A thunderous boom erupts and shakes the very earth as if a bomb has gone off, just as Sonic, the Mane 6, and their cargo suddenly appears in what looks to be a part of the castle. However a thick veil of smoke hangs in the air and blots out any visibility (actually, if there's no visibility, then how do they or we know that we're in what looks to be a part of the castle?). A series of labored coughs can be heard as the dust begins to settle.
"Is everyone alright?" Sonic asks as he tries to wave the dust away from his face.
"Not my preferred way of travel, but it got us here," Rarity comments as she holds a hoof to her mouth and begins coughing into it.
"Alright, no injuries and we made it here..." Sonic cuts himself off as a white spear bursts from the dust and stops a few inches from his face. "Uh, guys, we got company." He raises his arms in front of him.
The dusk suddenly clears as a gust of wind sweeps past the group as several dozen Royal Guard stallions surround the group, all pointing a spear at the new arrivals as the Pegasus guards lower their wings and then refold to the side
"Hey, that's a neat trick." Sonic comments as he notices the once-heavy dust clear instantly.
"Quiet!" a white unicorn guard demands as he pokes the hedgehog in the stomach with his spear. Sonic snatches at the end of the spear with his hand. "Do that again, I dare you."
"What is the meaning of this?" A booming voice demands; it echoes along the marble walls.
The guards turn to another new arrival: the Princess of the Sun. Celestia stands before a set of large double doors that lead into the room; she is still gilded in her glimmering battle armor. She approaches the group with an angry look on her face.
"What in the name of..." The Princess stops mid-sentence as she notice the Mane 6 standing in the middle of the room as the castle guards surround them.
"Lower your weapons." The guards seem hesitant. "I said lower them!" the alicorn snaps, prompting the castle's protectors to release the ponies from the capture maneuver. Except the one whose spear is still in Sonic's hand. The unicorn attempts to break the hedgehog's grip, but fails to do so. Till Sonic suddenly releases the spear, causing the stallion to crack into a few ponies behind him as he stumbles backwards.
"Princess Celestia," Twilight mutters out as she approaches the land's ruler.
"Twilight Sparkle," the alicorn responds with a kind tone as she watches her student approach.
"What is all this?" the mare asks as she glances at the large amount of Royal Guards. "I was hoping you could tell me." The princess comments as she forces a smile in an attempt to ease the tension.
"So, I finally get to meet who’s in charge around here." a familiar voice says from the distance.
Twilight turns just as a certain blue hedgehog appears before her and the alicorn princess. "I'd like you to meet someone." Twilight begins as she turns back to the land's ruler.
"Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog," the blue hedgehog boasts as he stops next to the lavender mare.
"Sonic?" Celestia begins. "I've heard a lot about you."
The hedgehog smirks in response. "Good things I hope."
The Princess nods. "Of course."
Sonic scratches his head in confusion. "I've heard a lot about you as well, but I never imagined you'd be so...HUGE!" The hedgehog holds out his arms for effect. The sun princess rears back slightly as if taken by this comment
"Sonic, what are you doing?" Twilight loudly whispers through clenched teeth.
Sonic shrugs. "What? It’s true. I didn't say it to be offensive." The mare's expression melts into a frown. "And stop making that face; you know I can't take you seriously when you do that." Twilight's face starts to turn red.
"What face? I'm serious," the mare snaps in a less harsh tone.
"The cuteness, it burns." Sonic continues as if mockingly shielding himself from a bright light.
Celestia holds a hoof to her face in an attempt to stop a giggle.
"And here I was worried about you, Twilight," the sun princess adds as she motions the group to follow. "You should have told me you found yourself a special pony..eh someone. I would have been more lenient in your friendship reports if you did." The mare and hedgehog exchange looks as the prior's face starts to turn several shades of red, while the latter grins at the blushing pony.
“Wait a minute; you think Twilight and Sonic are a couple?” Rainbow Dash asks as she tries to hold back a laugh.
“Gotta say I agree with Dash,” Applejack adds. “I just don’t see those two getting together.”
Fluttershy sheepishly trots toward AJ and Rainbow Dash. “It’s not entirely impossible.” She looks away. “I mean, they've been staying together for a while and…”
“Don’t be silly, Fluttershy.” Pinkie Pie says as she bounces next to the yellow pegasus, causing her to rear back a bit. “Those two are complete opposites.”
Rarity frowns at the group's comments and opens her mouth to respond, but is cut off.
"Y-yeah, that would be ridiculous," Twilight mutters as she lets out a forced laugh. “Just because we live together doesn’t mean anything.” The mare forces a smile. "W-we aren't a couple. We're just really good friends and I was just helping him get situated. So unfortunately the reports got put...off."
