerful source of magic coming from a big building from afar, which clearly was a castle. So, he decided to use the contained magic to make himself bigger and climb above Zephyr Heights to reach the Castle. Once he did so, he literally smashed down the Throne Room and entered, containing his magic again and becoming smaller.

He walked around the Throne Room, and the few Pegasi Guards that charged against him with some spears lost their magic immediately, because Tirek kept his horns lightened up and his mouth open, so anypony that approached him lost their magic, Zoom and Thunder included.

"Pitiful..." Tirek muttered with a smirk.

He walked some more across the Throne Room, until his left ear twitched a bit. So, he turned to see one of the columns in the Throne Room and grinned, before charging a blast with his horns and launch it against said column.

At the other side, Queen Haven and Alphabittle were supposedly hiding from the monster, who smirked after he saw the couple of ponies hugging and protecting each other. Of course, the smell of magic he got was actually the smell of love, which despite being gross, was still a kind of magic, one he has absorbed before like any other.

"How lovely!" Tirek snorted sarcastically, before using his magic to absorb both the magic love they were producing, and their regular magic as well.

Of course, neither Haven nor Alphabittle could fight the effect back, and so, they both fell to the ground after Tirek absorbed their magic, feeling weak and with no Cutie Marks left.

"Pfft. This was easier than I thought. Which isn't something I really complain about, but I still feel like it could had been harder!" Tirek said with a smirk.

Soon enough, however, the doors of the throne room bursted open, and so, the Mane 7 and Discord entered the place, with Discord and Sunset leading everypony else.

Yet, Tirek did not turned around, but he did smirked sinisterly and looked over his shoulder, noticing the aged draconequus, the Alicorn with etherial wings and horn, and the regular Alicorn, whom all frowned in anger at him.

"Lord Tirek!" Sunset called out with anger and a frown.

Tirek's eyes widened a bit at first in panic, but he slowly frowned again, while his yellow eyes glow in glee for a second. "Ah! I see my name has survived the pass of time!" The centaur mocked up, as he finally turned to face the group.

Two Unicorns, two Pegasi, an Earth Pony, Discord and two Alicorns. A weird mix, sure, but it felt kind of familiar. Considering Sunny's wings and horn were etherial, Tirek could clearly see she was just and Earth Pony, which made the familiarity with the Mane 6 from thousands of moons ago even bigger.

Tirek snorted at this, and he decided to see Discord face to face first. "Ah, Discord. It's been a while... For you, at least. I see the years haven't been nice with you..." He mocked up, noticing that Discord had longer hair, longer claws, and even missed a finger.

"And you look just as ugly as centuries ago!" Discord roared, while his eyes turned into fire flames.

"You could work on your insults better," Tirek mocked again. "And what are these ponies with you supposed to be? The Power Ponies from the Chinese store?"

"No. We're the ponies who have come to wipe the crap out of you, partner!" Sunset stated with a frown, also spreading her wings open.

"The last group of fools who tried to do that lost to me. If it wasn't because a power-up that came from a magic chest, none of them would had stand a chance!" Tirek declared, as he made his horns glow and smirked sinisterly at the group. "What makes you think you're different, little pony?"

"Name's Sunset Shimmer, pal. And I know we can defeat you because we have a slight advantage over you!" Sunset declared with a confident smirk.

However, Tirek just laughed at her. "We'll see about that!" He said, before trying to absorb the magic from the 7 ponies and Discord.

But much to his surprise, he didn't absorbed their magic. He didn't even levitated them off the ground, which confused the centaur a lot.

"What the..." Tirek muttered confused.

"I think more than a hundred centuries in stone has make you deaf, Tirek," Discord mocked up with a smirk. "In case you didn't heard Sunset, we have advantage over you: Immunity to your power!"

That surprised Tirek, but it didn't stopped him from smirking at the group. "Is that so? Oh well. Kinda glad you show some resistance, anyways. It makes your defeat sweater for me!" The centaur declared, as he then charged a powerful blast with his horns and then shoot it at the group.

This made the Mane 7 and Discord split up, with Discord, Zipp, Pipp and Izzy covering the left, while Sunny, Sunset, Hitch and Misty jumped to the right.

"Okay... That was unexpected and really scary..." Hitch said with an anxious look.

"Um, am I still on time to return to the Brighthouse?" Misty asked nervously.

However, none of them could answer anything, because Tirek jumped from his place and prepared to smash down the group that went to the right, so they all had to split up again.

Tirek laughed at this and started to charge another attack. "Run, run, little ponies!" He declared, before launching a powerful blast towards Hitch and Misty.

At this, Misty's first instinct was to step in front of the Earth Pony, cover her face and light her horn up to create a small shield around herself and the Sheriff... Which worked, because the attack was doing nothing to them, but Misty was struggling to keep the shield up, since she still lacked experience with magic.

Soon enough, though, Tirek got a blast on his face, one that Sunset launched at him with a frown. "Stay away from my friends, Tirek!" She stated with anger, as she launched another blast to the centaur.

Tirek shook his face and glared daggers at Sunset, before preparing a blast for her, but before he could even launch it, he got hit in the face by something passing by at flight.

The centaur shook his head again and frowned at Zipp, since she was the one that hit his face. "Hah! Take that, you monster!" She mocked up with a smirk.

