> Sonic and Equestria Girls
>  by SonicAKG
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In an interdimensional hyperspace that was a black area which resembled outer space,  there were gigantic robotic parts floating around in it such as red claw like arm, yellow wires, black boots and a helmet made to resemble Eggman's face. Speaking of the doctor, a middle-aged egg shaped man with two large brown whiskers and wearing a red coat with yellow buttons and black leather pants along with blue glasses, was in his Egg mobile, which had seven empty cracked containers surrounding it. Eggman looked dazed. He then shook his head to regain his focus and then he noticed the gold hedgehog with spiked up quills and red eyes in front of him.

"That took a while Egghead, but now that I've regained the energy from the emeralds, a simple Chaos Control is all I need to fix what you did to Mobius and the multiverse. Ok, just gotta find out which one is which." Super Sonic said cockily as he placed his hands in front of him and started to charge up energy as he glowed in a yellow aura. Super Sonic generated a glowing green sphere in a yellow outline. As he did, he opened up many small purple portals, in which little blue planets could be seen, each representing a different world.

Eggman looked on. He couldn't let him again, he had come so far with his latest scheme. He clenched his fist at the thought of suffering another defeat to this pest, the frustration rising. Eggman then noticed a small  button that was the colors of the 7 chaos emeralds in his mobile as he looked to his left.  He then smiled maliciously and started to chuckle. Super Sonic noticed this.

"What's so funny?" Super Sonic questioned as his eyes darted back to Eggman as he still charged up.

"Ha! You may think you have won Sonic, but in the end I have the trump card!" Eggman declared as he smashed  the button with his fist firmly. "Super Genesis Wave, activate!"

The Eggmobile started to flash the different colors of the emeralds rapidly as the doctor laughed on.  Super Sonic noticed this and his eyes widened. He knew he had to do something. Him being less focused caused many portals to close suddenly, except for two. One which was Mobius and another world.

"Crap, that looks like bad news!" He declared as he turned to face Eggman. "Chaos Control!"

As he released a stream of yellow energy  from his body which collided with the brilliant white wave that Eggman unleashed, the combined energy created a giant white flash.




At the Canterlot High Battle of the bands during the night, The 8 members of the band Rainbooms had combined their energy as they rose up in the air,  forming a rainbow that shot up into the clouds,  in order to summon a large blue energy Alicorn, a unicorn with wings, in front of the Dazzlings, the evil sirens who wanted to enslave the entire school to do their bidding.  It began to charge up white energy from its horn as it soared through the sky  and prepared to hit the Dazzlings with it. As it did, in the sky, a white ripple began to form. The ripple was small at first, but it began to grow slightly larger. Sunset Shimmer, a girl with yellow skin, orange hair with red stripes with red and yellow boots,  was the only one who noticed this in the corner of her eye. She had a puzzled look as she turned her attention to it slightly while her other bandmates didn’t appear to notice.

"(What could that be?)" She wondered.

The moment the Alicorn fired its beam, the ripple grew larger and became a white flash that enveloped everything, turning everything white. The two worlds which still had portals to the dimensions both flashed white and their portals became one, causing the two worlds to come together, making a white glowing sphere as they did. Everything was white.




Later it was an uneventful early morning in the city of Canterlot.  Cars drove on the road and students walked to school. Suddenly a blue streak dashed through the road, causing the wind to blow, blowing away trees and papers. The streak zipped through until it came in front of the entrance to Canterlot High School, a large purple school building with a white statue of a unicorn in front. Students walked in through the entranc. The steak revealed itself to be Sonic. He still had his same spiky blue hairstyle, except he was now human with his same red shoes with white straps with golden buckles but blue jeans and still having his gloves and green eyes.

"All right! I made it just in time!" Sonic declared as he checked his watch.

"Sonic, come in quick or we'll be late!" He heard Rainbow Dash, a girl with cyan skin and rainbow colored long hair yell to him. She wore a blue vest with a white shirt underneath that had a picture of a cloud with a rainbow colored thunderbolt along with a white and pink skirt with blue boots.

Sonic turned and he saw Rainbow Dash along with the rest of his friends at the school entrance. Sunset Shimmer was there along with AppleJack, a girl with light orange skin, long tied blond hair and wearing a cowboy hat. She had a green white shirt along with a blue skirt with apples on it along with brown cowboy boots. Next to her was Pinkie Pie, a girl with light pink skin, pink poofy hair, a light blue vest along with a white shirt underneath. On her pink skirt, she had a picture of one yellow balloon along with two blue ones along with her light blue boots. On the right, there was Rarity, with her white skin and deep lavender hair. She had a white shirt on along with a purple skirt and purple boots, her skirt having a diamond on it. Fluttershy, who had light yellow skin, wavy pink hair while wearing a white shirt with a green skirt with purple butterflies on it along with green boots sat on the steps in front. Sonic saw his brother, Manic sitting next to her as well. Facially, he looked like Sonic and at the back had his hairstyle the same except green. In the front, Manic had spiky locks of green hair in front. He had a orange vest and a white shirt underneath while wearing spiked collars on his wrist with green pants.  He had black cut gloves and red shoes with white striped fronts.

“Sonic, how many times do I have to tell you? Wait for us!” Sonic heard a voice yell from behind him. 

Sonic turned and he saw Tails, who had short yellow hair with three bangs sticking out. He wore an orange shirt along with shorts  with white gloves and red shoes with white fronts running up to him alongside Knuckles. Knuckles had red dreadlocks and was wearing a black vest with a red shirt. He had a white crescent shaped necklace alongside red pants with red shoes each with a large yellow stripe over them and silver lego like piece over them and green at the top. He had two white boxing gloves with two spikes on the tips. He and Tails looked annoyed. Sonic chuckled a little.

“Then don’t be so slow.” Sonic teased back to them.

On the rooftop, Shadow had his arms folded and he looked down with a stern expression. Shadow wore a black outfit with red stripes on the arms and sides of the legs. He had a patch of white fur on his chest and had red wrist guards on his hands and feet along with golden rings attached. He had black hair with red stripes running through spiked up. He wore white skates with red linings on the front and back while having black ends. He hmphed slightly.

With Knuckles and Tails catching up next to him, Sonic then dashed ahead to the rest of his friends at the entrance.


.
> SONIC AND THE TEST
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the end of the last period at Canterlot High. In the biology class as the other students paid attention to what was being written on the board, Sonic was sitting there looking incredibly bored, and half-asleep. His eyelids almost dropped fully and his head started to fall to the desk. The bell then rang, which woke Sonic up, causing him to lift his head up quickly and lose all the tiredness he had.

“All right students, you’re now dismissed, but remember 3 weeks from now you will have your CHA subject test on biology. It is very important. Remember to take these textbooks with you as you leave”. Ms. Harshwhinny explained as she pointed towards a large  stack of  thick blue books as students were leaving the classroom. Sonic rose up from his chair and approached the stack.

Sonic picked up a book. He groaned as he felt the weight in his hands and stared at it. He didn't think a book could ever weigh this much.

“This thing is heavier than  10 rocks. How much information is in this?” Sonic asked with curisoity.

“It's everything we’ve covered so far in the semester. Remember, study hard.” Ms. Harshwhinny said. 

Sonic then walked up meeting with Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer on the way out of the class. They seemed bothered by the weight of the books they had placed in their bags over their shoulders and were struggling to stand while holding them.

"Man, I’m really freaked out for that test. I’ll have to study at least 6 hours a day to pass.” Rainbow Dash said nervously as they entered the hallway.

“Don't stress out. I'm pretty sure you could still get a D without studying." Sonic said to her playfully. 

Rainbow Dash glared at him heavily.

“Hey, don’t get mad, it’s still a passing grade.” Sonic said in defense as he raised his arms.

“I see you’re not worried about the test. Do you already have your study plan?” Sunset asked Sonic.

“Yeah I do, I’ll just cram it in the night before.” Sonic said nonchalantly as he placed the book in his bag.

“Are you crazy? Have you seen the size of the book?” Sunset asked bewildered. Rainbow Dash looked at him like he was a crazy man. They couldn't believe what he had just said.

“Remember, I have super-speed. It lets me do a bunch of things. It probably gives me a super-speedy memory as well. Memorization will be a piece of cake. ” Sonic said confidently as he pointed to his head.

“I don’t believe you. There is no way you’re going to pass the test like that. You can't just assume you have an ability you've never used before.” Rainbow Dash said as she dismissed his plan.

“Oh, I will. In fact, I bet you that I will.” Sonic said to her full of confidence as he pointed to himself.

“Okay, fine. I won’t mind a little bet. What are the stakes?” Rainbow Dash replied intrigued.

"Well, if I win then you have to be my cheerleader for an entire week. Pom poms and everything. You have to chant a cheer of my choosing." Sonic said.

“You’re on. If I win, then you have to cheer me on in public at the next sports event in public wearing a cheerleading outfit.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Wait a minute, who wins there? Anyway, I accept.” Sonic said.

They both shook hands to seal the deal firmly, each confident of their own skill.

“I don’t think this is a good idea Sonic. Betting everything on a single night and leaving it to the last minute is going to severely backfire.” Sunset warned.

“Please, I got this in the bag.” Sonic said purely confident.

The next day when Sonic walked in into the hallway from the front entrance,  he saw a crowd of students around Manic. They were holding money in their hand and murmuring. He was curious as to what was going on.

“What's Manic up to this time? Is he using -the selling printed concert tickets idea, because I thought for sure that would flop.” Sonic wondered as he walked over to Manic.

Manic was sitting in a desk in the hallway. He had a blue jar on his right and a light blue jar on his left. The latter was filled with dollars and coins while the former had only 2 cents in it.

“All right people, it's between Sonic and Rainbow Dash. Who’s going to fail the test?” Manic was telling people as Sonic came up to him by pushing through the crowd and came in front of him.

“Manic, what’s going on?” Sonic asked.

“Oh well, word got out about your bet with Dash over the CHA test, and people started debating over who would do better. I then stepped in and offered people a way to settle their differences in a civil and honorable manner.” Manic said.

Honorable? You're just using this a chance to make a quick buck.” Sonic pointed out to him, causing Manic to shrug.

Trixie then walked over to Manic as she pushed through the crowd of students firmly.

“The great and powerful Trrrixie, will be placing 30 dollars that Sonic is going to lose.” Trixie said as she handed Manic the money and he placed it in the light blue jar.

“Woah, you’re betting against me.? I thought you hated Dash.” Sonic said in surprise.

“Well I do, but you’re in over your head, moron. This test covers the whole semester's material. Even with your weird powers, you won’t be able to study everything in one day. You’re going to fail that test for sure.” Trixie told him very haughtily. 

“Fair warning, when I win one of the things I’m going to ask Dash to do is chant a cheer of how lame you are.” Sonic responded.

“Hmph. Whatever. By the way, I like my French fries with ketchup. Just remember that when you serve me at the fast food restaurant you’ll end up working in.” Trixie said to him very snobbishly.

“And I’ll remember that you got a rejection on your internet dating account. That’s right I know.” Sonic told her with a smirk.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Trixie said turning red as she crossed her arms.

“Being chatting to a certain someone called Navy-Streak?” Sonic said as his smirk grew larger.

“That’s you?! I was thinking of getting a nose piercing because you said they were cute! This isn’t over!” Trixie said storming off. 

“I can’t believe people actually think I’m going to lose. I’m Sonic. Manic, tell me how many people have betted for me?” Sonic said.

“Well, only 2 people so far. Snips and Snails. But to be honest I don’t even think they knew what they were doing, considering on the list they bet pumpkin pie on you. I think they thought I was going to order food or something.” Manic said. 

“What? The only people who think I’ll win are those two? That can’t be true. Right, Manic?” Sonic said a little worried. His eyes darted back and forth.

“Well, to be honest, I put down 15 dollars that you’ll only get your name right on the test.” Manic said.

“C’mon Manic. I’ll ace this test without even trying.” Sonic said confidently. 

“Sonic, take it from someone who tried to take a test without studying. I failed completely. It was the geography test on the map of the city. I didn’t even get the location of the school right.” Manic said.

Sonic then walked off further into the hallway.  He didn't want to hear this talk about him potentially failing. His speed would surely come in handy, right?

3 days later passed. It was the day before the test. Ms. Harshwhinny  was having a review session on the material in the test. All the students in class were taking notes  as she talked up front, save for Sonic who had his head on his desk. He started to snore slightly and even a bit of drool formed from his mouth.

“All right, who can tell me the classification and the scientific name of the western mountain lion?” She asked.

The whole class even Rainbow Dash raised their hands. Except for Sonic, who was asleep. Ms.Harshwhinny noticed this and she sighed in an annoyed manner.  Ms. Harshwhinny  walked over to his desk and dropped a book on it, making a sound as if a bomb was dropped into the ocean, waking him up as his head lifted from his desk quickly.

“What, who, where, why”? Sonic said as he looked around.

“Sonic, I was asking the class if they could tell me the classification and the scientific name of the western mountain lion. The fact that you’re sleeping indicates to me that you already know all of this material.” Ms. Harshwhinny told him.

“Actually, I have no idea what you just said. I haven’t even begun studying yet.” Sonic said nonchalantly.

“Sonic this is a serious test, I hope that you are joking. 20 percent of your grade depends on it.” She warned him.

“Thanks, but don’t worry about me. I have everything under control” Sonic said.

“I hope for your sake that’s true.” She told him.

At the end of the day, the bell rang and students began to walk out of the school. As Sonic was exiting the school, he spotted Sunset, Rainbow Dash and ApppleJack huddled together.

"Sonic, good luck for the test tomorrow. You'll really need it." Sunset told him.

"Sonic, you might as well throw in the towel. There is no way you'll beat me. I've been studying for the past days. In fact, we're heading over to my house to have a study session." Rainbow Dash said cockily.

"Well, good for you. I'm going to head home, relax for an hour or two. Then start studying. I don't need as much time as you, thanks to my super-speedy memory." Sonic responded as he tapped his head.

"As I said before, Sonic, do you even know if that'll work?" Sunset asked.

"Trust me, I got this." Sonic replied.

“Sonic, if you want you can some study with us.” Applejack offered.

“Thanks for the offer, but I'll do just fine tomorrow. I'm aiming for an A-plus.” Sonic said.

“He’s hopeless” Rainbow Dash said as she and the others exited the school. Sonic then dashed home very quickly into his room and shut the door. He then emptied his bag out and took his book out and sat on his desk.

"I might as well just get this over with, seeing how easy it will be for me to learn all this." Sonic said as he opened the book up and looked at a page. Sonic began to read the first sentence. He read over it once and tried to remember it. He couldn't do it. Sonic became puzzled, but he just read over the sentence again, thinking it was nothing.  Again, he had trouble remembering. Sonic chuckled nervously and read through it two more times, but he couldn't remember it.

"Uhhh, well this is probably unimportant, let me try the next sentence.” Sonic said a little nervous.

He then read the second sentence and reread it afterward. As he did, he realized again he could not remember it as he read it again. 

Sonic then moved on to the 3rd sentence, the 4th one, and the 5th one. As he tried to memorize them after reading them, he couldn’t. He was getting worried as he started to sweat a little.

“What the heck is going on? Why isn’t my speedy memory clicking in? I should remember these things better than the back of my hand!” Sonic wondered, starting to panic as he flipped through pages at a blinding speed.

Again he reread the sentences but still could not memorize them. 

“This is getting ridiculous. Okay, enough playing around. I will not stop until I remember all of these sentences perfectly” Sonic declared as he slammed his hand on the table and looked up, full of determination.

4 hrs passed and Sonic was still sitting on his desk with the page in front of him. He looked very tired and his eyes were droopy and bloodshot.  His head fell on the book and he started to snore slightly. Then after about 5 minutes, Sonic's alarm went off and he suddenly woke up and looked around. He rubbed his head and slumped into his seat.

"Oh man, what have I gotten myself into?" Sonic grumbled groggily. "I need to go clear my head for a while."

Sonic then dashed outside of his room through the front door. He liked taking runs, it helped him think. Sonic ran through the city of Canterlot in the late evening, leaving a blue streak as he did and causing the wind to blow.  Later as he was running, in front of Rainbow's Dash's house, Sunset opened the front door for some fresh air, wearing her purple pajamas and stretched. As she was outside, she noticed a blue streak that was headed in her direction and looked at it curiosity.

"Is that Sonic?" She wondered. "Sonic! Over here!"

Sonic noticed her calling him and waving over to him. He then ran over to her and stopped in front of her.

"Oh, hey Sunset. What's up?" Sonic asked in a defeated tone as he screeched to a stop.

"Well, everyone else and I finished studying up about an hour ago, so now we're just having a little fun. How goes your studying?" She responded.

"Oh, I'm doing just fine." Sonic said weakly. Sunset noticed the bags under his eyes.

"You don't look so good." She commented.

Sonic sighed a deep sigh and decided there was no point in putting up a front.

“Sunset, you were right. I was in way over my head. It turns out I don't have a super speedy memory like I though. I’ve been on the same page for 4 hours and it’s only the 1st one. I haven’t gotten past the 1st 4 lines. I ate a bunch of  food to keep me awake, but now I just feel more tired.” Sonic said as he sat down on the porch.

Sunset sat down next to him and she put her hand on his shoulder.

“Sonic, are you okay?” She asked.

“Look, it’s hard for me to say this, but I think I’m going to fail the test tomorrow. I'm so screwed.” Sonic admitted, lacking the confidence he had earlier.

“Sonic, look. I know that you’re feeling stressed out, and worried, but don’t do anything like cheat or skip out. You’ll only regret it later as you’ll be doing something that isn’t you. The Sonic I know is an honest guy who is always true to himself. At least take the test, and try to finish the 1st section.” Sunset said as she smiled at him.

Sonic looked at her. Her words started to give him a little hope. Sonic's face became a smile until it suddenly turned sour as if had bitten into a lemon and he frowned.

“You placed a bet that I’d fail didn’t you?” Sonic said dryly.

“What,no.... I only put down 20 dollars that you would at least try to answer the 1st 10 questions.” Sunset said blushing as her cheeks turned pink and she turned away from him.

“Yeah, thanks for the encouragement. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find a way to at least pass. I don't care about this dumb bet anymore, I just don't wanna fail." Sonic said as he rose up from the porch determined.

“Anyway Sonic, seriously good luck.” Sunset said as she walked back inside the house and closed the door.

Sonic then dashed away back to his house into his room. He opened the book up and at least tried to get some studying done. He placed his hands on his face as he tried to read. 

The next day, it was the morning.  Sonic was fast asleep on his desk, his head rested on the book. Sonic began to stir and then he woke up, feeling very  tired. Sonic's eyes were bloodshot. He moved his hand around until he felt his phone. He looked at the time and saw that it read 7:45. His eyes widened in surprise and it woke him up as he jumped from his desk upon seeing it.

"Oh crap, I'm gonna be late! Ah man, and I still haven't studied that much!" Sonic said, realizing how bad the situation really was.

Sonic dashed through his house and got himself ready for school quickly as he entered his bathroom and took a minute shower, while brushing his teeth. After that, he dashed back into his room and put a new set of clothes in less than 10 seconds in a blue bur. As he was finished, Sonic entered the living room and reached for the door. He then stopped and groaned.

"I'm gonna fail and there's nothing I can do about it!" Sonic complained as he threw his arms up in defeat.Just then Sonic noticed something glimmering in the corner of his eye. Sonic dashed over to behind his couch and noticed the source of the glimmer. It was a green chaos emerald.

"Shadow's emerald?! He must have left it here by mistake." Sonic said as he picked it up. "I'll give it back to him when I see him." 

Sonic began to put the emerald in his pocket.  As he did, he suddenly got an idea as his eyes widened and he smiled. His mood was improved greatly.

"Of course! I can use this to activate chaos control and stop time for a while. I can then study to at least give myself a B or even better, get a higher grade than Dash and actually end up winning this bet!" Sonic noticed as he snapped his fingers. He checked his watch and noticed the time on his watch. "I better get to school." He then dashed off.

In front of CHS, many students were there, doing some last minute studying as they read or zipped past pages through their textbooks, some scrambling to get notes.Sunset, Rainbow Dash, and AppleJack were there as well. They didn't seem worried and just stood on the steps, looking out in the open.

"Sonic still hasn't shown up yet." Sunset commented with concern as she looked around.

"He probably ditched. Ha, I knew he wouldn't be able to pull this off. I win!" Rainbow Dash declared full of confidence.

Just then, they noticed a blue streak coming by in the distance leaving a trail of dust.

"Sonic?!:" Rainbow Dash noticed.

"This better work." Sonic said to himself. He was running at quite a high speed as his legs formed the figure 8 movement. As he approached the school, he clutched the emerald.

"Chaos Control!" Sonic yelled. As he did, Sonic's body began to glow green and he was enveloped in a green flaming aura. Sonic didn't stop running and he was rose up in the air and made a large green flash. When the flash cleared, Sonic was nowhere to be found.  Everyone looked on in shock and confusion as they looked up at the sky.

"What just happened to Sonic?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

Sonic was being pulled through a green flashing tunnel at high speed. He was yelling as he did and clutched the emerald, holding on for dear life. He felt as if his entire body was being ripped apart. Eventually, he reached the end of the tunnel and fell out of it. He began to fall into a place with a greyish-white sky with white twinkles with black lines dashed through the sky.  He noticed that there were many spheres colored like purple and white tiles. He landed on one with a large thud that echoed throughout the area.

"What the?" Sonic said as he noticed his surroundings after getting up. "Where am I?"

"WHO ENTERS MY REALM?" Sonic heard a loud voice boom. He looked around suddenly, but didn't see anything. A large black hand then firmly grabbed the sphere he was on. Sonic tumbled a bit and then he came face to face with the hands owner. It was a large panda with yellow glowing eyes in a menacing manner. Sonic looked on in disbelief as his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.

"Who're you?" Sonic managed to say as he got past his shock.

"I AM FEIST! MASTER OF THIS DOMAIN!" The panda declared.

"You know, I've seen a lot of crazy things but you win first place. Just what the hell are you?" Sonic stated.

"SILENCE! YOU DID NOT ANSWER FEIST'S QUESTION!" Feist yelled. He pulled the sphere closer to him and his eyes glowed in a menacing manner. Sonic nearly lost his balance.

"Ok, ok, relax big guy. My name is Sonic." Sonic explained as he got his balance and dusted his pants.

"WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE MORTAL?" Feist demanded.

"Mortal?" Sonic replied confused.

"FEIST IS A GOD!" Feist explained.

"Suuuuure. Anyway, I didn't mean to come here. It was an accident. I was running really fast and activated chaos control. Doing that must've brought me here." Sonic explained. He then realized that he didn't have the emerald with him anymore as he reached into his pocket and moved his hands around to feel it. " My emerald!"

"THIS?!" Feist said as he held up the chaos emerald in front of Sonic. Sonic looked relieved and did a sigh to show this.

"Yes! That's mine! Look, man, I need it. I just want to go back home." Sonic pleaded.

"THIS BELONGS TO FEIST NOW!" Feist declared as he pulled the emerald away from Sonic.

"No, it doesn't. It's my only way home. I don't wanna trouble. I just want to go back. I need to take this dumb test." Sonic replied.

"YOUR MORTAL ISSUES ARE OF NO INTEREST TO FEIST!" Feist simply responded.

"Well, Sonic thinks that Feist should learn some personal pronouns." Sonic grumbled.

"INTERESTING. YOU DO NOT COWER IN FRONT OF FEIST. THIS AMUSES FEIST." Feist noticed as he brought his hands together.

"Sonic doesn't care. Sonic just wants to go home." Sonic said in an annoyed manner as he sat down and folded his arms.

Feist chuckled, which sent a loud booming sound through the zone. Sonic again stumbled and lost his balance for a while.

"FEIST OFFERS YOU A CHALLENGE. IF YOU COMPLETE IT, FEIST WILL LET YOU LEAVE WITH THE EMERALD." Feist offered. Sonic became interested and he did a half smile and rose up.

"OK, doesn't sound too bad. But what happens if I fail?" Sonic asked. "Can I still take the emerald and leave?"

"NO. THEN YOU WILL REMAIN FEIST'S PRISONER." Feist said. Sonic sighed. He should've expected that answer.

"Ok then. What do I need to do?" Sonic asked.

Feist made a long yellow wide road appear from the sphere that Sonic was on that extended through the realm. He then placed many blue spheres and red spheres on the road as well.

"YOU MUST REACH THE END OF THIS ROAD WHILE COLLECTING ALL THE BLUE SPHERES WHILE AVOIDING THE RED ONES." Feist explained. "ONCE YOU REACH THE END, THE EMERALD SHALL BE YOURS."

"Sounds easy enough. I'm ready to start." Sonic said. He positioned himself in a running stance.  

"(How do I get myself into these situations? One minute I'm making a bet with Rainbow Dash over a test, the next I'm dealing with an egomaniacal deity.)"  He thought to himself.

Sonic then began to run on the road as a blue streak. As he ran through, he collected blue spheres in front of him and avoided the red ones. When he saw that there were blue spheres on the side, he zipped to left and collected them. Sonic dashed mid-air over the red spheres in the center and collected the blue spheres on the other side. Sonic approached another row of blue spheres but as he got close, they turned into black metal spike balls and he quickly moved to the side just in time. He lost his balance this time as well.

"Hey, what gives?" Sonic yelled annoyed as he regained his composure.

"FEIST DOES NOT WANT THIS TO BE TOO EASY FOR YOU." Feist declared. 

Sonic groaned but he continued on as he collected blue spheres and avoided the red ones and black metal spikes. As he did, Sonic began to approach the chaos emerald. He could see it hovering above him.  As he got close to it, the emerald suddenly hovered even higher than before. Sonic then felt the road breaking apart and shaking as he ran.

"THIS AMUSES FEIST MORE!" Feist said in delight.

"You have serious problems man. You need to find new hobbies." Sonic muttered under his breath.

Sonic jumped from the roads breaking apart ahead to the emerald. Sonic then noticed many blue spheres mid-air. He jumped up and dashed through all them. Doing so made him a pathway to the emerald.  Before he fell, Sonic grabbed the emerald. As he did, the road fragments vanished and he began to fall.

"YOU HAVE AMUSED FEIST GREATLY."  FEIST stated.

"It's what I do. Can I go home now?" Sonic requested.

A yellow swirling portal appeared below Sonic and he fell towards it.

"FAIR WARNING. NEXT TIME, FEIST WILL NOT BE SO MERCIFUL." FEIST warned as Sonic entered the portal.

Sonic went through a yellow tunnel and he noticed the exit. Sonic then fell through the exit and he landed on the ground in front of Sunset and the others on his face in a large thud. He groaned in pain.

"Sonic, are you ok?" AppleJack asked.

Sonic sprinted up quickly as a blue dash.

"How long was I gone?" Sonic asked.

"What are you talking about? You just vanished in a green flash like a second ago and you just landed right in front of us." Rainbow Dash said confused.

"Time must flow differently there." Sonic realized.

"Huh?" Sunset said.

"Nevermind, it's a long story." Sonic said tiredly.

"Anyway, ready for the test?" Rainbow Dash asked in a cocky manner as she put her hands on her hips.

Sonic gulped. He remembered that he didn't study at all while in that zone. He was totally unprepared. " I'm as ready as I can be." He said trying to be confident. He then dashed into the school, leaving the others behind.

Later, students came out after taking the test. They all looked quite anxious, with looks of confusion. Some held their heads in tiredness, while others just had their heads downs. A few just sighed in relief and held their hands to their chest.

"That test was quite challenging." Sunset admitted.

"That was the hardest test ever! I think I'll be lucky if I can get a D!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "How'd you find it Sonic?"

The look on Sonic's face was one was confusion and bewilderment. He really didn't know what to say. He just walked on in silence for a while.

"I tried my best. That's all that matters." Sonic replied at last.

A week later, Sonic and the others were back in Ms. Harshwhinny's class. She was handing back the test back to students as she walked around. She then reached Rainbow Dash's desk and handed her test to her. When she saw her test, Rainbow Dash sighed in relief.

"A B-! Awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she did a power fist.

Ms. Harshwhinny then handed the test back to Sonic. He looked at his test and saw that he had gotten a 0. He wasn't too surprised, to be honest. He sighed and put his head down on the desk. Ms. Harshwhinny then put her hand on his shoulder.

"Sonic, I know you didn't prepare much for this test and I know you can do much better than that. So, how about you retake it two weeks from now? And actually, study this time." Ms. Harshwhinny said.

"Really? Thanks!" Sonic said with optimism as his face broke out in a smile as he rose up and looked at her. "This isn't so bad. I get to retake the test!"

Rainbow Dash then started to chuckle, getting Sonic's attention.

"Hold on Sonic. I wouldn't celebrate yet. You lost the bet. You know what means." She said with a sly grin causing Sonic to frown.

Two days later, CHS was having a big soccer game against Crystal Prep during the afternoon. The bleachers were filled with students from both schools, excited to see their teams play. There was a large cheering sound from the crowd.  As the CHS team was getting ready, Sonic then came out or dragged himself out  wearing a light blue cheerleading outfit along with the wonder colt ears and tail, causing the crowd to cheer. He looked like he wanted to just run out of there as fast as he could. He had a frown on his face and knew that people would remember this for a while. H

"Say it loud and proud!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

Sonic did the loudest sigh of his life.  He began to cheer for the CHS team as he threw his hands up in the air.

"Give me an R."He started with fake enthusiasm.





THE END.
> Date with Dazzlings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Date with Dazzlings
On a weekend night, at Sonic’s house, Manic was on his laptop on the couch, with Sonic on his right, who was watching snowboarding on the television with interest, and Shadow on his left, who had his arms folded and eyes closed with his head down. Manic had a grin on his face as he looked at his screen, and typed loudly.  Manic chuckled with delight every few minutes. It began to annoy Shadow, who opened his eyes and turned to Manic as he lifted his head up with an annoyed look.

“Could you stop laughing constantly? I'm trying to rest.” Shadow said annoyed.

"Back off . You don’t understand what I’ve discovered and the joy it brings me” Manic said defensively with a frown as he faced him.

“Getadate.com? Manic that’s the worst internet dating website there is. You should know. Remember the last time you went there and you got a date, but it turned out to be Granny Smith.” Sonic said as he looked at Manic's screen as he turned over.

“Let’s not remember that” Manic said shuddering.  "That was not a good Saturday. But anyway, my luck's changing. I met this really amazing girl online yesterday and we’ve been talking ever since. We have so much in common”.  He sighed with happiness.

“Manic, I’d be happy for you, but what I really want to know if you’re sure that it’s actually a girl that you’re talking to. There are a lot of weirdos out there.” Sonic said as he put his hand on his shoulder.

"I don't see the point of this "online" social interaction." Shadow commented.

“You don't like any kind of social interaction. Besides, I have a feeling that this girl is special” Manic said as he looked up with happiness.

“Right. And you know this how? In fact, do you even know anything about “her”?” Sonic said making air quotation marks.

“I do! Her username is Sdusk, and uh, well she goes on the internet. She...... knows how to use a computer. She can surf the web. She can type. See, that’s 4 things off the top of my head.” Manic said as he held up 4 fingers.

“You don’t know anything about her at all do you? What do you guys even talk about?” Sonic said, not impressed.

“Well, I tell her about how I hate living with these 2 jerks who are always putting me down and making snide remarks. You don’t know them. She tells me how she also lives with these 2 jerks who do the exact same thing.” Manic said. “Anyway, now we're talking about meeting each other tomorrow evening”. He added on as he heard a ding sound coming from his laptop and read the message he had received.

“Woah, Manic. That’s not a good idea. You don’t know a thing about this girl. She could kill you or rob you or kidnap you.” Sonic cautioned.

“Hmm, you’re right. I should be more careful. I know”. Manic said as he typed a message and hit send. “Thanks for the warning, Sonic. I just sent her a message saying we make it a triple meeting. She brings her friends and I bring you guys for extra safety”. Sonic and Shadow turned to Manic with looks of surprise, as if they didn't hear what he had said.

“What? That’s a terrible idea. I don’t want to spend tomorrow evening meeting some stranger who I don’t even know. Count me out.” Sonic said as he stood up from the couch in front of Manic.

“I have no interest” Shadow said as he tried to go back to resting.

“Guys, c’mon. It wouldn’t hurt. Besides, we haven’t hung out together in a while.” Manic pleaded.

“Don’t you think there’s a reason behind it?” Shadow replied bluntly.

“Please, please, please, please,” Manic begged as he grabbed his hands together.

Sonic and Shadow looked at each other. They then sighed. 

“Fine, we’ll play along for now. ” Sonic said as he gave in. Manic's face broke out into a smile.

“Yes! Now to confirm for me and see if she says yes.” Manic said typing again. 




On the other side of the laptop in a large orange room with light yellow curtains, a slightly open blue door, and a large blue bed,  Sonata Dusk , a girl with blue skin and dark blue hair with light blue stripes in a ponytail, received Manic’s message as she sat on the bed. She then jumped off the bed in joy after she had read through it.

“Adagio, Aria, come quick!!!!!” she yelled happily to the door.

Both of them came to her looking annoyed, as they walked through the door and entered her room. Adagio had orange skin and large frizzy orange hair with yellow highlights, while Aria had purple skin with dark purple hair in pigtails with green highlights

“Why are you yelling for us to come? Did you find a way to fix our pendants?” Adagio asked.

“No.” Sonata replied bluntly.

“I figured as much.” Adagio said groaning as she massaged her temples.

“Well, I just finished talking with this awesome guy online and we scheduled a meeting tomorrow evening.” Sonata started off.

“Getting bored. What’s the point of this?” Aria said as she folded her arms with impatience.

“He lives with these two other guys and asked if he could bring them along, and I said sure as long as I could bring you guys. So it’s a triple date!!” Sonata said happily as she showed them the computer screen.

Both Aria and Adagio didn’t look happy at all. In fact, they looked annoyed.

“Seriously? We’ve lost our magical power, need to find a way to get it back and you want to waste time on a date? You really are the worst.” Aria said as she pushed the computer screen away.

“Oh yeah? Well, you’re the worsest.” Sonata replied defensively as she set down her laptop on her bed.

“That’s not even a word,” Aria pointed out.

“Is too!”

“Is not!”

“Aria, silence! I think you might be on to something, Sonata. We haven’t been able to go out much on our own due to that whole battle of the bands fiasco. But, if we go with the 3 boys Sonata mentioned then we’ll be able to blend in more easily, and search for a way to restore our magic. No one will suspect 3 teenage girls on “dates”. We're going” Adagio decided as she put her finger and thumb on her chin and smiled deviously. 

“Yah!!!!” Sonata shouted as she started to jump up and down. Aria didn't share her enthusiasm and looked annoyed.

“No way. Bad enough that it’s a date, but now you’ve turned it into one of your schemes. You know the ones that always fail? Count me out.” Aria said she folded her arms with annoyance.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. If you have any better plans than the ones that I always come up with I’d love to hear them. You know it’s strange how I always come up with the plans. I guess that’s because plans involve thinking.” Adagio told Aria as she walked up to her and got in her face.

Aria glared at her. She then tried to think up of something that would shut Adagio up and be better than the plan she suggested. After a few minutes, she had nothing and just sulked even more.

“Fine, I’ll go along with this plan. But if it backfires, you’ll never hear the end of it, Adagio.” Aria said as she rolled her eyes.




The next day at school, Manic was walking with Sonic and Shadow as they entered the school.  He was in a very good mood. He was smiling and humming and even started skipping. Sonic looked at him weirdly and just shrugged.

“Manic, don’t get your hopes up. We still don’t anything about these girls." Sonic said.

“I have a feeling that everything's going to be just fine! Trust me, guys, tonight’s going to be the best night ever! ” Manic said happily as he grabbed the two of them. Shadow glared at him, causing Manic to give him a nervous smile and let him go.

The three of them while they were walking met up with Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash in the halls.

“Manic, you’re looking unnaturally happy on a school day”. Sunset noticed.

“That’s because tonight, I scored a date! I met her online through this dating site. ” Manic said as he pumped his fist in the air excitedly.

‘You’re still using online dating? Don’t you remember what happened last time?’ Dash said.

‘Don't bring it up. ” Manic said as he groaned. He then smiled and regain his posture. Besides, Sonic and Shadow are coming with me. It’s a triple date!"

“Wait, Sonic you’re going along with this too?” Dash asked him as she looked at him with surprise.

“Yeah, I just wanna make sure Manic doesn't do anything crazy.” Sonic explained casually as he shrugged again.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? What if these girls are horrible? Like they're magical creatures that want to rule the world and enslave everyone?!''. Rainbow Dash suggested out of the blue, sounding somewhat concerned.

“The chances of that happening are less likely than getting struck by lightning. It’s just going to be a normal date with 3 normal girls.  Though it would be kinda cool, I could always use some action..” Sonic casually replied.

“ I better get going. The track meet could start any minute. Dash suddenly said as  she checked her watch. She then trotted on ahead, leaving Sunset behind with the others. Sonic looked slightly puzzled.

"What's with her?" He asked as he turned to Sunset, who just wore a slight smirk.

"Nothing. Probably anxious for her track meet. Anyway, good luck with your dates." Sunset said as she then walked on ahead, leaving the trio behind.

"I'm telling you, tonight is going to rule." Manic wishfully said. 




Later it was the evening,  Sonic, Manic and Shadow were in Sonic's house. Manic was looking at himself in the mirror as he focused on his hair .He was spraying perfume on himself rapidly on his chest. Sonic and Shadow were sitting on the couch , the latter  clearly uninterested as he had his typical frown and crossed his arms.  Sonic tapped his foot quickly with impatience.

“Can you stop spraying that all over yourself? I can smell it from here.” Shadow said on the couch.

“I want to appear my best for this date. You guys should get ready too. Chances like this don’t come too often and I don’t need you screwing it up for me.” Manic said irritated.

“Relax Manic, it’s gonna be fine. You’re going to screw it up yourself by being all nervous.” Sonic teased. He then turned to the door and did a slight frown. "Where are they anyway? I hate waiting."

Just then, the doorbell rang. Manic let out a gasp as his eyes widened.

“What am I doing? I can’t go through with this! I’m aborting this now!” Manic said as he grabbed his face as if he wanted to tear it off with his hands.

Manic then crawled behind the couch as he dashed under it with super speed. The doorbell rang again twice. Sonic and Shadow looked down at Manic after turning from the door.

“What happened to being all happy and excited?” Shadow asked him

“I changed my mind. Look, guys, just get down on the floor and pretend we’re not home.” Manic instructed.

The doorbell rang again.

“If you’re not going to get it, then I while. You can’t wimp out at the last minute.” Sonic said as he approached the door as he rose up from the couch.

“No, Sonic don’t do it!” Manic yelled as stuck his hand out.

Sonic opened the door and he saw the Dazzling in front of him. Sonata had a big smile on her face with her arms behind her back.  Aria just had her arms folded and wasn't even looking at him. Adagio had an uninterested look, but then she noticed Sonic and forced a smile. His eyes widened in slight surprise. Shadow saw them from the couch as he turned, but his expression remained the same.

"Hi!"Adagio said with fake kindness. Sonata waved quickly while Aria still just had her grumpy expression.

Manic got up from behind the couch and saw them as well. He formed an instant grin.

“ Is there where Manic lives?” Adagio asked.

Manic rushed past and he moved Sonic out of the way before he could respond. Manic cleared his throat, stood up straight and gave a sly smile.

“Yes, yes it is. In fact, I’m Manic. Pleasure to meet you.” Manic said, trying to play it cool.

“Perfect. I’m Adagio Dazzle, this is Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk.” Adagio said introducing herself and her companions as she pointed to the two of them.

“Sonata Dusk? You’re  Sdusk? You’re just as pretty as I hoped.” Manic said with a wink as he looked past Adagio to Sonata.

Aria rolled her eyes and Sonata just giggled. Then Sonic came next to Manic.

“I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself. I’m Sonic. Fastest thing alive. Not that’s it a big deal or anything.” Sonic said as he took Adagio's hand as a gentleman would.

“A pleasure.” Adagio said slyly. She took her hand away. 

“Didn’t you say there were 3 of you?” Aria asked as she spoke up.

“Oh yeah, well over there on the couch is Shadow. He’s just my faker. You’ll probably forget about him by the time the night’s over. He has no personality aside from just frowning and crossing his arms.” Sonic said disinterested while pointing to Shadow. The Dazzlings turned to notice him.

“I heard that.” Shadow said annoyed.

Shadow walked up from the couch and made his way to the door and joined Sonic and Manic. The 6 of them now faced each other.

“Well then, let’s begin the night. After you, ladies.” Manic said,

The Dazzlings walked away from the door and outside. The three of them soon began to follow as they headed out. Manic huddled Sonic and Shadow next to him.

“Guys, we hit the jackpot. I knew I had a good hunch about this.” Manic whispered with excitement.

“This night could actually turn out pretty fun.” Sonic said. The two of them fist bumped. Shadow didn't respond, as he wasn't interested at all. The 6 of them met up near the road close to Sonic's house.

“So boys, where's our first stop?” Adagio asked sweetly.

“Well I thought we could go to-“ Manic began.