Twilight trails off as she notices the once-smiling hedgehog frown at the statement and lower his head. Rarity stares at Twilight in complete shock. As she watches the mare deny her feelings and play off the possibility as a joke, Rarity lets out a heavy sigh and glances at the floor. She turns to the now-disheveled hedgehog and gives him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry Sonic; it would appear she’s not ready yet.”
Celestia raises an eyebrow at Twilight’s claim. "Really? I'm usually right about these sorts of things."
The princess lets out a sigh and shrugs. "It appears I am mistaken."
Sonic appears alongside the alicorn and places his hand on her side. "Don't worry about it." He slides his hand off the princess's armor and continues down the hallway. "It happens to the best of us." Celestia nods and follows behind him; matching the hedgehog's pace. Rarity glances at the still-standing mare and shakes her head in disgust as she trots past her.
"It would appear so." The princess glances at the other ponies. "Though I get the feeling that you didn't just all come here to clear up a little understanding."
Sonic crosses his arms behind his head. "If it were only that easy. I came here to get help with this." He pulls out an almost black chaos emerald and shows it to the princess, who uses her magic to levitate the object in front of her.
"What is this?" The sun ruler demands as she examines the corrupted stone.
"It's called a chaos emerald, and in it's current state it rather unstable. Celestia turns to the hedgehog with a confused expression. "You might want to grab a sandwich or something, this is a long story."
-----
Sonic tells the Princess about Mobius and its inhabitants, along with the origin of the emeralds and what people have done to obtain them. Along with (a glossed-over version) of the almost never-ending battle he's had with a certain mad doctor over the years to obtain them. He tells her what their power can be used for, along with what he's had to do to prevent them from falling into the 'good doctor's' hands. He goes on to how he got to Equestria and what he's been doing since he arrived, how he's been plagued with this great evil that's been residing inside the gems, and how he got to Canterlot almost undetected.
------
"So, where do I fit in this?" Princess Celestia asks, with a hint of intrigue in her voice.
"Well, I hear that you're one of the most powerful beings in this land and are only matched by your younger sister."
The alicorn nods in agreement. "This is indeed true, but you still haven't explained why my sister and I are needed."
The hedgehog lets out a heavy sigh and slumps forward. "Next time I turn....next time this thing takes over, I don't think I’ll be coming back." The Mane six let out a collective gasp and utter words of horror and fear that their friend may be reduced to the creature that has terrorized them before.
The sun princess raises an eyebrow at the hedgehog's explanation. "And you hope the elements will rid the gems of this beast and purify them?"
Sonic nods and gives the alicorn a thumbs up. "That's the plan, if they don't work, nothing will."
Celesta’s gives the hedgehog a solemn look. "And what if they don't work... What then?"
Sonic lets out another sigh. "Then you know what you must do."
The Mane 6 crowd around the blue hedgehog, voicing there concern and worry over his plan.
"You don't think it will come to that, do you?" Rarity asks with a hint of sadness in her voice.
Sonic gives the mare one of his trademark grins. "Course not; this should go off with a hitch." He smiles fades slightly. "Just making a backup plan in case this doesn't work, or I need someone to keep it at bay. While you six power up and not be torn apart like wet tissue paper."
A few mares cringe at the last statement, including the princess. "Very well, in light of your actions since arriving, I shall assist you in restoring the gems to their rightful power. Let’s hope that Luna will want to assist as well.
-----
Led by the princess of the sun, the Mane 6 and blue hedgehog are brought to what appears to be a large meeting room of sorts. It lacks any sort of furnishings, except a series of large stone pillars that dot certain areas of the room. A series of stain glass memorials adorn the western wall. Sonic lets out an impressed whistle as he enters the room. "This place is huge; I think I even have a...echo." The hedgehog emphasizes the last part and draws the attention of the only occupant in the room before their arrival.
Luna, still wearing her armor from the summoning, lies on the floor looking over what appears to be several black scrolls with fancy silver writing. Noticing the new arrivals, she poofs them away and turns to greet them. She smiles as she notices the familiar faces.
"Hello Luna, hard at work I see." Celestia comments as she greets her younger sister.
The princess of the night rises from the floor and greets her elder sister and the new arrivals. "Good day, dear sister. It seems you have brought guests."
Celestia opens her mouth and attepts to confirm this, but is cut off by a certain blue hedgehog who charges forward and confronts the cobalt alicorn.
"You!" Sonic snaps with a definitive point towards the princess.