Tirek growled, but then he got kick on his face again and on his on his left rib, this time around by Pipp. "Nobody messes with Zephyr Heights and gets away with it!" She declared with a frown.

However, this just made the centaur furious, so he growled and immediately charged another blast from his horns towards the sisters, even roaring in anger. Of course, the sisters started to fly around the room, to dodge the attacks, while Tirek destroyed the ceiling of the Throne Room with his power.

Anytime Tirek was finally going to hit one of the sisters, they either were tricking him and actually flew to another direction, or were saved by the other sister. In any case, Tirek was getting more and more furious.

However, things were not going to get better with him, because his face was suddenly covered in glitter, which also got into his eyes, which made the centaur groan. "What the heck?!" Tirek exclaimed furiously, as he tried to desperately remove the glitter from his eyes.

When he did so, he got hit with glitter again on his chest, but he growled furious again, because he saw that both Izzy and Misty were charging cannons with glitter and shooting at him.

"Oh, you little pieces of s––" Tirek tried to say, just to be cut off when Izzy shot the cannon again and managed to get some glitter inside of Tirek's mouth.

Of course, the centaur gagged and grabbed his neck in pain, before coughing the glitter out from his system and then sigh relieved, just to look at the Unicorn mares in anger and prepare to shot a blast towards them, something that made Izzy step in front and protect Misty, while Misty herself hugged Izzy and hid behind her.

However, Tirek couldn't even launch the attack, because ge got launched to a wall by a cannon ball.

The centaur got stuck in the wall and groaned in pain, then he slowly opened his eyes and saw that Discord had brought a battle tank and shoot at him.

"Payback time!" Discord declared, before snapping his fingers to create more cannon tanks, getting inside of his own and prepare to charge against Tirek.

Of course, the monster tried to move away, but his whole body got tied up in the wall with green vines.

This confused Tirek, but as he looked around for an exit, he noticed that Hitch had his hoof stomped in the ground and glowing green, while he smirked mockingly at Tirek. "Sorry, pal! But you're not going anywhere!"

Of course, Tirek roared for what felt like the millionth time that day, but then, he got shot with several cannon balls coming from Discord and his tanks, which eventually broke the wall and made the centaur fell backwards towards the ground, since that in specific lead to Zephyr Heights.

"Wow! Well, that's one way to defeat a bad guy!" Zipp said with a smirk.

"We did it!" Pipp cheered, as she side-hugged her sister.

However, Sunset landed in the ground and looked at the hole in the wall with a frown. "I don't think this is over, guys..."

"Aw, come on, Sunset!" Hitch said with a little eye roll. "Discord literally sent him through a wall! There's no way he's coming back after th––"

Yet, he got cut off when Tirek did came back by jumping through the hole and grabbing Hitch with one hand before throwing the Sheriff away towards a column in the throne room, which fortunately didn't killed him, but it did knocked him out.

"HITCH!!!" Sunny cried out with panic and wide eyes.

Soon enough, Tirek used some of the magic he had contained and became himself bigger, since he got tired of playing games around these ponies.

After that, he just had to swing his hand to hit both Zipp and Pipp, who crashed against a wall and fell unconscious to the ground as well. Next, he launched a blast against Izzy and Misty, which made both unicorns use their magic to protect each other. And yet, the blast from Tirek still sent both of them backwards, as they rolled through the ground and finally stopped near Zipp and Pipp, but even if they didn't fell unconscious, they still felt too weak to get up because of the blast.

Seeing that Tirek was going too far, Discord got out from his tank and was ready to snap his fingers so he could make himself bigger, something that didn't happened because Tirek grabbed Discord with one hand and then smashed him to the ground. Then, when he removed the hand, he used to other one to punch the draconequus in the head, knocking him out in the process.

"That's 6 down. Just 2 to go!" Tirek declared with a frown and a sinister grin, as he stared at Sunset and Sunny, whom both were flying in the air.

"Okay. That's it!" Sunny said with anger. "Let's get him, Sunset!" She declared, as she flew towards the centaur.

"Right behind you, sister!" Sunset said with a grin, following Sunny along.

With this, both Alicorns started to fight against Lord Tirek. Since Sunny still needed to improve on her attacking skills, she was going more for the defensive position by creating golden shields with her magic, leaving all the offensive moves to Sunset, who made sure to launch a variety of spells against Tirek.

Normal blasts, divided ones, transform any rubble that Tirek would launch at them into something else that she could launch back at the centaur, and even multiplying herself several times to caught Tirek off-guard. Anything that Sunset did was to make sure that Tirek would get tired eventually, but so far, the centaur was still fighting back.

"So, out of curiosity!" Sunny spoke suddenly, as she protected herself from a blast that Tirek launched at her. "How's that you got free from your stone state?!"

"Sunny, are you serious right now?!" Sunset asked on disbelief.

"What?!" Sunny asked, before flying over another blast that Tirek aimed at her. "I'm just curious!"

"Stone state?" Tirek asked, as he aimed to hit Sunset now, while the Alicorn teleported away. "You might be confusing me with the Tirek from this pitiful world, because I got sent to tartarus four weeks ago until a neat Alicorn gal free'd me from my prison!" He explained, as he launched another blast against Sunset.

"Wait... 'Tirek from this world'?" Sunset said confused, then she frowned at the centaur. "What do you mean by that?!"