“The mall.” Sonic interrupted quickly, Manic glared at him, but he didn't notice. “I heard they have a bunch of new stuff that we could check out.”

“Isn’t the mall like 10 miles from here? How are we supposed to get there if we don’t have a car?” Aria asked bored.

“Leave that to me.” Sonic said as pointed to himself with confidence.

He then picked up Adagio in a bridal fashion. She looked at him weirdly. He gave her a smile.

“Hold tight.” Sonic said as he dashed off with her, making a blue streak and causing the wind to blow. Aria and Sonata looked on shocked as their hair blew, while Shadow and Manic looked annoyed.

“Show off.” Manic grumbled. 

Sonic then arrived at the entrance and first floor of mall instantly and put Adagio down. She looked a bit dizzy. She then looked at Sonic with awe and wonder. She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. 

“Well, how was your first time taking the Sonic express?” Sonic said as he rubbed under his nose cockily.

“(Sonata may have done something brilliant for the first time in her life! These boys are special! They might be the key to recovering our magic. I’ll play nice for now). Sonic, that was amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it! ” Adagio exclaimed as she clasped her hands in delight.

Suddenly, a green flash appeared in front of them. The flash died down, which revealed Shadow, Manic, Aria, and Sonata. Sonata had a big smile on her face while Aria looked a little shocked as by what had just happened. Adagio looked on, astonished. She then noticed that Shadow had a green emerald in his right hand.  She focused on  it with great interest.

“That was awesome! I’ve never moved  teleported again. Can we go again? Can we, can we, can we, can we?” Sonata pestered Shadow who was ignoring her as he didn't even look at her.

“Meh, whatever” Aria said as she folded her arms.

“What, not surprised?” Shadow asked her. He found it odd that she wasn't even bewildered by teleporting. It wasn't something people did every day.

“Teleporting just doesn’t excite me.” Aria said with boredom as she looked at her hand.

“Ignore her, she’s always grumpy and being mean to people.” Sonata said.

“Hey, so is Shadow” Manic added on.

“I wouldn’t be all the time if I didn’t have to deal with you since you're the worst!” Shadow and Aria said simultaneously as they turned to Manic and Sonata. They both looked at each other after they both realized what they had done. Aria turned away from Shadow and folded her arms.

“I’m so glad we decided to go on this date with you 3. You guys are really special.” Adagio said as regained her usual calm attitude and approached Sonic. He grinned at this.

“Thanks. Now that we're here, let's have some fun!” Sonic said giving her the thumbs up.

“That’s a great idea, Sonic. You guys go on ahead. We just need some time to rest. After all, it’s not every day you teleport or move at blinding speeds.” Adagio said as she wiped her forehead, pretending to be tired.

Sonic, Shadow, and Manic went off ahead in the mall, leaving the three Dazzlings.

“Girls, change of plans. We don’t need to look for a way to restore our pendants. The way has found us.” Adagio said as the three of them huddled in a group

“The way? Who’s the way? Are we having another person on this date?” Sonata asked as she looked around, which caused Adagio and Aria to roll their eyes.

“No! These 3 boys have some kind of power. If we can siphon that power for ourselves, it might be a way for us to restore our magic to full power. So for the time being, we need to get close to them earn their trust, and when the time comes, we take what we need. Play nice, especially you Aria.” Adagio said as she pointed to her. Aria frowned.

“Whatever. But Adagio do you even know what kind of power they have. For all we know, it isn’t even magic. What if this blows up in our faces?” Aria said.

"The more we spend time with them, the more we'll know. Besides, that black one has a green jewel, which I presume allowed him to teleport. Getting our hands on it would be a first step. Aria, make sure you get on his good side." Adagio said as she pointed to her.

"I doubt he even has one. He's such a wet blanket." Aria said, again folding her arms.

"I dunno, he seems to be a lot like you." Sonata pointed out. 

"He and I are nothing alike!" Aria insisted defensively. 

"It's of no concern. Just pretend to have fun." Adagio said.

"I can do that!" Sonata said happily. 

Sonic, Manic, and Shadow walked ahead and approached the escalators. They stopped in front of them.

"I can tell this is going to be a great night! Those girls are just amazing!"Manic declared.

"They seem pretty cool." Sonic agreed with a nod.

"I don't know yet. Something about them seems strange." Shadow said. Sonic and Manic turned at his statement.

"Oh come on, lighten up for once in your life." Manic said to him.

"Yeah, Shadow. Besides that purple girl reminds me a lot of you." Sonic teased. Shadow turned away, hating the idea of being compared to Aria.

"Don't be simple." Shadow replied.

"The similarities are uncanny. Grumpy, frowning, folding arms." Manic said as he raised three fingers. Shadow just gave him a slight glare. Just then, the three Dazzlings came up to them, with Adagio and Sonata smiling. Aria still looked uninterested before Adagio elbowed her slightly and she forced a smile.

"Now that we're all here, let's do it to it!" Sonic declared, giving the thumbs up. Adagio had a sly smile.




A montage of their night was shown. First, the 6 of them were in seats in a movie theater, watching a horror movie. Adagio had a surprised look on her face, while Sonic had a slight look of fear on his face as he looked on. Aria looked in delight at the screen, as she held her hands on the seat and peered closer. Shadow just had his arms folded and looked unresponsive. Manic gulped at the screen and was shaking, while Sonata had a worried look on her face.  The entire audience in front of them jumped with fear, while Manic screamed and jumped in Sonata's arms. He looked at her with embarrassment as he noticed, while she just smiled. The three of them were later at a bowling alley. Sonic held a black bowling in his hands as  he threw it quickly and caused a strike in no-time. Adagio and Sonata clapped at his victory, while Aria yawned.  Manic then went next with a pink bowling and he winked at Sonata before he turned around and threw the bowling ball without even looking and made a strike as well. Sonata clapped with delight and stood up.  Sonic smirked while Aria still looked bored. Shadow then went up with a red bowling ball and he released it at a moderate peace. The ball then went off into the side and didn't even hit any of the pins. Sonic started to laugh alongside Manic and Sonata giggled and Adagio put her hand to her mouth. Aria wasn't even paying attention. Shadow noticed Sonic's laughing and he began to grumble. He then fired a Chaos spear at the pins suddenly, which caused them to explode. Sonic looked on in shock alongside Manic and Sonata. Adagio raised an eyebrow while Aria had a slight smile on her face. Shadow dusted his hands, pleased, as other bowlers looked at him in surprise. The 6 of them then entered the arcade, where Sonic came in front of a Virtua fighter game and pointed to it. He then placed a coin inside and the game started. Sonic first played a competitive game against Manic as they both button mashed rapidly and firmly with Sonata cheering in the background. Adagio looked bored in the back as she looked around until Sonic turned back to her with a smile and she quickly clapped her hands in an attempt to appear enthusiastic. Sonic then beat Manic and Manic groaned. Shadow and Aria both looked bored as they folded their arms. Sonic then dashed Shadow in front of the game suddenly, while Adagio pushed Aria in front of as well. She gave her a firm point and Aria sighed, knowing she had no choice. Sonic patted Shadow on the back and he sighed as well. The two of them played a match, where Aria began to get into the game as her button mashing become more rapid and Shadow did the same thing, not wanting to lose at anything. They became more competitive as the sound of hitting buttons became much louder Manic and Sonata cheered, while Sonic smiled and Adagio forced one. Eventually, Aria had beaten Shadow as she crossed her arms in victory and gained a smug smile, while Shadow looked  surprised at the screen. He wasn't used to losing at anything.




Meanwhile in Eggman's lair, Cubot was carrying a silver metallic box with a red lid on it as Orbot followed him. The two of them were inside a small dark room, with de-activated badniks in a pile.

"Do be careful with that thing. The doctor wishes for us to dispose of his newest mistake quite efficiently." Orbot instructed to Cubot.

"Huh, what was that?" Cubot said as he turned around to face Orbot, and dropped the box as he put his finger on his head. There was a large crash as the box fell into the pile of de-activated badniks.

"Never-mind. Well, at least it's been disposed of." Orbot said dryly, not noticing that the lid of the box had been removed. He then exited the room, followed by Cubot. As they left, inside the pile of badniks, there was a small green weed stem, with sharp teeth as it grit them. It began to spread it's vines rapidly, through the pile of badniks. The badniks were then entangled by the vines and began to remove themselves from the pile and one, by one, started to line up.  A caterkillers eye's shone and then there was a crash, as a hole in the wall was made as the  badniks exited them.




Meanwhile, Sonic and the others were now sitting in the center of the mall at the food court, which was quite full of people. Sonic, Shadow, and Manic sat across from the Dazzlings.  Manic and Sonata stared at each other with interest, making intense eye contact, while Aria had a slight smile on her face over her victory as Shadow just frowned with his typical arm fold, not over his loss. Adagio looked around, starting to lose interest, while Sonic looked at her with a smile as placed his hand on his chin. Adagio noticed this and smiled back at him. She then spoke up.

"Well, boys, I have to say, this has really been a fun night." Adagio said pleasantly. Sonata nodded in agreement while looking at Manic, while Aria still had her smirk.

"Glad you're enjoying it." Sonic said. "I'm having the time of my life, right guys?"

Manic nodded while still looking at Sonata, while Shadow just hmphed.

"So Sonic, I've noticed you're really fast. It's quite impressive, really. What's the secret of your speed?" Adagio asked intrigued.

"Oh, that. Well, it's a just natural born talent. It's just part of who I am." Sonic said trying to sound cool. 

"It must let you do amazing things." Adagio said as she placed her hand on Sonic's. His cheek's turned a slight hint of pink. "Anything, oh I don't know, maybe, magical about it?"

"Nope, not that I know of." Sonic replied casually. "This awesomeness is just 100% me."

Adagio frowned a little. That was not the answer she was looking for.

"(Well, doesn't look like we can siphon their energy in that case. But I could learn a thing or two about that emerald the black one has.)" Adagio thought. She nudged at Aria, who turned to her with irritation. She then pointed at Shadow, who looked off in space. Aria sighed.

"So uh, Shadow, right? I've been meaning to ask, what's with that emerald of yours?" Aria asked bluntly and disinterested while not even looking at him. Shadow turned to her.

"Emerald? Why do you ask?" Shadow just responded with curiosity.

Adagio glared at Aria for the manner she asked it in. She then took over.

"What she meant to say was, that we were just so intrigued by the sight of your emerald. You see, the three of us used to have family heirlooms, but we lost them a while ago. They were very important to us and that emerald reminded us of them greatly. We just wanted to know a little more about it." Adagio explained, trying to sound sympathetic. Aria nodded in agreement, while Manic and Sonata just continued to admire each other, not noticing everyone else.

"Well, I'm not sure if I should-" Shadow began, before he was interrupted by a loud shriek, causing him to turn alongside everyone else. A girl was running away, as she screamed. People began to panic and scatter around. Sonic and the others looked as they saw a swarm of badniks, such as catterkillers, hornets, crabmeats, and motorbuzzes, each covered in green vines, swarming through the mall as people ran away. Floating ahead, was the Eggrobo, covered in green vines as well. It did a maniacal laugh.

"Yes, go on!" It declared.

Sonic groaned at what he saw. The Dazzlings looked slightly worried as they huddled together as the badniks approached them. Sonic, Shadow, and Manic stood up and dashed the Dazzlings away at high speed while carrying them in bridal fashion. They came near the elevator and set them down.

"Don't hold me like that." Aria said as she turned away from Shadow. Shadow just hmphed slightly at her attitude.

"Sonic, what's going on?!" Adagio asked him.

"It's a long story, but basically killer robots. Look, I'm really sorry about this, but I need to take care of that mess." Sonic explained, slightly vexed.

"Don't worry, Sonata, you're knight in shining armor is here." Manic declared as he pointed to himself.

"A knight?! Where?" Sonata said as she started to look around. Manic frowned slightly and slumped his shoulders at this. Shadow and Aria both rolled their eyes as they folded their arms.

"Unbelievable." They both said in union. They noticed this and turned to each other, looking strangely. Aria just frowned and turned away from him.

"Let's head out!" Sonic declared, and he, Shadow, and Manic dashed away leaving, a blue, green and black trail that caused the Dazzlings hair to blow. Aria turned to Adagio after they left.

"Was this part of your plan, Adagio?" She asked in annoyance.

"Not exactly, but this still works to our advantage. Now, we can see what those three are really made of." Adagio said as she smirked. "So let's just sit back and enjoy the show."

"A show?! I better go get popcorn!" Sonata declared as she grabbed her hands in delight. Adagio facepalmed at her being such an air head.

As Sonic and the others dashed back to the badniks, Manic spoke up.

"Uh guys, during all this, could you do me a solid and not show me up in front of Sonata? I need her to see how cool I am." Manic said. Sonic just shook his head while Shadow groaned.

"I can't believe you." Shadow said as he turned to him.

"Then just don't be too slow." Sonic responded as the three of them returned to the court, where they approached the swarm of badniks. They were everywhere and destroying things in their path such as chairs and tables. The three of them split up, with Sonic taking the middle, Shadow going to the right, and Manic taking the left. The three of them turned into streaks of their respective color and blazed through the badniks easily, causing a series of mini-explosions as they did. Sonata looked in delight as put her hands together, while Adagio watched on with admiration. Even Aria was a little impressed as her eyes widened.

"Such strength and speed!" Adagio said amazed as she put her finger on her chin.

As Sonic continued to dash through the badniks, he jumped over a motorbuzz and grabbed it with his hands while he was mid-air and slammed it on the ground, causing it to shatter into robotic bits. Sonic looked on at the wreckage and realized something as he looked on, puzzled.

"Hey, aren't these things supposed to have little animals in them?" Sonic said as he scratched his head.

"It's because they are under my control!" Sonic heard a voice say, he turned around and saw the Eggrobo hovering above him. 

"We meet at last, my fated arch-nemesis!" It declared. 

"I guess we do, whatever you are. Mind explaining who you are before you declare me your arch-enemy?" Sonic said looking up to it.

"I am the Krudzu. Doctor Eggman's greatest creation! I can control other robots using my vines, as I did here. I'm going to finish you, Sonic!" It said. Sonic folded his arms, not looking impressed. Before he could speak, Manic dashed in front of him, suddenly. 

"No way! We're putting an end to you! How dare you endanger everyone here, especially 3 beautiful girls!" Manic said quite loudly and 'heroically.' He turned back and looked at Sonata. She waved at him with delight and he grinned.  Sonic just held his head at Manic's attempt. Just then, Shadow dashed next to them quickly.

"This is hardly a threat. Let's just finish this thing already." Shadow said, clearly tired of the situation.

"Imbeciles! Taste my wrath!" The Krudzu declared as it fired its beam at the three of them. The three of them easily moved out of the way using their speed and then began to dash through it many times as their colored streaks, taking it apart with each dash. The Eggrobo was then reduced to a floating head mid-air and the three of them dashed through it all at once, breaking it apart. The three of them landed on the floor. The small Krudzu was sent flying all the way over on the ground and landed with a thud. As it started to stir, it was suddenly crushed by the foot of Adagio as she and the Dazzlings ran over to where Sonic and the others were.

"Sorry about that whole mess. We tend to attract weird things." Sonic said as he rubbed his hand behind his head and noticed her.

"Oh, no need to apologize. That was incredible!" Adagio said, making Sonic blush even more than before as his cheeks turned bright red.

"How was I, Sonata? Pretty cool, right?" Manic asked her cockily as he rubbed his fist on his shirt.

"That was so cool! You guys were like moving soooooo fast!" Sonata stated as she made their motion with her hand. Manic liked hearing that. He grinned slightly.

"Whatever. I've seen cooler." Aria said disinterestedly as she looked around. Shadow lowered his eyelids. He couldn't believe her attitude

"Anyway, Sonic, it really has been a good time getting to know a lot about you three, but I think we should call it a night. It's getting quite late and besides, after that whole fiasco, you must be awfully tired." Adagio said as she put her hand on Sonic's chin, making him blush even more. 

"Ah, well, I guess it is getting late. You're right." Sonic said, slightly embarrassed. 

"Finally." Shadow and Aria both said. Again they looked at each other after they noticed this, but this time, Shadow just gave her a slight smirk and she responded in the same way.

"So, do you girls need a lift back home?" Sonic asked Adagio.

"Oh no, we're fine. As I said before, you must be exhausted and I would hate to tire you out even more." Adagio said as she rubbed her finger across Sonic's chin. His face was as red as tomato now.

"W-well, in that case, that's cool. I had a great time Adagio." Sonic told her.

"Me too." Adagio said in a seductive voice, making Sonic's shade of red turn darker.

"It was really great to meet you, Sonata. I hope we can do this again." Manic said as he faced Sonata.

"This was the greatest date I've ever been on!" Sonata said as she hugged Manic tightly, making him blush and he chuckled slightly. Adagio turned to Aria, who wasn't paying attention and she noticed this. Adagio gave her a glare, and Aria sighed.

"Bye." She stated without enthusiasm.

The two groups then split up, with the Dazzlings walking in the opposite direction. 




"Did I tell you or what?" Manic said as he put his arm around Sonic happily.

"Way to come through, Manic. You know, I think it's going to be nice getting to know those girls." Sonic expressed.

"And Sonata was amazing! Hey, what about you, Shadow?" Manic asked as he turned to Shadow.

"That's the last time I ever do something with you three." Shadow declared as he folded his arms.




Meanwhile, the Dazzlings now exited the back entrance of the mall and were outside, it was night out.

"That was great! Manic was so nice!" Sonata squealed.

"It wasn't that bad. I'll admit, I do like Shadow's style." Aria admitted reluctantly. 

"This night was a perfect opportunity! Those three have amazing abilities and not to mention that emerald with them. Now that we know of them, we can work towards using them to regain our power and bring this world to its knees!" Adagio declared as she raised her hands up in power. She then let out an evil laugh.
> Anti-Pinkie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anti-Pinkie
It was another morning day at Canterlot High.  Sunset Shimmer walked in the science lab with Shadow entering right behind her shortly.  He had a dull expression on his face with his eyelids dropped.

“I really appreciate you coming here to help me, Shadow. With some help, I might finally be able to figure out exactly the secrets of magic in this world.  Just think, this discovery could revolutionize our understanding of magic.” Sunset said enthusiastically as she set her bag down.

Shadow wasn’t paying attention at all. He was staring off into space, looking around the room. Sunset turned around and noticed this and she got a little annoyed. She put her hands on her hips.

“Shadow, did you even hear a word of what I said?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah, you had me up until revolutionize.” Shadow said bluntly.

“Aren’t you even excited of what we could discover?” Sunset asked.

“No, not really. When I said that I was free today, I didn't mean that I wanted to spend my day like this.“Shadow admitted with his arms folded.

“But just think, what we could accomplish would be big. Just imagine the possibilities!” Sunset said taking a hold of Shadow’s hands with excitement. They both noticed what she was doing as they looked down at her hands.

“Please don’t touch me.” Shadow said.

Sunset took her hands off a little embarrassed.

“All right then. Let’s get to work.” Sunset said again with enthusiasm. Shadow still looked uninterested.

“For the first test, let’s take a look at the magical content inside of this.” Sunset said as she took out an apple that was sparkling and purple in front of Shadow from her bag.  He did not look impressed.

“Sunset, that’s an apple. There’s nothing magical about an apple”. Shadow pointed out.

“Normally that would be true. But this apple’s different. It’s one I kept from a time I performed some test for magic on AppleJack. It just popped out of thin air after she played her bass, so I think there could be some magic content inside of it.” Sunset explained. “I also made this in order to extract the magical content inside of it”. She added on, which was a device that two yellow wires attached to a test tube she too pulled out from her bag.

“I still think it’s just a regular apple. I don’t think we’ll find anything ‘magical’ about it.” Shadow stated.

“It wouldn’t hurt to try. Now we just need to-Shadow!” Sunset began to say as she was zipping her bag closed , until she turned around and saw Shadow taking a bite out of the apple.

“What? I was hungry.” Shadow said as he put the apple down on a nearby desk.

“Don’t eat the apparatus. It's a good thing I kept more of them.  Can you go to the closet in the back and get me another one? Then hook it up to the device I made. Before you can use it, you need to hook it up to a plug in the back of the room. I need to get my notebook .” Sunset said handing it to Shadow and then she exited the room. 

"Sure thing." Shadow replied. Shadow headed to the back of the room where he noticed the plug next to the door of the closet. First, Shadow opened the door to the closet. Shadow then plugged the wire of the device into the plug. The moment he did, the light's in the room began to flicker and the room turned dark and made a loud noise of a generator shutting down.

"Oh, that's just great." Shadow groaned. He began to walk around. He couldn't see anything at all. Shadow walked aimlessly for a while until he tripped over the wire he had just plugged and landed to the ground.

"How am I supposed to get another apple if I can't even see anything?" Shadow grumbled. He moved his hands around until he felt something hard in his right hand. 

"That must be the apple." Shadow said.  He moved his hands around until he felt the wire that was connected to the device. He moved his hands around until he felt the device and the two wires in it.  He managed to connect the apple to the wires and the device was activated. The tube with the wires attached began to fill up with a green liquid that bubbled dangerously and made a small light.  Shadow then managed to disconnect the wires from the apple. Shadow then found the plug where the wire was connected and he unplugged it and the lights flickered for a while before illuminating the room.

“Guess I was wrong about thing not having any magical content.” Shadow said to himself as he observed the glowing green tube.

Shadow walked back to the front of the room, where Sunset just entered with her notebook. He handed her back the device. The green energy was looking unstable in the tube. She looked a little worried as she set her notebook down on a desk.

“Wow, I was right. From the look of things, there must  have been a lot of magic in that apple.” She said amazed. “But it looks pretty unstable.” She said now with concern.

“Yeah, well at least you got your magic down.” Shadow said, moving his hand around that contained the tube. It made Sunset more worried.

“Shadow, be careful. That thing looks like it’s about to explode.” Sunset warned as the liquid bubbled and produced a small green spark.

“Don't worry, it’ll be fine.” Shadow said as he placed it down on the table.   

“ I need to go to my locker to get my magic monitor to determine its energy content. I’ll be back.” Sunset said as she dashed out of the room again, leaving Shadow alone.

“I could use some fresh air.” Shadow said and he went to go open up the windows. As he opened up a window, Pinkie Pie erupted from it suddenly and he fell back on the ground, startled.

“Hi, Shadow!” She yelled happily.

Shadow got back up. “Stop popping up like that. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Shadow scolded.

“I think surprises are the best way to greet someone!” She exclaimed.

“Great, with her here, She’ll make this drag on for hours. I gotta do something.” Shadow said.  As he was thinking, in the background Pinkie was wandering around the room. She then stopped in front of the green energy in the tube and looked at it with curiosity. Her eyes widened with interest.

“Ooooooh, that looks so cool.” Pinkie said.

“You shouldn’t be near that.” Shadow said as he turned around and noticed her. “This lab could be full of all sorts of dangerous things. So, can you just stand still and try not to hurt yourself?”

“That sounds boring. Everything could always use some fun.” Pinkie replied.

"Not me." Shadow muttered. Pinkie took the tube and admired it greatly. She then began to lift it up in the air and start juggling with it.

"What are you doing?! That's not a toy." Shadow cautioned as he saw what she was doing.

"I'm just having a little fun Shady." Pinkie replied as she turned to reply to him. This distracted her a bit, and when the tube fell down again after she lifted it up in the air, it splashed on her, covering her in green liquid and the tube fell to the ground and broke. Shadow sighed.
.
“I told you to be careful.” Shadow said as he approached her.

“Oh well, accidents happen.” Pinkie said with no worries as her hair was drenched with green liquid and it reached her face. It began to make little sparks fly, causing her to giggle with delight.

Just then Sunset re-entered the room with her monitor.

“All right then, let’s do some test. Oh, hey Pinkie.” She said as she noticed Pinkie. She took note of the green liquid on her friend and had a puzzled look.

“Sunset, Pinkie just dropped the magical liquid on herself. Should we be worried?” Shadow asked.

“What? Pinkie, how do you feel? Do you feel any side effects?” Sunset asked with concern quickly as she grabbed her arms.

“No, I feel as fine as always.” Pinkie replied happily.

Sunset examined where the green liquid had dropped to the floor. She took a pipette from a nearby table and used it suck up some of the liquid from the ground.

"It's not much, but at least it's something." Sunset said as she placed the pipette back on the table. She then approached Pinkie and took out a small napkin from her pocket and began to wipe Pinkie's face and her hair with it.

“Hopefully, the side effects make you mute. Well, I think we should call it a day, I’m out of here. ” Shadow said. Shadow He then teleported out of the room. Sonic was walking through the hallway with his headphones and shaking his head to the music with his eyes closed.  Then Shadow appeared in front of him and he fell back as he yelled.

“Man, Shadow! How many times do I have to tell you to stop that?” Sonic said as got up and took off his headphones.

“Quit whining.” Shadow just responded.

“Aren’t you supposed to be helping Sunset with her magic stuff?” Sonic asked.

“Well I was, but Pinkie stopped by. So I decided that I needed to get out of there.” Shadow said. He reached into his pocket and then suddenly discovered that his emerald wasn't there as he felt nothing. He froze.

"My emerald. Where is it?" Shadow said as he moved his hands around his body, trying to find it.

"You lost your emerald? Talk about irresponsible." Sonic commented as he poked Shadow.

"Not now, faker." Shadow replied. 

Just then the two of them saw Sunset walking in the hall in front of them.

“Sunset, just the person I wanted to see. Hey,  wasn’t Pinkie with you?” Shadow said.

“She was, but then shortly after she left, she said she started feeling weird. I hope she doesn’t suffer any negative side effects.” Sunset said. "Oh, by the way, I found your emerald near the back in the science room. You must have dropped it." She added as she handed Shadow the emerald she took out from her left pocket. 

"Thank you. On the other hand, look on the bright side, a quiet Pinkie means peace for all if that's the case.” Shadow said.  Just then, he spotted Pinkie behind Sunset.  “Speaking of which.” He said. Sonic and Sunset turned around and they saw Pinkie but she looked different. Rather than having her hair all puffed up and curly, it was straight and long down. She had an emotionless expression her face.

“Pinkie, are you feeling ok?” Sunset asked her as she noticed her change.

“Didn’t I already answer your question moments ago? What are you stupid or something?” Pinkie snapped harshly.  The three of them were surprised by her sudden change.

“Woah, there’s no need to be harsh.” Shadow said. Pinkie turned and looked at him with disdain. 

“Why are you even talking to me in the first place? Urrrgh, I can’t stand being around you.” She said annoyed and she walked away leaving the three of them baffled.

“Damn, I could feel her nastiness from right here.  Pinkie was like, being the anti-her.” Sonic observed as he scratched his head.

“You’re right, normally she's quite happy to see me.……oh well I’m pretty sure it’s nothing to be worried  about.” Shadow said dismissively.

“I’m worried.  Maybe the magic is effecting her more than I thought. I should go keep an eye on her.” Sunset said and she took off in the direction Pinkie walked, leaving Sonic and Shadow.

"Yeah, we should keep on the lookout and see if any flowers die as she walks past." Sonic said.

Shadow just shrugged. He wasn't really concerned at all. 

“(I haven’t seen Pinkie for almost the whole day since the morning. Whatever happened to her, I like it, and I can finally have some peace and quiet. Works for me.)” Shadow thought to himself later during the day as he walked through the halls. He then saw Pinkie right in front of him, holding a chocolate cake with pink frosting shaped like flowers. “(I spoke too soon.)” He thought again and his shoulders slumped. She approached him.

“Shadow, I felt bad about snapping at you like that, so I decided to bake you a cake to make it up to you.” She said. She handed him the cake and then she walked off. Shadow was slightly puzzled.

“She just walked off….no over the top party stuff. Strange.” Shadow observed.

Shadow then walked off with the cake and he entered the cafeteria. He sat down a table with Manic, Sonic, Knuckles and Tails and he put the cake on the table. Manic was surprised to see him.

“What you doing here Shadow? You never sit with anyone at lunch.” Manic asked. He noticed the cake and looked at it with delight as he smiled. "Where'd you get the free cake?"

“Don't expect this to be a regular thing. Pinkie gave it to me.  I need a place to set it down. I've noticed that she hasn’t been all up in my face recently. Not that I'm complaining. ” Shadow stated 

“I’ll pass, not really a fan of sugar. ” Knuckles said. 

“I’m not interested either.” Tails added.

“Nice, more for me.” Sonic said. Sonic and Manic got forks and they started to eat the cake rapidly, not leaving time to finish chewing in their mouths. Shadow sighed at their behavior. He took a fork and ate one bite slowly. Sonic and Manic continued with many bites but then after a few they stopped and their chewing became slower. Shadow stopped chewing after his first bite. Their faces made weird expressions as their eyes twitched and they looked sick as they started to turn green. They started to hold their mouths and dropped their forks. 

“This is….different.” Manic barely managed.

“Somethi-somethings wrong with this cake.” Sonic said. He nearly threw up and held his mouth.

Tails and Knuckles gave them discomforted looks.  The mane 6 walked by their table and noticed what was happening to them. They all looked concerned except for Pinkie who smirked.

“Goodness darlings, what’s wrong with you?” Rarity asked.

“It’s-it’s this cake.” Shadow said. “Somethings wrong with it.” He then cleared his throat.

“Oh, you don’t like my new recipe? Its cotton, pesticide, paint and a spider.” Pinkie said.

The three of them spit out the cake. They started to reach for water bottles and drank it to rinse the taste out as if they were dehydrated or never had water before in their lives.

“Pinkie, why would you do that?” Fluttershy asked her.

Pinkie just chuckled to herself and walked off.  Everyone looked at her as she walked off.

“Is she possessed or something? “ Knuckles asked.

“She’s been acting different ever since this morning. I’m concerned. I never knew magic could have side effects like this.” Sunset said.

"I need to find this taste out of my mouth." Shadow declared as he rose up from his seat. He then teleported away.

Shadow then teleported in front of his locker. He opened it up very quickly as he turned the combinations in less than a minute and looked for some mints desperately as if he was digging for lost treasure.

“What’s with her? Was she trying to poison me or something?” Shadow said as he searched his locker. Near the back, he found a black and red present box wrapped in a pink bow. It had a card on it that said from Pinkie.

”I should probably leave that alone.” Shadow said as he began to close his locker. But then he heard a faint ticking sound coming from the present. Shadow took the present and pressed his ear against it and he heard now a definitive ticking sound. 

“That’s not good.” Shadow said. He began looking around for places to dispose of the present quickly as his head turned rapidly. The ticking sound became louder and louder as he was looking around. Shadow began to dash around in the halls for places to put the bomb, but he found nothing as he peered through classrooms. The ticking now became faster. Shadow then teleported with the bomb. Meanwhile, the mane 5 with Sonic and Co where still in the cafeteria, seated at their table. Shortly, they heard a massive explosion in the sky and people gasped, while others lost their balance and dropped their trays. Everyone in the room was surprised as they turned around and saw the remnants of an explosion as they looked in shock through the windows.

“What was that?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

The group headed outside and looked around. Then, Manic spotted Shadow on the ground. His face was buried in the ground and he was covered in dust. Everyone approached him.

“Shadow, what the hell happened?” Manic asked.

Shadow began to barely rise out of the ground and he got up. He was feeling dazed and then he got himself together. He began to dust himself.

“Pinkie decided to give me a present.” Shadow said through grit teeth.

Pinkie appeared with the group suddenly. She had a malicious smile on her face as everyone turned to her.

“Did you enjoy my present? It must’ve been a blast.” She said.

“Please, no puns.” Sonic groaned.

“Are you insane? You could’ve really hurt someone.” AppleJack said to her.

“Maybe there is “someone” I want to hurt.” Pinkie said. She then turned to Shadow and then drew a line against her throat. Shadow looked a little uneasy. She walked off again.

“First, a cake and now this. I think she’s trying to kill me or something.” Shadow said.

“Can you guys keep an eye on Pinkie and make sure she doesn’t try anything else? I’ll try and find a way to get rid of the side effects of her magic.” Sunset said to her friends.

“She's obsessed with you, and now she’s trying to kill you. Which is worse?” Manic asked Shadow.

“I’m gonna go lie down or something. I need a nap.” Shadow said and he teleported. The mane 4 went to keep an eye on Pinkie as they walked in her direction while Sunset went back to the science lab.

Shadow teleported into the Canterlot high library. He looked around and saw a couch on his left and walked to it. He laid down on it and then he began to doze off. Just then, a shadow appeared over him as he was sleeping.  Later, Shadow was still sleeping, and then he heard the sounds of cars honking and zooming past at high speed. Shadow's eyes began to open and he woke up and  saw that his couch was in the middle of the street. Cars were driving past and he looked around. Shadow was in shock at where he was.

“What the hell? How did I end up here?!” Shadow yelled.

Just then, a car headed at full speed was coming right towards him.  The driver honked his horn crazily. Shadows eyes widened and then he teleported and the car swerved from the couch. Shadow appeared on the sidewalk and then he caught his breath. 

“Who put my couch there? Wait, I know exactly who it was. Pinkie. Okay, now I’m starting to get a little worried.” Shadow said and then he teleported back to the hallway where he met Sonic and Manic in the middle of it.

“Hey, where did you go? I was looking for you for the past 30 minutes.” Sonic said.

“Pinkie tried to kill me again. Somehow she placed my couch in the middle of the street.” Shadow said with irritation.

“That would actually be pretty funny as a prank.” Sonic said with a chuckle. Shadow shot him a look and he stopped.

“I need to find a place to lay low until she gets over whatever the hell this is. If she asks where I am, don’t say a word.” Shadow instructed. 

“Hey look over there, Pinkie’s locker is open.” Manic noticed behind Shadow as he pointed. The three of them turned and noticed her open locker.

“If we look in there, we could see what else she has in store for you.” Sonic said. The three of them walked over to the locker. They looked inside and Sonic and Manic's jaws dropped. Inside, there were many drawings of Pinkie’s plan for Shadows drawn with a red crayon. One showed her dropping him in a tank full of piranhas  while he was in chains upside down.  Another showed her launching him out of a cannon as she laughed. A third showed her giving him a drink which had a skull on it as she smiled innocently. 

“This is concerning.” Sonic said. Shadow then stared at the locker for a while before teleporting away.

Later in the band room, the mane 6 except Sunset and Pinkie entered in there. They sat down to discuss Pinkie.

“The way Pinkie is acting is really concerning. At this rate, poor Shadow might end up dead.” Rarity said.

“Not if she doesn’t find me.” They all heard a voice said and turned to their right. Shadow then peeked his head out of Rarity’s large piano

“Shadow, why are you hiding in here? Isn’t this like the first place she’d look for ya?” Apple Jack said.

“Exactly. It’s too obvious for me to hide in here. She’ll forget about this.” Shadow said. “So I need to keep quiet until this whole thing blows over.” 

Just then, Pinkie entered the room by slamming the door open. Shadow closed the cover quickly. The Rainbooms were startled to see her.

“Oh, uh hey, Pinkie. It’s weird to see you here, in the room that we always have band rehearsal in.” Rainbow Dash said nervously as she  put her hands behind back.

“Have any of you seen Shadow seen around here? There are so many things I want to surprise him with.” Pinkie said creepily as she approached them. They looked a little uneasy.

“No, why would he be in here?” Fluttershy said nervously.

“Oh I don’t know, maybe he thinks this place would be too obvious for me to look and I would check this last.” Pinkie said as she walked towards the piano and ran her fingers through it with a smile. The mane 4 exchanged looks.

“Oh, by the way, Rarity, this piano of yours takes up a lot of space. Why don’t I do us all of a favor and get rid of it.” Pinkie said. Then, to everyone’s surprise, she lifted up the piano and then she threw it out the window. There was large crash heard and broken piano noises. Pinkie dusted off her hands and left the room. The mane 4 looked out the window and saw the crushed piano. They heard Shadow groan weakly in pain.

“Shadow, are you ok?” Rarity called from above.

“Fantastic.” Shadow replied sarcastically. He teleported out of the rubble. 

“I have to do something.  I can’t imagine what she’ll do to me next. I should check up on Sunset and see if maybe she's found someway to fix this.” Shadow said as teleported in the hall. He headed towards the science lab. Shadow entered the lab and he saw Sunset Shimmer wearing goggles and a lab coat while she was looking at the green liquid inside the pipette.

“Sunset, perfect. How's the progress?.” Shadow said.

"I got nothing. The magic here is incredible! I've seen many kinds of magic while I was working with Principal Celestia but never anything like this. This is so bizarre! It's like it's not even magic at all." Sunset said in amazement as she turned towards him and took off her goggles.

Shadow began to think about what she had said. Shadow remembered when the lights went off in the morning and he fell down and felt the 'apple' which he had siphoned the energy from. Shadow snapped his fingers in realization.

"I think I know the answer to your question: It's not magic." Shadow began to say.

"What? Why do you say that?" Sunset asked him.

"This morning when the lights turned off, I tripped over a wire. A little after that, I plugged the 'apple' to your device. After, my emerald was missing from my pocket. My guess is that when I couldn't see anything, I must've grabbed my emerald and hooked it up to your device by mistake. So, what you're looking at is chaos energy rather than magic." Shadow explained.

"What?!" Sunset said bewildered.

"I'm so ashamed. I'm the ultimate lifeform. I shouldn't be making any mistakes." Shadow said as he held his head in annoyance.

"Shadow, this a problem. I don't know anything about how chaos energy works." Sunset said as she sat down.

“Well, that’s bad for me. I can’t live like this, with a psycho trying to kill me. There’s got be some way that we can fix her.” Shadow said. The two of them thought for a while. Just then Sunset got an idea and she turned to Shadow.

“Wait a minute, what if we could neutralize the chaos energy with some magic?” She said to Shadow.

“What do you mean?” Shadow asked intrigued.

“I mean, what if we take the energy of something that contained magic and gave it to Pinkie? The magic could cancel out the effects of the chaos energy and return her to normal.” Sunset said.

“That could work, but what magical item could we use?” Shadow asked.

“Pinkies drumsticks. Whenever she ponies up, she always has her drumsticks with her.  They should contain some traces of magical energy.” Sunset explained to him.

“You may have an idea there.” Shadow said. He then teleported out of the room and he came back holding her two drumsticks. 

“Perfect.” Sunset said as she gathered another test tube for her device from the cabinet. She placed the test tube on the table and then she hooked up the wires to Pinkies drumsticks. They glowed pink as they siphoned the energy and placed a pink liquid inside. It sparkled 

“It worked. All we just need to do now is find Pinkie.” Sunset said.

“That shouldn’t be too hard. I just need to go somewhere and then she’ll find me. I’ll head for the gymnasium.” Shadow said and he teleported.

“How many times is he going to do that in one day?” Sunset said.

Shadow ended up in the gymnasium, where the Mane 4 were with Sonic and co. It was packed with students as well. They seemed surprised to see him.

“Shadow, what are you doing in broad daylight? Shouldn’t you be hiding from Pinkie?”. Knuckles asked.

“I know, what I am doing is probably suicidal. But Sunset and I came up with an idea to fix her.” Shadow said.

“And what would that be?” Fluttershy asked him.

Right at that moment, Pinkie entered the gym suddenly. When she saw Shadow, she gave him an evil smirk. He looked annoyed.

“Oh perfect. I was looking everywhere for you Shadow. I wanted to give you something even better.” Pinkie said as she approached him slowly and creepily.Pinkie Pie then reached out of hammerspace and she pulled out her usual party cannon.

“Oh, that’s harmless. All it does is just throw spray confetti.” Rainbow Dash said with relief.

Pinkie fired a shot and it was an actual cannonball towards the bleachers. There was an explosion and the bleachers were destroyed. People began to panic and everyone started running out of the gym and yelling.

“Harmless huh?” Sonic said as he turned to Dash, who turned a little pink with embarrassment. 

“Hold still Shadow, it will only hurt for a while.” Pinkie said. She fired another shot at Shadow but he teleported and it hit behind him through a wall. Pinkie kept firing shots at Shadow like a madman and he kept teleporting and dodging.The ceiling was getting destroyed as holes were made in it. As he was teleporting, a shot almost hit the group who ducked as it broke through the wall. 

“Shadow could you be a little more considerate when you teleport?  Explosions are bad for my outfits.” Rarity said.

“Seriously?” Tails said.

Pinkie fired more shots crazily  and Shadow kept dodging by teleporting. The gym was getting wrecked as rubble fell, gym lights fell to the ground and the walls of the gym were being filled with holes and the bleachers were reduced in size.

“Let’s get out of here.” Sonic said. He dashed and swept the group individually as a blue blur.  As he was about to get Manic, a shot fired in front of Manic and it sent him through the wall. Manic screamed as he was sent flying.

“Ok well, that’s everyone accounted for.” Sonic said as he shrugged

“How the hell does she come up with this stuff?” Shadow said. Pinkie attempted to fire but, she was out of ammo.  She looked at the cannon with irritation. She threw it on the ground.

“Aha, you’re out. What are you gonna do now?” Shadow gloated.

Pinkie responded by pulling out a chainsaw with a pink blade.  Shadow looked on in disbelief as she revved up the chain.