"Me?" She meekly replies, rearing back at the sudden outburst.
The blue hedgehog smiles and extends his hand towards the princess of the night. "So we finally meet."
Luna stares at the hedgehog's outstretched hand for a moment, before raising her right foreleg and placing and receiving a firm shake. "We are honored to finally meet the famed Sonic."
The alicorn uses her magic to remove the large helmet from her head. Her once free-flowing mane is now in a tightly woven braid that slides out from the helmet and rests on her right shoulder.
"You look exactly like I imagined," Sonic states as he continues to shake the princess's hoof. "That is so weird.
Luna smiles nervously at the hedgehog. "Yes, that is indeed ‘weird’."
Celestia notices her sister’s new hair style and lets out a small sigh. "Trying a new style, sister?" The princess muses with a smirl. "Another inspiration, I surmise."
Sonic lets the alicorn's hoof slide from his hand and smirks at the princess. "That's funny, I mention something like that to you in a dream I had."
Luna nervously glances at her sister for help, only to receive a smirk in response. "It was a rather standard dream. A fellow citizen commented that we would look more appealing if we changed our current style. We figured it was worth a try.
Sonic lets out an amused chuckle. "For a second there I thought you could enter someone’s dreams. How odd would that be?"
The moon princess scratches the back of her head with an armored hoof. "Actually, we do posses the ability to go into a troubled pony's dreams if necessary." The hedgehog's expression twists into a frown. "We apologize that our last meeting was so....awkward. One has not spoken to us in such a fashion in a rather long time, and we may have taken it out of context."
Sonic lets out a forced laugh. "You could say that."
Celestia steps forward and attempts to scold her younger sister, but is stopped by a gloved hand. "Relax Sunshine; it happens to me a lot. No need to chew her out for it."
The sun princess rears back in annoyance. "Sunshine?" Celestia glances at her cute mark. “Oh I see, that’s actually quite clever.”
-----
Luna listens intently at the blue hedgehog's plan of restoring the Chaos Emeralds and how the princesses fit into this. Luna raises a hoof to get Sonic's attention. "Why not just scatter the gems, if they are causing this much trouble?"
The blue hedgehog raises an index finger in response. "One problem with that is that in their current state, they’ll corrupt anything they touch." He raises another finger. "Two, even if that wasn't the case, what would stop someone from collecting them again?" Raising another finger. "And three, I brought them here, so they're my responsibility."
Celestia and Luna exchange looks. "Sister, is it possible that these are causing disharmony in Equestria?" Luna asks in a low voice.
"It may be contributing factor, but it’s hard to say." The sisters turn to the blue hedgehog. "We shall assist you in the cleansing of the mysterious gems."
Sonic grins at the two alicorns in front of him. "Cool." He turns to the Mane 6 behind him. "You guys still on board?" The ponies nod in unison.
"Of course, darling, we wouldn't back down now, though we need the elements."
Rarity is cut off as the blue hedgehog suddenly zips past her, in the direction that they arrived in. He appears a few moments later with the five necklace-elements in hand and the tiara resting on his head.
Applejack notices Sonic's new accessory and attempt to stiffen a chuckle. "Take that off Sugar Hog, you look ridiculous."
The blue hedgehog takes a step back. "Me ridiculous? Pfft." He pulls out the black shades he kept from the card game and puts them on. "How about now?"
A few of the mares laugh at the hedgehog’s display.
"Ok, now that looks ridiculous." Rainbow Dash comments as she tries to hold back a laugh. Sonic grins at the mare's reaction, passes out the element to their respective owners and removes the sunglasses and tiara, placing the shades back in the usual spot. He walks over to Twilight and places the element of magic on her head.
“Ready for this?" Sonic ask as he kneels down and sits at eye-level with the mare.
"Yes of course, but i also want to say..."
A gloved finger stops the pony mid-sentence as it's placed on her lips. "We'll talk about that later, I need to focus on what's at hand."
Twilight nods and adjusts the tiara with her magic. "Got it."
Sonic steps in a large space, between the Mane six and alicorn sisters. "All right, is everyone ready?"
The ponies and princesses nod in unison. The blue hedgehog returns the gesture and removes the chaos emeralds from their hiding spot. Once free of their container, they start to circle Sonic; occasionally arching between one another. Finally, they are absorbed by the hedgehog, while releasing a blinding light and blanketing the area in a fine mist.
Next Chapter Preview:
???: *laugh* "That was pathetic."
Rainbow Dash:"Just who do you think you are?"
Applejack: "Have you lost your darn mind?"
"Princess Celestia: "This ends now!"
Inner Demons