"There's a whole multiverse of endless possibilities out there!" Tirek replied with a grin and his arms extended. "I am just one of many Tireks. And now, this universe in particular will kneel... TO ME!" He declared, launching a constant blast that he aimed at Sunset.

The Alicorn flew across the room, while the laser followed her all the time, not ending anytime soon.

Seeing this, Sunny charged against Tirek and hit him in the face with her forelegs, which did startled the centaur at first, but he groaned and charged other blast against her this time.

"The multiverse?!" Sunny asked confused. "Didn't that weird blue porcupine that popped out of nowhere one time said something similar?!"

"Yeah, but he ran away and didn't explained himself!" Sunset pointed out. "Care to make an exception, Tirek?!" She requested, as she multiplied herself, and all the Sunsets charged divided blasts towards Tirek.

Tirek used the bracelets on his wrists to protect himself, before launching all the attacks back to the Sunsets, hitting all the fake ones in the process, while the real one teleported away.

"What is there to understand?!" Tirek asked. "I'm from a different universe than this one! I'm not the same Tirek that was defeated centuries ago in this world. And seeing that those idiots you call friends are too weak to fight me, I'm gonna enjoy your defeat even more, AND THEN THIS EQUESTRIA WILL BE MINE!" He declared, shooting a blast to both Sunset and Sunny.

Since both Alicorns were together, they both used their magic to create a shield that would protect them, but they didn't knew that Tirek wanted them to do so.

So, once he stopped launching the blast and both Alicorns let go of their shield, Tirek grabbed both of them with his left hand and smashed both of them against a wall, keeping them in there.

Soon, the rest of the Mane 7 started to stand up in weakened states, but they could barely stay up because of the pain. And yet, that didn't stopped all of them to feel terrified at the sight of Tirek holding Sunny and Sunset, something that made Hitch panic essentially, since Tirek was holding his marefriend... And Sunset as well.

Both Sunny and Sunset struggled to get free from Tirek's grip, and Sunset even tried to use her horn, but Tirek tapped it with the thumb of the same hand he was holding her with. Worse of all, Sunny's Alicorn form disappeared as well.

"You two are quite the fighters, I'll give you that..." Tirek declared with a smirk. "But you have drawn the line here! Make your prayers to whoever is your ruler now, because this. Is. YOUR END!"

"Oh no/Oh boy..." Sunny and Sunset said with concern.

After that, Tirek raised his right fist and prepared to smash down Sunny and Sunset, but the blow never came for the mares, because a golden lasso got around Tirek's right fist and hold it away from the two Alicorns.

"What the hell?" Tirek said confused, while both Sunny and Sunset stared confused at the portal from afar, since that's where the lasso around Tirek's fist came from.

The rest of the Mane 7 managed to gather together to stay close and protect each other, but they also stared confused at the portal. "What is that?" Izzy asked confused.

However, her answer came when the portal grew bigger and got a heptagon shape. Then, from the portal, a male anthropomorphic creature came out and launched against Tirek, hitting him straight in the face with his right fist.

For a split of second, time went slower, and Sunset's eyes widened in shock, while the right eye of the male creature frowned in rage against Tirek, who he managed to put down in the floor after aiming that punch.

This helped both Sunset and Sunny to get out of their situation, as they both landed in the floor and looked with disbelief in the same direction the creature came from. However, they couldn't head there, because they were dragged to a group hug by the rest of the Mane 7, who were glad to see their friends save and sound.

"Are you girls okay?!" Hitch asked first in panic, specially making sure that Sunny's fine.

"Uh... Yeah, um... We are..." Sunset replied, but she couldn't stop staring at the direction where Tirek and that guy went to.

Soon enough, however, they all heard steps coming to their direction, and Sunset stood in front while lightening her horn, ready to fight if necessary.

But what arrived wasn't Tirek... it was the guy that came out of the heptagon portal, as he looked over at the Mane 7 with a frown.

This was a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog with very messed quills, golden bands adjusting his gloves, white boots with golden stripes, a scar over his left eye, an eyepatch covering said eye, a trench coat, and a silver watch with three round screens, the one on top being bigger than the other two.

Sunset stoped lightening her horn, but just like her friends were doing right now, they all stared confused at this new guy, despite him looking very familiar at the same time.

"I'm sorry, who exactly are you supposed to be?" Sunset asked confused.

"It's classified," The guy replied with a deep and scary voice.

"Oh, oh! Your the Blue Panther!" Izzy guessed suddenly with her usual cheerful tone.

"What? No..." The guy replied confused.

"The Capped Crusader?" Pipp guessed next.

"No, I'm––" The guy tried to reply, but he got cut off.

"Dark Garfield?" Zipp said as well.

"No–– Stop..." The guy begged, now with a bored expression.

"Macho Libre?" Hitch said next, but this time, everyone looked at him confused. "What? I thought we were just guessing for the sake of guessing!"

The guy let out a sigh and looked over at the Mane 7 with a frown, as he got close to them. "I'm from another universe."

"What? No way!" Sunset sarcastically with a bored expression. "Look pal, I'm not even going to pretend I'm confused, because you're like the fourth one that comes to Equestria saying the same thing..."

"And that's exactly the reason behind my arrival," The guy replied.