“A chainsaw? Really?” Shadow exclaimed. Pinkie sprinted towards him and Shadow bolted through the door.  He was running through the halls with Pinkie trying to cut him down from the behind.  She sliced through many things with the chainsaw such as posters, parts of the wall and a water fountain. She was quick. Shadow entered the Science lab where Sunset was and he locked the door.

“Shadow, did you find Pinkie?” Sunset asked as she saw him.

“Oh yeah.” Shadow said as he walked towards her.

Pinkie cut a hole  through the door and she stuck her face in with a deranged smile.

“Don’t say it.” Shadow said.

“Here’s Pinkie!” She said.

“Damn it.” Shadow said.

Pinkie burst through the door with a kick. She held the chainsaw towards Shadow and he backed away. Shadow glanced at Sunset.

“Wait before you slice me up, can I give you something?” Shadow said to her.

“And what would that be?” Pinkie asked.

“A nice refreshing glass of Magic!” Shadow said. Sunset threw Shadow the test tube and caught it and he splashed it in Pinkies face. She dropped the chainsaw and she stumbled back.

“I hope this works.” Sunset said.

Pinkie sat on the floor for a while and she rubbed her eyes. Her hair went back up to being puffed and curly as she began to glow pink and sparkle as the liquid soaked into her hair and face. Sunset approached her.

“Pinkie?” Sunset said to her.

“Wow, I feel like I was doing something really fun.” Pinkie said with a smile on her face.  Sunset sighed in relief. Shadow rolled his eyes.

“Well, it wasn’t fun. You were trying to kill me.” Shadow told her.

“What? No, I would never do anything like that to you Shadow! You’re my special fun!” Pinkie said with a gasp. She got up to him and gave him a big hug. He groaned as she crushed him.

“Maybe I liked her better when she was trying to kill me.” Shadow said. Sunset just laughed to herself a little.

“To make up for me going all psycho, I’m going to take you out on the most fun day ever!” Pinkie exclaimed as her hug became tighter.

“Oh no, that’s okay I think we’ve been around each for enough today.” Shadow said.

“Oh, Please, Please, Please, Please, pleeaseeee.” Pinkie begged as she hugged him even tighter and his eyes widened. "We can do so much! Go to the arcade, the movies, the mall..." She began as she still had her grip and started to think out loud.

“No . Shadow replied. He then teleported away leaving Pinkie with Sunset. Pinkie had a surprised look on her face. 

“That must be so much fun!” Pinkie said excitedly as she clapped her hands. Sunset sighed again in tiredness and wiped her head.
> Valentines
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Valentine’s day
It was Valentine ’s Day at Canterlot high and the school was in the spirit for it.  The hallways were decorated with red heart stickers and red streamers on the lockers. Heart shaped pink posters were plastered against the walls as well, one reading 'Happy Valentine's Day'. Students were walking around wearing mainly red clothes such as pants, shirts, jackets, skirts, shoes. Well, most of the students. Sonic was walking in the hallway as he entered through the front door.  He had a puzzled look on his face as he observed the hallways.  Many students were handing out Valentines card to each other and smiling as they received them. Sonic then saw Manic, wearing red pants and having a pink shirt underneath instead of white. Manic’s backpack was full of red cards sticking out of it.

“Manic, why do you have all those cards in your bag? It’s not like you have a special someone you want to give a card to.” Sonic said.

“True, but that could change. Valentine’s Day is an opportunity for guys like me to gather courage and get some lucky girl to notice us.” Manic explained.

“So, you made all of those cards for some girl? That’s kind of going overboard.” Sonic remarked.

“Of course not. A guy like me doesn’t just restrict himself to one girl. I broaden my chances. So in here are cards made for multiple girls. Hopefully, one of them sees what’s on the market.” Manic said. 

Sonic looked at him weirdly.  The two of them were joined by the Rainbooms except for Pinkie Pie. They all were wearing a red version of their usual outfits. Rarity had even dyed her hair bright red.

“Oh, I just adore Valentine’s day! It’s so wonderful to dedicate a day to the loveliest emotion of all.” Rarity said happily as she clasped her hands together.

“Speaking of which. Ladies, I have something to give you.” Manic said. He put his bag down and pulled out 5 cards and handed each of them to the Rainbooms. They looked down at them as they took them in their hands.

“Oh Manic, that is so sweet.  You took the time to make all of us cards.” Fluttershy said as she clutched the cards

“Yep, that’s just the kind of guy I am. Sweet.” Manic replied. 

The Rainbooms opened up their cards. When they saw it, their faces showed disappointment as they frowned. All of the cards read the same thing, which was 'Roses are red, Violets are blue, and Manic is great, so go out with him'.

“This is lame. They all say the same thing. Plus, the poem doesn’t even rhyme.” Rainbow Dash told him as she crumpled up the card.

“Give me a break. If I’m going to make a lot for the girls in the school, I need to find a way to save time.” Manic responded.

He then dashed off to give the other cards, leaving a green streak.  Sonic looked on unimpressed as he left.

“Hey, wait a minute, where’s Pinkie? I’d figure this would be her favorite holiday.” Sonic asked.

“Knowin’ her, she’s probably got some kind of giant plan carried out.” Apple Jack responded.

Just then, Pinkie came in through the front door. She was pulling a wagon which was filled with a pile of  red and pink cards and some large object wrapped under a white sheet. 

“Wow, Pinkie. Did you make a valentine for everyone in the entire school?” Sunset asked her.

"Of course, I did silly! Everyone in this school means so much to me and they should all know it!" Pinkie said. She then handed each of them their Valentine's cards quickly.

"I used frosting instead of ink, so they all smell like cake!" Pinkie said happily. Sonic sniffed his card to see if it was true. It smelled like strawberries.

"So, then what's under that sheet?" Sonic asked her.

"Oh, that's a special valentine for Shadow. I figured that he could use the special attention today!" Pinkie explained. "He's always so grumpy, so I figured that I had to put in extra work to make him smile today!"

She took off the white sheet and Sonic and the Rainbooms looked on.  It was a large red heart shaped object. In the middle, it had a bunch of pictures of Shadow with Pinkie in various places such as the mall, class, the field, etc as she did various poses such as laughing, giving him bunny ears, drawing on his face as he slept, making his face smile with her fingers, etc. Sonic and the Rainbooms looked on with surprise.

“What do you think? It captures almost all of the great times we’ve had together.” Pinkie said happily.

“You know, some people might be flattered. But I think most people would find this cree-.” Sonic started to say before Rainbow Dash elbowed him. He then smiled awkwardly.

“It’s….interesting.” Sunset managed to say.

“So, where in the hay is Shadow anyway? “ AppleJack asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him so far. When I woke up this morning, he was already gone.” Sonic responded.

“Oh no! I hope he isn’t absent. Then I won’t be able to give him his gift.” Pinkie said. She then took off to look for him while handing out Valentines to other students she met on the way.

“We should probably keep an eye on her. Make sure she doesn’t go all crazy.” Rainbow Dash said. Then she and the rest of the Rainbooms took off after Pinkie.

“When did she even have the time to take all those pictures?” Sonic wondered. 

Sonic then heard his phone buzz. He took it out from his pocket and saw that he had received a text message from Shadow. It read;

"Sonic, I send you this to inform you of my whereabouts today. I personally do not see the appeal behind this whole Valentine's nonsense and have no interest to celebrate it, especially with Pinkie Pie there. So I've decided to take a leave of absence today. If anyone ask, then tell them I'm sick for the day." 


“You’re really ditching an entire day of school? Anyway, you're the ultimate lifeform, you can't get sick. No one will believe it” Sonic replied via text.

"Then just make something up." Shadow responded.

“Ok then. By the way, Pinkie does have a huge gift planned out for you. She’s looking for you right now.” Sonic texted to him.

“I knew it. Just remember our story blue one." Shadow texted back. 

Sonic then put his phone in his pocket. He had a puzzled look on his face.  He was then approached by Pinkie as she dashed back towards him.

“Sonic, have you seen Shadow anywhere yet?” She asked him.

“Nope haven’t seen him at all.” He replied. She then took off calling out his name. Sonic then texted Shadow.

“You owe me one.” Sonic's message read. He then began to walk through the school. As Sonic continued to walk past, he saw students being in the love mood. Couples were cuddling or holding hands and students were handing out even more cards to each other. Students exchanged hugs as well.  Sonic walked past the hallways and came outside. He then sat down on the steps and pulled out his blue headphones. He placed them on his ears and started listening to his music as he put his hands behind his head.  He closed his eyes to listen.  Sonic listened for a while as he nodded his head to the music and he did not notice these two small winged creatures coming towards him. They had pink small bodies and white wings. They resembled babies in terms of facial features.  Above their heads, they had golden heart shaped crowns. The two of them observed Sonic for a while until one of them took off his headphones. 

“Hey, what gives? Where did my headphones go?” Sonic started to wonder. He looked around for his headphones until they were dropped in front of him. He looked up and saw the two creatures.

“Uh, who or what are you supposed to be?” Sonic asked them in confusion. The both of them giggled.

“I’m Eros.” One of them said on the right.

“And I’m Anteros.” The other responded on the left.

“Together we are Erotes.” They both told him.

“What’s an Erote?” Sonic asked as he scratched his head.

“We are winged spirits of love and romance. Our job is to ensure that love is spread everywhere.” Eros responded.

“What does that have to do with bothering me?” Sonic asked.

“Like we said, our job is to ensure that love is spread around everywhere.  And on Valentine’s Day, the special day of love, you don’t look like you’ve having fun.” Anteros explained.

“What’s wrong with that?  Love isn’t really my thing.” Sonic told them.

“What?!” They both said in disbelief, as if they couldn’t believe what they were hearing. They put their hands near their mouths

“Like I said. I’m not really a big fan of the whole “love’ stuff. It’s just something I’m not really into.” Sonic said.

“But everyone needs love. Love is the most important emotion of all.” They both said.

“Well, not to me. I don’t really have time for all this lovey dovey stuff. For me, I personally don’t see it as that important.” Sonic told them. “I live for adventure and I think love will just slow me down. I think it's kinda pointless, to be honest."

His answer did not seem to please the both of them. In fact from the looks on their faces, they seemed very upset by what they heard. Their faces scrunched up as a baby would before it would cry.

“So, you don’t think love is important. Is that it?” Eros said annoyed.

“If you feel like that, then why don’t we just take it from you ?” Anteros said.

“Hey, wow, wow, wow. Don't you think you guys are overreacting? ” Sonic quickly responded as he raised his arms.

“Too late.  Since love doesn’t seem to appreciated by you, then you need to be taught a lesson!“They both said in union.

“What are you guys up to?"  Sonic responded.

The two creatures just giggled.. They both summoned each a pink  bow with pink arrows and took off into the inside of the school through the front entrance.

“That’s probably not good.” Sonic said. 

He then dashed off after the two of them. Sonic reached the inside of the school and he saw the two of them floating above in the hallways. None of the other students noticed them. The two readied their arrows and they fired at Lyra and Bonbon, who had just exchanged cards and hugged each other. The two arrows each hit the two of them and they were turned to white stone. Sonic looked on in disbelief. From the statues pink energy emerged and the Erotes took it in through their mouths. Other students noticed what had happened and seemed surprised as they gasped. Everyone crowded around the two statues. The Erotes readied their arrows and began firing a volley of arrows. They hit multiple students and each hit turned them to stone. Sonic dashed below them.

“What are you doing?” Sonic exclaimed to them.

“It’s simple. We’re making everyone around you a statue By doing so, it'll leave you alone and make you have no one to ever experience love with. Then when you're all alone, you'll realize how much you need love.” They both responded. 

They fired arrows at Trixie and her bandmates but Sonic dashed and he gathered them out of the way. They landed far away from the arrows on the other end of the hallway. She looked around confused.

“What? What’s going on? Why is everyone turning into statues?” Trixie asked. She then saw that Sonic was the one who dashed her.  She glared at him.

“Of course. You probably have something to do with this. Can’t you go one day without screwing things up?” Trixie said.

“Trixie.” Sonic said as he noticed the Erotes approaching her from the behind.

“Urgghhh. How did you mess up this time?” Trixie continued, ignoring him.

“Trixie.” Sonic said again as they began closer and readied their arrows.

“I bet you probably-.” Trixie started to say before she was struck by an arrow and turned into a statue.

“I tried to warn her. Oh well, it’s not a big loss anyway.” Sonic remarked as he shrugged.

The two fired arrows at that appeared to be aimed at Sonic but he moved out of the way. As he moved, he nearly crushed Trixie’s statue on the floor as it wobbled but stood still and the arrows hit two other students. Sonic made a facepalm at his mistake.

Knuckles and Tails then arrived walking in the hallway in front of him.

"Hey Sonic-" Knuckles began before he noticed the statues around.  "What now?" Knuckles added on annoyed as he raised a fist.

The Erotes notices the two of them and swiftly fired two arrows at them, rendering them immobile statues. 

“Tails! Knuckles!  Listen, you Navi rejects. You’re going to fix what you did right now or otherwise I’m going to have to start asking you in other ways!.” Sonic told them firmly.

“Threatening us? What a violent thug.” They both said. They disappeared in a puff of pink smoke.

“(I should probably go find Sunset. She probably knows how to deal with this.)” Sonic thought to himself. 

He then dashed away to find her. He then dashed and found the Rainbooms in the gymnasium along with many other students. They were setting up extra Valentine decorations such as posters and pink balloons. Sonic dashed over to them.

“Sonic, what’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked him as she noticed his look of worry.

“We got a slight problem.” Sonic told them.

“Problem? On Valentine’s Day of all things!  Uh! What a tragedy.” Rarity said very displeased and dramatically.

“What happened?” Sunset asked him.

“Ok, so apparently there are these things called Erotes or something. Have you heard of them?” Sonic asked her.

“Erotes..If I recall correctly back in Equestria, they were the spirits of love.” Sunset responded.

“Well, two of them are right here in the school. They're going around shooting people with arrows and turning them into statues.” Sonic explained.

“What? How could they have arrived here from Equestria? Of course, during Valentine’s Day, the emotion of love felt by the population must have strengthened them, letting them come here.” Sunset deduced.

“If their spirits of love or whatever, why would they go around doing that?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Well, the two of them came up while I was just minding my own business. I just told them that I don’t find love to be that important or interesting.” Sonic said.

“Sonic! What a horrible thing to say!” Rarity exclaimed as she pointed her finger at him. He raised his hands in defense.

“What? It’s just my opinion. Not my fault they took it the wrong way. Now they want to everyone here a statue so I'll be lonely and then learn to appreciate the power love.” Sonic explained.

“Ok, where was the last time you saw them? We have to contain them somehow.” Sunset said.

“They were in the hallway not too long ago. Then they just disappeared into puffs of smoke.”  Sonic said. Just then a pink cloud appeared above their heads. A rain of arrows was fired and it hit many students in the gym, turning them all into statues. 

“Wow, look at all the statues. These would fit so well in a museum.” Pinkie remarked.

More arrows were fired but Sonic used his speed to move the Rainbooms out of the Gym and into the bandroom.

“So, any idea of how to stop them?” Sonic asked Sunset.

“Honestly, I’m not too sure. I’ve never actually dealt with an Erote.” Sunset said.

“Well, surely if their spirits of love, then maybe we should just try talking to them.” Fluttershy suggested.

“I already tried that.  Talking to them is literally like talking to a rock. You’d have better sense trying to talk sense into Rainbow Dash. Hehe” Sonic said. Rainbow Dash glared at him. 

Later Manic was walking through the hallway. His bag was now empty and he was whistling.

“All right, I gave out all my cards. Now, I just need to sit back and let the magic happen.” Manic said. He looked around and saw all the statues as he walked through.

“Hey, what’s with all the people not moving? This is just great. How am I supposed to get a girlfriend if she’s a statue? Well, there are people who are into that kind of stuff but I’m not stooping that low.” Manic said to himself.

Just then a couple of arrows were fired from a pink cloud, but Manic managed to dodge all of them as he became a green dash.

“Hey, man.  Not cool. I don’t need to be nearly killed on Valentine’s Day.” Manic said. He turned and faced the cloud.

“Oh, we’re not trying to kill you. Hey you look a lot like this blue guy.” The cloud responded.

“Blue guy? You mean Sonic? He's my brother.” Manic explained.

“A brother?! Perfect, the loss of his brother will surely make him appreciate the feeling of familial love.” The cloud said.

“Huh? “ Manic said. He scratched his head.

“ Well he thinks love is a waste of time, so in order to have him appreciate it, we're going to make everyone a statue and leave him isolated.” The cloud explained. Manic looked on very confused and he looked up and down. 

"That's just stupid." Manic bluntly said. 

It fired more arrows at Manic in response. but he dodged them all.  The cloud pursued him  through the hallway but Manic evaded it. The cloud then dispersed itself as a vapor that covered the entire hallway, and Manic ran from it. He came in front of the  band room and he was trapped. The cloud vapor was closing in on him but before it could reach him, he was pulled in by Sonic and the door was closed quickly.

“Sonic? Why'd you have to piss them off.?” Manic said as he faced Sonic and took his arms off him. 

“Look, now’s really not the time to play the blame game.” Sonic said.

“Sonic, I might have an idea. Can you and Manic zoom us to the science lab?” Sunset said.

“No problem.” Sonic replied. He and Manic dashed the Rainbooms right into the lab through the hallway.  As they were in, Pinkie let out a gasp.

“Wait, I still haven’t found Shadow.  He wasn’t turned into a statue, was he?” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Oh, no, he’s perfectly fine. He decided to ditch for the da-. Sorry Shadow.” Sonic said.

“Really? Then how is he supposed to get my valentine?!” Pinkie complained.

“Wait. Before anyone does anything, I think I might be able to find a way to neutralize them. Sonic, can you and Manic go out and get me one of their arrows?.” Sunset asked

“What if we get hit?” Manic asked.

“What do you mean, what if we get hit? We have super speed. Why do you think she’s asking us in the first place?” Sonic replied. The two of them dashed out in the hallway. 

“All right, if I was an annoying whatever, where would I be?” Sonic said.

“We are not annoying!” The pink cloud responded from the behind. Sonic and Manic turned around to face it.

“Really? Going around and turning people into statues cuz of a stupid tantrum seems annoying to me.” Manic responded. 

The cloud responded by expanding itself into a vapor again. Sonic and Manic dashed off with the mist following them.

"This complicates things." Sonic said.

Meanwhile, Shadow was on the rooftop of CHS. He was sitting in a blue lawn chair and he scrolled through  his phone.

"I really don't see the fascination with these devices." Shadow said to himself.  Shadow lifted himself from his chair and approached the end of the roof and began to stare out into space. As he did, he noticed a pink mist seeping out from the school as he looked down. Shadow sighed.

"Can't I go one day without finding weird stuff." Shadow groaned. He then teleported himself into a section of the school. Shadow noticed the statues around him and he became puzzled. Just then he saw Sonic and Manic dash by him very quickly. Shadow looked at what they were running from and he noticed  the pink mist. 

"Why are they running from this?" Shadow wondered. Sonic came back and he grabbed Shadow with them and he re-entered the band room alongside Manic. In there, Pinkie Pie noticed Shadow.

“Shadow‼‼‼!” She said excitedly.  She then ran towards him but he just teleported out of her way.

“People are statues everywhere.  I presume this is somehow Sonic’s fault.” Shadow said as he teleported next to Sonic.

“Not now, Shadow. Sunset, they stopped firing their arrows and now are just some kind of pink mist. That's pretty cunning of them.” Sonic explained.

"That complicates things." Sunset observed. She began to ponder on what to do next as she sat down

"Well, they are a gas in that vapor form right?! Since gasses can be trapped, why not try trapping them?" Rainbow Dash suggested. She received looks of surprise. "I pay attention in class sometimes."

Sonic then dashed around the science room and he collected three empty glass jars. He handed one to Manic and offered one to Shadow.

“This has nothing to do with me. So, not interested.” Shadow said as he turned away from Sonic.

“Would you rather stay in the room with her?” Manic said. He pointed to Pinkie who waved at Shadow very quickly and excitedly.

"Fair point." Shadow said. He then took the jar from Sonic. The three of them then exited the science room from the window and entered CHS through the back door.  Inside, they approached the pink mist from the behind.

"Yo!" Sonic called out. The mist then recollected itself to form a cloud and came to him.

“Look this is getting out of hand. I’m sorry, alright?  Can you guys just turn everyone back to normal?” Sonic requested as he stuck his hand out.

“Liar. You don’t even mean it.” The cloud responded. Sonic took his hand back and sighed.

"He said he was sorry. Just accept it." Shadow said with irritation.

The cloud responded by turning itself into a fog and approached the three of them.

"Oh, big mistake." Sonic said. He, Shadow and Manic ran around the fog using their super speed and made their own funnel, that was black, blue and green. As they ran around, they each sucked portions of the fog into their jars and closed the lid on them very tightly. The three of them entered the science room again and Sonic presented his jar. They heard voices coming from the jars as they set them down.

“Oh….uh…..well……we can explain…” They said.

“Shut up.” Sonic said.

“Yes sir.” They responded.

“What should we do with them? Despite what they did, I don’t think we should hurt them.” Fluttershy said.

“Oh, they look so squishy. Like cotton candy babies.” Pinkie said.

"I say we keep them trapped in here forever." Sonic said annoyed.

"Then how will we turn everyone back to normal?" Rarity pointed out.

Sunset approached the three jars and crouched them to them.

"Listen, I know you're spirits of love and that you didn't mean any harm, but what you did is not ok. I understand that you were upset, but there are other ways of dealing with negative emotions. Could you please help us turn our friends back to normal?" Sunset asked them kindly. The jars were silent for a while.

"Wow, you were so nice to us despite what we did. What a lovely person you are! Since you asked us so nicely, we promise!" They squealed.

"Sonic, open the lids." Sunset asked as she rose up and turned to him

"Seriously?! No way, I'm pretty sure they have something up their sleeve." Sonic responded he folded his arms in a stubborn manner.

"Let them out, please?" Sunset requested. 

Sonic groaned. He knew what he had to do. He quickly opened the lids, releasing the mist from the jars. As he did, the mists combined to form the Erotes physical form again.

"Thanks! And for being so nice, here you go." The Erotes said as the two of them constructed a red/pink arrow with the colors on their halves. They then handed it Sonic.
"Here you go, speedy. Since you're so fast, you can fix our mess quickly." They replied.

"My name's not speedy." Sonic replied as the took the arrow from them. He then dashed around the school as a blue blur and touched students with the tip of the arrow, reverting them back to normal in no time. The students looked around confused about what just happened. He approached Knuckles and Tails and freed them. Knuckles held his head while Tails looked around.

"Sonic?! What just happened? Why was I statue?!" Tails asked.

"I'll explain later." Sonic said.

The Rainbooms then came up to him, having walked around to make sure everyone was normal again.

“So, Sonic you turned everyone back to normal right?” Rarity asked.

“Yep, everyone accounted for.” Sonic said. He then leaned on Trixie, who was still a statue. He then let out a sigh.


“She's is so going to yell at me for this.” Sonic  muttered.

“Who knows? Maybe she might be grateful.” AppleJack suggested.

Sonic then tapped Trixie’s statue with the arrow. She then turned back to normal. She looked around, confused.

"What the? Why was Trixie a statue?" She wondered outloud. She then saw Sonic's smiling face in front of her and frowned.

"Of course it was you. It's always you." Trixie berated, which turned Sonic's smile upside down.

"You're welcome by the way." Sonic sarcastically answered.

“Oh, that just reminds me.” Manic said. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a Valentines card.  He then handed it to Trixie as he walked up to her.

“Here you go Trixie. I find that once you read, you’ll come to see what kind of guy I am.” Manic said with a wink. Trixie took the card and then she ripped it in front of him. She then walked away.

"Wow." Knuckles just commented.

“Ok. That just hurts.” Manic replied. “Well, this blows. Looks like no girl liked my valentines.” He complained. He looked dejected.

“Manic.” A voice said. He rose up and turned around and saw the Crusaders holding his valentines. They were smiling.

“We found these on the ground in the hallway. We read them and we think you’re a really sweet guy.” Sweetie Belle said. "These are amazing!" They started to approach him and Manic's eyes widened and he gave a nervous look. His eyes darted from side to side. This was not really the attention he was looking for. He started to back away slowly.

“Oh uh...I just remembered I have to uh....bye.” He replied. He then dashed off and the Crusaders went after him. 

Shadow was about to leave as he headed for the front exit when Pinkie came in front of him quickly. Shadow groaned.

“Shadow, I have the best Valentine to give you.” She said happily.  "Look at this!. 

Pinkie dashed off quickly and she came back with her wagon, holding the large valentine with all the pictures. Shadow stared at it for a while. He really didn't know what to say. He just observed it.

“Well, its uh……………..” Shadow started.

"You like it so much that you can't even describe it?! I knew you'd love it! Yaaah!" Pinkie cheered happily. She then began to hug Shadow tightly. He groaned from the tightness. Sonic looked on and he chuckled. Just then the Erotes appeared behind him in puffs of smoke and he noticed. Sonic sighed and turned to them.

"All right, guys, are we cool now?" Sonic asked them.

"Well, I guess so. As long as you've learned your lesson." They replied in union as they flew around him playfully.

"Yes, I have completely. Love is necessary and the most important emotion of all." Sonic replied. "(I hope they buy this.)"

"Yes!! That is the lesson. We're so glad we could have helped you learn. Until next time, speedy." They said as they vanished in pink smoke after they hugged each other in 'success' at their mission.

"Told you, my name's not speedy. It's Sonic." Sonic said as they left. "Honestly, this love stuff isn't for me." Sonic said as he observed Pinkie hugging Shadow and he mouthed help me to Sonic, causing him to smirk. 

THE END.
> Zoah
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zoah
It was another day at Canterlot High near the end of the school day.  Rarity was beside her locker.  She had a love stricken look on her face as she had a silly smile on her face and had her hands crossed over her heart. She was observing Blue Blood across from her, admiring his long blond hair with white skin, elegant white suit, and small blue bowtie . Rarity took notice as he looked at himself with a handheld in his hand and winked at it, before closing it and putting it in his pocket in the middle of the hallway, making her clutch her chest tighter.  He then turned and started to walk in her direction. Rarity continued to admire as he walked and he passed her by without noticing. Rarity turned around and watched him as he walked off, still lovestruck and again she sighed as she placed the back of her hand on her forehead and did a dramatic pose.

“What a prince!” Rarity exclaimed as she put her hands together in delight.

“So, are you actually going to talk to him, then?” Rainbow Dash asked from behind her. Rarity turned around and saw the Rainbooms in front of her. They all had slight smiles on their faces. Rarity regained her calm composer immediately and flipped her hair back.

“You’ve been gushing over him for days now, why don’t you just talk to him?” Sunset suggested. Rarity's eyes widened and she looked at her as if she was insane.

“Oh heavens no! If I want to make sure my chances are right, I need to do something special for him first to notice me!” Rarity replied as she waved her hand out.

“What do you have in mind? Is it a party? Something fun?” Pinkie asked happily as she began to jump up and down in excitement.

“No, nothing too flashy dear. I was thinking of making him something special, that represents the real me. I was thinking more of making him some sort of suit. After all, fashion is my forte.” Rarity explained as she turned away from them with her hand on her chin.  “I have it planned out but I could use some extra help.” She added as she turned to face her friends. They all looked at her nervously and Rainbow Dash put her hand behind her head

“Sorry, can’t help you there. I’m too busy coaching for the basketball game next week.” Rainbow Dash explained with a slight chuckle.

“I would love to, but I can’t. I was thinking of working on some kind of new device that could help me analyze the magical content here more.” Sunset said as she folded her arms.

“The animal shelter just received more residents. It’s going to be quite busy.” Fluttershy explained shyly as she tapped her fingers together.

“I really wish I could, but my aunt and uncle are visitin’. I can’t ditch em.” AppleJack replied as she adjusted her hat.

“I’m babysitting!” Pinkie said happily. Rarity sunk her shoulders and looked dejected.

“So you’re all busy? This is just perfect.  How am I supposed to get some help then?” Rarity said disappointedly.

“If you need help, why not ask Sonic? Besides with his speed, your suit will be done in no time.” Sunset suggested. Rarity perked up at this suggestion.

“That’s an excellent idea! I’ll go find him.” Rarity said and she took off to find Sonic quickly.  In the gym, Sonic was alone. He held up a black stopwatch and then clicked the button on the side. He then threw it up in the air high and became a blue streak around the gym, before he came back to his initial position and caught the watch in his hand. He looked at the screen and frowned slightly.

“5.5 seconds? I’m getting slow.” Sonic grumbled as he put his foot down firmly.

“Oh, Sonic.” Sonic heard Rarity say. Sonic turned and he noticed Rarity at the entrance of the gym. She then approached him with a smile.

“Oh, hey, Rarity. What do you want?” Sonic asked her as he put away his stopwatch.

“What, I can’t just come by and see how you’re doing?” Rarity replied as she crossed her arms.

“Well, it's just that, we don't really interact that much.” Sonic explained.

“Ok then, in that case, I’ll just cut to the chase. I want to make the most perfect suit for the most perfect boy. I figured that I could use your speed.” Rarity said with enthusiasm. Sonic darted his eyes rapidly back and forth.

“Sorry, can’t help you there. I already signed up to help Rainbow Dash prepare for the basketball tournament.” Sonic told her. Rarity looked quite displeased at this explanation.

“What? Why didn’t she mention that earlier? Argggh.” Rarity stated as she stomped her foot in anger.

“Well, maybe Shadow is available. But-.” Sonic started to say before Rarity perked up with hope at what he had just and left to find Shadow quickly as she dashed out of the gym.

“- I don’t think he’ll help you.” Sonic finished, now alone. 

Rarity entered the library, looking around for Shadow until she saw him in the library. He was sitting down and leaning against a chair, reading a book. Rarity approached him as she smiled. Shadow turned and noticed her.

“Shadow, dear-.” Rarity started to say sweetly before Shadow just teleported away. Rarity was left alone as she frowned.

“Well, that was quite rude.” Rarity said annoyed.  Rarity  then walked out of the library into the hallway. She was frustrated by her lack of inability to get help. She spotted Knuckles and Tails walking, and then she approached the two of them.

“Why, hello there boys. You two by any chance aren’t too busy are you?” Rarity asked them sweetly.

“Actually, I am. I just finally finished working on a model for the tornado. I need to get it tested out.” Tails responded.

“I need to make sure nothing suspicious happens around the Master Emerald. Did you need something? Knuckles replied as he noticed Rarity's prominent frown on her face.

“Why yes, I did. I need help in making sure I can make the perfect outfit and I need help but everyone is so busy doing their own thing!” Rarity complained.

“Well, not everyone.” Tails said as he pointed behind her. The three of them turned and they saw Manic. Manic was twirling around his drumsticks and he was hitting them together, trying to find out a perfect beat. He hummed alongside it.

“Manic? He’s really the only one left?” Rarity said with distaste.

“Well, you said you needed help. So I guess it’s either him or nothing.” Knuckles told her.


Rarity looked incredibly displeased. She groaned, but she realized that there was no one else left.  She then walked over to where Manic was. Rarity came around him and she sighed once. Manic didn’t respond as he continued hitting his stick together.  She then walked over next to him and made her sigh much louder. Again, Manic didn’t respond to her and just hummed along. Rarity then walked in front of him and then she sighed directly in front of him very loudly. Manic rolled his eyes.

“(Oh, what now?)” Manic thought to himself.

“So Manic, you don’t have any upcoming plans do you?” Rarity asked him with charm and a smile.

“Nope, not all.  For the next week, I’m a free man.” Manic replied happily.

“Good, then that means you’re free to help me with a little project then.” Rarity told him. Manic frowned and turned to her.

“What part of free man did you not understand?” Manic said.

“Oh, come now. I could really use your help.” Rarity pleaded

“Since when?” Manic said as he looked at her with suspicion.

“Since I’ve….realized how talented you actually can be!" Rarity said with a forced smile. Manic just gave her a look as he raised an eyebrow.

“Too much?” She said as she dropped her smile. Manic nodded his head.

“Ok fine, everyone else is simply too busy to assist me, and you’re the only one who’s free.” Rarity admitted.

“Hmmm, well answer me this, why should I help you? What’s in it for me?” Manic asked

Rarity looked at Manic with a flirty smile. She flipped her hair a little and came quite close to Manic as she rubbed her finger across his chest . Manic looked away to resist her charms.

“Nice try, but charming me isn’t going to work.  First, explain what you need exactly.” Manic said.

“Well, there is just the most amazing boy out there.” Rarity said with delight and lovestruck as she looked up with awe.

“I’m standing right here.” Manic said as pointed all five fingers at himself. Rarity gave him a look as she looked back down at him before she looked up with awe again.

“As I was saying, there is the most amazing boy! I want to make him a special suit. It’s just going to be fantastic!” Rarity said.

“Hmph, whatever.” Manic said slightly annoyed as he folded his arms. “Bottom line is if you want my help, I’m going to need some payment.” He said.

“I think I have that covered. When Blue Blood see’s what I made, he’ll absolutely love it. I’m sure when I mention the role you played, he’ll reward you handsomely.” Rarity pointed out.

“His names Blue Blood? Who names their kid Blue Blood?” Manic said with disbelief.

“Well, who names their child Manic?” Rarity responded defensively. Manic thought about that for a while as he looked down.

“Whatever. Ok, you’ve got yourself a deal.” Manic said as he turned to her. Rarity screeched with delight as Manic winced a little.

“Oh thank you, thank you!” Rarity exclaimed. “Come now, we should get busy.” Rarity said. She grabbed Manic’s hand tightly and she took him through the entrance of the school quite quickly as other students exited as well and they passed it.

Manic and Rarity entered the Carousel Boutique through the door. After Manic entered, Rarity closed the door behind him. The two of them then headed upstairs to her room and entered. In it, Manic saw Rarity open a closet with different colored fabric stacked neatly as she looked through it . As well, she had a cardboard box filled with accessories such as ties next to her desk, which had a sewing machine on it.

“Enough dilly dallying. We need to start right away! I need you to cut this material exactly 156 x 157 cm. No more, no less. This will be for the pants. I’ll be working on the shirt and the tie.” Rarity said as she handed Manic a pile of black fabric she found from her closer without looking at him. Manic took it and he sat down on the ground.

Manic dashed and took out some scissors from her desk and was about to cut when he sat when Rarity turned around and noticed him as she gasped. She then snatched them away from him quickly.

“Hey, what gives?” Manic asked as he looked up to her.

“Manic, these scissors are from the Premium brand. Use scissors from the Ultra-Premium brand.” Rarity explained as she handed him another pair of scissors which looked exactly the same she got from her shelf next to her desk. Manic rolled his eyes and began cutting after he took them from her. Rarity looked at him with anxiety until she couldn't take it anymore.

“No, No, No!” Rarity said as she observed him cutting.

“What now?” Manic asked slightly annoyed as he stopped.

“It’s your cutting rhythm. You're being too crude and aggressive. Be more elegant and soft. Like you’re giving a baby kitten a haircut.” Rarity said making the motion with hands, causing Manic to roll his eyes again, but he imitated what she did with his cutting. Later, Manic was finished cutting and presented the cut material to Rarity as he stood up, which was a long black sheet. She looked at them for a long time and inspected them with her glasses. She then picked it up and threw it aside in the trash after she frowned and squinted. Manic looked at her with irritation.

“Manic, you cut it all wrong. It has to be 156 x 167 cm. You cut them by 155 x 168 cm. Do it again.” Rarity said as she went back to her closet and gave another piece of black fabric to Manic.

“Seriously. It’s practically the same thing. Who will notice?” Manic grumbled. Rarity looked at him intently after he said that.

“Who? Who? Who?! Blue Blood will!!!!!” Rarity shouted as she grabbed Manic by his collar. He looked uncomfortable as her grip was tight.

“This has to be absolutely perfect Manic! If it’s not, then Blue Blood won’t like me. Then, he’ll tell everyone he knows that I’m not a good fashion designer! My career will go down the drain and I’ll be forced to live on the streets, homeless until I die in a brutal street crime!” Rarity said up in his face

“I see you've thought this out. Look, I’ll redo it. Don’t panic.” Manic said as he released Rarity’s grip from his collar slowly and began to cut the material again as he sat down and sighed.

Manic finished cutting again and presented the material to Rarity. She inspected it carefully before she did a smile and gave him the thumbs up. Manic wiped his forehead with the back of his head in relief

“Well, I’m glad that’s over with. See you later. ” Manic said as he began to walk out the door.

“Not so fast. Now, you need to sew it together.” Rarity said blocking his path quickly holding up the material.

“Really? Fine.” Manic said as he took the material and started to sew it using the sewing machine at her desk and sat down. The whole time Rarity was watching him from the behind, making her slightly unnerved as she bit her fingernails.

“Stop!” Rarity shouted startling Manic.

“What’s the problem?” Manic asked more annoyed as he turned to her.

Rarity got out a magnifying glass from one of her boxes and examined what Manic was sewing.  She frowned firmly.

“Aha, a cut. This is unacceptable! Now, you’ll have to cut the material again and sew it from the start.” She said as she pointed to a tiny little rip on the material. Manic grumbled but realized it was futile to argue and did as he was told as he went back to the ground.

A montage appeared of Manic measuring the black fabric using a ruler on the ground and looking back at Rarity, who shook her head causing him to frown. Manic was ironing the fabric on her desk quickly. when Rarity appeared behind him and took the iron. She ironed in a slower, fashion in a rhythm and pointed to the material showing Manic to do the same thing. Manic carried a heavy box of full material Rarity needed down the stairs full of fabric, perfume, ties and strings. He sulked. She then inspected the box and pointed for Manic to go back upstairs and get the right materials after she shook her head.  Then it showed many of Rarity’s head transparently circling him and talking, shaking their heads in disapproval or frowning, while Manic was holding his head in frustration while he grit his teeth and looked like he was about to burst. Later, it was near the end of the day. Manic had bloodshot eyes, bags under them, and his hair had ends sticking out and he was worn out as he yawned slightly.

“Perfect, just perfect. We’re off to an excellent start.” Rarity said happily as she inspected the black pants made which was set on her bed. Manic forced a fake smile and nodded his head in agreement as she turned to him with a smile.

“Oh, I know he’s just going to love it. When it’s finished, it’s going to look so fabulous!” Rarity said with much excitement and she held her hands happily. As she did, her body began to glow violet and she rose up in the air and ponied up, with longer hair and ears. Manic was too tired to care or notice as she floated down.

“Yeah, sure.  So are we good here?” Manic said groggily after he yawned and scratched his chin.

“Why, yes I think today has been quite productive. Let’s call it a day, shall we?” Rarity stated as she placed the pants in her closet.

“(Oh yes)!” Manic thought to himself. Manic then dashed away to the door as far as he could, leaving a green streak and causing Rarity's hair to blow along with other fabric.

“I’ll text you with some more details!” Rarity called as he left as she approached the door.

Manic then arrived at his home in the living room. He opened the door and saw Sonic, who was watching a Segata Sanshiro movie on his couch.

“Where were you?” Sonic asked him as he noticed Manic.

“I was helping Rarity make some kind of outfit or something. Worst decision ever.” Manic said annoyed as he approached the stairs.

“Do tell. How was it?” Sonic asked him with a smirk.

“It’s awful! Every time I do something, she always somehow manages to find something wrong with it! No matter how small it is and I end up having to do it over again! She’s driving me crazy!” Manic complained as he grabbed his face.

“So what are you going to do about it then?” Sonic asked.

“You know what? I think I’m just going to quit. It’s too much work! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to bed.” Manic said. He then climbed upstairs to his room.  Manic then entered his room and he laid on his bed for a while. Just then he heard his phone ring. Manic groaned and he answered it, still lying down.

“Hello?” Manic said tiredly.

“Manic, good thing you’re still awake. Listen I wanted to inform you of tomorrow’s schedule. Since it’s a weekend that leaves us a whole day to get to work. We should be finished after 9 hours of work.” Rarity said over the other end. Manic groaned upon hearing her voice.

“Look Rarity, I’m beat. Can we talk about this tomorrow?” Manic asked.

“Heavens, no. If we want this to be perfect, then we need to plan ahead. In fact, I’m outside your room right.” Rarity said. Manic's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this.

Manic then walked to his window and he opened the blinds. He saw Rarity in front of his lawn on her phone.  She waved him. He waved back slowly and forced a smile.  Rarity took out a list and she showed it to him as pointed to it enthusiastically. 

“Now then, I expect you to be up by 6:30. Good night.” Rarity said. She then walked back to her house, leaving Manic. Manic laid down on his bed, defeated. Meanwhile, the scene shifted to a small corner of a room, that was glowing cyan. There was a black semi-circle desk with a red center. Above it, was a cyan sphere, which had 4 branches attached to it. On those branches, There were 4 cyan rectangles. At the desk was a large, around 4-meter tall humanoid giant.  It was covered in dark armor, except for one of its arms, which was a giant cyan crystal, it's torso, which revealed a glowing spherical cyan energy core. On one shoulder, was a cyan sphere surrounded by  armor shaped as a sphere. It had a helmet shaped like a manta-ray and it had one glowing cyan eye. One of the rectangles flashed red and the giant turned to it.