That made the Mane 7's eyes widen, even Sunset's. "What do you mean?" Sunny asked.

"My name is Sonic the Hedgehog," The guy presented himself. "In my universe, it's year 2154. I lead an elite Strike Force dedicated to the security of the multiverse––"

"Actually, we don't really care. We just wanted to know your name," Sunset interrupted. "So you are another weirdo that travels through the multiverse with your fancy watch?"

"It's not a watch. Is something much cooler." Sonic replied with a slight smirk.

"Okay..." Sunny spoke next. "Look, um Sanic, or however you're supposed to be called, but there's this really big centaur we need to stop before he takes over our home, so if you don't mind––" She tried to add, as she and her friends noticed how Tirek was raising from the rubble behind Sonic and looking down at him with anger.

"It's alright," Sonic assured with a serious expression, also raising a hand to stop Sunny from keep going. "I'll take it from here."

"Um, are you sure that's a good idea?" Hitch questioned.

"This isn't the first time I deal with a disruption in a universe. I can handle it," Sonic assured, still with a serious look.

"Okay. Knock yourself out!" Sunset said, as she looked behind Sonic.

"Why are you saying it like that?" Sonic asked with a confused frown.

Yet, all the Mane 7 did was to move aside, while Tirek launched against Sonic and pushed him to the other side of the room.

"You're not funny!" Sonic shouted to Sunset with anger.

"Eh, I don't know!" Sunset mocked up, as she boosted by flight towards him, with Sunny making her Alicorn form appear once again and following her close.

Soon enough, Sonic quickly got free from Tirek's grip and launched a lasso from one of his gloves against Tirek's right horn, as he landed on his head and started to punch him there, making the centaur scream in pain.

Then, Sunny and Sunset arrived, both of them launching their own blasts from their horns towards Tirek's face, landing on the centaur's head as well.

"We should really talk about your mess by the way, Sunset!" Sonic spoke with anger.

"What mess?!" Sunset asked with a frown, as she used her magic to create some lassos around her and Sunny that kept them tied to Tirek's left horn.

"You helped an anomaly from Universe 220822 against the biggest anomaly ever made!" Sonic pointed out with a frown.

"Is he talking about the robot with the mustache you mentioned when Bot-y McBakertons got out of control?!" Sunny decided to ask.

"Precisely!" Sonic replied with anger.

"What are you talking about?!" Tirek asked, as he shook his head violently to try and take Sonic, Sunny and Sunset off him.

"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!!" Sonic, Sunny and Sunset all screamed to Tirek with anger.

"Geez, sorry for asking..." Tirek deadpanned before preparing to charge a blast.

Since his horns were glowing suddenly, Sunset used her magic to teleport Sonic, Sunny and herself out of there, as they appeared not so far from the still weakened Haven, Alphabittle and the Pegasi Guards that lost their magic because of Tirek.

"There's citizens–– Dang it!" Sonic muttered, but then he had to move Sunny and Sunset aside, because they almost got hit by a blast launched by Tirek against them.

Soon enough, Sonic grabbed a pair of Pegasi Guards and moved them aside, while Sunny and Sunset did the same with other guards, and Sunset finished the save by moving Haven and Alphabittle as well, before noticing that Sonic was running towards Discord, who was still unconscious.

Soon enough, both Sunset and Sunny catch up with him, and they all start to dodge rubble and attacks from Tirek, while also having a small chat in the middle of this.

"So this isn't the first time some villain that's from a certain universe travels to another one?!" Sunset asked.

"Is more complicated than that!" Sonic replied with anger, as he curled into a ball and kicked a rubble away that almost fell on Sunny. "Some mysterious force is moving villains from all ages and universes across the multiverse, causing disruptions and menacing the balance in all the realities!"

"Wait, if this Tirek shouldn't be here, then what does that mean to our universe?!" Sunny asked with panic and concern.

"If we can't get this guy out of here ASAP, this universe will collapse!" Sonic replied. "My mission is to restore the multiverse and put every villain back where they belong before all time and space collapses. Yet some idiots had so much fun messing up with the multiverse!"

"What kind of idiots?" Sunset asked, as she blasted a rubble that almost fell over Sonic, while Sonic himself slid on the floor and finally grabbed Discord, as he boosted at top speed towards the rest of the ponies they just saved.

"Three Dr. Eggmans from three different universes, the Sonic you met a while ago, some idiot we haven't been able to localize, a gal named Sarah Crayton I seriously wanna beat the crap out of, and don't get me even started on Shadow the Hedgehog and that stupid asshole kid from Universe 151222!" Sonic listed out with anger, while both him and the Alicorns jumped to dodge Tirek's arm.

"What kind of name is 'Dr. Eggman'?" Sunny asked confused, then she snorted playfully. "Sounds like a guy obsessed with Eggs or something!"

"Who's Shadow? And why is that the edgiest name I've ever heard?" Sunset asked with a playful tone.

Soon enough, they brought Discord with the rest of the ponies they put in safety, just to find out that they were all gone.

"Hey! Over here" Zipp's voice called out, and the three of them noticed that she was near a secret passage in the Throne Room.

The three of them quickly approached said place, while Hitch came out of the passage. "I already took the rest out!"

"Got a last package for you, Sheriff!" Sonic said, as he placed Discord on Hitch's and Zipp's backs.

"We'll be back as soon as we're done with Discord!" Zipp assured, as she and Hitch got into the secret passage again.

After that, Sonic curled into a ball and charged up on his place, before launching himself towards Tirek, who launched several pieces of rubble against the hedgehog. However, Sonic used the rubble and jumped on it as a pinball and hit Tirek's face.

Soon enough, Tirek groaned and started to launch more rubble against Sonic, while he used his sonic speed to dodge the rubble. Then, he created a lasso from the bracelet on his right arm and used it to destroy all the rubble aimed at him, before running over the wall and charge another attack curled as ball into one of Tirek's horns, which made the centaur step back in pain.

"Okay, he can clearly handle this well..." Sunset pointed out with an amused expression.

"It doesn't means that we cannot help!" Sunny pointed out with a smirk.

Soon enough, the two Alicorns flew in the air again, as they both destroyed rubble with blasts from their horns and dodged attacks from Tirek as well.

Then, Sonic did something that shocked Sunny and Sunset: He created a golden blade with the bracelet of his left globe and used it to cut Tirek's left horn, just like that.

Of course, Tirek roared in rage after Sonic did that, and even held the space where his horn used to be with a hand, before roaring again and use some of the contained magic to restore his horn.

"Kuso! I forgot he can do that!" Sonic groaned, before crashing into the ground, while some rubble fell over him.

Seeing this, Sunny and Sunset quickly blasted a combined attack against Tirek's face, making the centaur roar in pain, before he launched an attack that sent both Alicorns backwards, if it wasn't because of Sunset that used a spell to protect both of them.

Yet, both Alicorns still fell to the ground and rolled on it for a while. Once they stopped, they both groaned in pain.

On the other hand, Sonic got the rubble off him and groaned in pain. "Nicole?" He called out, and soon, Nicole appeared while looking at Sonic with a smirk, also in a much smaller size. "Can you please... You know..."

"Nah. You gotta say it first!" Nicoles said, crossing her arms and looking mockingly at Sonic.

Sonic sighed in defeat after hearing this. "Call the backup..."

"What?" Nicole asked, leaning her ear closer to Sonic.

"Call for help..." Sonic said a bit louder this time.

"Come on!" Nicoles said mockingly, as she moved her hands to dare him to finish the sentence loudly.

"Please just call for––" Sonic almost screamed in rage, as he also tried to grab Nicole.

"Yeah, already called!" Nicole said confidently, since she actually called from backup the first time Sonic asked, she just wanted to mess with him.

"Dang it!" Sonic said with a frown and anger.

"But I enjoyed that!" Nicole mocked up, as she kneeled and extended her fist to Sonic with a mocking smirk.

Soon enough, another heptagon portal opened up, and this time around, an Alicorn figure came out by flight.

Both Sunny and Sunset got up from their place, and the both looked flabbergasted at the Alicorn figure. However, as soon as the Alicorn came closer to a light right above Tirek, they were completely mind-blowed: This was a variant of Twilight Sparkle, one that had a watch like Sonic's on her left hoof, as she twirled in the air and shot a laser towards Tirek's face.

Tirek, who was also mind-blowed by the sight of another Twilight, got the hit without being able to dodge it. Then, Twilight used her magic to create several purple strings that she launched against Tirek. The strings quickly tied up Tirek's arms around himself, and then, Twilight dived up towards him, just to spin and kick his face with her hind legs.

Sunny and Sunset watched all of this with their jaws completely dropped, while Twilight glamorously glided down to the ground and landed in front of the two Alicorns, giving them her back.

However, she still looked over at them over her shoulder and smirked. "Sunset Shimmer. Sunny Starscout. Nice to meet ya!" Twilight stated with happiness.

Yet, Sunny and Sunset were still with their jaws dropped at the sight of Twilight, at least until Sunny finally spoke again.

"Sunset..." Sunny called out with wide eyes. "Twilight Sparkle, flesh and blood, is right in front of us... Not in a necklace, not in an encrypted message, not in a simple photo from a book... It's her for real..."

"Uh-huh..." Sunset nodded, still in shock from seeing Twilight in real life.

After Twilight disappeared inside of the necklace, Sunset thought she would never see her again... And here she is now. Well, she might not be the same Twilight, but she truly was a Twilight. Still, the shock of seeing her flesh and blood after so long was... quite something for Sunset.

"I guess you girls were not expecting me today?" Twilight asked playfully.

"Ah-ah. Not at all," Sunset replied.

"Well, then I hope you're the 'dreamer' kind of gals, 'cause I'm here to kick Tirek's face for what feels like the ninth time for the past few weeks..." Twilight replied with a mocking smirk.

"...Would you adopt me?" Sunny asked suddenly with sparkling eyes.

"...What?" Twilight raised an eyebrow confused.

"What?" Sunny replied nervously with wide eyes.

"GIRLS!" Sonic called out with a mix of panic and anger, as he was riding over Tirek's head once again, while the centaur tried to get him off. "CAN WE PLEASE FOCUS ON THE THREATENING CENTAUR 	THAT COULD DISTURB TIME AND SPACE, PLEASE?!"

"Yeah, we should do that..." Sunset deadpanned, as the three Alicorns quickly flew in the air and resumed the fight with Tirek.