“Our energy sensor has spiked up. It appears to have picked up quite a high energy reading.” The giant stated in a energized, deep voice. It looked through the rectangle,
“Interesting. The readings for this new energy signature are off the charts.  We could use this to our advantage.  I will track the energy signature’s reading. We will claim it for ourselves!"

Early in the morning, Manic was walking to Rarity’s shop. He was facing a dilemma as he looked nervous.

“All right then Manic, you can’t deal with this anymore. When you see her, you’re going to tell her that this work is way too hard and that you want to quit.” Manic told himself firmly as he regained confidence. Manic approached her shop and he knocked on the door. Rarity opened up and she was quite pleased to see him as she smiled warmly.

“Manic! And just on time! Come right in.” Rarity said happily as she welcomed him.  Manic entered in after her.

“(All right Manic, tell her, tell her!)” Manic thought to himself.

“You know Manic, I really appreciate that you’re doing this for me.” Rarity said to him as they went upstairs.

“(Oh no, please don’t).” Manic thought to himself.

“Everyone is so busy doing their own thing, but you actually managed to make time for me. You’ve been such a great help. It’s been nice having you around.” Rarity said as she entered her room and went to her closet.

“(Please, stop talking).” Manic thought as he bit his lip.

“Anyway, I just wanted to let you know, I really value the time we’ve spent together working on this.” Rarity told him as she looked to find some fabric.

“Crap!” Manic said. Rarity noticed he had a strange look on his face and turned to him. He looked like he was about to burst.

“Oh, is there something wrong?” She asked him.

“Nope, everything is fine.” Manic said with a fake smile.

“Good. Now I’ll need you to go the store and bu-“ Rarity began before a blue energy portal opened in front of her and Manic.3 giants like the one from before stepped outside of the portal. One of them was holding an energy sensor, a cyan hologram shaped like a rectangle, in its palm. Manic and Rarity stared at them in disbelief. 

“Commander Syrax, the sensor has led us here. I believe that the source of the energy signal is nearby.” A giant stated as he waved the device around the before settling on Rarity causing it to beep loudly and flash red. “I believe we have found the source.”

Commander Syrax, the one in the center approached Rarity and looked down at her while she looked up at him with amazement. She had a smile on her face.

“Greetings, otherworldly creature. I am commander Syrax of the Zoah. The other day, our sensors picked up a powerful energy signal and we believe you to be the source. You will now come with us.” Syrax explained looking down at her.

“You’re- You’re- made of crystals!! How delightful!!!” Rarity shouted in excitement as she jumped up and clasped her hands together. She then took a magnifying  glass from her desk and examined the Zoah's arm. “The structure, the sharpness, the shine, it’s so ingenious. You must simply tell me the secrets of your beauty!” 

Commander Syrax ignored her. He just grabbed her with his hand, making her yelp and walked back into the portal with the other 2 Zoah, causing it to close. Manic just stood there bewildered with his finger up.

“What the hell just happened?” Manic said shocked.

Just then Sweetie Bell entered through her room

“Hi, Manic. Have you seen Rarity? I just wanted to let her know that I saw Blue Blood walking down the neighborhood.“ She said as she looked around.

“Yeah, I did. But then a portal opened up, and some weird crystal giant things took her with them.” Manic explained causing her to look at him like he was crazy. Manic then realized what he just said and he facepalmed.

“Oh, crap. Rarity’s been kidnapped.” Manic groaned.

“What? Really? We have to do something!” Sweetie Bell exclaimed with worry.

“All right, calm down. They just took her and walked into a portal to who knows where. I just need to figure out where they took her so I can rescue her. But how am I going to do that? Unless…”Manic said as he took out a green chaos emerald and his eyes lit up.

“It’s a good thing I borrowed this from Shadow before I left. You never know when it’s going to come in handy. Quick, Sweetie Belle, hand me something that Rarity touched.” Manic instructed. She handed him a purple scarf from Rarity's bed.

“What are you planning to do?” Sweetie asked him as he took the scarf.

“Just a sec. If my theory is correct, then this should work.” Manic said as he touched the scarf. He then shouted “Chaos Control” and teleported in a green. Sweetie looked in shock as what she just witnessed. She then had a huge grin.

“Wait till I tell the other Crusaders about this!” She said in delight.

Meanwhile, the Zoah portal opened up in their base. It was a cyan glowing room, with a large cyan capsule on the left, with cyan windows everywhere. In the center, were two cyan crystals coming out of the ground, around a glowing sphere. The Zoah emerged out with Rarity.

“Well, I must say just simply grabbing me from my home was quite rude! Where am I exactly?” Rarity said as she looked around.

“Silence. You appear to be gifted with a high source of energy. This energy of yours will be quite useful towards us in the future. Until we learn how to siphon your power, you will remain with us.” She was informed by Syrax. Her face broke out into a look of panic.

“What?! I can’t remain here. I need to finish off my suit!” Rarity pleaded.

“That is of no importance.” Syrax said. He then picked up Rarity and opened up the large cyan capsule He placed her inside and the capsule closed. He then walked out of the room with the other Zoah, closing it off.

“No, this can’t be happening! I can’t stay here! I need to finish my suit! Oh it was going to be quite possibly the greatest thing I have ever created!” Rarity exclaimed as she buried her face in her hands and wept a little.  The thought of creating the suit caused her to start glowing again with energy and she levitated quickly.  She had ponied up and examined herself.

“Well, I could use this to my advantage.” Rarity said. She approached the wall of the capsule. Rarity aimed her hands and concentrated. She then fired an array of small white diamonds from her hands at the wall gently. She fired many until the wall cracked and shattered. Rarity then returned to normal

“Perfect. Now then I’ll be on my way.” She said. She then walked out quietly and slowly of the capsule. Meanwhile, the 3 Zoah were back in the small room corner where they had detected Rarity's energy.

“Sir, do we have any ideas on how to harness her power?” A soldier asked.

“Actually I-.” Syrax started to say before a green flash appeared in the front of them and Manic had arrived. He looked around in confusion.

“Where the hell am I? He wondered. He then noticed the Zoah. “Oh…” He stated as his eyes widened.

“An intruder!” Syrax shouted.

“Wow, wow, let’s all just calm down. Listen, guys, you took my friend and I don’t really appreciate that. Just hand her back to me and then I’ll just be on my way.” Manic said as he raised his arms in defense.

“No, that is not possible. She gives off a large source of energy.  We cannot risk losing such a power.” Syrax responded.

“Well, I want my friend back. So where does that leave us?” Manic said.

“If you wish for her to return, then there is only one way to settle this. Combat!” Syrax stated. Manic perked up at the idea.

“What? Woah, I don’t wanna fight anyone.” Manic protested as he held his hands out in front of him.

“That is the way the Zoah do things. Do you accept or not?” Syrax yelled.

Manic groaned heavily. “All right fine.” He said annoyed.

“Excellent. Then you and I will face in single combat. The winner decides the girl’s fate. The loser faces death.” Syrax said.

“Death? Is it too late for me to take it back?” Manic asked meekly. The other two Zoad stepped back, leaving Manic to face Syrax.

“No turning back now. Come boy, face me!” Syrax said. He raised his hand and tried to crush Manic with it. Manic used his speed to dodge his hit. He tried hitting Manic but he had no luck, Manic was just too quick. Eventually, Syrax charged his crystal arm as it glowed cyan and started firing beams at Manic. Manic dodged them all as well. Syrax timed one beam as Manic dashed around until he fired. Before it him, Manic twirled his eskrima sticks around at highspeed and held the shot for a while. He managed to fire it back, but Syrax used his arm to block the shot. He raised his crystal arm and tried to slash Manic, but Manic twirled his Eskrima sticks once more and blocked it. Syrax tried to smash Manic again with his fist but Manic jumped up this time.  Mid-Air, Syrax started to charge a fired shot, but Manic vibrated his sticks at highspeed and launched them at his arm. They jammed his crystal arm and an explosion occurred which knocked Syrax back and blew off his arm. He laid down on the ground. Manic looked over him along with the other 2 Zoah.

“Hehe, looks like you’ve been disarmed.” Manic said. He chuckled for a while. “Looks you’re going home empty-handed.” He added on.  “This fight cost you an arm and a leg. Hehehe. Ok I’m done.” Manic said.  “So, it appears that I’ve won and according to your terms, I get to take Rarity back.” Manic proclaimed triumphantly.

“Manic?” He heard Rarity said. Manic looked behind and saw Rarity in front of the rooms exit. They both looked surprised to see each other.

“Rarity? What are you doing? You’re supposed to be captured. I came here to save you!” Manic said.

“Well, I don’t need saving. As you can see, I freed myself.” Rarity informed him.

“But I just beat this guy in order to save you. The terms were that if I won, you would be freed.” Manic said, pointing back to the Zoah.

“Well, that was awfully brave of you, Manic. I guess we should be on our way now.” Rarity said as she walked up to Manic.

“Wait a minute. The girl has been freed. This means that the terms of combat have been violated. The agreement is off. We will take the girl by force!.” Commander Syrax said as he rose up. The other Zoah charged their arms with energy and aimed them at Manic and Rarity. They were cornered

“Nice going, Rarity. If you had played the damsel in distress, this could’ve been avoided.” Manic whispered to her.

“Well, excuse me for trying to help myself. What do we do now, Manic? Rarity said with worry as she looked up at the Zoah.

“Honestly, at this point, I’m out of ideas. .” Manic said as he slumped his shoulders. Rarity eye's then widened with realization.

“Manic, I have an idea. You used that teleporting power of yours to get here, right?” Rarity said as she turned to him.

“I did. Why?” Manic said looking at her, not getting what she meant.

“Well, I’m going to pony up and when I do I need you to do it at that moment.” Rarity explained.

“What’s that going to do?” Manic asked as he took the emerald out of his pocket.

“I don’t exactly know, but it might help us. Just do it.” Rarity said as she began to focus on her love for fashion causing her to pony up. The Zoah noticed this and charged up their arms with higher energy.

“Now, Manic!” Rarity shouted as she grabbed the emerald he was holding in her pony upped form. It began to flash white

“Chaos Control!” Manic shouted, releasing a green wave from the chaos emerald with blue diamond around it creating a blinding flash that caught both them and the Zoah. When the flash was over, the two of them looked around and saw that the Zoah were encased in green crystals.

“So, are they dead or what?” Manic wondered.

“Does it really matter? The point is, we’ve managed to stop them.” Rarity said as she returned to normal.

“On the other hand, look at all these diamonds!  There’s so many of them! I’m going to be rich!” Manic said with excitement as he admired the green crystals. He then rushed over to touch a giant. The moment he touched it, it turned to dust, as a side effect of what he and Rarity did. Manic's jaw dropped.

“Noooooooooo!” Manic said. He held the diamond dust in his hand and he was speechless. Manic put his head down and came on his knees. Rarity placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Terribly sorry for your loss, but we should head home now.” Rarity said. Manic pulled out the emerald and said Chaos Control in a defeated tone. They were then teleported back to her room.

“Perfect! Now we can get back to finishing the suit.” Rarity said as went to her desk to get the sewing machine.

“Seriously? After all that, that’s what the most important here?” Manic said with disbelief as he walked over to her.

Later at CHS in the morning, Blue Blood had entered the school. He walked in with a smile. Suddenly, then Rarity appeared in front of him holding a black bag to hold a suit. He looked at her strangely while she smiled up at him.

“Blue Blood. My name is Rarity. I’ve been a long-time admirer of yours. I simply love how refined and elegant you are. In order to show my appreciation of your grace, I have personally made you this suit.” Rarity said handing him the bag happily.

“Well, this is a much-appreciated gesture. I just love people showing they have the same taste in myself that I do. Now, you made this suit yourself?” Blue Blood said with a smile.

“Well actually, I had help. From him. Manic!” Rarity said as she called him over as he walking down the hallway. Manic walked up to both of them. Blue Blood stared at him for a while with distaste. He then dropped the bag on the floor and stepped on it, much to Manic and Rarity’s shock. Rarity looked crushed as she held her hands up to her mouth.

“What are you doing? I personally made that for you!” Rarity cried with tears forming in her eyes as she turned to him.

“You did, but you had help from this ruffian. Just look at him. He looks like an uncivilized barbarian. Simply disgusting. I can’t wear clothes touched by him. I can’t believe you were willing to hurt me like this. You’re a disgrace.” Blue Blood said haughtily as he turned away from Rarity. Manic couldn't believe what he was hearing. He glared at Blue Blood.

“You didn’t even look at it!” Manic shouted to him. He simply ignored Manic and hmphed. Rarity looked heartbroken and dejected as she sank to the floor. The tears forming in her eyes became more prominent. Manic saw the look on her face and got a scowl as he faced Blue Blood.

“Forget him Rarity. Let's get out of here” Manic said in an attempt to comfort his friend Blue Blood didn't notice

Rarity looked at Manic and smiled. She then wiped the tears from her eyes. She then got a look of her anger on her face as she rose up from the ground.

“That won’t be necessary Manic.” Rarity said as she walked over to an unsuspecting Blue Blood. She then took out her purple colored pen and aimed it at Blue Blood.

"Ooops." Rarity said as a spray of ink was released from her pen and splattered on Blue Blood's tie. When he saw the sight, he formed a mortified look and started to hyperventilate.

"My....my....tie!" He shrieked as he placed his hands on his head. He then started pacing before he ran off into the hall.

. Manic looked on, unimpressed with what he saw.

“That’s not for stepping on the suit. That’s was for insulting my friend.” Rarity suddenly said. She then turned to Manic, looking very remorseful.

“Manic, I’m sorry about the way I treated you. I really appreciate how you helped me. How much do you want?” Rarity said as she turned to Manic.

“Oh, forget about it. It’s not important. Let’s just go.” Manic said.

The two of them then walked off, while other students noticed Blue Blood freaking out.
> Switch
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sonic was running across the city of Canterlot early in the morning.As he did, he left a trail of dust that covered the sidewalks and made the wind blow strongly, causing the tree's to rustle and papers to fly. He was in a hurry.

"Man, how could I have overslept?" He grumbled to himself. "Then again, staying up all night on a Sunday to watch a marathon of Segata Sanshiro movies was worth it."

Sonic then turned and started running across an empty field. Suddenly, a green streak crashed into him and sent him sprawling on the ground.

"Ow, that hurt. All right Manic if this is a game, I'm not in the mood. Besides, shouldn't you be-" Sonic began as he looked up and saw who his attacker really was. It looked like him except for having green hair and wearing a torn leather black jacket with flames on the side, and dark green pants. He had two large scars on his chest.

"Sup Blue? Miss me?" Scourge said as he lifted his sunglasses up to glare at Sonic. Sonic rolled his eyes.

"Listen Scourge, normally I would love to smash you into the ground, but I'm late for school. Can't you beat yourself up without me or something?" Sonic said annoyed.

"Don't be like that Blue. I was in the neighborhood and figured what Sonic could use right now is a couple of good punches to the face. We still have a score to settle." Scourge said with a malicious grin.

Both of them charged to each other and clashes many times as blue and green streaks. Scourge threw a punch but Sonic caught it and threw him, but Scourge landed on his feet. Sonic did two punches but Scourge dodged them both and tried to sweep Sonic who jumped. Scourge then also jumped and the two of them collided many times as blue and green arrows. They then both blew each other away and charged again leaving a sound wave as they clashed. Sonic and Scourge were in a power struggle. Just then Sonic's phone rang. It was an instrumental version of 'His World."

"You gonna take that?" Scourge asked.

"What? We're fighting why would I take it right now? Besides its probably Sunset calling to make sure I'm on my way." Sonic said.

"Sunset?" Scourge asked with interest.

"She's a friend." Sonic explained.

"Woah, a girl? Listen Blue, you can't leave a girl hanging on the phone." Scourge said as he broke their power struggle. He then folded his arms.

"What are you doing?" Sonic said.

"Blue, it may not seem like it, but I respect women. I may lie to them or cheat on them, but at my core I respect women. Not answering a chick on the phone is just rude. So I call a break. Take your call and I'll fight you after." Scourge said raising his hands to show that he surrendered.

"Really? Well, that's nice of you. I guess behind that rotten exterior lies some decency." Sonic said as he reached to answer his phone. "But afterward, I'm going to make you regret picking this fight."

"Hey, Sunset I'm on my way-" Sonic started to say as he answered the phone.

"Thunder Punch!!!" Scourge shouted as he dashed and punched Sonic hard across the face sending him falling to the ground.

"I should've expected that." Sonic said weakly as he hit the ground and was unconscious. Scourge grinned and looked at him.

"I can't believe you actually fell for that, you blue idiot." Scourge said as he picked up Sonic's phone. He then looked to see Sunset on the calling screen. His face broke into a smile.

"Hmmm, nice looking friend you have. I think I might hit her up." Scourge said.

"Hello, Sonic? Are you there?" Sunset asked from the other end.

Scourge suddenly had an idea. He smiled a devious smile.

"Yeah, I'm on my way, no sweat." Scourge answered in Sonics voice. He then hung up the phone and approached the knocked out Sonic.

Later Scourge was now wearing Sonic's clothes and Sonic(still unconscious) was wearing his. Scourge then used hair dye to dye his hair blue and Sonic's green. Scourge then put in green contact lenses in his eyes and blue in Sonic's. Scourge then got out a paintbrush and orange paint. He dipped the brush in the paint and on Sonic's chest, he painted two scars using his speed. Once the change was complete, Scourge then took Sonic, and dashed him to a nearby run-down factory. He dashed away again and brought back rope. He tied up Sonic and placed him on the ground.

"This is going to be so fun." Scourge said as he dashed over to Canterlot High School. He then entered the hallway and observed his surroundings, particularly the girls. He whistled.

"I hate to admit it, but this dump has some babes. I guess Blue knows how to pick a good high school." Scourge said as he looked around. He then bumped into someone. He looked and saw it was Trixie. She turned around annoyed.

"(Time to start phase one)." Scourge thought to himself.

"Sonic? Ugggh, why don't you watch where you're going?" Trixie said annoyed. "The Great and Powerful Trrrixie does not need to be bumped by the likes of you." She added on raising her arm up.

"You're right. The Great and Pretty Trixie shouldn't." Scourge said with a grin.

"Exac-what?" Trixie said confused at what he had just said.

"You heard me. The Great and Pretty Trixie shouldn't bump into guys like me. My apologies. I was just so caught up in how cute you are." Scourge said coming closer to her.

"Sonic, if this is a joke then it's not funny." Trixie said turning red. Scourge then lifted her chin up to face him causing her to turn even redder.

"It's no joke. I just realized that you're probably the hottest girl in the school. I mean on a scale of 1-10, I'd say you're a 15." Scourge said as he stroked her hair.

"I, uh, well." Trixie said flabbergasted. She then threw a smoke bomb and disappeared. Everyone in the hallway was looking at him. Scourge then grinned and walked away. He then passed by the science room and saw Sunset inside working at a nearby desk. He then entered.

"(Jackpot), Hey Sunset." Scourge said greeting her with a smile.

"Oh, Sonic. Are you okay? You sort of paused when I called you and it sounded like someone got punched." Sunset said as she turned around to face him.

"Oh, it was nothing, just a game I was playing on my phone. What are you up to?" Scourge asked.

"Well, I'm just finishing my chemistry experiment. It's due in a couple of days. Have you started yours?" Sunset asked.

"Not yet, but I think I've found the topic. You and me." Scourge said.

"Huh?" Sunset asked.

"I've been thinking Sunset and I've realized just how amazing you are. I mean those clothes, that hair, and especially that body. It's hard for me to admit this, but my whole life I've always been searching for the one girl to make me happy and you know, complete me. When I met you I knew I felt something, but I thought it was just friendship. But now I've realized that it's you Sunset. You're the one." Scourge said as he got close to her making her blush with hints of pink.

"Sonic, I'm flattered that you feel that way but I'm too busy to be in a relationship. I mean with school, the magical threats, and stuff. Besides I only think of you as-" Sunset started to say as she was moving back. She tripped over a seat and almost fell, but Scourge caught her. They both then looked at each other in the eyes. Sunset was blushing like crazy.

"Are you alright?" Scourge asked, causing her to nod nervously. He then leaned in for a kiss, and she closed her eyes. Just then the bell rang, interrupting them. Sunset opened her eyes.

"I have to um, go." Sunset said nervously as she broke away from Scourge and walked towards the door. Before she left, Scourge grabbed her hand.

"I meant every word I said." Scourge said with a fake smile.

Sunset turned completely red, nodded, and walked out the door.

"Hello, Sunset." Rarity said as Sunset passed her and she entered the room, but Sunset was so bewildered by Scourge's actions she ignored her, leaving Rarity with a puzzled look on her face. Scourge then walked up towards Rarity.

"Oh hello Sonic, do you know what's up with Sunset? She seems strange." Rarity said as she looked back at Sunset.

"(What a babe this chick is!) Oh, it's nothing serious. She just has some crush on a guy, and is trying to work up the nerve to tell him." Scourge lied.

"A crush?! How cute!" Rarity squealed.

"Speaking of crushes. I have one that I need to get off my chest." Scourge said causing Rarity to turn to him. "You."

"Excuse me?" Rarity asked. Scourge came close to her and grabbed her hand, making her blush.

"I've always admired you, babe. You're just so beautiful and hot that I was too afraid to talk to you, but now I can't hold my feelings anymore." Scourge said bringing her hands close to him.

"Well, Sonic this is unexpected, I mean-" Rarity began before Scourge went behind her at super speed and put a golden necklace(stolen) on her. Rarity was lost for words as she admired the necklace. Scourge then reappeared in front of her. The bell rang again.

"I gotta go, but don't forget we'll finish this later." Scourge said as he walked away and winked at her, leaving her alone in the science room.

"Uh huh." Rarity waved back love struck with a smile on her face.

Later Scourge was walking down the hallway. He then noticed Fluttershy exiting the school through a door.

"(This day keeps getting better and better)." Scourge thought as he followed her.

Fluttershy put down her backpack on the grass and let out her pets. She held Angel in her arms. She heard footsteps and turned around startled. It was Scourge.

"Oh, it's you Sonic. What are you doing here?" Fluttershy said.

"What I need an excuse to talk to a pretty girl?" Scourge said, making Fluttershy shrink back and blush. Fluttershy's animals growled at Scourge.

"It's okay, he's a friend." Fluttershy said as she let Angel down. Scourge knelt down next to her and moved her face towards him with his hand. Fluttershy burned bright red.

"I can't help myself. I've always had a thing for the shy type. After all, underneath that shyness is a total babe." Scourge said smoothly.

Fluttershy was lost for words. Scourge then disappeared in a flash and returned, presenting a red rose to Fluttershy.

"For you." Scourge said as he placed the rose in her hand, making her faint. Scourge then got up with a grin.

"Hah, these girls are easier to charm than I thought. I'm not even using my best material." Scourge said.

Angel looked up at Scourge and he growled. Then, Angel bit Scourge on the hand, making him yell with pain.

"Owww!!!! Damn rabbit!" Scourge said as he took Angel and threw him against a tree hardly. He then walked away, holding his hand in pain. He then entered the gym.

"Sonic, up here!!!" Pinkie Pie said, causing Scourge to look up. Pinkie was floating in the air with balloons.

"Hey, you." Scourge said as he looked up with a grin. "What are you doing up there?"

"Well, I'm just practicing how to fly using my balloons. I'm Super-Pinkie." Pinkie said as she made a Superman-like pose.

"Be careful up there, babe." Scourge said as he took some pins and threw them at the balloons making them pop and drop Pinkie. Scourge caught her before she hit the ground in a bridal fashion. They gazed at each other.

"You okay gorgeous?" Scourge said with a smile.

"Sonic, I've never seen you like this before. Hey, wait a minute, you're not an evil version of Sonic from another world who knocked him out, took his place, and is now trying to ruin his life for your evil plan?" Pinkie asked with suspicion.

"No." Scourge said simply.

"Oh, okay then." She then gazed back at him with hearts for eyes. Scourge then saw Rainbow Dash and the soccer team walk by in front of him. His eyes widened with interest.

"Sorry, I just forgot I have to do something important. We'll catch up later babe." Scourge said as he dropped Pinkie on the ground, making a thud. He then followed Dash.

Rainbow Dash and the soccer team were preparing to practice. Rainbow Dash juggled the ball for a bit and shot it at the goal. Scourge then appeared in front and grabbed it using his speed.

"Hey, there babe." Scourge said.

"Sonic what are you- wait did you just call me babe?" Rainbow Dash asked as if she didn't hear what he said.

"That's right, hot stuff." Scourge said coming closer to her. Rainbow Dash had a hint of pink in her cheeks and raised an eyebrow.

"Sonic, what's the deal?" Rainbow Dash asked. Scourge just grinned at her.

"Nothing. I just realized that the type of girls I like are strong and confident with a touch of athleticism." Scourge told her. "You're just that."

"Look Sonic, April Fool's day is a long time away, so quit the act." Rainbow Dash said trying to cover up her embarrassment which was shown by her blushing prominently. Scourge then leaned his face into hers.

"I'm not acting. We'd go great together. After all, you're hot and strong and so am I." Scourge said, his lips barely away from hers. Rainbow Dash didn't know what to say or do. She was frozen.

"Heads up, Dash!" Spitfire called as a soccer ball launched towards her and Scourge. Scourge moved his head while Rainbow Dash was hit square in the face knocking her down on the ground. Scourged peered down at her.

"Even with a soccer ball to the face, you're still more than qualified to be in my book." Scourge said. Rainbow Dash blushed harder and turned way.

"See you around." Scourge said walking away. "(My fun it just getting started)".

Scourge then spent the rest of time picking up girls. Photo Finish, Pixel Pizzazz, and Violet Blurr were taking a photo of Micro-Chip in the library as he used his laptop. A blue blur then knocked him away and took the cameras of the 3 girls. There were camera flashes and Scourge appeared in front of them. He then threw 3 pictures at them. They were of Scourge doing poses such as flexing, winking and aiming a handgun, and they were autographed. He then winked at the 3 of them, causing them to blush and giggle while staring at him love struck. Octavia was in the music room practicing with her violin when a piece of paper hit her head. She then picked up the paper and saw it was a love song as she read through it with Scourge's signature at the end. She looked up and Scourge smiled at her, making her look at him with hearts bubbling around her. Later Scourge was relaxing in front of the school near the statue while Sweetie Belle was feeding him grapes, with Apple Bloom rubbing his shoulders and Scootaloo shining his shoes. All 3 of them looked love struck. Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon came up to Scourge also looking love struck and presented him with a platter containing money. Scourge was later with DJ-Pon 3 in the gym. He gave her a CD with hearts on it and she took it lovingly with her glasses showing hearts as well. Scourge was then walking down the hallway with his arms around Lyra and Bon-Bon, both of them looking at him with infatuation.

"Y'know, it was great getting to know you ladies, and I would love to spend more time together. So I got us tickets to go the movies. But I only have two, and there are three of us. I'm sure we can compromise." Scourge said as he took out two tickets with a grin and walked ahead of them.

Lyra and Bon-Bon both glared at each other. They then started arguing about who would go with Scourge. Scourge walked away laughing. As he was Shadow, Tails, Knuckles, and Manic came up to him. Scourge groaned quietly. He forgot Sonic hung out with these-in his words-losers'.

"What's up, guys?" Scourge said with a fake smile.

"Sonic, you player! You've gotta tell me how you're getting all the girls to fawn over you." Manic said as he put his arm around Scourge. Scourge wanted to break it. He forced a fake smile.

"It just takes natural born talent." Scourge replied.

"You know Sonic, if you keep this up, the girls will find out sooner or later you've been playing them." Shadow warned.

"Lighten up Stripes, I got this." Scourge said, making Shadow raise an eyebrow.

"Stripes? Since when do you talk like that fool Scourge?" Shadow asked. Scourge grit his teeth silently at this mistake.

"Just a slip of the tongue. Besides, I think I could learn a thing or two from him." Scourge explained.

"From Scourge? He's a total jerk." Knuckles said confused.

"Hey, you don't know him. Maybe's he's actually a cool guy, and I'm the one who's the jerk." Scourge said offended.

"Why are you defending Scourge? You hate his guts." Tails said.

"When did this turn into 20 questions? Listen I gotta go, catch you lose- er I mean guys later." Scourge said as he walked away, leaving Shadow to look at him as he walked with suspicion. He glared a little. Vice-Principal Luna then came up to Scourge. He grinned

"Sonic, could I talk you for a minute?" Luna asked.

"Sure." Scourge said.

Luna walked away with Scourge following her. The two then came in front of her office and entered. In Vice-Principal Luna's office, Scourge was seated.

"I called you here, regarding the aptitude test you took this morning. I'm sorry to say you got a 0, a perfect failing score. This test is very important for your grades, and I wanted to speak you about arranging a possible retake." Luna said.

"I don't need to retake the test. School is overrated anyway. Besides, there are more important things in life to focus one. Such as beautiful women." Scourge said raising an eyebrow at Luna and putting his feet on her desk.

"Sonic, what are you doing?" Luna said annoyed.

"You know, I'm interested in older women." Scourge said with a grin.

"Knock it off Sonic, or you're getting a week's detention." Luna said.

"Don't be that way beautiful." Scourge said.

"2 weeks."

"Oh, a feisty babe."

"3 weeks."

"Playing hard to get are we?"

"A month."

"Making more time for me I see."

"2 months. Get out before I make it for the rest of the semester." Luna said angrily.

"All right, but I'll be back to seal the deal." Scourge said as he walked out and winked at her.

"3 months." Luna said.

"(This is perfect, that blue idiot's life is going to be ruined. This by far my best plan)." Scourge thought to himself. He then saw AppleJack walking by in the hallway. Scourge grinned and followed her.

Meanwhile, Sonic began to stir. His eyes began to open. Sonic then woke up in the factory.

"Uh, where am I?" Sonic said groggily. He then noticed he was tied up. He then grit his teeth and looked around. "I'm going to kill Scourge!" Sonic then vibrated his body and broke free of the bonds. He then raced out of the factory and to CHS. Near the school's entrance, he saw Shadow. He approached him.

"Shadow, am I glad to see you. Listen I ran into Scour-" Sonic began before Shadow teleported and punched him in the air, teleported again and kicked him down setting him crashing into the ground.

"What the hell, Shadow?" Sonic yelled as he got up and groaned.

"Quiet" Shadow said as and he entered a fighting stance. Manic noticed the commotion nearby and he came up. Sonic look relieved when he saw him.

"Manic! Shadow's gone crazy and-" Sonic started before Manic dashed and punched him into a wall.

"You have a lot of nerve coming here." Manic said as he cracked his knuckles. "What's the occasion?"

Knuckles walked out of CHS and then he saw the scene.

"Stop acting like idiots! We have a serious-" Sonic began as Knuckles punched him in the face and he hit the ground.

"Stop hitting me! What did I do you jerks?" Sonic said rising.

"Really? You're asking us Scourge?" Knuckles growled.

"What are you talking about? I'm not Scour-Sonic stared to say as he turned around and looked at his reflection in the vending machine, revealing he looked exactly like Scourge. "Oh". He noticed the scars on his chest as well. "He's good."

Knuckles, Shadow, and Manic then charged towards him. He sighed. In the band room, AppleJack entered and reached for her bass with Scourge following her.

"Sup babe." Scourge said as he walked towards AppleJack.

"Oh, hey Sonic." AppleJack said ignoring his advances as she tuned her bass.

"You know, that hat really makes you look cute." Scourge said grinning.

"Thanks. You're shoes make you look pretty cool too." AppleJack said still ignoring his advances, setting Scourge back a bit. She didn't even look at him. He then decided to kick it up a notch. He put his arm around her. AppleJack looked uncomfortable.

"Ummm, Sonic, this is awkward." AppleJack said as she took his arm off her.

"How? I'm just trying to let the hottest girl in the school know she has my attention." Scourge said.

"Are you feelin' okay Sonic? Yer actin' weird." AppleJack said as she felt his head.

"(Why isn't this working?). I'm fine. Let's talk about you." Scourge said as he peered into her face after moving her hand away.

"Wait a minute, Sonic, when did your teeth become so sharp? And are you wearin' contact lenses?" AppleJack asked.

"Whatever! Now more importantly." Scourge said as he leaned in for a kiss.

"Sonic, what's goin' on?" AppleJack said pushing him back.

Scourge looked frustrated and was about to say something else when Sonic crashed into him sending both of them sprawling on the ground through the window. Sonic got up and rubbed his head.

"You!!!" Sonic said as he noticed Scourge and lifted him up by his collar.

"Drop him Scourge! It's good we found you, Sonic. Want to help us give Scourge a beating?" Knuckles said as he came on the ground.

"No, I'm not Scourge! He is! He's been impersonating me the whole time." Sonic said.

"He's lying! Quick, kick his ass before he tries to play his brilliant mind games." Scourge said.

"See, he just complimented me, I mean himself!" Sonic said.

"Shut up." Scourge said as he threw a punch that Sonic blocked. The two of them became green/blue blurs and clashed around the school many times. The rest of the Rainbooms then noticed the commotion and came.

"What's going on?" Sunset asked.

"Well, Sonic's evil twin Scourge came, and we attacked him. But he claims that he's Sonic and that Sonic is Scourge, while Sonic said he's Sonic and Scourge is Scourge. To be honest I'm just confused." Manic said.

"Sonic's fighting?! As his crush, I must help in some way." Rarity declared.

"What? Sonic told me we'd go great together. I'm helping him." Rainbow Dash said

."I should help Sonic as he called me gorgeous!" Pinkie said happily.

"Sonic was so nice to me today. I'll try to help him." Fluttershy said.

"Girls, stand back. Sonic said I'm the one, so he needs my assistance." Sunset said as she stepped forward.

The Rainbooms bar AppleJack glared at each other and started arguing about who would help Sonic. Shadow rolled his eyes and generated a Chaos Spear.

"Hmmmm, I can't tell who's who." Shadow said as he focuses his chaos spear on the blurs. " I'll just strike them both." 

"Noooo!!!" The Rainbooms yelled loudly in his ear causing him to lose the spear and he staggered, They then resumed arguing.

"Guys stop!!!" AppleJack said interrupting the argument, causing them to look at her. "We need to figure out a way to determine which Sonic is the real deal." AppleJack said. She looked down on her bass and her face lit up. She then strummed it loudly.

"Why are you going to play music at a time like this?" Manic asked.

"Just watch". AppleJack as she played her bass causing her to pony up. She then focused her bass on where Sonic and Scourge were now standing, each of them throwing and dodging the others punches. She then played harder and fired a yellow beam than engulfed both Sonic and Scourge leaving a yellow flash.

"Oooh pretty." Pinkie said.

"Wait, I understand now. AppleJack is the element of honesty, so she'd be perfect in determining who the real Sonic is." Sunset said.

The flash disappeared and Sonic and Scourge were now both now in their original appearances. Scourge looked down and noticed this and he groaned.

"Hah. You've been foiled, other faker!" Sonic declared.

"It doesn't matter. I was getting tired of having to look like you. Now to kick your ass on the ground." Scourge said.

Just then the Rainbooms, Shadow, Manic, and Knuckles surrounded Scourge as they came outside through the window.

"The only one who's getting their ass kicked is you." Manic said.

"You uncivilized brute! How dare you manipulate us like that!" Rarity shouted.

"You deserve every single kick you're gonna get." Rainbow Dash said.

"Oh wow, Sonic's sidekicks, and cheerleaders have ganged up on me. Whatever shall I do?" Scourge mocked. Sonic then dashed and punched Scourge causing him to get on the ground.

"Go on Scourge. Get up, so I can hit you again. " Sonic dared.

Scourge then thought about it for a while and he rose up.

"All right, Blue. I've had my fun for the day,so I'll call it even for now. But next time, I won't be so generous." Scourge said as he dashed away, leaving a green streak.

"Wait!," Sonic yelled as he prepared to chase him, but AppleJack put her hand on his shoulder.

"Let 'im go Sonic. I think you're gonna be pretty busy fixin' Scourge's mess here." AppleJack said.

"What did Scourge do here?" Sonic asked. He then looked at the other Rainbooms who turned away from him blushing.

Later Sonic was sitting on his couch in a bad mood. He had his arms folded and he looked really upset.

"I can't believe that green-faker played with all of girl's emotions like that! Now I look like a womanizing jerk! Plus, he gave me 3 months of detention which I still have even though I told Vice-Principal Luna the truth, and failed my aptitude test. Well, at least it can't get worse." Sonic said as he buried his face in his hands

"Uhh Sonic, I think you should come outside." Manic said as he looked out the window. Sonic followed him and he saw all the girls at CHS(bar the Rainbooms) present on his lawn. They didn't look pleased. Sonic then came outside and faced him.They all turned to him.

"What's going on?" Sonic asked.

"Don't play dumb Sonic. You invited me to your house at school and said be here at 5. But you didn't mention you did the same thing to almost every other girl." Trixie said with her arms folded. All the girls glared at Sonic.

"All right ladies, let me explain. You'll never believe me, but listen I was knocked out by my evil counterpart from another dimension who looks like me except green, and he switched-" Sonic began before he saw the look on the girls face which said they really didn't believe him. They glared at him.

"All right girls, let's compromise. There is one of me, about 30 of you and seven days in one week." Sonic said trying to sound smooth. He looked at Manic who shook his head.

"Well, then I'll just do this." Sonic said he ran away in a blue streak down the road.

"Get him!" Trixie shouted as all of the girls chased after Sonic.

Scourge was running in the city in the late afternoon and stopped in front of an empty cafe. He looked quite annoyed.

"That stupid goody-two shoes had to ruin my fun. Now to think of ways to make his life even more miserable." Scourge grumbled.

Just then Scourged was hugged from behind. He felt a girl's body on his back.

"Hi Manic, it's been so long since I've seen you!" Sonata said happily.

"Get off me you dumb bimbo! I'm not-" Scourge said as he released himself only to turn and face the Dazzlings. He grinned.

"Hey, 3 hot girls at once. Lucky me." Scourge said.

"You're not Manic." Sonata said confused.

"No, but I'm way better than that loser." Scourge said.

Adagio was intrigued. She smirked and approached him.

"Interesting. You look almost exactly like Sonic." She said observing him.

"I'm not at all like that lame wimp! I'm faster, stronger, and better than him at anything." Scourged boasted.

"Who are you exactly?" Aria asked.

"The names Scourge. Fastest and strongest thing alive. Soon everybody's going to bow down to me. All hail the king baby." Scourge said.

The Dazzlings looked at him. Adagio grinned. She was still trying to figure out a way to manipulate Sonic to her own ends. But now it looked like there was something better to use a tool.

"Scourge was it? My name is Adagio Dazzle, and these are Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk. I have a proposal for you." She said seductively and walked over to him.

"I'm listening." Scourge said with a grin.

THE END.
> Dream
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------







Dream
It was another day at Canterlot High in the morning.  Shadow was with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie in Granny Smith’s room at her counter.  He looked like he didn't really have a choice being there as he folded his arms. However,.Pinkie Pie wasn’t her energetic self. In fact, she looked like she was about to sleep as she wasn't smiling and her eyelids dropped. She had bags under her eyes and yawned softly.

“All right, in order to receive extra credit, you three need to prepare a strawberry-frizz pound cake. The instructions are right on this notepad. I’ll be back in half an hour to see how far you’ve come.” Granny Smith instructed as she placed down the notepad in front of them and they looked down at it. She then walked out of the door leaving the three of them.

“That shouldn’t be too difficult. With Pinkie here, this should be done in 15 minutes or so. Right Pinkie?” Shadow said. He then turned next to Pinkie Pie and saw that she had fallen asleep completely with her head on the counter and she snored softly. Fluttershy and Shadow looked at her as she slept.

“Pinkie? Pinkie? .” Shadow told her as she was sleeping. He received no response as she stirred a bit in her sleep.

"Not now, Nana." She murmured.

“She’s completely out. I don’t think she’ll be waking up anytime soon.” Fluttershy told him as she turned to him.

“Perfect. Now, what do we do?” Shadow said slightly annoyed.

“Well, we can just make it ourselves.” Fluttershy told him. "Isn't that the point?"

“The thing is, I don’t know anything about baking. Usually in class, Pinkie just does all the work before I can even start.” Shadow responded.

“In that case, I guess you can learn how.” Fluttershy told him.

“I guess so. It’s just baking. How hard could that possibly be?” Shadow said as he picked up the list and started to read through it. The two of then went right off to work as they opened the cupboard behind them.

A montage of Shadow and Fluttershy baking the cake was shown. Fluttershy was reading from the notepad. She managed to mix and control the batter correctly as she stirred it slowly and gently in a green glass bowl. She then handed it to Shadow so he could pour it into the pan next to him on the counter. Shadow then took the batter and poured into the pan carefully. Shadow then grabbed tinfoil from the cupboard  and he wrapped the pan and the batter around in it quickly. He then placed it into the oven underneath him in order for it to be cooked and he turned it on as he put 210 degrees.  He then rose up and turned to Fluttershy.