Soon, Twilight twirled in the air again and dived towards Tirek, as she began to launch really powerful blasts from her horn, as well as casting a second spell in the meantime that was tying purple string all around Tirek's body. Once she stopped launching blasts, she let go the second spell, which tied everything in Tirek's body, as the centaur tried to get free.

Meanwhile, both Sunset and Sunny dived towards Tirek and aimed to his face, before kicking him with their hind legs. Sonic was running over a wall, and Twilight was flying at his side, as they both looked at the two Alicorns fighting Tirek.

"What about them?" Twilight suggested Sonic with a smirk.

"No," Sonic replied coldly.

"We could use the help!" Twilight pointed out.

"No!" Sonic repeated with a frown.

"Is it because she wasn't impressed with you at all?" Twilight mocked up with a smirk.

"NO!" Sonic repeated once again.

"Do you say anything but no?" Twilight asked with a bored expression.

"No... Yes!" Sonic quickly corrected himself.

"Why not?" Twilight asked again, but now frowning.

"No. Way." Sonic declared, frowning back, but all he got was Twilight raising an eyebrow at him, clearly saying 'We'll see about that' with the expression.

Next thing they all knew? They were now joining forces to beat Tirek already, because this fight was extending too much.

Well, that, and Tirek got free from Twilight's trap.

"Okay, tying him up is clearly not helping!" Sunset pointed out. "We have to try something else!"

"But what?!" Sunny asked in panic.

Sonic and Twilight started to analyze the whole situation. They both knew as ell that tying Tirek wasn't going to be enough. They had to knock him out... And Twilight's eyes widened, because she looked at Sonic, then at Tirek's legs, then at Sunny and Sunset, and then at her horn.

She smirked, because she finally had an idea, and Sonic noticed that. "I know that face... What's on your mind. Twi?"

"Aw, you're using my nickname on duty? How cute!" Twilight said with a warm smile.

Sonic blushed and felt startled by that declaration, but he quickly shook his head and frowned. "Now's not the time, Twi!"

Twilight giggled, which made Sonic's heart jump happily, but she got a serious expression afterwards. "Sunny, Sunset. You two and I are gonna beat the crap out of Tirek and keep him distracted. Sonic, when he starts to loose his balance, use that speed of yours and tie his legs!"

Sonic looked up at Tirek's face, who was looking for them, then Sonic looked at his legs and got the idea.

"Go meirei-dōri, ojōsama~" Sonic replied with a smirk, saying 'At your command, my lady~' in Japanese.

Then, Sonic curled into a ball and ran towards Tirek's legs, while the three Alicorns flew towards the head.

Soon enough, they started to shot laser beans at Tirek's face, also dodging the beams that Tirek launched back at them. At some point, Sunny dived to his face and sent Tirek a bit backwards. Next, Sunset did the same, and Twilight finished it not only with a kick, but she also launched a laser beam to stun him even more.

With Tirek loosing his balance, Sonic stopped time for a second and used the lasso from his right bracelet, tying up Tirek's legs at super speed.

Once the effect was over, Tirek tripped and fell backwards, landing on his back in the ground with a painful groan. Finally, Sunset, Sunny and Twilight reunited and placed their horns together. When they opened their eyes, they were fully white, and then, they launched a combined blast towards Tirek's face.

Tirek couldn't dodge this attack, and so, he was knocked out by the combined laser beam, as he fell completely unconscious, while Sonic approached the centaur and smirked.

When the three Alicorns came by, Sunny was panting heavily, and so, her Alicorn form disappeared, since she wasn't that used to use so much magic in battle, but she was still happy that she could help out her childhood hero. She never expected to fight at her side one day, and yet here she is.

"Gotta say... For a rookie Alicorn in battle, that was very impressive!" Twilight told Sunny with a smile, as she slightly bumped her shoulder with hers and winked.

Sunny gasped with wide eyes after hearing that. "A-Are you serious?!"

"Hate to admit it, but she's right," Sonic added, as she approached to both Sunny and Sunset, smirking a bit at them. "Not bad, kids. Not bad at all."

With this, both Sunny and Sunset smiled at Sonic, before looking at each other and smile even more. Sunny then touched the shoulder Twilight bumped and had to resist the urge of squealing. One thing's for sure, though: She probably will never wash that shoulder ever again.





Several hours later, things were almost restored.

Twilight drained all the magic that Tirek drained, and one by one, she returned their magic to all the ponies Tirek stoled it from. Of course, it was a shock for everypony to see that Twilight Sparkle was the one returning them their magic, but Sunset limited to say that she's a long lost familiar that looks like her just to avoid confusion.

As this happened, Hitch tied up the weakened and knocked out Tirek with vines from his magic, while Discord, who already woke up, contributed with some chains.

In the meantime, Sonic took a lecture from Tirek's ADN, and he confirmed what he feared the most.

"Well, it seems like Twilight was right..." Sonic pointed out to both Nicole and Sunset, who were watching the lectures with him, as Sonic looked at Sunset. "We've been tracking down several villains across the multiverse that popped up in the wrong one. Despite their initial declarations, they all confess the same thing at some point: Having met with a purple Alicorn that offers them to conquer the universe they appear on. I guess Tirek here isn't the exception..."

"A purple Alicorn?" Sunset asked with concern.

"Why do I feel like we know what Alicorn you're talking about?" Zipp asked with a bored expression, as she approached along the rest of the Mane 7 and Discord.

"The Fire Alicorn that time forgot... Opaline Arcana." Sonic confirmed with anger. "For weeks, she's been traveling through the multiverse and causing all these disruptions... We don't know why, though..."

"Didn't you said you had no clue on who was doing this?" Hitch asked confused.

"Bold of you to believe a stranger's first declaration," Sonic replied, not even looking at him, but he could tell Hitch was either confused or offended for the statement.

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Sunny pointed out. "We defeated Opaline! How's that she's back?!"

"If you think this is the same Opaline you defeated not so long ago, you may be wrong," Sonic replied, as he put the image of Tirek's data away.

"What do you mean with 'may be'?" Pipp asked. "Are you implying that she 'may be' the same Opaline we defeated?"

"It's a strange situation, to be honest..." Sonic replied with a worried frown, also crossing his arms. "We've been able to detect which worlds get disrupted and which worlds are missing their respective villain, but everything we know about who's moving them is that she has a name and it's Opaline. Now, which universe she comes from? We still need to figure that out."

"So that explains why this variant could be the one we defeated, or a completely different Opaline..." Hitch pointed out with concern.

Misty shivered a bit at the thought of many Opalines existing out there in the multiverse. "I'm gonna have nightmares with that idea now..." She said with concern, also rubbing one of her hooves a bit, while Izzy came by and placed a hoof on her shoulder for comfort.

"If it makes you feel better..." Sonic called out, and Misty turned to see him. "She has moved other Opalines as well... They still lost." He revealed with a slight smirk, also winking at her.

That actually made Misty smile and chuckle a little, finding some relief on the fact that no Opaline has won in any universe.

Soon enough, though, Sonic's watch made a beep sound, and so, Sonic looked over to see what was it about.

It was an upcoming call from a variant of Rainbow Dash, and he immediately answered it. "Chief!" Rainbow said with a serious look and a salute.

"Now Rainbow Dash, too?!" Sunny muttered in excitement, as she shook Sunset a bit.

"Status report, Dash." Sonic informed.

"My team and I have neutralized Zavok from Universe 201122 successfully, here in Universe 300519." Rainbow replied with a proud smile, as she shows an image of Tails and Starlight Glimmer variants holding some electrical chains over a variant of Zavok, who was trying to get free as he shook violently.

"Good job, Dash. Call Knuckles if you haven't and tell him to sent the Extraction Team," Sonic instructed. "We'll get some data from him first before sending him home."

"Roger that, sir!" Rainbow replied, finishing the call.

However, that made another incoming call pop up, so Sonic answered it as well.

This time, it was a call with a Vector variant. "Heya, boss! Just wanted to tell ya that we're here at Universe 190623. We beat the crap out of the Storm King from Universe 030722, and the Extraction Team is here already!"

"Thanks for the heads up, Vector. Tell your team you can all get rest for now. I'll made sure to keep other squads busy," Sonic instructed.

"You are the best, Chief!" Vector cheered, ending the call soon enough.

Sonic smiled a bit after hearing that, before looking over at the knocked out Tirek with a frown. "Nicole. Scan this mess," He instructed, while Nicole appeared over his shoulder, moved around randomly, then went back to Sonic's shoulder and made some small screens appear in front of her.

"No further anomalies!" Nicole informed after a few seconds.

"Wow!" Izzy said, as she suddenly zoomed to Nicole with a smile. "You really are tiny!"

"Aw, and you are a sweetheart in every universe, Iz!" Nicole, said, as she glitched around the unicorn mare with a smile.

"Almost..." Sonic muttered with annoyance, before opening up a heptagon portal.

Once the portal was fully open, Twilight came by, levitated Tirek, and then threw him inside, while Sonic was ready to traverse it...

"Hey!" Sunset's voice called out, and Sonic stopped moving, but he did put a bored expression, before turning around and look over at Sunset. "So you're just gonna leave like that? With us fixing all this mess?! You can't just pop in, beat the crap out of a bad guy, then tell us that the whole multiverse is in danger because of an Opaline variant, and then leave just like that!"

"Yeah! Not to mention, you're leaving this disaster for us to fix it!" Pipp added with a frown.

Sonic groaned and rubbed his eyes with a hand, while Twilight chuckled at his attitude, before looking over at the Mane 7.

"Yeah, we know that this is not fair at all, but if we stay here to help fix all this disaster, we could be loosing crucial time tracking down Opaline before she can destroy the multiverse, you know?" She pointed out. "We cannot take that risk."

"It doesn't change the fact that we'll be concerned about everything!" Sunny pointed out with a frown. "There's an Opaline out there jumping from one universe to the other while causing chaos around! What assures us that she won't pop out here one day?!"

To this, Twilight had no answer, so she looked over at Sonic, who looked down in thought for a second, before sighing and look over at Sunset.

"Well... Clock yourself out." Sonic said, as he took out a similar watch to his and Twilight's before throw it to Sunset, who caught it with her magic, before holding it with her hooves and look at it a bit confused.

"...I... I don't get it..." Sunset said confused.

"As I told you before, I lead and Elite Strike Force dedicated to the security of the multiverse." Sonic reminded. "You take that gizmo, you come with us and see for yourself how this ends."