“There, that wasn’t too difficult.” Shadow stated. 

“It says here that were also supposed to make some kind of fruit side-dish.” Fluttershy said as she read off the notepad and then looked at Shadow.

“Let me handle that. This cooking stuff is actually pretty easy. Just go and grab Granny Smith and tell her that we finished early.” Shadow responded. Fluttershy left the room to do so.  Meanwhile, Pinkie was still asleep in the room on the end of the counter as she mumbled. Shadow noticed and looked back at her.

“Still sleeping? She must have had a rough night or something.” Shadow said to himself.

Fluttershy entered the room with Granny Smith. There was a ding in the oven as she entered.

“There, we finished the cake and on the side, the fruit dish as well.” Shadow said as he pointed to plate that was covered with a green round plastic cover.  Shadow went to the oven to take out the cake and he opened it up. As he went to take it,  he got a slight blue shock on his fingers and he pulled them back. He tried taking the cake out, but there were several small shocks at his finger tips.

“Hmm, that’s not right.” Shadow said as he rose up confused.  He put his finger and thumb on his chin. Fluttershy and Granny Smith came over to see the cake in the oven. They found it in tinfoil as they looked down.

“Shadow, you’re not supposed to wrap the cake in tin foil while it’s in the oven.” Fluttershy told him as she turned to him. “It’s not edible now.”

“Well, I can’t give you a pass on the cake.  How did you do with the side-dish?” Granny Smith asked with a slight frown. Shadow went to the counter with Granny Smith  and opened up the side dish as he took off the covering. In there was a plate full of lemons. They weren’t even cut. Granny Smith gave Shadow a look of disappointment.

“What? Lemons are fruits aren’t they?” Shadow responded.

“Since it's called Strawberry fizz pound cake, maybe it should come with strawberries, don't ya think? I think you should look for other ways for extra credit.” Granny Smith told him.  Just then Pinkie woke up suddenly as she lifted her head from the counter and yawned. She looked around after she rubbed her eyes.

“What? Did I miss anything?” She asked. Shadow made an annoyed face. Later, the three of them were walking out of the room into the hallway.

“Pinkie, why did you just fall asleep like that? Did you not get a good night’s sleep?” Fluttershy asked her.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why either.  I went to bed normally last night like I normally do, but when I woke up, I felt like I had barely slept at all. This has been going for the past 4 days.” Pinkie said with a worried look.

“It’s probably nothing to be worried about. You probably just have a light case of insomnia.” Shadow told her.

“I thought so too at first. But I noticed that there’s something even stranger going on. Whenever I’ve been sleeping, I keep seeing something.” Pinkie explained.

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked her with curiosity.

“I can’t really explain it. I hear this voice that keeps speaking. It’s pretty distorted so I can’t really make out what it says.  I can only make out the word magic, and the voice keep saying more.” Pinkie said. Fluttershy gave a look of concern, while Shadow raised an eyebrow.

“That does sound rather strange. It sounds like there’s something more to your sleep problem, seeing as you keep having a common reoccurrence.” Shadow commented.

“It sounds like it could be magic related.  I think we should go find Sunset and the others. Maybe  she’s heard of something like this before.” Fluttershy said. She got out her phone from her pocket and sent a text message to the Rainbooms for them to meet up in the science room.

“Well,  I need to go around and see if there are any other options for my extra-credit,” Shadow responded as he started to walk in the opposite direction. "See you around."

“You're just leaving?” Pinkie asked surprised. She and Fluttershy stopped in their tracks,

“ I’m the Ultimate Life-Form. I don’t fail at anything, no matter how small.  Look, I’ll help you out with your issue later.” Shadow said and he walked away, leaving Pinkie looking a little disappointed as she sighed. As he walked, he later encountered Sonic in the halls.

“So Shadow, how did your extra-credit go?” Sonic asked him in a teasing manner.

“Not as easy as I planned.” Shadow told him.

“Shadow, did they ask to make a fruit plate and did you use lemons?” I’ve told you, lemons aren’t legitimate snack fruits.” Sonic guessed correctly.

“That’s not important.” Shadow responded.

“Weren’t Fluttershy and Pinkie with you?” Sonic asked him as he looked behind him and saw no one.

“Yeah, but during the baking, Pinkie fell asleep. Apparently she hasn’t been able to sleep well for the past couple of days and she said something about a reoccurring voice.  Maybe something magic related. They went to go check it out with Sunset.” Shadow explained casually, not very interested.

“Oh, then we should probably go make sure it’s not something dangerous.” Sonic told him as he sounded concerned.

“I’m sure it’s nothing. “ Shadow said uninterested.

“Come on faker. Your little extra-credit can wait.” Sonic said. He grabbed Shadow by his arm and dashed him off to the science room as a blue blur. Sonic and Shadow arrived in the science room where the Rainbooms were as they burst through the door. Shadow glared at him, annoyed.

“Hmm, that does sound really bizarre.  From the sounds of things, it probably is magic related. We should try to investigate it.” Sunset was saying to Pinkie as she sat on her drum seat with the others crowded around her before she turned to noticed Sonic and Shadow along with everyone else.

“How could we do that? This is goin on inside Pinkie’s head.” AppleJack said.

“I could try to make something that could help us look inside.” Sunset offered as a solution. “But it could take a while.”

“No worries, I’ll just ask Tails to help you out. You’ll be done in no time.” Sonic said as joined their circle quickly. Shadow was still nearby the door, disinterested.

“Thanks, Sonic.  In that case, we should meet up again here in the morning. Pinkie, try to get a good night’s sleep.” Sunset said.

“I pinkie-promise to try.” Pinkie said as she wrapped her two pinkies around each other enthusiastically. 

“Ok, so then we’ll all meet up here tomorrow. Everyone.” Sonic said as he looked at Shadow from the back of the room. Shadow noticed this.

“What?” Shadow asked.

The next day, the Rainbooms except for Sunset and Pinkie were in the science room, early in the morning, waiting around by their instruments.  Sonic then dashed in as blue streak and he was followed by Shadow moments later, who looked uninterested and leaned against the door.

“Whatever’s taking Sunset so long?” Rarity wondered.

“Tails told me that the two of them finished it a couple of hours ago last night. They should be here any moment now.” Sonic said.

Just then, Tails and Sunset walked in through the door. They looked very tired and sleep deprived with droopy eyelids and bags under their eyes. Sunset yawned loudly . Tails was holding a silver small headband that was metallic with a red center with 4 black wires with yellow tips hanging from it. It had two

“Done, it took 7 hrs but it’s done.” Tails said groggily. Sunset yawned heavily again.  Pinkie then walked in the door shortly after, but she looked tired again. She looked even worse than before with her hair having ends sticking out from it, heavy bags under her bloodshot eyes and her eyelids were almost closed. She struggled to maintain her balance.

“Pinkie, did you even sleep at all?” Rainbow Dash asked her as she walked up and held her to prevent her from falling.

“I really tried but nothing. Again, I had that same dream with the voice but this time, I saw some kind of face. I only saw these eyes and some kind of golden mask.” Pinkie managed to say before she ended up falling asleep on the ground suddenly out of Rainbow Dash's arms. She snored softly. Everyone looked at her with worry. Sonic picked up her up and took her to her drumset.

“So, then how does that thing work?” Sonic asked as he placed Pinkie on her drum seat and she fell asleep as her head rested on one of the cymbals.

“First, we place the band on her head.” Tails said as he placed it on Pinkie's forehead as she slept. He then hooked up the wires to his Miles electric he took out from behind him. “Now we can see everything that she’s dreaming about.”

Everyone except Shadow crowded around Tails to see the screen. On the screen of the Miles electric,  a pink screen appeared. However, it kept getting distorted as there was gray static in the form of rapid flashes, followed by something that appeared to be speaking in another language in a high-pitched distorted voice.  The screen kept appearing distorted. Sonic and co. exchanged looks of worry.

“Well, whatever goings on in Pinkie’s head, it’s not natural. There must be some kind of magical presence.” Sunset said.

“What can we do then? Pinkie can’t deal with this herself.” Rarity said.

Just then Sonic came up with an idea as his eyes widened with realization.

“This may be the craziest thing you’ve ever heard me say.” Sonic said as everyone, even Shadow turned their attention to him.

“Too late for that.” Shadow said. Sonic ignored him aside from giving him a slight glare. He then continued.

“What if some of us, went inside Pinkie’s head? Like in her mind.” Sonic suggested. They all looked at him as if that was the craziest thing they had ever heard. Tails scratched his head. Sonic noticed this.

“What? In this crazy world, that shouldn’t be too impossible.” Sonic said, defending his idea.

“Sonic, how would that even work?” Tails asked him.

“Chaos control lets you travel through time and space. So, why not inside someone’s head?” Sonic said.

“That actually could be possible.” Tails said as he actually thought about it as he looked down at his screen. 

“Ok, but even if it was, who would  go inside Pinkie’s head? It must be crazy inside there, no offense to her.” Applejack stated.

“Well, we can solve that easily. 1-2-3, not it! I pick Shadow.” Sonic said quickly. Shadow turned to Sonic surprised.

“What? You have got be kidding me.” Shadow said irritated.

“You weren’t fast enough.” Sonic said.

“I can’t go in there alone. Some people need to come in with me. I choose you, Sonic.” Shadow said as he pointed to Sonic.

“I just said not it.” Sonic said. Shadow glared at him heavily and Sonic sighed. He decided just to go along with it,


“I wanna come in with you guys. I'm curious to see how Pinkie's brain works and besides, I wonder how Pinkie imagines me.” Rainbow Dash said as she thought of the idea. Shadow didn't look too impressed.

“I also want to come. I mean if that’s okay with you.” Fluttershy spoke up shyly. “After, all Pinkie is one of my best friends, and I’d do anything to help her.”

Shadow was about to object, but Fluttershy looked at him with these big, innocent eyes. He sighed.

“All right fine.” Shadow said. “Everybody, grab on to me."

Shadow then got out a Chaos Emerald and touched Pinkie’s head with his right hand. Sonic, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy then grabbed on to his back.

“Chaos Control!” Shadow said. The four of them then teleported. A montage of them tumbling into a swirling tunnel of pink energy at high speed was shown.Everyone except Shadow yelled as they traveled through the dimension, with Sonic and Rainbow Dash having large smiles, while Fluttershy looked distressed.  A pink portal then opened up, and all of them fell through it crashing to the ground. They then all got up. The ground felt very soft and was a golden-brown color, like a non-decorated pound cake.

“Everybody okay?” Shadow asked as he turned to them. Sonic and Rainbow Dash gave the thumbs up, while Fluttershy nodded.  The four of them looked around and saw a sky that was flashing many different colors, ranging from pink, purple and violet.  There were large buildings, many stories high,  which looked like white, brown, and pink cakes with yellow stripes on them stacked and on the ground, there were pink cupcakes with blue frosting and red sprinkles that were growing out of it like giant flowers. There were many residents in there wearing pink party hats and they were all different. Many of them were ponies half-pink and half-purple, with a mane shaped like a rose that was red as they hopped around. Others looked like different colored balloons blue and white, with happy faces on them.  There were large party cannons out of the ground, shooting out pink confetti  as if it was raining. There were giant chocolate statues of ponies everywhere. The four of them looked on in surprise as they observed their surroundings.

“This is exactly what I expected it to be like.” Shadow said deadpan.

“With a mind like this, no wonder she can’t sleep.” Rainbow Dash said.

“This place is kind of cool actually.” Sonic said looking around.

“Let’s just find this dream thing or whatever. The less I stay here, the better.” Shadow said. The four of them started to walk around her dream. Randomly large party steamer trees that were white and with red stripes would pop up from the ground, startling them. They had to move out of the way. One of them launched Shadow up in the air unexpectedly.  He yelled as he was launched. Sonic and the others looked up. 

“You think he’ll remember that he can teleport?” Sonic asked Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. They heard Shadow crash down into the ground. Shadow got up with an irritated look on his face. The three of them appeared behind them.

“Hey bro, are you ok?” Shadow heard a voice say from behind. He looked back  and saw something that shocked him. Sonic, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash looked on in surprised. In front of them, was another Shadow. However, this one was wearing black sunglasses and he was wearing an orange Hawaiian shirt with white flowers and blue shorts. Shadow looked in disbelief.

“Who-what are you?” Shadow managed to say bewildered

“Wow man, you look just like me. Pretty gnarly.” HS Shadow said as he observed Shadow and did the wave sign with his right hand.

Sonic burst out laughing. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy giggled. Shadow looked around at them angrily.

“Anyway, what’s up dudes? Haven’t seen any of you around.” HS Shadow said.

Sonic continued laughing. He had tears coming out and had to hold his side.

“Oh man, this is way too good to be true.” Sonic said as he wiped his eyes.

“I need to take a picture of this.” Rainbow Dash said as she took her phone out from her pocket.

“Quiet!” Shadow said to them angrily.

“Hey bro, chillax. You look like you could use a drink.” HS Shadow told him as he handed him a coconut drink.

“Get away from me! This is all kinds of wrong!” Shadow responded as he recoiled in disgust.

“Wow man, lighten up. Surfs up dude.” HS Shadow said as he did the wave motion with his hands again.

“Yeah, Shadow lighten up.” Sonic said coming next to HS Shadow and putting his arm around him. “Give this guy a chance.” 

“Woah, your names Shadow? That’s my name too dude. You’re like me, bro.” HS Shadow said. "Brofist." He held up his fist. 

“No!‼! I am nothing like you‼‼ You are an abomination and a perversion of the name Shadow!” Shadow yelled. He then turned around crossing his arms in anger. HS Shadow shrugged.

“So, Shadow, do you know someone named Pinkie Pie?” Fluttershy asked as she approached. 

“Pinkie Pie?! She’s the party queen here, dudes. In fact, there she is.” HS Shadow said as he pointed up. Pinkie Pie was free falling through the air at high speed. Before she hit the ground, red balloons popped out of her hair and stopped her fall as she descended slowly.

“Hi, guys! What are you doing in my dream?” Pinkie said.

“Wait, you know we’re not dream constructs?” Rainbow Dash asked as Pinkie landed next to her.

“Of course Silly! There can’t be an unhappy Shadow in my dream.” She explained.

“Hey Pinkie, nice landing!” HS Shadow said as he gave her the thumbs up.

“Thanks! You had some nice moves on the sea too!” Pinkie said. Shadow glared at his counterpart intensely.

“So, what brings you guys here?” Pinkie asked as she turned to her friends.

“We came in here to help you with your sleep problem.” Fluttershy explained.

“Oh yeah, that.” Pinkie said.

“Yeah, so can you point us to anything…..well, weirder than whatever this world already is?” Sonic sad.

“So we can get out of here as fast as possible. I can’t stand being around him!” Shadow said pointing to HS Shadow.  He gave Shadow the thumbs up.

“Oh Shadow, you shouldn’t be so grumpy. Just enjoy a nice fun party. In fact, why don’t we go now?” Pinkie said.  She grabbed his hand and started to take him near a party streamer, but he stopped in place.

“No, no partying. We’re here to deal with your problem.” Shadow said firmly.

“Man, that guy is such a buzzkill.” HS Shadow said.

“You’re telling me.” Sonic responded as he put his hand on his shoulder.

“Stop talking!” Shadow snapped at them.

“Pinkie, has anything strange or unusual happened in this dream so far?” Fluttershy asked her.

“Hmmm, so far this dream is pretty normal. Well, except for a new guest.” Pinkie said. That got everyone's attention.

“Guest?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“There he is now.” Pinkie said as she pointed behind them. She was pointing to a figure with gray skin. He was wearing red boots, a red vest under a black shirt, with black gloves, covered in red and gold armbands. He had the gold mask with a pink jewel on it, and he was wearing a red jester hat, with dark red stripes on each of the two ends. He came over to them smiling as he floated up to them. 

“Ah Miss Pie, it is so good to see you.” The newcomer said as he floated above them. “I see we have new guests to the party.” He pointed to Sonic and co.

“Pinkie, who is he?” Sonic said a little creeped out.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Reala.” The guest said as he did a bow before them.

Rainbow Dash noticed the mask on his face. She gasped.

“A mask! Pinkie earlier you mentioned on how you related an image of someone wearing a mask to that voice you kept hearing. Is this voice him?” She asked.

“Why yes, I have been involved in Miss Pie’s dreams lately.  But do not be alarmed, I mean no harm whatsoever.  I simply wish to aid her in exploring and controlling her dreams. It’s what I am meant to do. It is my job as a Nightmaren after all." Reala explained.

“Looks like we found the source of her sleep problems.” Sonic said.

“But if you’re meant to help her, why does she end up feeling so tired and drained?” Fluttershy asked.

“It’s a side effect. She’s in the process of learning.” Reala said. “It’s nothing to be worried about.”

“That’s not exactly reassuring. Where do you come from Reala? Why are you in her dreams now?” Shadow asked him. He floated towards Shadow and the two glared at each other.

“Shady, he doesn’t mean any harm.” Pinkie said as she came between them. "We can all just get along!"

“I doubt it.” Shadow said.

“I’m sorry you feel that way.” Reala said.  “Perhaps, it is best if the 4 of you leave. She’s in good hands.” Reala told him.

“No. There’s something you’re not sharing.” Shadow said.

“Your call then.” Reala said. His hand started to glow with dark purple energy. He fired a bolt at Shadow who countered quickly by firing his own Chaos spear and an explosion occurred. From the smoke, Reala flew into the air.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Pinkie called up to him as she looked confused.

“I’ve been in here long enough. I cannot waste any more time here.  The arrival of you has complicated things. “ Reala said as he pointed to them.

“What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash demanded.

“I am a Nightmaren of the highest class. It is my duty gather the energy from dreams for my master.  The energy of this girls dreams is extraordinary, dripping with high magical potential. It will be useful for our goals. The 4 of you are getting in my way. Disappear.” Reala said.

“I think you’ll find that’s not so easy. I don't like clowns anyway” Sonic said.  Sonic dashed up towards Reala and tried to hit him with a punch but Reala created a dark purple barrier which made Sonic blow back the ground.  Sonic landed on his feet and slid against the ground. Sonic then became a blue streak and dashed towards his barrier many times but to no avail as he was blown back each time.

“You can’t hide behind that barrier forever.” Sonic told him as he hopped in place, excited at the challenge.

“Watch me.” Reala said.

Sonic then dashed and used his Sonic boost. He crashed into his barrier and made it crack, blowing Reala back.  Reala staggered.

“Pest!” Reala said. He fired dark bolts at Sonic who deflected them with high speed punches and kicks rapidly. They fired everywhere and started hitting buildings, and some statues, causing the residents to run off in panic. One almost hit Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy but they ducked.

“Watch it Sonic!” Rainbow Dash yelled annoyed.

Sonic then dashed ahead to Reala and went through him with a punch as a blue streak, and Reala staggered. Mid-air behind him, Sonic dashed down as blue streak again and hit Reala down with a strong kick in the head. Reala nearly hit the ground but he levitated himself at the last minute.

"Boom! Headshot!" Sonic said as he landed on the ground.

“Your speed is troublesome.” Reala said. Reala then flew towards Sonic and he flew around him many times in a loop, para looping.  A red circle then appeared around Sonic and then he turned black and white, frozen in place.

“That’s one mess down.” Reala said.

“Sonic!” Fluttershy called.

“Reala, cut it out! I thought you were my friend.” Pinkie said dejected.

“Hah, what a fool! You were only a tool for my greater purpose!” Reala responded. Pinkie looked hurt by his statement and she looked down. Just then Shadow teleported behind him but Reala turned around and he grabbed Shadow by his collar..

“You’re not as quick as the blue one.” Reala said.

Shadow eye's widened with anger at what he said. He generated a chaos spear which impaled Reala through the chest. He gave a wounded look of anguish and shock and he started to fall. Shadow hovered above with his skates and smirked as he watched him fall.

“….I have my own tricks.” Shadow said.  However, as Reala fell towards the ground, he started to laugh and he removed the spear from his chest and crushed it.

“Imbecile! I’m a product of dreams! Did you think that could be the end of me?” Reala said cockily as he came up to Shadow.

“Fluttershy, we can’t just sit around. We have to do something.” Rainbow Dash said as she turned to her.

“But what?” Fluttershy asked.

“It’s a dream world. We can do whatever we want, so we should be able to do this!” Rainbow Dash said as she closed her eyes and she ponied up quickly. Fluttershy did the same thing and the two of them flew off to Reala with their wings. He noticed and turned to them. Rainbow Dash fired a beam of rainbows while Fluttershy fired a purple flashy beam. Reala dodged them and fired bolts at them, but Fluttershy produced a ring of purple butterflies around her, which formed a barrier to block them. Rainbow Dash fired a stream of two rainbows from her hands and Reala split himself to dodge them and then reformed.  Fluttershy fired her butterflies, now crackling with purple electricity at him, but he made a small barrier with his hand and they exploded on impact. Rainbow Dash dashed to him as a rainbow streak, which broke the barrier and blew him back a little. He staggered.

“How noble. But I’ve taken enough dream energy from this dream! I’m not something to be taken lightly!” Reala said.

He shapeshifted his hands into giant ones and clapped them together very quickly, crushing the two of them. They fell down to the ground with their eyes closed, out cold. Pinkie looked on in worry.

“Too easy. It’s just you and me.” He said as he turned to Shadow.

Reala stretched his hands into claws and tried to slash Shadow who dodged them with his speed Shadow got close to him and generated a spear but Reala put his claws in front of them and he nearly slashed Shadow across the chest, who moved back quickly. He then teleported behind Shadow and palmed strike him in the back, sending him down on the ground. Reala placed his hands on Shadow's head and held him there.

“No, don’t hurt him!” Pinkie protested.

“What could you possibly do all alone? There is no one left around except for you all alone. I control this domain.” Reala said as he turned to her.

“Wrong.” Shadow said. “Pinkie, this is your dream, remember. It’s your mind, you can do whatever you want. Don’t let him control the place you own. You’re in control, not him.”

“I’m starting to hate you just as much as NiGHTS!” Reala told Shadow. He tightened his grip. Shadow struggled.

Pinkie thought about what Shadow said. She closed her eyes and held her hands. She then opened them, now brimming with confidence.

“Shadow’s right. This is my dream, my mind. I can do whatever I want.” Pinkie thought to herself. She closed her eyes and ponied up. She flew towards Reala. He let go of Shadow and floated up to her.

“Oh, you can’t plan on fighting me yourself. The others couldn’t do anything.” Reala taunted.

“That’s true.  But you forget, this is MY dream! I have more power than you here. And I decide that I don’t want you here.” Pinkie said. She gathered pink energy from the surroundings in her dream, such as buildings, ground, residents, streamers and even the chocolate statue into her hands. She formed a pink flashing sphere in her hand. 

“What’s this?” Reala said concerned.

Pinkie fired the sphere at Reala. It hit him and he started to stagger. A giant flash began to envelop him. He cried out as he was engulfed completely in the sphere. Reala came down heavily weakened.

“I….I…can’t believe this.” Reala said. He started to fade away in a purple mist before he disappeared completely. When he did, Sonic was free from his paraloop and he gasped.

“Glad that’s over. Not being able to move was a pain.” He noticed his surroundings and he saw Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy on the ground. He dashed towards them

“Rainbow? Fluttershy?” He said with concern. The two of them rose up, kind of dazed. Rainbow Dash held her head in pain.

“Is it over?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yeah it is.” Shadow said as he and Pinkie walked over to the three of them.

“I’m so glad he’s gone now. He was a real meanie!” Pinkie said.

“Meanie? Understatement of the century.” Sonic said.

“Wow dudes, that was like totally awesome!” HS Shadow said happily. Shadow looked annoyed.

“You know, I’m beginning to like this guy.” Sonic said as he pointed to him. Shadow gave him a death glare.

“Thanks for helping me out in my dream everyone.” Pinkie said.

“It was quite tiring though.” Fluttershy admitted.

“Yeah, this is the last time I’m ever going inside your head.” Rainbow Dash said.

“All right, so we can all go now?” Shadow said. The three of them grabbed on to Shadow and he teleported using the chaos control as he got out his emerald.


“Bye, guys!” Pinkie waved excitedly as they left.

Later in the real world, the 4 of them came out as they appeared in a green flash. Everyone noticed and came up to them.

“You’re back! We were getting worried. Did you solve what’s going on in her head?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah, yeah that’s done and over with.” Sonic said calmly.

“What was it like in there?” Rarity asked.

“Well…” Sonic started to say as he chuckled and looked at Shadow.

“Not…one….word.” Shadow said threateningly as he approached him. Sonic then raised his hands up in defense.

Pinkie Pie began to stir. She then woke up as she yawned loudly. The group turned to her as they noticed her rising from her seat.

“Pinkie? How do you feel?” Tails asked.

“I feel great! I’m so full of energy right now. I’ve been so tired, that I’ve missed up on a lot of partying. I need to catch up!” Pinkie said as she hopped up and down with energy.

“Can it wait? I’m beat.” Rainbow Dash said as she yawned.

“I need to lie down for a while.” Fluttershy said as she took a seat.

Pinkie then skipped  over to Shadow with a smile on her face. Shadow had his arms folded.

“Shadow, thanks for encouraging me in there.” Pinkie said. "It means a lot."
I just used the best strategy available.” Shadow told her with a smirk. She laughed a little. Meanwhile, Sonic was on the floor and he was asleep this time. He dozed off smoothly as he snored softly.




 

> Silver
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silver chapter
It was a typical normal early morning in the city of Canterlot. There weren't many people walking on the sidewalk or cars driving by in the street. However on the sidewalks, something strange began to happen. A yellow swirling portal appeared in the middle of the sidewalk. Out of the portal, a teenage boy jumped out of it and landed on the ground. He had whitish gray hair, with 5 parts sticking in front and two long locks of hair from the back. He had golden large rings around his boots and gloves along with golden eyes. He was holding a yellow stone in his hand.  His name was Silver.

“Wow, it actually worked. As an added plus, nothing strange appears to have affected me. Now, I wonder what time period I’ve arrived in?” Silver wondered. 

Silver looked around and noticed his surroundings. Everything was peaceful and clean, not in ruins. The sun wasn't up yet and cars began to appear on the road and a few people walked past him on the sidewalk.

“Well, it looks like I’ve arrived before the disaster occurred. That’s all I know. But I need to know the exact date to make sure I’m in the right time.” Silver said to himself. “I probably shouldn't interact too much with people here in order to avoid the risk of messing with time, but just asking someone a question shouldn’t have too much of an effect.”

Silver began to walk down the sidewalk. He then saw Snips and Snails running down the sidewalk in his direction. They seemed to be in a hurry.

“I’ll just ask those two.” Silver said. He then approached the two of them. They stopped in their tracks as they saw him appear in front of them. Silver cleared his throat.

“Excuse me you two, I was just wondering, could you tell me what year it is?” Silver asked them politely.

“The year? Of course, I can tell you that. It's uh..uh…..” Snips began to say. He began to think to himself for a minute as he looked away and put his finger on his chin. Silver raised one of his eyebrows in concern. 

“The year. You know, like is it 2015? 2014?” Silver said in an attempt to be helpful.

“Well, I know!” Snails said suddenly as he came in front of Snips. “Let’s see its...2001, 2002, 2003…” Snails said as he began counting his fingers.  Silver had a worried look on his face. He waited for a while as the two of them gathered their thoughts. He started to get impatient as he tapped his foot on the ground.

“Come on, the year. You should know what year you’re living in.” Silver said a little annoyed as he facepalmed.

“Hold on, we’re thinking.” Snips said as he turned to him.  He continued to think, while Snails counted his fingers still.

(“Wow, no offense, but these guys are really stupid.”) Silver thought to himself as he looked unimpressed.

“I don’t have time for this.” Silver muttered under his breath. He then walked away past them, leaving the two of them. They didn’t notice and went on with their thoughts.  As Silver walked along, the wind blew a breeze and a newspaper blew in his face. Silver took it off his face and he examined it.  The title read, the Canterlot Gazette 2016 edition. Silver looked hopeful as his eyes widened and he smiled.

“Yes! I’ve done it. I’ve traveled successfully to the correct time period!” Silver exclaimed as he crumpled the newspaper and threw it away. “Now, I need to save the future and find him.”
Silver began to sprint but then he stopped in his tracks. He had a look of doubt on his face.

“Is what I’m about to do really alright? Ending someone’s life before they even a commit a crime.” Silver wondered to himself as he looked down on the ground. He closed his eyes and remembered his future. He remembered the ruined and broken buildings.  He remembered the empty and abandoned streets. His eyes then opened up and he put his head up.

“No, I need to do this. For the future. What I’m about to do needs to be done.” Silver decided as clenched his fist in determination. “I need to find Sonic! But first, I need to pinpoint his location.”

Silver turned right and saw that he was in front of a small café, Sugar cube corner.

“The people in here might know where Sonic is.” He stated. He then entered the café. The café was populated by around 4 people, but it was quite small. They didn't seem to notice him as he walked by and looked around. Silver then approached Mrs.Cake at the front desk. She gave him a warm smile as she saw him.

“Why, Hello there. Would you like a drink!?” Mrs.Cake asked him kindly/

“Sorry ma’am, I’m not here for any drinks. I was wondering, do you perhaps know where I could find a person called Sonic?” Silver asked her as he raised his hand in front.

“Sonic? At this hour, he’s probably  headed to school. It’s about to start in 30 minutes or so.” Mrs. Cake responded.

“What’s the name of this school he attends?” Silver asked.

“Canterlot High.” She said.

“Perfect. Ma’am, you’ve been an enormous help. Believe me.” Silver said. He then dashed out of the shop at full speed while she looked on as he left.

“Crap, I probably should have asked her for some directions. I don’t know where this school is.” Silver realized as he stopped in front of the shop's entrance. “I know, I’ll just fly. I should be able to spot it from a birds eye view.” Silver added on as he snapped his fingers.

Silver’s entire body began to glow green and the symbols on his gloves glowed as well. He began to levitate himself high up in the air until he was above the buildings.  He then took off at full speed. From the shop, Mrs.Cake observed. Her jaw dropped and her eyes were in shock, as she was speechless. Silver began to fly around for a while, looking down, until he spotted a red building that appeared to be a school. In front was a statue of a white horse.  There were many students walking into the entrance. Silver placed himself on the ground and then he hid behind a large tree near the entrance as he observed students entering.

“A school. This must be the place. If Sonic is here, then my mission will be complete.” Silver said quietly as he peeked out from the tree. “But If I’m gonna take him out, I should do it from the sidelines. I don’t want to mess up the time stream completely if people see it. I should make it quick and painless as well.”

Silver continued to observe the students entering the school.  He saw many students walk by and pass. Just then a very fast blue streak whizzed past the students and entered the school, causing a large breeze to blow. The tree's rustled and Silver's hair blew as he looked in awe at what he just witnessed.

“Incredible speed….and that dash was blue….It must’ve been him!” Silver exclaimed as put his finger on his chin. “He went inside. This makes things more complicated. I should probably wait for everyone to enter so that I go in unnoticed.”

Silver waited behind the tree for a while. He saw many students enter inside, including Snips and Snails rush in. Eventually, students stopped entering.  Silver heard the bell ring.

“(Good, that must mean the students probably entered class. That means the hallways are empty and I can go in unnoticed).” Silver thought to himself as he left the tree

Silver ran and he entered the hallway, which was empty. Silver walked by many classes and looked through many classrooms secretly. He saw several students inside the rooms as he passed by until he saw a teen with blue spiky hair going down. His eyes were green. His head was on his desk and he looked like he was about to fall asleep as his eyelids dropped down.

“(Blue hair….Green eyes…..It must be him. Damn, there are too many witnesses around here. I’ll have to get him isolated).” Silver thought as he turned away from the window. “Now, how could I do that?”

Silver looked up and saw the principal’s office. It was open and he noticed the microphone on a desk.

“I could use that to my advantage.” Silver commented. He entered the office. He closed the door to make sure he was not followed. 

“Since this communicates through the whole school, I can use my psychic powers to confuse everyone. With that, I can get Sonic.” Silver said as he approached the microphone. Before he could start, a voice startled him as the door opened and he turned around.

“Excuse me, what are you doing here?” Vice Principal Luna asked him.

"(Crap!)" Silver cursed inside his own head. He looked nervous

“What are you doing here in the principal’s office? It’s off limits to students. Say, are you even a student here? Who are you?” She asked him as she approached him. Silver became uneasy and he put his hand behind his head

“Me, oh….well……I….Ah, forget it! Psychic control!” Silver yelled out. He released a green wave of energy through his hands that passed through the entire room, even the microphone. Vice Principal Luna got touched by it and she appeared dizzy as she held her head. Silver dashed out of the room as fast as he could. In the hallway, Silver saw many students walking out holding their heads, dizzy and confused.  They had trouble walking straight and bumped into each other or the lockers and walls.

“It worked! Now to wait for Sonic.” Silver said . He saw Sonic walk out the classroom. However, Sonic was wearing a pair of blue headphones. He didn’t notice what was around him and he avoided dazed students and he walked off away from them.

“What? You’ve got be kidding me.” Silver said as he pounded his fist into his hand. He began to take after Sonic, but he was pushed around my many dazed students. They kept bumping into him until he fell on the floor. Silver was trampled by many confused students walking around before he could get.  He laid down on the ground in pain after they walked off. 

“Ok, that didn’t’ go as I expected.” He said in pain. He lifted himself above the ground as he held his head in pain.  Silver moved around unnoticed in the opposite direction of the students while they were still dazed.

Later it was break time. Students were spread out doing various activities. On the field, Rainbow Dash was practicing her soccer skills with her team as she bounced the ball up and down with kicks in front l her teammates while she was in the goal. In the bleachers, Sonic was sitting there, still listening to his headphones with his eyes closed. Silver hid behind the bleachers while floating, just high enough so no one could see. He used his psychic powers to lift up a large metal pole used to construct a pole that was nearby on the ground.

“Good, he’s right where I want him. I’ll just use this metal pole to smash him and then no more bad future.” Silver said. He aimed the pole just above Sonic, who didn't notice. It made a shadow around him.

“Sorry, but this is for the future.” Silver said to himself as he was about to release the pole. Just then, a soccer ball came flying and hit him square in the head, knocking him back.  Silver fell to the ground behind the bleachers. and made large thud Sonic rose up from the bleachers and took off his headphones.

“Wow, nice kick Dash!” Sonic said as he gave her the thumbs up. A metal pole came behind and landed behind the bleachers, making a crashing sound. Sonic, Rainbow Dash and the rest of the team looked back.

“What was that?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Sonic looked down behind the bleachers and saw the giant metal pole. He had a puzzled expression as he inspected it.

“Some kind of big pole. Looks like it just dropped from the sky. Isn’t that weird?” Sonic commented.

Silver groaned in pain from beneath the pole.  No one noticed.  The bell rang to signify the break ended and the students headed back towards their classes inside the school. When everyone was gone and he heard no noise, Silver used his powers to lift the pole off himself, he got up and dusted himself off.

“Ok, two minor setbacks. Don’t worry Silver, it’ll take a while. Hopefully, I’m not the one who ends up dead.” Silver said with determination.

Later Sonic was in class along with Sunset Shimmer, Knuckles, and AppleJack. Sonic looked bored with his hand on his chin and elbow on his desk. His eyelids were lowered and he did a quite yawn. Knuckle stared off into space around the room, while Sunset and Applejack faced the board. Silver observed Sonic through a window while hiding in a bush outside as his head peered out.

“There he is. Hmmm, this is difficult with him in there. I can’t just crash a tree through the window like that. But then again at this point, as long as no one knows it’s me, I should be fine.” Silver said.

“What are you up to?” Manic asked.

Silver turned around startled and he saw Manic looking down at him. He rose up in panic.

“What are you doing in that bush?” Manic asked him.

“Shou-Shouldn’t you be in class?” Silver responded to him. He looked quite nervous and his eyes darted back and forth.

“Independent study block, I can basically do what I want.” Manic told him. Manic observed Silver for a while and he squinted his eyes.

“Dude, what’s up with your hair?” Manic asked him as he pointed to Silver's hair. Silver focused on Manic upon hearing this.Silver looked slightly offended. He raised an eyebrow to show this and forgot about being nervous.

“I don’t want to hear that coming from you. Have you seen your hair?” Silver shot back offended.

“Just saying, your hair looks like a leaf or something. That’s the craziest hair I’ve ever seen.” Manic went on.

“Oh right, look who’s talking. Yours looks like an un-mowed lawn.” Silver said unimpressed as he crossed his arms.

“Fair enough. But anyway, who are you?” Manic stated.

“I’m uhhhh……..”Siler started to say. “Look over there!” Silver said. Manic look unimpressed.

“Do you really think I’m going to-“Manic started to say before Silver used his powers to lift up Manic as he glowed green.

“What the hell?!” Manic exclaimed as he looked around.

“Sorry about doing this, but I can’t let you blow my cover. I’m going to need you to take a nap for a while.” Silver said. He then released a green energy wave from his palm. Manic felt a backlash on his head and then his eyes began to close and he hit the ground, unconscious. Silver sighed with relief.

“That was close. I need to deal Sonic quickly.” Silver remarked. Silver dragged Manic into the bush.

“There, no one will notice you here. Especially with your hair, you’ll blend in perfectly.” Silver said as he came out of the bush. Silver headed away from the bush.

It was lunch time now. In the cafeteria, Sonic sat down with the Rainbooms, Knuckles, and Tails.

“Hey, where’s Manic?” Knuckles wondered looking around.

“I’ve been wondering that too. I haven’t seen him for a while during the day. Knowing him, he’s probably trying to find a way to ditch or something.” Sonic replied.

Silver hid behind the door to the cafeteria. He observed Sonic as he peered slightly through the door. He glared at him as Sonic looked around, expecting Manic to appear.

“This time, I’ll make sure to take care of Sonic for good.” Silver remarked. Silver made one hand stick out and he levitated all the utensils in the cafeteria. Everyone became startled and looked up as the utensils turned green and rose up above them. The students began to murmur.

“Oooooh, the forks are floating! Just like balloons!” Pinkie said excitedly. 

“What the hell is this?” Sonic wondered as he looked up.

“Something magic related, maybe?” Sunset said with concern.

“Forget about making a commotion, I need to end him for the future now!” Silver declared to himself. He then pointed the utensils at Sonic. Sonic's eyes widened as he noticed all of them were focused on him.He motioned them towards Sonic, but with his speed, he dodged every single one as they hit the floor he was standing on. He wiped his nose cockily. Silver cursed under his breath and he left from the door in a hurry.

“What just happened? “Rarity asked as she and others approached someone.

“Great, looks like someone or something’s tried to kill me. As if I didn’t have enough to deal with.” Sonic complained with a sigh.

“Sonic this is serious, you could be in real danger.” Sunset told him.

“Ha, you know me, I’m always up for a little danger. All right then, whatever this is, bring it on.” Sonic declared with his fist up.

“Ok, but you asked for it.” Silver said as he observed Sonic from afar from the window as Sonic's back was turned.

Later the bell rang and everyone exited from school entrance.  Silver was standing on top of the school rooftop, looking down, waiting  for Sonic. He finally saw him walk out of school with Knuckles and Tails, with the Rainbooms minus Fluttershy following not too far behind as they went down the steps.

“Gotcha.” Silver said to himself. He levitated up and followed Sonic with the group from a birds eye view. Silver saw them walking into the city on the sidewalk. Every once in a while, Sonic would look around.

(“It’s no use. He can’t see me from up here.”) Silver thought. Silver tailed the group as they continued to walk until suddenly they stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and began talking. Everyone then left as they went ahead except for Sonic, as he began warming up in place for what appeared to be a run.  Silver brought himself down and landed on a small building shop.

“Great, he’s all alone and he’s standing still as well. I’ll be done in no time.” Silver said. 

Silver looked around and he noticed a red garbage truck parked in a corner near the dumpster.. It had no driver in it. 

“Eh, that’s not a good way to go, but who cares at this point?” Silver muttered. Silver’s hand glowed and he aimed it toward the truck. It began to glow green and he moved his hand a little and the truck started to move. It began to move towards Sonic. Sonic didn’t notice for a while as he prepared for his run and got in place to start as he knelt down.

“All right, almost got im.” Silver said as he crossed his fingers. “Please stay still.” 

The truck began to move closer to Sonic and just when it seemed like it would hit him, Sonic dashed out of it way, making a blue streak

“Ah, come on!” Silver exclaimed angrily as he stomped his foot on the ground.

The truck continued to move straight and then there was a large crash. Silver heard a girl scream and then he heard the sounds of animals making noise.

“Uh oh.” Silver said. Silver then moved closer to examine the crash as he got off the building and ran to the noise. He saw that the truck had crashed into the animal shelter. The truck was next to Fluttershy who clutched Angel Bunny in her hands as she sat down, scared. There was a large hole where the truck crashed and many cages were broken or loosened. Animals such as dogs, cats, birds, and hamsters began to pour out of the animal shelter and headed towards the street.

“No, everyone please come back! You’ll be in danger running around in the street!” Fluttershy exclaimed as she held her hand out. She looked very distraught. 

“(Ah crap, what’ve I done? I didn’t mean for this to happen).” Silver thought to himself. “I’ve gotta help her out. But what can I do?”)

Silver then remembered he had psychic powers. He slapped himself on the forehead
“Duh!” Silver said.

Silver came in front of the street and the animals. Fluttershy noticed him and she looked at him with curiosity . Silver concentrated and his entire body glowed green as his face became determined. He raised his hands out towards the runaway animals and they glowed green as well and were lifted up. They were stopped in their tracks. Silver carried them back to the animal center. Silver then used one hand to remove the truck from the center fully and there was an even bigger hole. He placed the truck back to its original place. Silver placed each animal in its correct cage. He then repaired the broken cages using his psychic powers and the animals were secure. Silver wiped his forehead as he sighed in relief.

“That was amazing!” Fluttershy said.

Silver turned around and he noticed Fluttershy looking at him with awe while holding Angel. Seeing made Silver freeze. He wasn't supposed to get caught.

“Thank you so much for helping my friends! Look, everyone, it’s the hero of the day.” She said happily as she turned  to the animals. She then smiled at Silver.

“Hero….I-Uh….I mean…” Silver started to say as he moved his hand behind his head. ( Come on Silver, move it! you can’t be noticed by too many people.)

“What’s your name?” Fluttershy asked him kindly.

“My name……it's…..(“No don’t tell her your name you idiot! ”) Silver thought to himself as he began to sweat. This was bad. Who knows what effect on time this could have?

“Your name? Could I have it please?”Fluttershy asked again.

Suddenly, Silver ran away as fast as he could in front of the street. Fluttershy looked with curiosity as he did.

“What a strange boy.” She muttered.

Silver came behind a corner. He slapped himself on the face hard.

(“ Way to go Silver! I must've have caused some time paradox or something. And I've lost track of Sonic!”) Silver thought to himself in frustration. He held his head in anger.

“I’m running out of time. I need to find Sonic!” Silver exclaimed as he exited from the corner

“What for?” Shadow asked him from the behind.

Silver turned around and he saw Shadow in front of him.  Shadow had his arms crossed. He groaned in annoyance.

(“How do these people keep noticing me?”) Silver thought. “Er, don’t mind me. I was just passing by, saying nonsense.” 

“You’re acting is poor. Why do you need to find Sonic? Don’t make me ask again.” Shadow demanded as he glared at Silver.

“Listen, I can’t waste any more time. Just forget you ever saw me.” Silver said. He began to walk off  but Shadow teleported in front of him, startling him.

“You sound like you have some explaining to do. Who are you?” Shadow interrogated. He approached Silver and looked at him in a threatening manner. Silver’s body began to glow and he paralyzed Shadow with his telekinesis. Shadow became surprised as he was lifted up in the air.

“What’s….what’s this?” Shadow said as he tried to struggle.

“Enough of this! No more distractions are going to stop me from my goal!” Silver declared. He then used his powers and he gave a mighty toss, throwing Shadow across the city. Shadow yelled as he was thrown far away.

“You, know what? I’m tired of this. I’m just going to find Sonic straight up and end him!” Silver decided. Silver ran off at high speed into the sidewalk and passed by people, who turned to him.

“Sonic! Sonic! Sonic!” Silver yelled out loud as he ran through the city. He was noticed by some by passers, but he ignored them.  He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.

“Sonic! WHERE ARE YOU? ‼‼‼”Silver yelled out as loud as he could. He started breathing heavily in frustration. Sonic was dashing by and he noticed Silver from the behind. His panting was loud and aggressive. Sonic stopped by and he approached Silver.

“Hey man, are you ok?” Sonic asked.

Silver turned around and he saw the one he had been searching for so long. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped.

“You‼‼ There you are finally!” Silver said in frustration as he pointed to him

“Uh….yeah, here I am.” Sonic said in confusion. Silver then levitated a nearby mailbox and he threw it at Sonic with aggression. Sonic moved out of the way quickly.

“Hey! What’s your-. “Sonic began to say in an annoyed tone before Silver lifted up a parked car and tried to smash Sonic with it. Sonic moved out of the way. Silver lifted himself up and he carried some benches, doors from shops and street lights. He hurled them at Sonic, who evaded them with ease as they crashed to the ground. Sonic noticed something familiar about these objects.

“Wait a minute, glowing green floating objects. You’re the guy who tried to kill me during lunch!” Sonic said as he pointed to Silver. “What’s the deal?”

“You’re the guy who’s going to wreck the future!” Silver responded. He generated a psychic knife at Sonic and he lunged it at him. Sonic moved out of the way and it sliced a car in half. Just then the Rainbooms with Fluttershy and Tails and Knuckles were walking by down the sidewalk.

“And then, this boy with strange powers arrived and he-“. Fluttershy started to say before she and the others noticed the battle between Silver and Sonic. They looked confused.

“What’s happening?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Who’s that guy attacking Sonic?” Tails asked.

“My hunch is that the boy with the psychic powers is from a ruined future and he’s come back in time in order to prevent his future from being destroyed and he’s trying to kill Sonic because he thinks Sonic is responsible.” Pinkie said calmly with a smile. The others looked at her in amazement. 

Silver then lifted up many cars and he hurled them at Sonic. Sonic dashed and bounced off of each of them and he closed in on Silver.  Sonic then tackled him on the ground.

“I don’t know what your problem is, but stop trying to kill me! What did you mean by “ruin the future”?” Sonic asked. 

Silver then pushed Sonic off him and he held him in place with his powers.

“It’s exactly what it sounds like! Now then….” Silver stated. He started to close his hands and tighten his grip on Sonic. Sonic struggled for a while. Silver then almost closed his hands, but Sonic began to vibrate his body.  Sonic then started to shake faster and Silver struggled to keep Sonic in place. Eventually, Sonic’s vibrations broke him free of Silver’s hold and burst appeared. Silver was then blown back on the floor. Sonic then dashed towards him, but then Fluttershy appeared in front of him. She held out her hand as a stop sign. Sonic stopped in front of her as he did a screech with his feet.

“Fluttershy, what are you doing? This psycho tried to kill me!” Sonic exclaimed as he pointed to Silver.

“I know that, and that’s not good at all. But, he also helped save my friends as the animal shelter, so he can’t be all that bad. Why don’t we let him explain himself?” Fluttershy requested.  Sonic put his hand down.

“Sure, I wanna know what the hell this guy’s talking about as well.” Sonic stated. as he crossed his arms.

Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and the Rainbooms walked over to Silver, who was on the ground as he rubbed his head.

“Are you all right?” Fluttershy asked him. Silver noticed her and turned away, trying to avoid eye contact.

“Oh, I’m perfectly fine!” Silver said quickly as he stood up straight.

“Good, then in that case, can you explain what’s going on exactly?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, why are you tryin’ to kill Sonic?” AppleJack asked him.

“Who are you? Where do you come from?” Knuckles added on.

“All right, one question at a time.” Silver said as he held his hands up. He cleared his throat to speak. “My name is Silver. I’m not from your timeline. I come from 200 years into the future.”

“I was right!” Pinkie said happily as she jumped up in happiness.

“In my future, the world is ravaged. Civilization has practically come to an end. Everything is in ruins.” Silver said with sadness as he looked down on the ground.

“That’s terrible. What happened?” Sunset asked him.

“Well .........I wasn’t there, so I don’t really know exactly. But from salvaged history books and what my master tells me, it occurs around this period.” Silver explained.

“Ok so your future sounds pretty bad, but what makes you think I had anything to do with it? You weren’t even there for the event.” Sonic stated in an annoyed tone while crossing his arms.

“Well from the research I’ve done, it explains someone with great power is a key player, described as being legendary I did some readings into this time while also reading some descriptions of your abilities and I’ve seen them first-hand. So I came to the conclusion that you must have been the one.” Silver explained.

“Listen, I’ve known Sonic for a long time and he would never do anything to damage the planet.” Tails said.

“Yeah, Sonic can be impatient, and cocky, but in the end, he’s a hero.” Rainbow Dash said. Sonic rolled his eyes in the background

“I don’t think Sonic is the person you’re looking for.” Fluttershy said.

“But Sonic is the only one with enough power to do so.” Silver protested.

“No, he’s not.” Shadow said from behind. Silver turned around and he saw a very angry Shadow alongside Manic. He looked upset as well. They glared at him.

“We’re not done yet.” Shadow said. He teleported and kicked Silver in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground.  Manic then lifted a dazed Silver up and made a fist. Sonic dashed and separated them as he pushed Manic away. Silver regained his composure.

“Sonic, back off! This guy knocked me out! “Manic said in anger.

“Time out Manic. Look, this is all a big misunderstanding. The guy was just explaining himself. He thinks I’m going to ruin the future or something.” Sonic said placing his hands in the time out fashion. 

“You? Ruin the future? Hah, you’re not that strong.” Shadow taunted.

“Not the point here Shadow.” Sonic said annoyed.

“Wow, I think I’ve made a big mistake. Look Sonic, I’m sorry about trying to kill and just jumping to conclusions.” Silver said as he approached Sonic with sincerity and feeling remorse. He turned to Shadow and Manic. “I’m sorry you guys got caught into it.” Shadow turned away. Manic just raised his arms.

“So Silver, what are you goin’ to do now?” AppleJack asked him.

“I need to return to my time. I need to do more research into this event and find out exactly what happened.” Silver responded. He took out a yellow time stone from his pocket.

“Chronos Control!” Silver said.  A yellow swirling portal began to appear, but it's  size began to fluster.

“Oooooh, pretty!” Pinkie said.

Fluttershy walked over to Silver before he left.

“Silver, good luck. I hope you fix your future.” She told him with a warm smile. Silver became slightly flustered.  He then cleared his throat.

“Till we meet again Sonic.” Silver said as he turned to him. Sonic walked over to him as well.

“You know, you’re actually a pretty ok guy.” Sonic said. He patted Silver on the back.

Silver closed his eyes and began to concentrate, trying to keep the portal at a stable size. He then began to grunt, showing signs of difficulty. This made everyone else look on, slightly concerned.  Suddenly, the portal stayed one size, much to Silver's joy.

"Yes, I got it!" He eagerly yelled.

However, the portal then began to give small electric cracks before it it suddenly vanished in a yellow blinding flash, taking the emerald with it.  Silver' face then turned into one of horror as he sank to the floor.

"Oh, no!" He cried out with despair, his hands on his face. "The portal took the time stone along with it! I'm trapped in the past!"

"Wait, but isn't that how you came here to our time?" Sunset brought up.

"Yes but....well....I haven't exactly mastered time travel. My going back here must've been a lucky try. " Silver sheepishly admitted. "It's a lot harder than it looks, ok?!"

"Wow, he really didn't think this through, did he?" Rainbow whispered to AppleJack.

Seeing how down Silver was made Sonic feel bad to him.  He then walked up towards him.

"Look on the bright side, since our world is peaceful, you’ll be able to enjoy living in a nice time period. Besides, you could maybe even stop the disaster.” Sonic told him. Silver fell to his knees again, looking crushed. Fluttershy put her hand on Silver’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry Silver, we’ll make sure you enjoy it here.” Fluttershy said kindly with a smile. Silver turned to her, seeing how sincere she was and slightly lightened up.

“Ok, but where am I gonna stay then?” Silver asked.

Later, Silver was sitting on the couch in Sonic’s house. His arms were folded and he had an unhappy facial expression with a frown.

“Oh man, this is going to cause so many time paradoxes. Plus, I wonder how the master’s going to feel. If he notices I’ve been gone for too long, he might think the worst.” Silver said with worry as he buried his face in his hands.

Sonic then came in with a bowel of popcorn and two sodas. He sat down next to Silver and placed the food on the table in front.

“Look, man, don’t worry about all that stuff now. Let’s just watch T.V, it’s been a long day. You look like you could use a break” Sonic said as he gave Silver the thumbs up. He then turned on the T.V with the remote.

“Yeah, if you’re stranded here, you might as well just enjoy it.” Manic said from the chair on the left.

“Also you’re whining’s annoying.” Shadow said harshly from the chair on the right.

Silver sighed.
> Stuck
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stuck Chapter

In  Miss Cheerilee’s history class during the day, Sonic was struggling not to fall asleep. His eyes were dropping, and his head kept nodding up and down at his desk. Sonic was barely paying attention to what she was saying as she erased the board and faced her students as she came to her desk and took out a basket with slips of paper inside.

"All right, class. Next Monday, I'm assigning you all a 3-page history report on the fall of the Gladius empire. I want you to work in pairs, so using this basket with your names in it, I'll be pairing you up now." She explained as she took out 6 slips of paper to start and arranged them in 3 groups of 2. She then started to read them as she picked them up.

“Here are the first 3 pairs: Flash and Lyra, Sandalwood and Photo Finish.” Miss Cheerilee said as she reached for the last two slips after she placed the others down. “Sonic and Trixie”.

“What?!!!!” Trixie yelled with enough volume to wake Sonic up completely as she stood up dramatically and Sonic's head popped up from his desk in a blue zip. She marched  over to Miss Cheerilee loudly.

“Miss Cheerilee, this must be a mistake. The Great and Powerful Trixie cannot work with Sonic! Not now!” Trixie complained as she pointed back to Sonic. Sonic rolled his eyes.

“Trixie, I already paired you two together. I won’t change my mind.” Miss Cheerilee explained calmly.

“But Vice-Principle Luna finally allowed me to perform my stage-show tomorrow on Friday! I need to be focused 100%. Working on a paper with Sonic will make me unprepared. He won’t do any work. Then because I’m not prepared, I’ll mess up my stage show. Then everyone will think Trixie is not talented!” Trixie protested. She did a dramatic faint at the thought.

“Yeah, because it’s not like people already think that. Oh wait, they do.” Sonic said annoyed as he dashed up next to her. Trixie glared at him as she stood straight.

“Please, Miss Cheerilee. Change my partner.” Trixie begged as she turned to her and went down on her knees and clutched her hands on her desk.

“It’s okay Trixie, I’ll just use my time-travel powers to go back in time, and prevent Miss Cheerilee from pairing us.” Sonic said as he pretended to spin around 3 times and he stopped in front of her . “Oh no, I think I went too far back, because I see a big crybaby in front of me.”

“Shut up Sonic! The-“ Trixie began to say as she stood up.

“Great and Powerful Trixie.” Sonic finished as he folded his arms.

“Trixie wasn’t going to say that!” Trixie said angrily. She had hints of pink on her cheeks.

“Sure.” Sonic said.

“Ugggh, Trixie can’t stand you.” Trixie said as she massaged her temples.

“But Sonic wuvs Trixie.” Sonic said in a faux cute voice and clasped his hands together.

“Stop, both of you. Trixie, you’re working with Sonic and that’s final. Give it a try. It might not be as bad as you think.” Miss Cheerilee said in an attempt to be helpful.

“You’re right. Trixie thinks it’s going to be worse.” Trixie said as she sunk her shoulders.

Sonic was later walking down the hall with Tails during the day. He looked anything but pleased. He walked with a frown.

“So, you’re working with Trixie. That sucks.” Tails said.

“You have no idea. This is going to be hell. I don’t think I can tolerate the “Great and Powerful” Trixie constantly praising herself, and referring to herself in the third person. I mean who does that? What is she six?” Sonic said as he mimicked her usual dramatic pose of  lifting her arm up.

Pinkie Pie dashed through both of them carrying a bunch of toys such as stuffed animals, pink blocks, and a red bouncy ball. She then dashed back and came through them again holding many dolls in her hands. She did this 5 times with party streamers, balloons, party poppers, a jar of jelly beans, and even a chocolate cake . The next time she dashed with lollipops in her hands, Sonic and Tails followed her back to her locker. Pinkie was trying to stuff some items into her locker which was already full with other items. Most of them were toys like yo-yo’s, slingshots, cars, and other toys. Sonic and Tails looked confused as they watched her.

“Pinkie, what are you doing?” Tails asked.

“It’s Pumpkin and Pound Cake’s 6 month birthday in a couple of weeks. I need to find them the perfect gift.” Pinkie said as she struggled to closer her locker, making other items fall out of her hair as well such as confetti, friendships bracelets and cookies.

“Don’t you think this is a bit overboard?” Sonic asked, which caused Pinkie to come up into his face suddenly as she turned around.

“Personal space.” Sonic said

“Sonic, this is Pumpkin and Pound Cake were talking about. I need to get this right or otherwise they’ll hate me.!” She explained as she shook him.

“They're babies. They can’t hate anyone.” Tails said.

“They're special babies. I have a special connection with them. We're like family, but closer!” Pinkie said as she turned to Tails why still shaking Sonic.

“Right. But, why are you stuffing all of them in your locker?” Sonic said as he stopped her from shaking him and took her arms off him.

“Putting them in my locker will expose the toys to a bit of me. That way, when I pick which one to give them, all of them will have some of me in them. The one with the most me is the one I’ll pick!"  Pinkie explained making Sonic and Tails glance at each other. It didn't make any sense to either of them. 

The bell then rang just as Pinkie was able to shut her locker with her force.

“Darn it. I still have some toys to stuff. Oh well, I’ll do it next break.” Pinkie said as she skipped away causing a pair of black handcuffs to fall out of her hair. Sonic then picked it up. He was going to return it to Pinkie, but she was lost in the crowd of students that now were in the hallway.

“I’ll give it to her later.” Sonic said as he put them in his pocket.

During the free period, Sonic was in the library with Trixie trying to figure out what to write their paper on. Sonic was at least, using a computer to find a topic. Trixie was rehearsing her opening speech to her show to herself, not even glancing at Sonic. Sonic glared at her from behind.

“Ladies and Gentleman. Welcome to the Powerful and Great Tri-no, I messed it up again. Welcome to the Awesome and-no. The Strong and beat- no. I always miss this part.” Trixie said.

“Seriously? You keep messing up the one thing in your intro that you say to everybody every day?” Sonic asked.

“I did not ask for your opinion, Sonic. Now, get back to work and let Trixie practice.” Trixie said as she turned to him with irritation.

“Yeah, I’ll get back to work. On that project both of us are supposed to be working on. You complained about me not doing any work, but you’re trying to dump the project on me.” Sonic said.

“You don’t understand how important this show is for me.” Trixie said

“Look, Trixie, I know how much this stage show means to you. I’m sorry for not taking you seriously. So, to help you out, I’m going to bring a rabbit in a hat.” Sonic mocked. He chuckled slightly.

“That’s it. Trixie can’t do this anymore.” Trixie said as she rose up.

“Where are you going?” Sonic asked as he rose up as well.

“Anywhere but here to practice for my show. You’re impossible to be around.” Trixie said as she began to walk away. Sonic dashed and blocked her path.

“You’re not going anywhere. We have that paper to write.” Sonic said firmly.

“No. You do. It’ll make up for the way you’ve been treating me.” Trixie said as she pointed her finger on Sonic's chest.

“No. We do. I’m not doing the whole thing myself, and letting you take the credit.” Sonic said.

“Well, I need to practice. Adieu.” Trixie said as she moved past Sonic.

“Trixie don’t walk away.” Sonic said as he turned to her.
“Too late.” Trixie said without even looking back.

“(What a brat she’s being. I ought to-wait a minute. I just got an idea.)” Sonic said as he again dashed in front of Trixie. He then took out the handcuffs he picked up from Pinkie and placed them on
himself and Trixie. She looked at him with bewilderment. She struggled to get out of them. 

“What are you doing?!” Trixie asked shocked.

“Making sure you can’t ditch out. Now we both have to finish the paper.” Sonic said with a smile.

“You can’t do this. I need to practice for my show.” Trixie said with a desperate tone of panic.

“Well, then I guess you’d better get to working.” Sonic said with a smirk.
Trixie grumbled, but she went back to a computer with Sonic. The two then began their research. A while later, they were finished. They had managed to type up at least 2 pages.

“Now all of our research is done. Can you let Trixie go now?” Trixie asked annoyed as she stood up. 
“Sure thing. But try to skip out again, and I’ll handcuff you to Shadow.” Sonic said as stood as well. 

“Where’s the key?” Trixie asked.

“Oh, I don’t have one.” Sonic said nonchalantly.

“What?! How can you have handcuffs and no key?!” Trixie shouted at him. 

“Relax, I got these cuffs from Pinkie. She’ll have the key.” Sonic said as he raced off taking Trixie with him by surprise. They both arrived at Pinkie who was sitting at a lunch table with the Rainbooms, Knuckles, and Tails in the cafeteria. Trixie’s hair was messed up and she was catching her breathe.

“Don’t do that again!” Trixie threatened 

“Whatever. Listen, Pinkie, I need the key these cuffs. You dropped them earlier and I was going to give them back, but I found a fun way to use them.” Sonic explained as he held up his and Trixie's wrist.

“You know, I was wondering where those went. My Pinkie sense sensed something strange about them when I picked them up along with the walkie-talkies, the play-doh and the Kung-Fu action figures. Fu rhymes with stew. Oooh, I have a new idea for a food. Cake stew!” Pinkie said.

“Just give us the key, so the Great, and Powerful Trixie can go practice for her show!” Trixie said impatiently as she interrupted her 

“I don’t have the key.” Pinkie said as she shrugged.

“What?!” Sonic and Trixie said as they had looks of panic.

“I said I don’t-“Pinkie began.

“I heard what you said. Why don’t you have it?” Sonic said worried.

“They didn’t come with a key.” Pinkie explained.

“All handcuff comes with a key. You have a key right. Stop playing games. Just give us the key!” Trixie said visibly panicking and nervous.

“Calm down Trixie, we don’t need a key. I’ll just vibrate both of us through the cuffs.” Sonic said. He then placed his hand on Trixie’s shoulder.

“Did Trixie give you permission to touch her?” Trixie asked looking at him with disgust.

“Stop whining.” Sonic said. He then tried to vibrate both of them through but nothing happened. He tried again but still nothing.

“Hurry up. I need to practice.” Trixie said impatiently.

“I’m trying. but it’s not working. It’s like these cuffs are vibrating with me.” Sonic said.

“Well, you got us into this mess, so get us out!” Trixie said in a threatening manner.

“Relax, I still have this trick.” Sonic said as he ran at full speed across the school from the cafeteria, intending to use his speed to break the cuffs, but instead the chain of the handcuffs extended with him, and eventually stopped causing Sonic to stop running as he was about to reach the exit door. The chains then recoiled and pulled Sonic back sending him flying back into the lunchroom, and crashing into Trixie making both of them hit the ground. Sonic was on top of her.

“Ow. Okay, we have a serious problem.” Sonic said he got up and held his head. He offered Trixie a hand. But she rejected it and pulled herself up.

“No kidding!!!! Separate us right now!” Trixie yelled. Rainbow Dash came up to both of them.

“I can help with your problem.” She said as she grabbed the chain. “Listen according to karate everything has a weak point. To break the chain you just have to find the weakest link.” She then placed her fingers along the chain.

“We don’t have time for your silly karate Rainbow Crash!” Trixie said. Rainbow Dash looked up and glared at Trixie, but she then went back to looking at the chain as she moved her fingers along it. She then put her finger on one link.

“Aha, here’s the weak point. Now all that’s left is to..,” Rainbow Dash said, as she karate chopped the weak-point firmly. It didn’t break. Instead there was  the sound of broken bones. Sonic and Trixie winced.

Rainbow Dash lifted her hand up and her fingers were bent in different directions crooked, with some bending backward.

“Oooh, that looks cool. I want my fingers to bend that way!” Pinkie said.

“Dash, are you okay?” Sonic asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just going to go to the nurse’s office. Not because this hurts, because it really doesn’t.” Rainbow Dash said as she walked to the nurse’s offices and tried to play it cool. As she exited the cafeteria, a bloodcurdling scream was heard and people turned to the exit.

“That was a bust. What we need is muscle. You. Brute.” Trixie said as she pointed towards Knuckles.

“Me?” Knuckles asked.
“Of course. Who else would I be talking to? Trixie commands you to break these cuffs. Do it now!” Trixie demanded as she stomped her foot.

“You know, this is the first time I’ve been tempted to hit a woman.” Knuckles grumbled as he got up. 

“Knuckles, just do it. You can hit her after.” Sonic said.

Knuckles grumbled a bit more.  He then cracked his knuckles and punched the chain with a large amount of force. It didn’t break. Knuckle’s spikes on his knuckles had been forced through his hand by the chain. He then looked at his hand in shock.

“You know, I think I’m going to follow Rainbow Dash to the nurse. This is easily the worst pain I’ve ever felt. Bye.” Knuckles said as he walked off. As he exited the cafeteria a bloodcurdling scream was heard and people turned heads.

“Well, that was a bust.” Sonic said as he put his hands on his head.

Trixie then marched to Pinkie Pie angrily and came in front of her.

“Trixie demands to know where you got these cuffs!” Trixie said.

“Well, I was walking down the street the other day and some guy on the street was selling them. He looked really creepy, like he was wearing a black cloak, and I couldn’t see his face. The cuffs looked cool, so I asked him how much. He just gave them to me, and said something about them being cursed. He then vanished in smoke.” Pinkie said as if that was totally normal.

“Why would you buy cursed handcuffs?” Trixie asked bewildered.

“I thought he meant cursed in the fun way.” Pinkie said.

“There is no fun way of cursed! This is all your fault!” Trixie yelled as she reached for Pinkie before Sonic stopped her as he held her back.

“Hey, don’t blame her.” Sonic said.

“You’re right. I blame you!!!! Why did you handcuff us together in the first place?!” Trixie shouted as she pushed Sonic off her.

“Because you were being a little brat!” Sonic yelled back in defense.

“Get us out of this!” Trixie shouted as she pointed at him again more firmly.

“I don’t know how!” Sonic replied as he flayed his arms up.

Just then Shadow teleported in and he noticed Sonic and Trixie arguing as he was in front of them.

“Hey, could you guys keep it down?” Shadow asked annoyed. "I could hear you from the rooftop." 

“Shadow! I’m glad you’re here. Listen, I know you’re going to get a kick out of this, but I need your help. I accidentally handcuffed myself to Trixie with a pair of cursed handcuffs, and now we can’t break through.” Sonic explained. Shadow looked at him unresponsive.

“Hmmm, not my problem.” Shadow said as he teleported away.

“Jerk.” Sonic and Trixie said simultaneously as they both folded their arms.

At the end of the day, students were going home as they poured out of the classroom . Sonic and Trixie were still stuck together as they came out.
“Man, this blows. Well, at least I’ll be able to relax once I’m home.” Sonic said as he walked off in the right. The handcuff then pulled him back.

“What gives?” Sonic asked as he saw Trixie walking in the opposite direction.

“Trixie’s going home.” Trixie explained as she turned back to face him.

“Well, we can’t separate because of these cuffs, so we can’t go home separately. We have to go home together. Home meaning my home.” Sonic said as he pulled her close to him.

“No, we are going to Trixie’s home. My house is more refined than your hovel.” Trixie said as she pulled him close to her.

“Don’t start this now.” Sonic said as he rolled his eyes.

“Fine, then we’ll flip a coin. I call heads.” Trixie said as she pulled out a coin from her pocket. 

“Okay, I call- wait a minute let me see that coin.” Sonic said as he took the coin from Trixie. He inspected it and then he frowned. “This is double-sided. You were going to double-cross me. We go to my house by default! ”

“Trixie refuses.” Trixie said as she crossed her arms and turned away from him.

“What’s to stop me dragging you there as I run home?” Sonic said.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie will kick you in the groin before you even try.” Trixie replied as she turned to him and got up in his face.

“All right, we’ll compromise.” Sonic said as he pushed her back gently.

“How?” Trixie asked.

Later Sonic and Trixie were in the library. She was on the couch with a blue blanket  while Sonic was on the floor with a pillow. 

“You’d better not snore.” Sonic warned.

“Shut up and go to sleep.” Trixie said.

Sonic was then having a dream. In his dream, he was on a beach sunbathing on a red chair, wearing a red bathing suit. There from the skies, a giant plate came down in front of him, displaying a giant Chili-Dog as Sonic looked on in awe and eagerly came out of his seat.

"Aw, sweet! Come to Papa!" He exclaimed as he jumped and dashed towards it. Sonic then began to nibble it due to how large it was.

In real life, Sonic was lying down next to Trixie, his arms wrapped around her as he nibbled her ear. Trixie giggled as she had a smile on her face.

“What’s going on here?!” Miss Cheerilee shouted which woke up Sonic and Trixie. Both of them noticed each other and screamed as they jumped away from one another as Sonic dashed away from her quickly. 

“When I paired you two up, I wanted to help you overcome your differences and maybe become friends. But I never expected you this to happen!” Miss Cheerilee shouted with disappointment.

“No, it’s not what it looks like! I was having a dream I was eating a giant child dog!” Sonic explained quickly. 

“I was dreaming that I got praised for my magic show, and was awarded the Most Talented Person in the universe award. My dreams are realistic, unlike his. !” Trixie said as she pointed at him in an accusing manner.

“ You two have broken a big rule. I'm afraid I’ll have to take you to Principle Celestia now.” Miss Cheerilee said with a sigh.  Trixie turned pale at the mention of that.

“What? No! Principle Celestia will cancel my show if she finds out about this! Please don’t tell her!” Trixie begged as she got on her knees and held on to Ms. Cherilee's left leg.

Sonic saw how dejected Trixie was.  He felt a little bad for her. He then decided to pitch in to help as he spoke up. 

“Listen. Miss Cheerilee. We were both working on our project but we stayed in the library too late, and lost track of time. We were just tired from working hard. Nothing happened. I promise.” Sonic said as he approached her and raised his hands.

Miss Cheerilee saw the sincerity in his eyes. She then sighed.

“All right. I’ll let it go. Just do well on your project all right?” She said. Trixie stood up after letting go of Cherilee's leg, with surprise. Miss Cherilee walked away.

“Well, I’m glad that worked. I guess you can still perform your show, Trixie.” Sonic said as he came next to her.

“My show! It’s tonight, and I didn’t practice. Plus I’m still stuck with you!” Trixie said with panic as she grabbed her face.

“Oh, thanks Sonic for saving my show,” Sonic said to himself, annoyed that he wasn't thanked at all. 

“We need to separate now!” Trixie said as she looked at him with desperation. 

“Well, I’m out of ideas.” Sonic said. “Excuse me I have to use the bathroom”. Sonic them ran off, hoping the chain would extend long enough for him to reach the bathroom. It did.

“What am I going to do?” Trixie said as she sat down on the couch. Just then an ad from a magazine lying on the table caught her eye. She then picked it up. It was a small purple slip of paper. 

“Need to solve any problem? Desperate? Rich? Then call Team Hooligan at 0005468994. You tried the rest, now get the best.” Trixie said as she read the ad out loud. “At this point, I’ll try anything to save my show.” Trixie then got out her phone and dialed the number.

In the evening, the CHS auditorium was full with students, and faculty, including Sonic's friends except Shadow of course. Trixie was hiding behind the curtain and looked nervous as she rubbed her hands together. She was wearing her performance outfit from the climax of Rainbow Rocks with the blue wizard hat and cape with yellow stars. Sonic then came up to her.

“You okay?” He asked.

“No, Trixie is not okay! The auditorium is full of people, I didn’t practice to my fullest, and I’m still handcuffed to you.(Where are the Hooligans?)” Trixie snapped. She then started to breathe quickly.

“Look, Trixie, we might not like each other, but I still don’t want you to mess this up. Just give it your best.” Sonic said as he gave her thumbs up with a smile.

She slightly smiled at his gesture. The lights on the stage were then shining, which she then noticed.

“Oh, that’s my cue. Just stay here, and don’t move. By the way Sonic, thanks.” Trixie said with a smile as she walked to the stage. Sonic also smiled. A dark large figure then approached Sonic from the behind.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Great and Powerful Trixie’s one stage magic show.(Yes I got it right). I assure you that tonight-“Trixie started to say as she was on the stage loudly. She was interrupted by Sonic sliding against the floor, having been punched. The audience gasped. Trixie looked down at him with shock.

“Sonic?! What are you doing?!” Trixie shouted.

“It’s not me.” Sonic said as he got up.

Bark, wearing a brown scarf with a large white jacket, brown gloves and a green hat.  then appeared and tried to punch Sonic, but Sonic jumped, and instead he hit the ground, making a hole in it. Trixie gasped. He tried to punch Sonic many times, but Sonic dodged them and kicked Bark in the face sending him staggering back a bit.

“Bark, why are you even here?” Sonic asked. Just then a bomb was thrown at Sonic, who dodged it as it exploded. Trixie held her head to take cover. More bombs were thrown, but Sonic easily avoided them. The stage was being ruined by them as holes appeared everywhere and the curtains were ripped. The audience gasped and looked on. Bean, wearing a yellow scarf and having short green hair,  then appeared with a grin.

“This is just perfect.” Sonic muttered.

“Hey Speedy Mcquickness. It’s Bean!” Bean said with delight as he threw a bomb.

“I know who you are.” Sonic said as he kicked the bomb up and it exploded. He rushed towards Bean and punched him,  before kicking him in the face. Bean slid against the ground and laughed. Bark grabbed Sonic, with a bear hug from the behind,  but Sonic vibrated and blew him away with the vibration force.

“All right. You two are here, that also means-“ Sonic started to say as he barely dodged a laser beam.
He looked up to see Fang, with this teal hat and boots, purple and white jacket, purple hair and large canine, holding a laser rifle on top of the stage. Sonic jumped as he shot another beam and punched him, sending him to the ground but Bark caught him. Bean joined up with them.

“-Fang is with you.” Sonic finished.

“Long time no see Sonic. We were in the neighborhood on a job when we saw you and decided to take a side detour. The Hooligans have a score to settle with you.” Fang said as he cracked his knuckles.

“Wait, you’re the Hooligans?” Trixie asked them from behind. 

“How do you know them?” Sonic asked as he turned to her.

“I hired them to separate us.” Trixie explained.

“You did what?!” Sonic exclaimed. He looked at her as if she was crazy.

“You’re the girl with the handcuff problem? What a lucky coincidence. Not only do we get to ice Sonic, but we also get to do it on a job.” Fang said as he tried to shoot Sonic, who dodged the beam.  Sonic rushed and hit him with an uppercut. Bark threw a punch, but Sonic grabbed his arm, and used it to spin Bark around at super-speed before throwing him at the ceiling. Bean threw multiple bombs, but Sonic moved past them.  The stage was getting more ruined as the curtains were now rags and the stage was mostly filled with holes. The lights fell down around Trixie. The audience looked on in disbelief. 

“The stage!” Trixie shouted as she held her head.

“Is that all you care about?” Sonic asked in disbelief as he turned to her. Bark then lifted Sonic in the air with a punch, Bean threw a bomb that blew Sonic crashing into the ground. Fang then came up to Sonic and aimed the rifle at his head.

“Any last words?” He said with a grin.

“Just a few. Fang is a stupid name.” Sonic said.

“I’m just going to pull the trigger now.” Fang said.

Just as Fang pulled the trigger, Sonic used the handcuff to deflect the laser beam into Bark’s face sending him crashing the to ground. He then rushed and wrapped the chain around Fang’s neck, and slammed him into the ground. He then lifted Fang up and threw him at high speed into Bean, sending both of them crashing into the wall. The Hooligans were down as they groaned. Sonic was huffing. Trixie then angrily marched towards him, avoiding holes in the ground.

“Sonic!!! You ruined my show. This was my time to shine, and you stole it from me! You should be ashamed of yourself you-“Trixie started to say. Sonic couldn't believe what he was hearing. His face turned into one of anger and he swiped his hand in front of her to interrupt her.

“No, shut up!” Sonic said, cutting her off furiously, which took her by surprise. She never thought Sonic could act like this. “I just get attacked and nearly killed, but all you care about is your stupid stage show! This is why no-one likes you!”

“What do you mean? Everybody loves Trixie!” Trixie declared.

“No, they don’t! They find you to be an annoying braggart, who only talks about how much “talent” she has, when really you’re talent-less! You couldn’t pull off the cheapest card trick! Seriously all you do is never shut up about how the “Great” and “Powerful” Trixie does this, and that. No-one cares! Why do you even refer to yourself in the third person?!  Who does that?! Quit acting like a spoiled little brat, and just realize that you have no power, you’re not great, and you’re a selfish, terrible person who will never be more than a wannabe, cheap, magician!” Sonic shouted.

Sonic was breathing heavily. He then looked at Trixie and was going to give her more of his mind, but he saw tears in Trixie’s eyes and she started to wobble. He then felt guilty and calmed down.

“Listen, Trixie I-“Sonic started to say before Trixie ran off crying behind off the stage . The whole auditorium was looking up at Sonic, but he ignored them.  He then went to follow Trixie.

Trixie was sitting near the end of the stage, crying softly. Sonic then came up to her from the behind.  He felt terrible. He reached his hand out to her. 

“Umm, Trixie.” Sonic said as he approached her.

“How did you find me?” Trixie said sadly, as she looked up at him with tearful eyes. 

“This.” Sonic said as he pointed to his handcuffs as he lifted them up. “Listen, I’m sorry. That was too much.”

“Yeah, it was.” Trixie agreed.

“But this wouldn’t have gotten out of hand if you just didn’t keep throwing your stage show in my face.” Sonic said as he sat down next to her.

Trixie sighed and turned to him.

“Listen, Sonic. The reason I cared so much about my stage-show is that I felt it would be the one moment where everyone could see me shine. I just wanted people to know that I work hard in order to be a magician and it’s something I actually want to be able to back up. That way people will like me if their impressed by me. But you’re right, I am talent-less.” Trixie explained as she buried her head in her hands.

“Trixie, you’re not talent-less. I didn’t mean what I said. I was just angry. Don’t give up your dream because of some stupid words I said. Honestly, I think you are pretty talented. Especially with how you can pull of all those tricks so quickly. It makes me proud.” Sonic said as he put his hand on her shoulder.

Trixie looked up at him. Sonic smiled at her, and she smiled back. She then rose up.

“I’m sorry for the way I treated you Sonic. If I had just been willing to cooperate none of this would have happened. I didn’t mean for the fiasco with the Hooligans to happen. Can you forgive me?” Trixie said.

“That depends. Can you forgive me?” Sonic said.

She nodded.

“Then yes.” Sonic said with a smile. Sonic and Trixie then hugged. Just then the handcuffs turned silver and detached themselves from Sonic and Trixie. Both of them looked at the pair lying on the ground.

“Really? All it took was a hug?!” Trixie exclaimed. She couldn't believe it.

Sonic then picked up the handcuffs and looked at them. There was an inscription on them.

“The bonds of hate can only be broken by the bonds of peace. This is the cheesiest thing I have ever read. I’m going to destroy these so no-one will ever suffer as we did.” Sonic said as he started to walk away and he lifted up the handcuffs.

“Wait, Sonic.” Trixie said, making him turn around. “We still have that paper due on Monday. How about tomorrow we work on it? Together.”

Sonic then smiled and nodded
> Ifrit 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ifrit

A yellow swirling portal opened up in the sky of the Chaotic Inferno Zone, a land ravaged by flames and destruction with ruined buildings everywhere with a red sky. A  yellow Time Stone fell out of the portal and began to fall through. The Time Stone then landed  on the top of a monster's head.  It had a tail made of red and orange flames, while it's lower body was covered in dark brown rocks with yellow rounded rocks. It's had a flaming torso and its upper body was the same as the lower half. Its neck was made of flames at its head was covered in yellow rock, with dark brown rock horns. Its upper wings were covered in rock on the top and made of fire. Once it came into contact with it, the monster roared and started glowing yellowing before disappearing in a golden flash of light. 

At the Canterlot mall in the afternoon, Rarity was walking through with 4 of shopping bag on her arms.  She was smiling with delight and hummed slightly.

“This is perfect. I love going to the mall. Every time I go, I always find some new material to use for my clothes.” Rarity said happily. “This fabric is so soft, and has the perfect color!” She said as she stopped walking and took out a white fabric from one of her shopping bags. She admired it greatly.

“Well, I do say, that fabric is out of style by at least 2 months.” A male voice said snobbily, making Rarity turn around and lower the fabric. She was then facing Jet Set, a boy with gray skin, jet black hair well combed, a green sweater tied around his neck and two small glasses underneath his eyes. Upper Crust, a girl wearing with yellow skin, lavender wavy hair with a white stripe and wearing a purple skirt and top, was next to him along with Suri Polomare, who was wearing the same and had pink skin with dark purple hair and Coco Pommel, who was holding a bunch of bags with material for Suri, making only her feet visible and she seemed to struggle to hold them. Rarity put on a fake smile.

“Well, if it isn’t you three? I would say this is a pleasure, but my mother taught me lying is wrong.” Rarity said.

“Well, Rarity, I see using rags as material is not the only thing you’ve been up to. Your sense of humor has improved.” Suri said with fake sincerity and a sly smile.

“Well you would know about rags wouldn’t your Suri? Considering that’s all you seem to wear.” Rarity said smugly.

“What?!” Suri said angrily as she glared at Rarity.

“Umm, Suri? Can I sit down? All these bags are really heavy.” Coco asked meekly from behind the bags.

“Shut up Coco. I said you could come with us if you were quiet, which you’re not being right now.” Suri said as she turned and snapped at Coco. 