Then, Twilight cleared her throat and looked at Sonic with a bored expression and a raised eyebrow. "And?"

Sonic sighed again and rolled his eye. "Also, your skills in battle were formidable, and we could really use somepony like you on our team..." He added with an annoyed tone.

"Wait... Y-You want me to join you and fight more of these things?!" Sunset asked in disbelief.

"We make sure the multiverse stays safe and sound," Twilight pointed out with a smile. "With that watch, you can travel to any universe and help us neutralize villains that don't belong in there!"

"This is for a greater cause. The sake of all realities is at stake here," Sonic explained. "If you come with us, you wouldn't fight only for this universe, but also for every single one that exists out there. The choice is yours, kid." He finished, before traversing the portal.

"I know he might act grumpy and intimidating, but once you know him better, he's a huggable bear!" Twilight cooed with a giggle. "But he's right on the last thing, Sunset. If you want to come with us or not is your choice. We won't force you to do something you don't want to," She assured her with a warm smile, also placing a hoof on her shoulder.

Sunset had no words to say. It was hard to say something with all this information, anyways, but it was still shocking to hear that she could help the whole multiverse along many others if she wanted... But did she?

"Twilight, I... This is... so much... I-I don't know what to say..." Sunset confessed with concern.

"What do you mean?!" Sunny asked confused, as she dragged Sunset away for a moment. "They're giving you one hell of a chance here! Why are you doubting now?"

"Yeah! These guys may be a bit weird, but that Sonic guy has a point: If you go, you would be protecting the entire multiverse!" Zipp pointed out as well with a smirk.

"You could go and kick Opaline's flank again!" Pipp added with a smile. "Call it a 'payback for the payback'!" She stated with a smirk and a wink.

"I-I know, but... I don't want to leave you ponies behind!" Sunset pointed out. "Earlier today, I was thinking that you guys didn't needed me anymore, but just because I feel that doesn't mean it's true! A-And I don't... I don't really wanna go and then come back to see that everything changed again... I... I cannot allow that..."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that!" Discord spoke, as he suddenly appeared at Sunset's side with a smile. "There's a big difference between what's a universe and a dimension. To put it easy so you all can understand: The human world from the mirror and Equestria are two dimensions that coexist in the same reality..."

"But they both belong in the same universe!" Twilight finished for him with a smile. "Your concern about Equestria changing again? It's understandable, but a bit silly too. Every universe moves at its own rhythm. However, if you felt that's been just a week in any other universe, here's been what? 2, maybe 3 hours?"

This made Sunset's eyes widen in surprise. "Wait... so I could leave this place, and when I return, everything will be the same?!"

"Yup!" Twilight replied with a smile. "You will probably be a bit taller next time you come with us, unless you decide to stay but keep the watch. Either way, it's still your choice!"

Sunset looked down at the gizmo again with a conflicted look. Yes, she wanted to go and lend a helping hoof on keeping the multiverse stable, but she didn't wanted to leave her friends behind... she was very conflicted.

"Go ahead, Sunset!" Izzy spoke suddenly.

"Yeah! Like Sunny said, this is a one chance thing you shouldn't miss!" Misty agreed.

"We'll make sure everything's fine around here!" Hitch assured with a wink, and Sparky on his back babbled in agreement.

"A-Are you all sure?" Sunset asked, still doubting about this.

"Hey!" Sunny called out, as she came closer to Sunset and place a hoof on her shoulder. "We know you've been looking for a new purpose because of feeling lately that you're not needed anymore. But even if you are, they're giving you the chance to fight for something so much bigger than any of us could handle. If anypony deserves to take that thing and go with them? That's you, Sunset!"

"Remember what I told you a few days ago?" Discord spoke next. "I told you that if something greater was to come for you, it'll come, and it did!" He pointed out, then he pointed with a finger to the still open heptagon portal. "You should definitely go and kick some flanks and butts! Besides, I'll keep an eye on them in your absence. You're not the only Equestrian left from the good, old age when Twilight was around, remember?"

Sunset smiled at him, then looked back at her pony friends, and her smile grew a bit more.

So, she quickly placed the gizmo down and ran to them, as they all cuddled together and a big group hug. This wasn't a goodbye, true, but it didn't changed the fact that her friends were going to miss her, and vice versa.

"I promise you guys that I will come back from time to time." Sunset assured with a smile. "And trust me, no matter how long it takes to deal with this Opaline disrupting the multiverse... I will return to stay with you all!"

"And we'll be waiting for you, sister." Sunny said with a wink.

Sunset chuckled a bit, then she sighed and levitated the gizmo from the ground, before placing it over her left hoof.

Once the gizmo was adjusted so it wouldn't fall, Sunset looked at her friends one last time with a smile, before turning around and walk over to Twilight, as she stared at the open heptagon portal.

"Nervous?" Twilight asked with a smile.

"A lot..." Sunset replied with a slight chuckle.

"Try to relax. This is gonna be a fun journey!" Twilight assured with a wink, also slightly pushing Sunset on her shoulder.

Sunset chuckled again, and so, both Alicorns traversed the heptagon portal, as it closed behind them.

Sunset might not know what the future has in store for her, but she's definitely ready to face it. And most importantly, she's ready to take down that Opaline variant, no matter what it takes...