“If I may ask, why did you choose to bother me today?” Rarity asked, looking disinterested.

“Oh, Rarity don’t be like that. We're all fellow fashionistas. We just wanted to check on you. See how you’re doing. Wanted to tell you about our invitations to Fancy Pant’s welcoming party.” Upper Crust said with a smug look. Rarity's eyes widened at what she had said and she dropped her bags as she gasped.

“What?! Fancy Pants will be in town and he’s having a party?! This is perfect! I can show off my designs to him! If he approves them, I’ll be set for life with my fashion business!” Rarity squealed as she grabbed her hands together.

“Ah, but there’s a small catch. His party is invitations only. Like these.” Jet Set said as he, Upper Crust, and Suri pulled out blue and white envelopes with a gold seal from their pockets with a smile.

“Invites only? Then how am I going to get him to see my designs?” Rarity said dejectedly as her shoulders sunk.

“Well, not that it’s a big deal, but we do have an extra invite, m’kay.” Suri said as she pulled out another envelope. Rarity’s face then brightened briefly as she rose up, before turning sour and she crossed her arms.

“So this is why you came. To brag about your chances to meet Fancy Pants in front of me. I would say this is beneath you, but I know it isn’t.” Rarity said angrily.

“Rarity, don’t be too sad. I’m sure we could come to a compromise. Say, in exchange for the invitation, you beg on your knees.” Suri said with a smirk.

“Beg to you?! Never!” Rarity declared.

“Oh, well.” Suri said as she went to rip the envelope as she smiled. Rarity gasped in panic,

“No wait!” Rarity shouted as she held her hand out. Suri smirked at her smugly along with Upper Crust and Jet Set.

“(What do I do? I really want to go, but I can’t sacrifice my dignity in front of these snobs.)” Rarity thought to herself as she bit her lip.

Suri continued smirking until something caught her eye from behind Rarity. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped.

“Who is that?!” She said as she pointed with  surprise causing, everyone present to look in her direction. Once Upper Crust saw what Suri was looking at, she also got the same look of happy surprise as she put her hands to her mouth.

“He is simply magnificent! Just look at him!” She exclaimed with delight, holding her hands together.

“Where? I want to see too.” Coco said. Suri ignored her and continued to admire the object of her sight.

Silver was walking down the mall. He was looking around with a puzzled look on his face. Suri and Upper Crust stared at him with great admiration.

“Look at those clothes.” Suri said dreamily.

“And that hair with those boots. Those golden rings. It’s simply divine! Wouldn’t you agree, Jet Set?” Upper Crust said as she turned to him.

“Well, it’s not bad.” Jet Set with some jealously as he frowned slightly.

“You mean Silver?” Rarity asked them. Upper Crust and Suri turned towards her quickly.

“You know him?” Upper Crust asked impressed.

“Sure, I do he’s-(wait, I have an idea!)........ my boyfriend.” Rarity said with a smile on her face. This caused Upper Crust and Suri to gasp.

“He is?! Rarity you must introduce us to him.” Suri insisted.

“Why, of course. Anything for fellow fashionistas.” Rarity said with a grin. “Silver!”

Silver heard his name being called and he looked around. He then saw Rarity waving towards him and beckoning him over. Silver then walked over to them.

“Hi, Silvy.” Rarity said with a flirtatious tone as she wiggled her fingers at him.

“Hey, umm, uhh you.” Silver said confused.

“Oh, Silvy. You’re so funny.” Rarity said as she wrapped her arms around him and looked at him with a flirty look. Silver looked at her awkwardly. He wasn’t sure what was going on. His eyes darted back and forth.

“Silvy, these are Jet Set, Upper Crust, Suri Polomare, and Coco Pommel.” Rarity said introducing them to him and he turned to them. Upper Crust, and Suri continued to admire Silver while Jet Set looked annoyed as he crossed his arms , and Coco struggled with the bags.

“Your clothes and style are really fabulous. Where did you get them?” Suri asked eagerly.

“Well, I don’t think the middle of the mall is really the best place to discuss fashion. If only there was some other place that was more sophisticated.” Rarity said answering for him with a smile.

Suri then, with great speed, put the envelope to Fancy Pants’ party in her hand.

“Rarity, did we forget to mention that Fancy Pants is in town and is hosting a party? You should come definitely. Provided you bring him.” Upper Crust said as she pointed at Silver.

“We’ll be there!” Rarity shouted with delight, causing some people passing by to stare at her. She quickly became embarrassed as she blushed slightly and calmed down.

“It’ll be so good to have both of you there.” Suri said as she winked at Silver. “We should get going.” Suri, Upper Crust, and Jet Set then turned around to walk away.

“I still want to see who you’re talking about.” Coco said.

“Shut up, Coco, and follow me!” Suri shouted, causing Coco to hasten to follow her. As they walked away, Rarity stood with delight while Silver was confused.

“Can you please explain to me what just happened?” Silver asked as he faced her.

“Why, of course, darling. You see Fancy Pants, the most important person to know is having a little social and if I can get him to see my fashion designs it will be perfect!” Rarity happily explained.

“I still don’t see what this has to do with me.” Silver replied.

“Well, those three I was talking to had an invitation to the party he was hosting. The problem is that they don’t really like me. But, when they saw you, they were smitten with your sense of fashion. So in order for them to invite me, I said you were my boyfriend.” Rarity said as she pointed to him.

“Boyfriend? But I’m not. I don’t even know your name.” Silver protested.

“My name is Rarity by the way. Listen, just play along with it. This is my chance to be discovered at the party!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Yeah, well I’m going to have to pass. I’m not going to that party. I’m already stuck in this time period. I can’t interact with too many people here. Who knows how many time paradoxes I’m causing just being here?" Silver explained.

“You're here at the mall, where’s there’s plenty of people.” Rarity pointed out.

“Well, I came here by accident. Sonic kicked me out the house because he said all I do is sit on the couch, and watch TV all day. But, can you blame me? Where I come from there is no TV. But beside the point, my answer is no.” Silver insisted.

“Please, Silver. This is my one chance to be discovered and promote my designs. My whole future is at stake here.” Rarity begged.

Silver wanted to say no, but the look on Rarity’s face was filled with so much desperation he couldn’t say no. He then sighed loudly.

“Okay, fine. I’ll play along for now. But I won’t socialize with anyone or give them too much information about me.” Silver said.

“Perfect! Don’t worry, I’ll do all the talking.” Rarity said as she stood up happily. She then grabbed his hand and started to drag him along through the mall's exit.

“Hey, where are you taking me?” Silver asked.

“Back to my shop. We need to prepare for the party.” Rarity said.

Silver and Rarity then entered the Carousel Boutique and went upstairs to Rarity's room. Rarity then placed Silver on a modeling platform in the middle of her room and he stuck his arms out. She then started to measure him wearing her eye glasses and measuring tape.

“What are you doing?” Silver asked as she measured.

“I’m measuring you to make you a suit for the party. It has to be perfect.” Rarity said as she finished measuring him, and started to cut some white fabric from the shopping bag she had placed on her. A while later, she had finished her suit and gave it to Silver. She then pushed him into changing room in the corner of her room, and he then came out wearing the suit shortly after. It was completely white and had a cyan tie on it .Rarity giggled as she saw Silver wear it and handed him white dress shoes to put on.

“This is perfect! You look like the perfect boyfriend!” Rarity exclaimed happily. 

“Did someone say, boyfriend?” Sweetie Belle said as she and Rarity’s parents, one of them being a man with white skin, wearing blue pants and a shirt with brown hair and a mustache, while the other was a woman with pink skin, purple hair in a beehive, wearing an orange top and white pants with white pearls around her neck, walked into Rarity's room. Both of them looked delighted. as they smiled.

“Rarity, why didn’t you tell us you had a boyfriend. This is so wonderful!” Cookie Crumbles said as she took Rarity’s hand.

“No, mother, listen-“Rarity began to say as she was interrupted by Hondo Flanks walking over and patting Silver on the back. Silver staggered at this.

“Well, look at the mop on you.” Hondo Flanks said as he ruffled Silver’s hair. So you’re the lucky guy who took my little girls heart. What’s your name. son?” He asked Silver.

“(I can’t interact with them too much. Who knows how time will be affected).” Silver thought. Instead of saying anything, he just nodded and smiled.

“Well, what is it?” Hondo Flanks asked again. Silver just continued to nod. He looked at Silver strangely.

“He doesn’t talk much.” Rarity explained. “His name is Silver and-“

“Ahh, the silent type. He looks like a nice guy. Welcome to the family, Silver.” Hondo Flanks said as he gave Silver a bone crushing hug. Silver had “help me” written all over his face as he turned to Rarity. Rarity sighed before looking at her watch. It was 5:30 pm and she gasped.

“It’s 5:30! I have to get ready for the party! Sweetie Belle help me put on my dress.” Rarity said as she took Sweetie Belle and pushed her parents out of the room alongside Silver, leaving him with them. She then slammed the door. Silver smiled nervously as they grinned at him.

“Who’s up for some family videos?” Cookie Crumbles said she pulled out some tapes. Silver looked unsure. 

“So, Silver really isn’t your boyfriend?” Sweetie Belle was saying as she helped zip up Rarity’s dress from the behind(from the first Equestria Girls movie, a small blue dress).

“Yes. It’s just so I can show up those Crystal Prep snobs, and impress Fancy Pants with my designs. And before you ask, yes he’s in on the plan.” Rarity explained as she turned and faced Sweetie Belle.

“But Rarity,  if this works and your clothes get noticed, won’t this mean that you’re building you future off a lie?” Sweetie Belle asked confused

“Sweetie Belle, it’s not lying. It’s more like creative event fabrication.” Rarity said placing her hand on her shoulder.

“Sounds like lying to me.” Sweetie Belle said. 

“Sweetie Belle, you’ll understand when you're older.” Rarity said. 

Downstairs, Silver was watching family tapes with Rarity’s parents on the couch in the living room. His face showed discomfort and he squirmed as he sat between them.

“This is the time we went to the water park when Rarity was eight, and she lost her swimsuit. It was so funny. Especially when she used a pool noodle to cover herself.” Cookie Crumbles explained with a smile.

“Say, how about after this one we watch Sweetie Belle’s Birth. Now there was a lot of screaming.” Hondo Flanks said. Silver's eyes widened upon hearing that.

“NO!” Silver shouted as he stood up from the couch.

“Silver, it’s time to go. The party’s almost starting.” Rarity said, arriving back downstairs holding a large cardboard box with papers containing Rarity's designs for dresses.

“Yes, let’s go. Now.” Silver said.

“Well, Silver enjoy your time out with our daughter. Have her home by 10 and here’s a little something extra.” Hondo Flanks said as he put 50 dollars in Silver’s hand and shook his hand firmly. Silver and Rarity then left as they exited the door and walked into the sidewalk. It was the evening now and the sky was dark blue.

“Your family is…interesting.” Silver said as he turned to her.

“They’re a bit enthusiastic, but they mean well.” Rarity said she struggled to carry the box, due to its weight.

“Here, let me help you that.” Silver said as he used his psychokinesis to carry the box as it glowed green

“Thanks, Silver. If only I had the power to levitate objects with my mind. Imagine how much work I could get done.” Rarity said as they walked on. 

Silver and Rarity then arrived in front of a large white mansion with blue decoration that had multiple lights coming out of it. It had a large banner that said WELCOME FANCY PANTS written in blue. 

Silver and Rarity went to walk inside to the entrance, but before they did ,Silver let go of the box and placed it on the ground.

“What are you doing?” Rarity said with confusion as she again picked up the box and struggled to hold it,

“Can’t use my powers in public. Too many witnesses and if too many people know about me or my powers then time-.” Silver was saying.

“Yes, yes, time will end or something. You need to calm down sometimes darling.” Rarity said as she and Silver walked in.

The inside was enormous. The floor was checkered white and blue and there were large windows, which gave a view of the entire city. There were white banners around with purple curtains and a large ice statue of a unicorn in the center. The tables were decorated with a white cloth and had different kinds of exotic food and a white bowl containing a red liquid and a chocolate fountain. People were wearing suits and dresses and were having drinks while socializing and chatting with each other. Rarity looked on with awe at the scene, while Silver too looked impressed.

“Silver, tell me if you see Fancy Pants.” Rarity said as she turned to him.

“Yes, let me point out the guy, I’ve never seen before.” Silver said.

“Well aren’t you psychic?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, but not a telepath.” Silver explained.

“Rarity! Silver! Over here!” Suri called to both of them as she waved. Rarity rolled her eyes and didn’t want to come, but out of politeness walked over with Silver. Jet Set, Coco, and Upper Crust were also there. Jet Set was wearing a black suit, while Suri wore a short lavender dress with Upper Crust wearing a short orange one. Coco wore a short indigo dress as well and looked meek as they arrived. She had short blue hair and light beige skin.

“I’m so glad you could make it Silver m’kay.” Suri said to him sweetly.

“I as well.” Upper Crust added in awe, causing Jet Set to get a sour look on his face as he glared at Silver. Silver just nodded. 

“Well, as-.” Rarity began to say.

“Yeah, we’re not talking to you.” Suri interrupted causing Rarity to raise an eyebrow as Sur put her hand in front of her face. “So Silver, who does your hair? I absolutely love it.”

Silver didn’t say anything and instead continued to nod with a grin.

“Well, out with it.” Upper Crust said. Silver just continued to nod, causing both of them to become a little irritated as they frowned.

“Maybe he’s shy.” Coco suggested.

“I didn’t ask you, Coco. When I want your opinion, I’ll address you.” Suri said as she turned to her. Coco looked down on the ground.

“Well, that’s no way to talk your friend, Suri.” Rarity said as she glared at her.

“Coco isn’t my friend. She’s an assistant.” Suri said bluntly facing Rarity.

“I think Silver and I will go talk to other people.” Rarity said as she pulled his arm and walked away with him to the table with the chocolate fountain. Suri and Upper Crust frowned while Jet Set did a slight smile.

“Every time I see them, I’m always reminded of how stuck-up they are.” Rarity said with a groan. Silver nodded.

“Are you going to just keep nodding every time someone talks to you?” Rarity asked.

“I have to limit my past interactions to a minimum.” Silver responded.

“Silver, just because you talk to someone, that won’t mean some horrible monster is going to show up due to some weird time crisis. Relax.” Rarity said. She then stopped in her tracks She then saw Fancy Pants talking with a crowd. He was had white skin and blue neat hair, complete with a blue mustache. He was wearing a black suit with a purple bow tie and he had an eyeglass on his right eye.

“It’s Fancy Pants!” Rarity exclaimed as she went over to him with her box, leaving Silver. He just shrugged and turned to his right and walked in that direction.

“So I said, what a great car. I have three just like those.” Fancy Pants causing the crowd around him to laugh as he held a drinking glass. Rarity then approached him from behind with her box.

“Um, excuse me, Mr. Fancy Pants.” Rarity said shyly. Fancy Pants heard her speak and he turned around to see here along with the crowd.

“Why, hello there.” Fancy Pants said warmly.

“Mr. Fancy Pants, my name is Rarity, and I would just like to say what a huge honor it is to meet someone like you. I’m an aspiring fashion designer and I wondering if you could take some time to look at my designs.” Rarity said as she pulled out some papers with designs from her box,

“Listen, Fancy Pants doesn’t have time for-“a man in the crowd began to say before Fancy Pants cut him off with a hand signal. He then looked at the designs Rarity had as he took them in his hand. His face broke out into a smile.

“I must say these designs are absolutely simple but breathtakingly charming. You do have some talent young lady.” Fancy Pants said as he turned to her, causing Rarity to beam. She couldn't believe it

Meanwhile, Silver was in a corner by himself trying not to talk with anyone.  He had his back against the wall and took a sip from his glass. He then saw Coco walking with three glasses of water. She had trouble holding them and then She  accidentally pumped into Upper Crust and spilled water on her as she dropped the three glasses. Upper Crust looked at her with anger while Coco put her hands over her mouth.

“Watch, where you’re going you buffoon!” Upper Crust said angrily.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t-“ Coco was saying as she tried to help dry Upper Crust off, Upper Crust refused her help. Just then Suri came over.

“What’s going on?” She asked.

“You’re incompetent assistant spilled water on my dress! I expect to be fully compensated for this Suri!” Upper Crust said angrily. Suri then turned towards Coco angry as she looked meek.

“Can’t you do anything without messing it up? Ugh, why do I even bother to keep you around? You’re so useless!” Suri said making Coco shrink back as she looked down on the ground.

“(Just ignore it, Silver. You can’t interact too much with the past.)” Silver thought to himself as he tried to look away.

“Suri-“Coco started to say.

“Just shut up. I should have you kicked out of here considering all you’re going to do is ruin it for everyone!” Suri threatened. Coco looked like she was about to cry as her eyes filled up with tears. Silver saw this and he couldn't take it anymore.

“(Damn it).” Silver thought as he walked over. He then came between Suri and Coco. Suri noticed this.

“Silver, so nice to see you again.” Suri said with a smile.

“Yeah, well I don’t feel the same way. Quit bullying her.” Silver said with a frown. Suri was taken back.

“Who?” Suri asked confused.

“Your assistant. I’ve seen the way you treat her. She just made a mistake. Let it go.” Silver said. “Both of you”. Silver then turned to Upper Crust with a glare.

“Listen, you don’t want to be associated with her. She’s just-“ Suri began.

“Shut up.” Silver said surprising her as he pointed at her. “I don’t know who she is, but I’m pretty sure I’d rather get to know her than a bunch of snobby jerks like you two.” He then turned to Coco. “Are you okay?” She nodded with surprise.

“How dare you speak to me that way?!” Upper Crust said angrily. “Jet Set!” He was over by the food table and he heard his name being called. He walked over.

“What’s the problem, darling?” He said to Upper Crust.

“This ruffian insulted Suri and I. Teach him a lesson.” Upper Crust demanded as she pointed to Silver. He then turned to Silver with a menacing grin.

“I’ve wanted to do this since I first saw you.” Jet said as he approached Silver. Silver prepared for a fight as he rose his fist, but Jet Set just grabbed Silver sleeve and ripped it. 

“Take that.” Jet Set said smugly. Silver looked at his sleeve and then him.

“Is that it? You just ripped my sleeve. Not even a punch or anything?” Silver asked bewildered. 

“Yes, now you’ll have to spend the rest of the party unsymmetrical.” He then let out an upper-class snobbish laugh.

“You know I’m going to enjoy this.” Silver said as he cracked his knuckles. As Silver walked towards Jet Set, a yellow swirling portal opened in front of him. He and the others looked in shock as their eyes widened. A fiery tail appeared and it smacked Silver away to the wall. Then, the portal grew larger as the Ifrit came out of it as it burst through the ceiling, making rubble fall. It then the let out a huge roar. People started screaming and running in a panic. The Ifrit started to fire fireballs destroying a few windows, tables, and walls. A fireball almost hit Fancy Pants but Rarity tackled him out of the way to the ground. He looked up at her in surprise.

“You saved my life.” Fancy Pants said. Rarity nodded and ran off to where Silver was at the wall. He was coming too and Rarity helped him up.

“What is that?!” Rarity exclaimed.

“It’s something called the Ifrit. My master told me about it once, but I never thought I would meet it. What is it even doing here?” Silver explained. The Ifrit shot another fireball at Silver and Rarity ,but he used his psychic powers to pull both of them out of the way. Silver then flew towards the Ifrit after he placed Rarity on the ground. It shot fireballs at him, but he dodged them as they  hit the ground. Silver picked up some debris and threw it at the Ifrit with telekinesis, but it shrugged him off. The Ifrit shot another fireball, but Silver used his powers to hold it and throw it back at the Ifrit which made it stagger.  He then shot a psychic blast at the Ifrit which only annoyed it. It then smacked Silver with its tail and he hit the wall. 

“I’ve got to do something.” Rarity said looking around. “But what?” Rarity saw her box and  then went to it. She concentrated on her love of fashion as she clutched it. She soon then ponied up as she rose up. The Ifrit shot a fireball at Silver but ,Rarity shot diamonds from her hand, which made a shield to block the attack. She then shot more diamonds to blow it back as it roared and moved back. She then went to help Silver up. Silver looked at her with amazement as he took her hand.

“Okay, I think you’ve just earned some major awesome points in my book.” Silver said impressed.

The Ifrit then roared and fired more fire balls. Silver and Rarity flew towards it. Rarity used diamonds to reflect the fireballs, while Silver controlled them with telekinesis to shoot them back. The Ifrit was then hit with its own fireballs and roared in pain. Rarity used her diamonds to make a chain which she wrapped around the Ifrit’s head holding it in place for Silver to shoot psychic blast on it. While blasting it, Silver noticed in the Ifrit’s head was a Time Stone. He then briefly stopped his attack in surprise, allowing the Ifrit to break free of Rarity’s chain and smack both of them to the ground and crashing into tables with its wings. Both of them then got up.

“Look at me. I’m a mess because of that monster.” Rarity groaned as she looked at her dress which was slightly torn and she turned to Silver. “Silver why did you stop?”

“The Ifrit has a time stone. I think it’s the same one that I lost. That’s how it came here. If I can get the time stone, maybe I can send it back to where it came from as well as get myself home. Cover me. ” Silver instructed. He then flew towards the head of the Ifrit, while Rarity used her diamonds to shield Silver from its fireballs. When the Ifrit raised opened its mouth for another attack, Rarity shot diamonds at its chin, causing it to be briefly stunned. This allowed Silver to use his psychokinesis to remove the Time Stone from the Ifrit’s head and he levitated it above.

“Chronos Control!” Silver shouted creating a portal behind the Ifrit. The Ifrit then turned around to see the portal and turned back to Silver and fired a giant fireball.

“Now Rarity!” Silver said as he unleashed a wave of psychokinesis and she released a wave of diamonds that pushed the fireball back to the Ifrit and hit its body into the portal, but before the Ifrit fully went into the portal it, fired a stream of fire, which burned the Time Stone into cinders. closing the portal as the Ifrit went back to its world. The mansion was in ruins with holes in the wall and ground and the ceiling was destroyed.

“NOOOOOO!” Silver shouted. He then dropped to the ground dejected and on his knees. “That Time Stone was my only way home. Now I really am stuck here!” Silver exclaimed. He then buried his face in his hands. Rarity came up to him and put her hand on Silver’s shoulder. He looked at her and she smiled.

“Silver, I’m sorry. But it wasn’t a total loss. You saved a lot of lives today. That should count for something”. Rarity said warmly.

“Yeah, I guess, but now my one chance to get home is totally ruined.” Silver said depressed.

“Um excuse me.” Coco said as she came over to Silver, causing him to look at he as he stood up. “I just wanted to say thank you for saving all of us from that monster. And for standing up for me.” She said with a shy smile. 

“See?” Rarity said. Silver then looked at Rarity and grinned. He then returned Coco’s smile. Just then Fancy Pants came up to Silver and Rarity. He had a look of shock on his face. She looked worried as she saw him.

“Mr. Fancy Pants, I can explain-“ Rarity began to say.

“Speak no more.” Fancy Pants interrupted. “I don’t know what that was, but Miss Rarity, you were fantastic! Not only did you save my life, but you got rid of that horrible monster! You really are definitely someone knowing.” This caused Rarity to squeal.

“We simply must chat more about your designs as I would love to see more of them. But first, I need to go make some calls to take care of this mess. See you around Miss Rarity.” Fancy Pants as he walked off. Rarity had the biggest smile on her face and she jumped for joy.

“I guess you got what you got what you wanted after all.Rarity.” Silver said.

“Yes, I did. But I couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you, Silver.” Rarity said as she landed on the ground. The two of them then hugged. Just then, voices were heard under some nearby debris. 

“Hello? Is anyone there?” Jet Set called.

“Someone get us out of here! My dress is being covered in dust!” Upper Crust cried.

“Coco, do I hear your voice? Coco dig me out!” Suri called.

Silver and Rarity motioned for Coco to leave, which she did as she exited through the door,

“Hmm, did you hear something Rarity?” Silver asked with a grin.

“Nope. Must’ve been the wind Silver.” Rarity said as she smiled.

“Let’s go. I promised your dad I would have you home by 10 and it's almost 9:30” Silver said.

Both of them walked off through the door, leaving Jet Set, Upper Crust, and Suri trapped under the debris as they cried for help.

THE END.
> Shadow Androids
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shadow Androids chapter
It was early morning in the city of Canterlot.  Pinkie Pie was inside the Sugarcube corner at the counter, which was empty aside from her. She received a hot chocolate from Mrs. Cake in a cup. Pinkie then pulled out  whipped cream can from her hair and then she placed it on her drink until the can was empty.  The amount was quite tall and went up to her head. She then drank it very quickly. She had some leftover whipped cream on her face which formed a Santa Claus beard.  She then licked off as her tongue did a swirl around her mouth.

“Delicious! You make the best hot chocolate ever!” Pinkie said happily. 

“I’m glad you enjoyed it Pinkie.” Mrs. Cake said with a smile. “Listen, do you have a minute?”

“Of course, I do! I have 2, 3, 4,5,6,7,8….”Pinkie said as she started to count her fingers. Mrs. Cake then grabbed her hands to gather her attention. They made eye contact.

“Pinkie, my husband and I tomorrow have to leave for the entire day for the Retails Bakers association. The thing is, we can’t take our children with us. We were wondering if you were free tomorrow to spend the day looking after them.” Mrs. Cake explained.

“Absolutely! I would love to spend the entire day with Pumpkin and Pound!” Pinkie said excitedly. “Normally we don’t get to have much fun, but with an entire day, the list is endless!”

“I’m glad you’re up for the task. But can we ask something of you?” Mrs. Cake asked.

“Sure thing!” Pinkie said.

“We were hoping you could have someone else assist you. We trust you and all, but an entire day of babysitting for one person could be quite tedious. So do you mind bringing along someone extra to supervise-er I mean help you out?” Mrs. Cake requested.

“No problem! Doing things I love with my friends makes it much better!” Pinkie said.

“Perfect. Be there around 8 in the morning.” Mrs. Cake said.

Pinkie nodded her head and then she skipped out of the café to head for school. As she was skipping, she then stopped for a moment. She placed her hand on her chin.

“Hmmmmm, now who could I bring along?” Pinkie wondered as she tapped her chin with her index finger. She thought for a while. Just then her eyes widened and she did a wide smile.

“I know just the person!” Pinkie said. She then resumed skipping to head for school.

In the hallway of Canterlot high, Shadow was in front of the vending machine.  The past few days were hectic for him. G.U.N had really cracked down on their mission assignments, cranking  them out like there was no tomorrow. Shadow, wanting to be the top of everything, insisted he take each of them on without rest. But even he had his limitations and he was powering through days with barely any sleep. As a result, his mood was...less than pleasant. Shadow placed a dollar in the slot and then waited for 5 seconds. His dollar came out from the slot. Shadow placed the dollar back in and waited for 5 seconds. His dollar came out again. Shadow pushed his dollar in the slot with two hands and then waited again for 5 seconds. His dollar was returned to him. Shadow firmly pushed the dollar in the vending machine. It came out shortly after 5 seconds. Shadow then punched the vending machine with great force in anger, causing it to crack and break down and drop out a few peanut butter crackers. Shadow then walked off and saw a shocked Flash Sentry in front of him. He was holding out a dollar. He was speechless.

“It’s broken.” Shadow told him. He then walked off. As he walked through the hallway, Pinkie popped up in front of him suddenly, startling him as he jumped back.

“Hi, Shadow!” Pinkie said.

“(Argh, not now.)” Shadow thought to himself. “What do you want?” 

“I was wondering, are you free tomorrow?” Pinkie asked.

“Yes. What of it?” Shadow replied.

“Perfect! In that case, how’d you like to help me babysit the Cake’s babies tomorrow?” Pinkie asked.

“Me? Babysit? Don’t waste my time.” Shadow said as he turned away from her and folded his arms.

“Please?? They said I could bring someone extra.” Pinkie explained as she came in front of him.

“Why’d you choose me of all people? Don’t you have like 5 other friends you could ask?” Shadow said.

“Trueee, but I think babysitting could help you the most. It’s such a great thing to do. With your problems, you could definitely use the benefits.” Pinkie responded. Shadow's ears perked up at the mention of the word problems and he stared at her.

“Problems? What problems? I don’t have any problems! I’m the ultimate lifeform!” Shadow said defensively. 

“Really? Let’s see then.” Pinkie said. She dashed off and then returned wearing a white psychiatric lab coat, complete with the glasses.  She pulled out a long list from her hair. It went down to the ground and extended past the two of them. Pinkie adjusted her glasses.

“What is wrong with Shadow, page 1. Hallucinations, Depression, Violent mood swings, Angst related to memories, Anti-Social tendencies, , Anger issues…” Pinkie read.

“Hey, I don’t have anger issues.” Shadow said at that last point. Just then Sandalwood walked by and he accidentally bumped into Shadow from the behind.

“Oh, sorry dude.” He said politely. Shadow then grabbed him menacingly and he looked scared. He gulped as Shadow pulled him up to his face.

“Next time, watch where you’re going, or I’ll make you really sorry!” Shadow said darkly.  Pinkie looked on and she wrote on the list.

“Does not respond well to kindness and Denial.” She said. Shadow noticed this and he let Sandal go, who then walked off in a hurry.

“Whatever, but still babysitting is not my thing.” Shadow insisted.

“Oh come on. Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” Pinkie begged as she peered into his face.

Shadow rolled his eyes. He knew she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“Fine, I’ll do it.” Shadow grumbled.

“Yaaaay!” Pinkie said. She reached for a hug, but Shadow held his hand out.

“So, what time should I be there?” Shadow asked.

“8 in the morning.” Pinkie replied.

“8? Not a problem then.” Shadow said.

“Great, it’s a date then!” Pinkie said happily as she clasped her hands together and lifted her right leg up.

“I’m not going on a date with you.” Shadow said.

“It’s an expression silly. Anyway, we’re going to have so much fun tomorrow!” Pinkie said. She hugged Shadow very tightly. Shadow then teleported out of her grip, leaving her surprised as usual. Meanwhile, the scene changed to a few blocks away. It was in the middle of a plain.  Eggman was with his Eggmobile, hovering mid-air above the plain. Attached to it with a yellow claw from the behind, were 5 rectangular shaped capsules. They were colored yellow, green, pink, blue and orange. Eggman pressed a red button on his mobile and the claw let the capsules loose and they fell to the ground in the plain. Orbot appeared next to Eggman on his right.

"Sir, is this really such a good idea?" Orbot asked.

"This is the best idea I could come up with for now. These things are too dangerous. I made them too self-aware." Eggman explained. "Now let's get out of here before someone see's us."

Eggman then flew away quickly with the egg mobile.  Shortly after he left, the capsules glowed their respective colors. “Chaos energy detected.” The capsules read. They then started to open up.  5 figures crawled out, shadowed but they all had something in common. Shadow’s hairstyle.

The next day in the morning, the doorbell to the Cake’s house rang. The door was opened by Mr. and Mrs. Cake.
“Pinkie, thank you for coming.” Mrs. Cake said with delight and a warm smile. She then turned and saw Shadow next to Pinkie. She looked slightly displeased as she lost her smile.

“And you are?” Mrs. Cake asked.

“I’m Shadow.” Shadow told her without emotion. 

“Yep! He’s my special friend!” Pinkie said happily.

“No, I’m not.” Shadow said.

“Why don’t you two come on in?” Mr. Cake said.

As the two of them walked and entered the living room where the twins were playing on the carpet. Before Pinkie could greet them, the Cakes took Pinkie aside near the door.

“Uh Pinkie, are you sure he’s really suitable for babysitting?” Mrs. Cake asked in a whispered manner as she observed Shadow. He just looked around the house and appeared to be bored. The twins looked up at him, with confused expressions on their faces.

“Of course, why wouldn’t he be?” Pinkie asked.

“Well, he looks a little….unfriendly. I don’t think the twins would respond well to him.” Mr. Cake said with concern as he too observed Shadow.

”Oh don’t be silly! Despite what he says, deep down Shadow’s a big softie!” Pinkie said. “He’s also really responsible as well.”

The Cakes looked at each other but said nothing. They walked away from their corner and out in the open with Pinkie and met Shadow in the room.

“Well, Pinkie since you know what to do normally, we don’t really have anything to explain. Just watch them closely, all right?.” Mrs. Cake said.

“Absolutely!” Pinkie declared.  Shadow looked disinterested, but he nodded his head. The Cakes then walked out the door after picking up a handbag of their own, leaving Pinkie and Shadow with the babies.

“Hey, guys!” Pinkie said to the twins as she turned to them and waved like crazy.  The babies smiled and started to giggle.

“Aren’t you going to introduce yourself Shady?” Pinkie asked.

“Why? They're babies. They won’t remember me by tomorrow.” Shadow stated.

“Come on, don’t be so grumpy. They're special babies, they always remember a friendly face.” Pinkie said.

Shadow rolled his eyes and he came in front of the babies. They stopped laughing and stared at him.

“Hi.” Shadow said deadpan as he looked down on them. The babies just looked up at him, emotionless.

“Ok Pinkie, so what’s the plan?” Shadow asked her as he turned to her.

“I have the perfect day planned out!” Pinkie said. She reached into her hair and pulled out a small list that said Pumpkin and Pound Cake’s best day of fun.

“We have the whole day ahead, and we can’t waste any minute. Let’s get going!” Pinkie said with excitement. She then dashed off from the living room and upstairs and came back down with a double baby stroller.  She placed the babies inside and went out the door quickly. Shadow groaned and followed her outside.

“This is going to be a long day.” Shadow said. 

The two of them walked outside in the city on the sidewalk as Pinkie pushed the stroller. It was a sunny day outside with a clear sky. Shadow's face was the perfect contrast to the weather.

“Isn’t this just perfect?” Pinkie said to Shadow. “You, me, with Pumpkin and Pound.”

“(Far from it.)” Shadow thought.  “So, what’s our first stop on this ‘special day’?”

“Well, it’s still quite early, so let’s take the twins out for some breakfast.” Pinkie said. “I know just the place.”

The two of them walked and entered in front of a small green building with 4 purple tables on the outside, each with two blue chairs. The sign read, THE CANTERLOT CAFE in bright pink and yellow colors.   Shadow looked displeased. The two of them entered and encountered a worker wearing a green uniform and with brown skin and yellow short hair.

“Table for two please and some room for babies.” Pinkie Pie requested.

“Awwww, this is so cute.  Sure thing! Anything for such a cute couple!” The worker responded with delight. Shadow’s eye’s widened at the word couple.

“Oh, it’s not like that. We’re not a couple.” Shadow explained.

“Oh sure, keep telling yourself that. Ah, young love.” The worker said as he walked off to go find them a table.  Pinkie just stood there smiling and Shadow looked uncomfortable. He crossed his arms. They then followed them.

The two sat down at a table, with the stroller next to them.  Shadow just ordered a small cup of hot chocolate and sipped it quietly. while Pinkie ordered a large stack of pancakes that covered her completely. Before she ate them, she cut some into small pieces and fed them to the twins.

“Shadow, can you help me feed the twins? It would be much easier.” Pinkie said.

Shadow sighed and began to help her feed them as he took his fork and cut the pancakes into small pieces and feed them to Pound Cake. As he did, everyone in the restaurant started to look at them with delight as they smiled. Shadow noticed this.

“What are you all looking at? Mind your own business.” Shadow told them. The people didn’t respond to him. “I said mind you own business.” Again no one responded and just continued to look at them.

“You two are just cute together!.” a young woman with pink skin and yellow long hair said.

“We’re not together.” Shadow said firmly.  Pinkie giggled.

“Looks like someone’s having trouble expressing their feelings.” An elderly bald man with light blue skin said. 

“Listen kid, I’ll give you some advice. When the wife and I go out-.” A middle-aged man with lavender skin and a short brown toupee started to say before Shadow cut him off.

“What the? Who are you people even?  Look, there is nothing romantic going on between us.” Shadow insisted.

“You’re young, you’ll understand one day.” An elderly woman with white hair and red skin replied.

“All right, that’s it. Pinkie, we 're leaving.” Shadow said. He got up and took out his wallet. He then left money, about 30 dollars on the table as he placed it down firmly.

“But we just got here.” Pinkie protested. Shadow grabbed her with his right hand and placed his left hand on the stroller. They teleported out of there. The people didn’t seem to be bothered by what they saw and just went back to enjoying their breakfast.

They ended up in the middle of the sidewalk. Pumpkin and Pound laughed.

“Oh, I think they like that.” Pinkie said happily.

“Looks, let’s just get this moving. “ Shadow said. “Where to now?” 

“Now is where the real fun starts.  Next stop, the Canterlot fair!” Pinkie said and she jumped up and down with excitement, making the babies laugh. Shadow had a long look on his face. The two headed off of the fair as they walked up north. As they were walking towards it, they passed by Flash Sentry. He had a confused look on his face, seeing the two of them. Shadow came up to him before he could speak up.

“You…saw….nothing.” Shadow threatened before he walked away, leaving him alone.  He just shrugged. Eventually, the two of them reached the entrance to the fair. There was a large pink Ferris wheel in the background alongside many small booths such as dunk tanks, cotton candy machines, a photo-booth, Water squirting events and a booth that sold stuffed animals. Pinkie dashed in excitedly with the stroller. She then dashed back shortly after.

“Come on Shadow, don’t be so slow!! ” Pinkie screamed impatiently. She couldn't contain her excitement.

“Yeah, but I don’t want to be seen with you.” Shadow said.

They passed the entrance and looked around. The fair as well  had a ball pit, a merry go round, stands with different kinds of food such as Candy apples, pies and more.

“Are you ready for fun?!” Pinkie said in the stroller to the babies. They laughed. 

“No.” Shadow muttered to himself.

The two first went inside the photo booth with the twins. They took a flash of many photos, with Pinkie and the twins making large smiles in the first photo, crazy faces with their tongues out in the second, duck faces for selfies in the third and Pinkie covering their eyes as they covered her's in the 4th.  Shadow’s face just remained the same with a frown. Pinkie collected the photos as she exited the photo booth from the machine's right.

“Perfect! This is going to be a day to remember.” Pinkie said as she placed the photos in her hair. 

Pinkie pushed the stroller over to the candy apple table. She got two normal apples, each for the twin. Pinkie got three caramel apples for herself and started to eat them as she stuffed all three in her mouth.

“(What have I gotten myself into? I just hope something comes to distract me from this. I don’t care what it is.)” Shadow thought to himself. Just then, an object was coming down towards the ground at high speed. It was approaching the fair, specifically the apple stand. It caught Shadow’s attention and he looked up at it, 

“I wonder what that is? Is it a bird, a plane, a meteor, a giant flying cake?” Pinkie wondered as she noticed the object.

The object crashed into the candy apple stand, destroying it as the owner fled from it, sending apples everywhere.  People began to notice and approached it. Out of the smoke, the object was clear. It was Shadow. However, it looked different. Rather than having red stripes, it had yellow ones and yellow eyes as well. Shadow and Pinkie looked on in confusion.

“What is this?” Shadow said.

“Shadow, how are you here if you’re there as well?” Pinkie asked confused.

Dashing in front of the other Shadow was another …Shadow? However, this one was completely metallic with a silver body. It had blue stripes rather than yellow and it had glowing red eyes with black sclera. For it's left arm, it had a machine gun attached.

“Three Shadows?” Pinkie said as she counted her fingers.

An explosion appeared from the behind and Shadow and Pinkie turned around as people ran away and began to panic from the explosion as the merry-go-round was destroyed. Out of the explosion, three figures blew away from each other and faced off. The three figures were again Shadow. They looked identical to the blue Shadow, except they had green, orange, and pink stripes. The pink one had a machine gun attached to one arm and the other two had bazookas attached to their arms.

“What the hell’s going on here?” Shadow said with disbelief.

“Five Shadows! Wow, this could be so much fun if it didn’t look so dangerous.” Pinkie said as she brought her hands to her face.

The five Shadows faced off with each other.

“You fakers just don’t know when to quit, do you?” The green Shadow stated.

“Faker? Ha! It’s clear I’m the original!” The yellow Shadow said.

“Don’t delude yourself, android. I’m Shadow!” The blue one exclaimed.

“You all may look like me, but I know you’re just fakes.” The pink one said.

“Let’s see which one of us is the fake then” The orange one replied.

The blue one got his machine gun and fired at the other Shadows, who evaded the gunfire with ease. The pink one responded with trying shoot back, while the green and orange used their bazookas as well. The yellow one fired chaos spears. The fight between them was causing damage to the fair and destroying parts of it such as the photo booth and dunk tank as the Shadow's missed each other. An explosion appeared behind Shadow and Pinkie. The babies began to cry.

“You need to get to safety.” Shadow told Pinkie. Using his speed, he dashed Pinkie and the twins to the ball pit.

“Stay here.” Shadow told her.

“What about you?” Pinkie asked.

“I’ll put an end to this.” Shadow replied.  He dashed off to go face his duplicates. 

The androids began to cause more destruction as they fired and people ran off in fear. The green one aimed his bazooka at a Ferris wheel, where the pink one was on. As he was about to fire, Shadow dashed and knocked him on the ground. The pink one noticed this.

“Another one?” The pink one said. He dashed towards Shadow off the wheel, who teleported and then kicked him in the back of the head from the behind mid-air. The blue one aimed his gun and tried to shoot Shadow as he landed on the ground. Shadow dashed through and went through him, causing him to be launched up in the air. The yellow one tried to punch Shadow from the behind, but Shadow leaped over him and hopped off his head. Lastly, Shadow grabbed the orange one by his bazooka arm and threw him to the ground. Shadow was now facing all five of the androids.

“How many more copies do I have to destroy?” The yellow one said irritated.

“Copies? You’re all mistaken. I’m the real Shadow.” Shadow said.

“Nonsense, you’re just as defective as the rest of these androids.” The orange said.

“No, I’m not since I know I’m the original Shadow.” Shadow said.

“You can say it as much as you like, but it’s not going to change the fact that I’m the original.” The pink one said. Shadow held his head in annoyance.

“No, you’re not. I’m the real Shadow. The rest of you are just a bunch of robots made to imitate me.” Shadow said.

“Prove it!” The green one said.

“Look, the original has to exist somewhere right? And besides, look at yourselves, you’re clearly robots. Well, maybe the yellow might pass off, but if you hurt yourself, I’m pretty sure you’d fine some kind of mechanical things inside you such as wires.” Shadow explained. The androids became silent and observed each other and lowered their weapons.

“Listen, you five were designed to be copies of me. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. As I can see, you five can think for yourselves. Rather, be your own people, instead of just imitating me.” Shadow said to them. The androids were silent for a while. Then the blue one spoke up.

“You’re right. We are just copies of you.” The blue one said.

“But that doesn’t mean-.” Shadow started to say before the blue one cut him off. 

“As long as you’re around that is.” The blue one finished.

“What are you saying?” Shadow said confused. He didn't know where this was going.

“It is true that you’re the original and as long as you exist, we’ll just be copies of you. But, if you were removed from the picture, then who’s to say one of us isn’t the original?” The blue one explained. He turned to the others.

“Listen, I have an idea. For now, let’s team up and get rid of him. We can argue who’s the original later.” The blue one offered.

“Sounds nice.” They all said in union. The five of them now surrounded Shadow.

“That’s not what I meant.” Shadow said. “But if you insist, then I have no choice.”

“You think you can fight us five on one?” The yellow one said.

“Maybe.” Shadow taunted. 

The green one fired his bazooka at Shadow, who countered it with a chaos spear. Shadow then teleported through the smoke and upper cutted the android. However, he was kicked in the back the orange one. The blue one then released a kick which Shadow managed to block, but he was knocked aside by the yellow one with a dash.  The pink elbowed Shadow on the ground. As he was getting up, he got kicked in the face by the green one. Shadow staggered back. He dashed off with the androids in pursuit. They used their weapons to try and hit him but Shadow evaded them as they hit the ground or more booths.  Shadow dashed by the ball pit, where the pink one fired his bullets at Shadow and missed. Shadow then remembered Pinkie and the babies in there and he stopped.

“Oh, crap!” Shadow said. He dashed as the bullets appeared in front of Pinkie. However, Pinkie used cartoon physics on the bullets, and moved each bullet around with her finger, causing them to hit the ground.

“Wow, that was dangerous.” Pinkie said with relief.

Shadow looked on in disbelief at what he just witnessed. However, Shadow was hit in the back by the yellow one and the pink one punched him towards the ground. The blue one kneed him in the stomach, and the green and orange one double kicked him on the ground.  The five surrounded him.

“(If only I could just chaos blast these idiots.)” Shadow thought. He then teleported, leaving the five to search for him. 

“He must be trying to hide so that the five of us will split up and he can take us down individually.” The yellow one said. “Let’s just shoot down the whole place instead, that’ll make him come out.

“(Damn it! They think like me as well.)” Shadow thought to himself. Shadow teleported himself in front of them.

“Ha, there you are.” The green one said.

Shadow fired a chaos spear on the ground in front of him and he made an explosion on the ground. Shadow leaped up but then behind him, the pink one kicked him on the ground and he was sent crashing to the floor.  The androids surrounded him and started to kick him. Shadow let out groans of pain.  The androids then aimed their weapons at him.

“Finish him.” The orange one said. They all fired their weapons at Shadow and it made an explosion on the ground.

“Did we get him?” The green one asked as the smoke cleared and there was a large hole in the ground.

“I doubt it.  Let’s keep looking.” The blue one said.  The androids began to look around for Shadow as a group. Shadow then entered the ball pit where Pinkie and the twins were. Pinkie gasped when she saw him. She eyed him with suspicion. Shadow noticed this.

"What?!" He asked irritated.

"How do I know you're the real Shadow and not another android?" She asked him as she peered into his face and raised an eyebrow. "Tell me something only Shadow would know."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm the real one. I'm the one with the red stripes, remember?" Shadow replied as he pointed to his stripes in his hair. Pinkie came out of his face.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. My bad." She said.

“I’m getting wrecked out there. I can’t fight five of me all at once. It’s like fighting five ultimate beings at once.” Shadow said tiredly.

“Also, those meanies are ruining our perfect day for fun!” Pinkie said. “I planned out for this to work perfectly!”

“You know, right now there are more important things than that. Like staying alive.” Shadow said. 

“I think I might be able to help you out, Shady.” Pinkie said. Shadow looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

“How? Please tell me you don’t have some kind of party planned out or something. Seeing as they're me, they hate parties.” Shadow said.

Pinkie handed the babies to Shadow. She then concentrated on her love for partying and ponied up. 

“What are you doing? You can’t fight those five! You’re gonna get killed!” Shadow said.

“I know what I’m doing.” Pinkie said. She came out of the ball pit and confronted the five androids who were approaching it. They came face to face with her.

“What is this?” The yellow one said bored.

“You five ruined a perfect day for fun! I made a pinkie promise to make it happen and I never go back on a pinkie promise!” Pinkie said annoyed and with a glare.

“And your point is?” The blue one said.

“I’m going to stop you.” Pinkie said. 

The androids then burst out laughing. 

“Oh, what are you going to do huh?” The pink one mocked.

Pinkie Pie concentrated her hands and then she fired a stream of magical balloons that glowed and crackled with pink electricity at the Shadow androids.  The balloons hit the androids and they fell to the floor. They then picked themselves up, unfazed and more annoyed.

“Is that all you can do?” The orange one said.

The androids began to walk towards Pinkie, but as they did, they started to become slower. They started to short circuit with sparks flying and their heads spazzing out. Their eyes started to flash before turning completely dark and eventually. they stopped moving in place and their heads dropped. Shadow looked on and he exited the pit with the babies.

“What just happened?” Shadow said. He couldn't believe what had happened.

“They short circuited silly.” Pinkie told him.

“How did you know that they would short circuit like that?” Shadow asked her.

“I remember one time when Sunset was testing out our magical powers, I fired a bunch of balloons at her and after they hit her, she was kind of shocked or something. I figured that should work against robots.” Pinkie explained.

“Pinkie, you’re a genius.” Shadow said, clearly impressed. “Now if you’ll excuse me.” He handed the babies back to Pinkie.

“REVENGE!” Shadow said and he began to destroy the Shadow Androids. It was shown offscreen. Pinkie and the babies looked on. Pinkie looked on in horror at the violence as her jaw dropped and pupils widened. The babies began to smile. Pinkie covered their eyes as Shadow destroyed them. Parts began to fly and there were green flashes.Later when Shadow was finished, he was holding the severed head of the yellow one.

“I think I might keep this.” Shadow said as he approached Pinkie with the head.

“I should add sadism to my list as well.” Pinkie said. “But now that that’s finished, let’s get on with our day of fun!”

“Ha, No. I’m done for the day. I woke up early in the morning. I went with you to that restaurant and to top it off,  I just got  nearly killed by 5 androids .” Shadow said. "Look around, the fair is a mess."

Pinkie looked around and noticed. The booths were destroyed and in rubble. There were wooden parts all over the floor, with some even burning. There were giant holes on the ground as well. Pieces of the merry-go-round were on the floor. The only thing intact was the Ferris wheel. 
“But you said you’d help me babysit. And besides, I think the twins are beginning to like you.” Pinkie said. She looked down and the babies looked at Shadow with smiles from their strollers.

“Sha-.” Pumpkin managed to say.

“-dow.” Pound finished. Pinkie squealed.

“Aw, how cute!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Even if the fair is gone, we can go have fun plenty of other ways!”

Shadow groaned in and realized that it was futile to resist. He then followed Pinkie as she exited the fair, to go find fun somewhere else.

THE END.
> Alliance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alliance
Sunset Shimmer was walking through the halls of Canterlot High School at the end of the day. Things were pretty good so far. She had gotten 100% on all of her test this week (math, science, history, and economics). It was Friday and the day before the week-long break, so “classes” weren’t doing much. During the break, she and the Rainbooms planned a visit to Manhattan (she had never been before, so she was really excited). Best of all, the whole week went by without some magical or supernatural threat. Other students as well poured through the hallway as they headed out the exit. The other Rainbooms then joined Sunset in her walk shortly.

“Ah, Manhattan. I’m so excited to go!” Rarity squealed with delight. “I just have so many outfits that I can try out there and design as well.”

“I’m excited too.” Sunset replied. “Is Manhattan really as good as they say?”

“Of course, silly!” Pinkie Pie assured. She then began to count off what was there on her fingers. “They have everything! Malls, movie theaters, restaurants, cafes, roller rinks, fairs, amusement parks-”

“Okay, Pinkie, I think she gets it.” AppleJack said, cutting her off.  

“I’m eager to go, but I’m a little worried. The whole week, I’ll be gone and no one is going to be at the animal shelter. I don’t want the animals to get scared or lonely.” Fluttershy admitted.

“Lighten up, Fluttershy. I’m sure they’ll be fine.” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m just a little irked we had classes today, even though we didn’t do anything. They should’ve given us the day off.”

“It doesn’t matter, Dash. School's over, and we’ll be on our way to Manhattan shortly” Sunset said happily as they were about to exit through the front door. “I can’t think of how this day could go wrong.”

“I could.” A  familiar voice said, causing the Rainbooms stop in their tracks and turn around. Facing them in the hall were the 3 Dazzlings, Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk. They were not expecting to ever see those 3 sirens again. The Rainbooms immediately got into defensive positions and faced them. Both groups glared at each other heavily.

“What are you doing here?!” Sunset asked harshly with a hint of surprise .

“We just wanted to check up on you. See how you’re doing after you ruined the lives of all 3 of us.” Adagio responded in a bitter tone.

“Are you trying to make us feel bad?” Rainbow Dash shot back. “Considering you were planning to, oh I don’t know, take over the world, I would gladly ruin your lives 100 times over.” 

“If you’re plannin’ anythin’ we’ll stop you.” AppleJack stated. The Dazzlings merely laughed off her threat and turned to each other.

“How cute. They think they can actually stop us this time.” Aria mocked.

“What are you talking about?” Rarity asked. Adagio smirked.

“Listen, Rainbooms. You may have won the last battle, but this time, you won't be so lucky. We have returned with some new “tricks” that guarantee that by the end of this, all of you will just be part of our servants when we rule this world.” Adagio declared.

“Really? Considering that you don’t have magic, I’d really love to see how you’re going to rule this world.” Sunset taunted.

The Rainbooms and the Dazzlings continued to stare each other down with intensity. Just then, Sonic dashed by as a blue streak through them

“Hey, guys. Hey, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata.” Sonic said nonchalantly as he passed through. He then realized who he passed  and stopped in his tracks suddenly. He turned around and saw the two groups of girls facing each other.

“Adagio!” Sonic said with delight as he came up to her and smiled. Adagio slightly frowned at his presence while Aria and Sonata just glanced at each other.“How have you been? I haven’t seen you since our date.” Sonic's words caused the Rainbooms to lose their serious expression and look at him in astonishment as they focused on him now. They couldn't believe what they had heard.  

“Wait a minute, Sonic you know them?” Fluttershy asked him.

“Sure. Shadow, Manic, and I went on a date with them a while ago.” Sonic explained casually as he turned to them.

“What?!” Pinkie screamed and she held her hands to her face in disbelief.

“Yeah. Why are you so surprised?” Sonic said. He was confused at this whole situation.

“Sonic, these are the Dazzlings. They’re not actually girls. They’re Sirens from Equestria.” Rarity explained. “They tried to take over the world with dark magic.”

“What? No way. If this is a joke, I think it’s pretty funny actually.” Sonic dismissed. He started to laugh slightly, but no one laughed with him. He then stopped and lost his smile. “You’re serious.” He then turned back to Adagio.

“So, you tried world domination. That means you’re…evil?” Sonic said, trying to make sense of what he had heard.

“I guess so.” Adagio said with a shrug.

“But as a result of the date you went on with me, you’re reformed now. Right?” Sonic said hopefully and gave her a smile. Adagio just rolled her eyes and his smile faded slowly. “Am I way off?”

“Sonic, how could you go on a date with them?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Hey, in my defense, I didn’t know that they were evil. Don’t blame me. Let’s focus on the true villains here. Them.” Sonic said as he pointed to the Dazzlings. He then joined the Rainbooms with their defensive positions and sighed remorsefully.

“You know, just for reference, this is going to be really hard for me. I thought we really had a connection with one another, Adagio. Right now, it feels like someone punched me in the stomach.” Sonic explained glumly.

“I can do that, blue.” Another voice said. Sonic then had the wind knocked out of him by a green streak suddenly. Sonic then came to his knees and held his stomach as he grunted. He looked up and saw Scourge in front of him with a menacing grin and his shades on.

“Scourge? Why are you here?” Sonic said as he rose up. Scourge just smirked and walked over to the Dazzlings.

“Scourge, I told you to wait for my signal.” Adagio said as she clung to Scourge.

“I’m sorry babe. This guy was just asking for it.” Scourge said as put his hand on her hip. Sonic observed the two of them confused until he had a realization as his face broke out into one of surprise. He put two and two together and slowly raised his finger to them.

“Wait a minute......you’re with him?!” Sonic cried out.  He couldn't believe it.

“That’s gross.” Pinkie said with a shudder.

“But....... why?! He’s a total jerk, and well evil!” Sonic complained.

“So is she, blue.” Scourge pointed out. Sonic put his head down, looking pretty disappointed.

“Don’t worry, blue. You can whine about it all you want later. Six feet under the ground.” Scourge said as he turned into a green streak and rushed Sonic. Sonic glared at him and became a blue streak and the two clashed with one another many times as they crashed through the door and outside of the school. Shadow and Manic then arrived shortly in the hallway out a nearby room after hearing the commotion.

“What’s going on? I heard Scourge's voice and-Sonata!” Manic started to say before he saw the Siren. 

“Hi, Manic.” She said as she waved at him warmly. Manic then walked up to her.

“What brings you here? Are you here for another date?” Manic asked grinning at her.

“No, we’re trying to get revenge on the Rainbooms for beating us in the Battle of the Bands and stopping our chances of taking over the world.” Sonata told him.

“Ahh, okay.” Manic said. He then realized what she said and now looked at her with confusion. “What?!”

“Long, story short, they’re evil creatures from Equestria and have now teamed up with Scourge.” AppleJack said, bringing him up to speed.

“I should’ve figured Manic would somehow mess this up.” Shadow grumbled. He then noticed Aria, who just stared off into space with her arms crossed, looking bored and not really paying attention to the whole fiasco. “Hey”.

“Hey.” She replied as she turned to him.

“Since, you’re evil, I guess I better stop you and whatever you’re planning.” Shadow explained. His hands then glowed green.

“I guess. But before you do-“Aria started to say. She then raised her voice in a melodious manner, and a green sound wave was shot from her mouth. It hit Shadow, and he clutched his head in pain.

“What the?” Shadow said. His eyes then flashed green suddenly, and he stood up straight. His facial expression was blank.

“Shadow, are you okay?” Sunset asked.

He didn’t respond to her at all. He then walked over next to Aria.

“What did you do to Shadow?!” Pinkie demanded.

“I just used a little mind control. Nothing special.” Aria said smugly as she looked at her hand.

“That’s impossible!. We destroyed your pendants!” Rainbow Dash said. 

The Dazzling then reached out of their collars and pulled out 3 small green emeralds for Manic and the Rainbooms to see.

“Like it? It’s from Scourge. He really is sweet.” Adagio said boastfully.

“Anarchy Beryl?” Manic said surprised.

“What's Anarchy Beryl?” Rarity asked.

“Evil Chaos Emeralds.” Manic explained. Shadow then teleported and kicked Manic hard, sending him crashing into the wall of a classroom. Manic got up slightly dazed and regained focus. He glared heavily as he dashed towards Shadow and threw a punch, but Shadow teleported again. He then kept teleporting around Manic and punching him each time.

“Ow! No fair! Quit spamming teleporting!” Manic complained as he tried to punch Shadow again, who teleported. Shadow then appeared behind Manic and restrained him in a full nelson. 

“Let go!” Manic said as he struggled. Sonata then came up to Manic. She then grabbed his face and turned him towards her.

“I’ve always wanted to do this.” She said. She then gave Manic a  passionate kiss on the lips, that lasted for about 30 seconds. The Rainbooms looked on with a mixture of disgust and surprise at this.

“Hurry up Sonata!” Aria snapped.

Sonata then released Manic and ended the kiss. He had a silly, lovestruck smile on his face and stared off into space.

“That was awesome.” Manic said dreamily. His eyes then flashed green and he lost his smile.  Shadow let him go and Manic stood up straight next to him, emotionless.

“This isn’t good.” Sunset realized with worry. The mind controlled Shadow and Manic then went go help Scourge against Sonic as they dashed outside, leaving the Dazzling to face the Rainbooms.

“What do we do, Sunset?” Fluttershy asked nervously.

“We just need to get to our instruments.” Sunset said. “Then-“.

“Sorry, not happening.” Adagio said. She, Aria, and Sonata opened their mouths and, shot 3 sound waves at the Rainbooms. Rainbow Dash managed to push Sunset out of the way before she and the rest of the Rainbooms were hit and fell to the ground. Sunset watched helplessly as the emotion was drained from her friends' faces as they rose up and their eyes flashed a green color. They stood up as if they were robots.

“No.” Sunset said softly as she got up from the ground. She then ran down the hall in a hurry filled with panic.

“Stay here. I’ll go after her alone. This is personal.” Adagio instructed.  She then began to pursue Sunset slowly.

Outside of the school, Sonic and Scourge were clashing many times as streaks. Scourge threw a punch which Sonic avoid, allowing him to kick Scourge away hard, knocking him to the ground.

“I can’t believe you’re with Adagio!” Sonic yelled.

“You know what they say. You snooze, you lose. Besides, I’m glad I teamed up with her. She and her friends are full of surprises.” Scourge said as he picked himself. Just then, Shadow appeared and kicked Sonic sending him sliding against the ground.

“Shadow, what gives?!” Sonic said as he lifted himself. “You’re supposed to be attacking him, not me!” Manic appeared as a green dash and punched him in the face. Sonic returned to the ground.

“What is with you guys?!” Sonic exclaimed as he stood. He then noticed the green eyes of Manic and Shadow as they came next to Scourge and his face sank. “Oh, crap.”

“I mean, who knew giving her and her group some Anarchy Beryl would give them such cool powers.” Scourge said with a smug grin. He, Manic, and Shadow then charged towards Sonic. 

Sunset continued to rush through the empty hallway. She was in a state of heavy alarm and trying to make sense of the situation that had happened.

“(Okay, things are going bad so far. Everyone else is brainwashed, except me. But if I can reach my guitar, I should be able to fight back, and save everyone.)” Sunset thought to herself. She then reached the Rainbooms rehearsal room where the Rainboom’s instruments were. She quickly got her guitar from the back of the room.

“Great, now all I have to do is-“ Sunset started to say as she turned around. A green sound wave then blew her on the ground, sending her guitar sliding against the floor away. Sunset looked up to see Adagio looking down at her triumphantly.

“Oh, you were so close. I’d say sorry, but that’s what you did to us at the Battle of the Bands.” Adagio taunted. Sunset then got up and slowly backed away.

“I’m not afraid of you.” Sunset declared.

“Really? Then why are you shaking?” Adagio pointed out. Sunset then gripped herself to stop her shaking.  Adagio began to observe the band room with admiration.

“This is a really nice room. I think I’ll use it for a lounge when we start to renovate the school. But first.” Adagio said as her eyes settled on the instruments at the back. She then released a sound wave that destroyed the instruments of the Rainbooms, breaking them into pieces. Sunset watched on as the pieces scattered around the room and she gasped, horrified. There only chance was now gone.

“There. Now you and your friends have no way of fighting back.” Adagio said as she approached Sunset, making the latter back away slowly. “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to treat you extra-cruelly when you’re my slave.”

“(I can’t let things end here.)” Sunset thought to herself, trying to remain calm. It was almost impossible at this point. She then noticed the window to her left in the corner of her eye. Adagio then sent out another sound wave to Sunset, but Sunset jumped out of the way and the wave shattered the window. Sunset then leaped through it and began to run as fast as she could from the school when her feet reached the ground.

Meanwhile, Sonic was having trouble with Scourge, Manic, and Shadow outside. Shadow teleported and hit him with an upper cut, which was followed by Scourge kicking him down to the ground. Manic then lifted him up and held him in a neck hold. Scourge and Shadow then took their turns punching him in the stomach and face. Sonic grunted with each strike.

“(I can’t take on all 3 of them at once. I need to find a way to retreat for now.)” Sonic thought to himself. When Scourge was about to throw another punch, Sonic jumped, and kicked both Shadow and Scourge  away. He then flipped Manic over on the ground. Sonic then generated small blue cyclone he made by  running around in a circle rapidly, separating him from the three of them and they could not see through it. He then dashed away in a blue streak.

“Hey, come back here, and take your beating like a man!” Scourge yelled as he shook his fist. Sonic continued to run off and Scourge just shrugged. Scourge then regrouped back in the hallway with the Dazzlings along with Shadow and Manic. Aside from the rest of the Rainbooms, Knuckles, Tails, and Silver were now also brainwashed along with other remaining students as they stood up with their eyes glowing green like an army of dolls.

“We saw these guys coming up, so we brainwashed them before they could try anything.” Aria explained.

“Good job. Hey where’s the bacon-haired girl?” Scourge said as he looked around for Sunset.

“She got away. Where’s Sonic?” Adagio said.

“He got away too. It’s a shame she’s gone. She’s super-hot.” Scourge sighed, making Adagio raise an eyebrow. “I say we go after them now.”

“No, there’s no need. They both know that they have no chance. Besides, even if they do come back, we can use the students as hostages.” Adagio said. 

“Sorry babe, but I’m just going to go after them.” Scourge said. He hated waiting around, which is something he and Sonic shared in common.

“No, you’re not. We have everything we need right now. Don’t mess this up.” Adagio threatened with a darker tone as she shot him a glare.

“All right, fine.” Scourge grumbled as he raised his hands.

Sunset was walking across the sidewalk of Canterlot. She had managed to get away pretty far from the school and into the middle of the city, which was mostly empty of people and cars at this time. She was pulling pieces of glass out of her hair and clothes. 

“Ow.” Sunset said as she removed a piece from her hair. She then saw Sonic on the opposite end of the street holding his sides in pain and slightly wincing.

“Sonic!” Sunset called. He then turned to see her coming towards him.

“Sunset! I’m glad to see you. Where’s everyone else?” Sonic said as he looked behind her.

“They were captured and mind-controlled by the Dazzlings. Judging by those bruises, I guess you didn’t have much luck with Scourge either.” Sunset noticed.

“Yeah. So what’s the plan?” Sonic asked. Sunset then slumped on the ground in defeat and gripped her head with her hands.

“I don’t know. Last time we used some kind of counter spell to stop them. But Princess Twilight was with us, and now she’s back in Equestria.” Sunset explained.

“Is there any way to contact her?” Sonic asked.

“Yeah, with my book, but its back at school in my locker.” Sunset said glumly.

“Oh, that sucks.” Sonic said dejectedly.

“It really does. What are we going to do now Sonic? Adagio also destroyed all of our instruments, so we can't use them to free everyone else. By now, they probably have the whole school under their control. What if they use them as hostages? Then we have no chance of fighting back!” Sunset cried in panic. She then buried her face in her hands. Sonic gave her a reassuring hand to her shoulder, making her look up at him.

“Hey don’t be like that. We’ll find a way to stop them and, save everyone. I promise.” Sonic said as he gave her the thumbs up. She smiled at him softly.

Back at CHS, the Dazzlings were surrounded by crowds of students in the gym as they stood up on the stage. Scourge was lying on the ground with them, looking bored.

“How long has it been, since they left?” Scourged asked.

“’Bout an hour.” Sonata replied.

“An hour! That’s it, I’m going to drag both of them back here!” Scourge declared as he jumped up from the ground. Adagio sighed in annoyance.

“I already told you. We wait. Would it kill you to have at least a little patience? Quit acting like a spoiled child.” Adagio scolded. Scourge turned around to her and frowned.

“Quit being such a buzzkill.” Scourge replied. “Ugghh, I’ll go see if there are any students left who aren’t mind controlled.” He then walked off the stage and dashed out of the doors from the gym.

“Having boyfriend troubles, Adagio?” Aria mocked. Adagio just rolled her eyes.

“Well, I’m glad you actually found someone, Dagi!.” Sonata said happily.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t like him at all. He’s immature and impatient. The only reason he’s not mind controlled yet is out of small gratitude for giving us these stones in the first place. Once I feel he’s been repaid, he’ll be another slave.” Adagio said, admiring the Anarchy Beryl in her palm.

“Aww, that’s too bad. Well, maybe Aria will have luck with her boyfriend.” Sonata teased. Hearing this made Aria turn to Sonata quickly. 

“Shadow’s not my boyfriend!" Aria said defensively.

“I didn’t mention Shadow.” Sonata said with a smirk, making Aria blush a little and fold her arms.

“You really are the worst.” She stated.

Scourge was walking down the hallway looking annoyed as he sighed heavily and slightly scowled.

“(That Adagio chick is pretty hot, but she’s just so bossy. I’ll keep playing nice for now, but after Sonic’s out of the way, I’m going back to being a solo act.)” He thought to himself. 

Sonic and Sunset were sitting down on the sidewalk, trying to plan their next move.

“Listen, Sonic. The reason the Dazzlings are able to mind control people so easily is because Scourge gave them these things called Anarchy Beryl. If we can take it from them, maybe we can find a way to break their hold.” Sunset explained.

“That seems easy enough. But, I don’t know how we can get close enough to do that. Plus, there's still Scourge and the mind controlled students to deal with.” Sonic pointed out to her.

“Hmm. The Dazzlings love to be adored. That’s their goal. But maybe somehow we can use it against them. Wait a minute, I think I’ve got something!” Sunset exclaimed suddenly as she rose up, making Sonic focus on her.

Later, Sonic and Sunset slowly began to approach the entrance of CHS side by side.

“You, sure this will work?” Sonic whispered.

“It has too. Otherwise, we're doomed.” Sunset replied.

“Oh, look. I think we’ve found some rats.” Aria said suddenly, making Sonic and Sunset stop in their tracks to face both her and Sonata as they looked up at them from the steps.

“Rats? Ew! Where?” Sonata said with panic as she began to look around rapidly. Aria face palmed at her inability to understand expressions. 

“Look, we're not here to fight. We just want to speak with Adagio and Scourge. Take us to them.” Sunset said as she and Sonic raised their arms.  Aria regarded them with suspicion and was silent for a while. Sonic and Sunset exchanged subtle nervous glances, hoping their plan would work.

“Considering how screwed you guys are, I don’t think you’re in any position to make demands. But, I’ll take you anyway since I’m kind of bored right now.” Aria  finally said. She then walked inside, with Sonic and Sunset following her and led them to the gym. Inside, Adagio and Scourge were sitting on chairs, while Pinkie Pie was upstage with crowds of students and even Luna and Celestia, sitting in the bleachers. Shadow was using a cloth to shine Scourge’s shoes. Pinkie then took out a toaster, and a bottle of water. She then poured the water on the toaster and electrocuted herself as her hair stood up firmly and she fell back off the stage, smoldering. Both Scourge and Adagio laughed. Rarity then came up to next to Adagio holding a short orange dress with a red jewel in the center. Adagio eyed it with delight

“Queen Adagio, Empress of every living. I have finished your dress.” Rarity said unemotionally.

“Hmm, this is quite good.” Adagio said. “How many times did you prick your finger sewing it?”

“Only 15 times.” Rarity said indifferently, holding up bloodstained fingers.

“Do it again, and make it 75 times.” Adagio said. Rarity then left as she exited the stage. Knuckles and AppleJack were on the ground, lifting two red giant thrones with golden stripes twice their size. They struggled due to their size slightly.

“Be careful with those. I don’t want a scratch on them.” Scourge warned. “I could use something cheerful right now.” He then clapped his hands. Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy then came in dressed in green cheer-leading uniforms with green pom poms. Scourge grinned upon seeing them.

“Scourge, Scourge, he’s our guy. If he can’t do it, then no else should bother to try.” They chanted in union, devoid of any passion, as they waved their poms poms. Just then, Sonic and Sunset came in, led by Aria and Sonata.  Scourge and Adagio noticed them as they walked up the stage as he raised an eyebrow with curiosity, causing Sunset to give him a slightly annoyed look, which caused him to shrug.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the blue wimp and his hot friend.” Scourge said as he winked at Sunset. She rolled her eyes and turned away from him in disgust. “I’m glad you came back. I was getting bored wailing on these two.” Scourge motioned to the left to Tails and Silver who were covered in bruises. Tails had a black eye.

“I’m impressed Sunset. It takes a lot of bravery or stupidity to come back to a place where you have no chance of winning. Here to surrender?” Adagio said smugly.

“Actually yes.” Sunset said, causing the Dazzlings to break out into puzzled looks on their faces. 

“I’ve realized that we have no possible chance of winning. With those new stones of yours, the only option is to be crushed or live as your servants. The second option is much better.” Sunset explained, pretending to sound hopeless.

“Well, I’m glad you see things that way.” Adagio said. “Time to add you to our list of servants.” She then approached Sonic and Sunset. Sunset glanced to Sonic and he slightly smiled.

“Now, Sonic!” Sunset yelled. Sonic became a blue blur, and went to steal the Anarchy Beryl, but Scourge intercepted him. He then held Sonic in a headlock, who struggled, but Scourge held him tightly.  Adagio shook her head in a taunting manner.

“So close. Just for that Sunset, as my slave, the first thing you’ll do every morning for the rest of life is clean my boots with your tongue.” Adagio said.

“This is boring. Can we just kill them instead of mind-controlling them?” Scourge said. Adagio looked at him with shock, as if he was a madman.

“All right, listen. We don’t kill. There’s no need too. The more the merrier.” Adagio replied as she pointed to him sternly.

“You already have enough slaves. Missing two won’t hurt.” Scourge said.

“No. You’re. Not. Killing. Anyone.” Adagio said firmly. Scourge just laughed at her attempt to dominate him.

“Hey, at what point did you think I took orders from you?” Scourge asked smugly.

“I was planning to do this later, but you’re testing my patience now.” Adagio said. She released a green soundwave at Scourge, but he easily dodged it, which released Sonic from his grip and he hit the floor. He then became a green streak, and took the Anarchy Beryl’s from all 3 Dazzlings. He then appeared in front of them, holding them up. All 3 of them now had worried looks on their faces as they huddled nervously.

“I was planning to do this later, but now you’re testing my patience.” Scourge mocked as he clutched the Anarchy Beryl in his hands.

“It was fun working with you chicks, but I’m more of a lone wolf kind of guy. Now after I get rid of you, I’ll take over this planet , one piece at a time.” Scourge said darkly. He then charged  a green boost and charged at the Dazzlings. They braced for impact as they shut their eyes, but Sonic became a boost which blew he and Scourge back. Scourge growled up at Sonic as he slid back against the stage.

"Not happenin' Scourge!" Sonic declared.

"You know blue, this was a fun for a while, but now it's getting old." Scourge muttered. He and Sonic became green and blue streaks as they clashed around the gym and eventually shot up towards the ceiling, crashing through it. As they did, some rubble began to fall and approached the Dazzlings. The three of them looked up as it came to them, frozen with fear. Sunset then suddenly tackled them out of the way, setting all 4 of them on the ground. The Dazzlings looked at Sunset, dumbfounded by what she just did.

“You..saved us?” Adagio said with bewilderment. Sunset nodded. 

“But why?” Aria asked equally shocked.

“Even though we're enemies, I will always help someone who needs it.” Sunset replied. She turned her attention to the hole in the ceiling and got a determined look.“Sonic’s in trouble. I have to do something.” Sunset added as she started to head for the exit of the gym.

“You can’t go. You can't do anything against Scourge.” Adagio protested.

“I have to try.” Sunset insisted as she headed through the door.

Outside on the field, Sonic and Scourge ran side by side at high speed, struggling with each other as they did, before they blew each other back and faced each other on opposite sides.

"You should've stuck with the Dazzlings. You can't take me alone." Sonic taunted.

"I wouldn't be so cocky blue." Scourge replied with a menacing grin. Sonic just ignored his threat and charged to him at full speed. As he did, Scourge took out the three Anarchy Beryl he had taken from the Dazzlings and clutched them in his hands. 

"Chaos...Control!" Scourge yelled as he raised his fist in the air, making a time wave shoot through the area. When it reached Sonic, it caused him to slow down suddenly until he stopped mid-run. He was frozen in time. Scourge casually walked up to the frozen Sonic and dashed through him twice. Scourge then snapped his fingers, and time began to flow. Sonic was then sent sprawling on the ground to the side as he skidded against it.  Sonic looked up at Scourge standing over him as he tossed the Beryl in the air cockily.

"You may be just as quick, but if you can't move, then doesn't much, does it blue?" Scourge told him. "Now, just one more time should it.

Scourge clutched the Beryl again, but before he could do anything. Sunset then came in front suddenly, staring him down firmly.

“Stop.” She demanded.

“Yes, I’ll stop because a girl who has now power to stop me, told me to.” Scourge mocked. He then began to eye Sunset up and down. “You know, you’re pretty hot actually. Want to be my queen?”

“I’d rather die.” Sunset replied.

“Oh well, suit yourself.” Scourge shrugged. He then performed another boost and headed towards her.  Sonic gasped at what could possibly have happened.

“Don’t be afraid. We can do this. We have to save everyone.” Sunset said as Scourge approached her. As he did, a yellow sphere surrounded Sunset suddenly and she was protected as Scourge was blown back, throwing the Anarchy Beryl out of his hands and on the floor. She then rose in the air and ponied up. Scourge looked on in dismay

“I did it! I was able to pony up, without any instruments!” Sunset exclaimed as she looked  at herself with awe.

“Well, this is lame. Seriously, you guys are harder to kill than cockroaches.” Scourge muttered annoyed. Sunset then approached Sonic. 
“Are you okay?” She said.

“I’ll be fine. Now all that's left is to trounce him.” Sonic said rising up as he approached Scourge.

“It won't be so easy Blue!” Scourge said defiantly. He then began to vibrate in place suddenly at high speed in a crouched running position.

“I got this.” Sonic said as he did the same thing.

“Wait, Sonic.” Sunset said suddenly. As he was vibrating, Sunset put her hand on his shoulder and transferred her power to Sonic. Orange and yellow energy began to flow through his body and it began to glow those colors.

“Ready Sonic? Let’s show him the power of friendship!” Sunset exclaimed.

“Ehh, that’s kind of cheesy.” Sonic replied. She just smiled. Scourge then charged towards them, breaking the sound barrier as he was covered in a green aura and leaving green hoops as he flew through the air, making green wind quakes as well. Sonic then charged as well, except that his aura was much larger and flaming orange, and shooting out small orange and yellow sparks. The resulting clash made a blinding light and a large orange shock wave that blew Sunset away and on the floor. When Sunset began to rise up, she saw Sonic and Scourge lying on the ground. Scourge groaned. Sonic got up very slowly and wobbled, quite dazed.

"What just happened?" Scourge said weakly. Sunset came to Sonic and held him stand up and keep his balance.

“Normally, your's and Sonic's  sonic booms would have been equal, but with the added power of my magic, Sonic's was vastly superior.” Sunset explained.

“This is bull-crap!” Scourge said as he started to rise feebly. He could barely stand and looked like he was about fall over any second due to anything, even a small gust of wind.The Dazzlings then came out of the school and began to approach him. Adagio then pushed him roughly and he landed on the ground hardly. He didn't get up as his eyes were closed. The Dazzlings then picked up the Anarchy Beryl. Sunset and Sonic noticed them and glared at them, preparing for another confrontation. The Dazzlings then released a large green sound wave that covered the school, but instead of mind-controlling Sonic and Sunset, nothing happened. 

“Don’t worry. We just released everyone from our mind control.” Adagio explained. Sonic and Sunset looked confused at their actions.

“We don’t want to accomplish our goal of taking over the world with his help.” Aria said as she pointed at Scourge.

“Plus, we want to say thanks for saving our lives.” Sonata added with a smile. “We're really grateful. For realzies.”

Just then, the Anarchy Beryl  that the Dazzlings had shattered into tiny pieces. The Dazzlings looked horrified and couldn't speak out of frustration.

“No!!!!!! Ughhh, the one time we decide to do just one small good thing it backfires!” Adagio said angrily. Sunset put a hand on her shoulder.

“You did a good thing. That counts.” Sunset said with a smile.

“Don’t play nice now, Rainboom.” Adagio said shaking Sunset’s hand off her shoulder. “This doesn’t make us friends or anything. We just repaid a debt. Next time, it’s back to business as usual. Let’s get out here.” .

“Awww. I really wanted to spend more time with Manic.” Sonata whined. “I’m sure Aria wanted to spend more time with you-know-who. Aria shot daggers at Sonata with her eyes upon hearing this.

“I don’t care about Shadow!” Aria stated firmly.

“I didn’t mention Shadow.” Sonata said with a smirk. Aria turned slightly red and hit Sonata over the head.

“Ow!” Sonata exclaimed as she rubbed her head.

“Wait, Adagio. Is there a chance you and I could-?” Sonic started to say with some hope before she left. He gave her an awkward smile.

“No.” Adagio replied bluntly. She and the other Dazzlings then left as they walked off the field. Sonic had a dejected look on his face. Sunset patted his back to cheer him up.

“You know what they say, Sonic. You can’t win all of them. What are you going to do about Scourge?” Sunset said.

“I don’t know. I’ll just dump him back to his world, and make sure he stays there. Haven’t figured all of it out yet.” Sonic said. The Rainbooms, along with Shadow,  Manic, Knuckles, Tails and Silver then came up to Sonic and Sunset from inside the school. They all looked puzzled as they held their heads.  Sonic and Sunset turned to them as they approached them.

“What happened? My fingers are all bloody!” Rarity exclaimed holding up all her fingers in horror and noticing the stains.

“Why do I feel….electrified?” Pinkie said her hair brimming with electricity. 

“Why do I feel like I was shining someone’s shoes?” Shadow asked.

“Why are Fluttershy and I dressed like this?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, looking down at her cheerleading outfit with disgust. Fluttershy looked embarrassed as she tried to cover herself with her arms and her face was redder than a tomato.

“Why do I feel like the happiest guy on the planet?” Manic said touching his lips with a small smile.

“It’s a long story, guys.” Sonic said as he rubbed his brow. He then suddenly fell back on the ground, causing everyone to look down at him.

THE END.
> Mogul
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was another day at Canterlot High quite early in the morning. Crowds of students were all making their way towards the gymnasium. Principal Celestia had announced yesterday that she was had a special announcement to the make . As the students were walking and murmured among themselves, Manic was walking next to Sonic. He looked disinterested as his eyelids drooped and he was dragging himself there.

“I always hate these morning assemblies. They’re such a waste of time.” Manic grumbled.

“Just do what I do. Sit in the back and take a nap.” Sonic responded as he stretched his arms to prepare for one . "That way no one notices and plus I get some extra sleep.”

The two of them entered the gym and walked up the bleachers to sit down. They sat next to the Rainbooms along with Knuckles and Tails at the top seats against the wall. Students filled them up quickly and again began to murmur about what the assembly could be about loudly.

“I wonder what this assembly could be about?” Rarity stated.

“I hope it’s not like the last assembly we had. " Knuckles stated with displeasure as he crossed his arms.

Sonic leaned against the back with his arms folded and he brought his head down and began to doze off as he closed his eyes. Manic put his hands on his face as he looked as his eyelids drooped even further and yawned.

Principal Celestia walked up to the center of the stage shortly.  She tapped the microphone to gather the student’s attention as the noise was spread through the gym. The students became silent and were now focused on her.

“Good morning student body.” She said happily with a smile. “I have called this assembly this morning as I have exciting news.”

“Exciting news? That’s always something boring.” Sonic remarked as he opened his eye slightly.

“This week, the school has managed to find ourselves a new benefactor. He is quite an influential man and with his contribution, it will make CHS a better place.” Principal Celestia explained. Students looked on with interest at her statement.

“(I wonder who this guy is?).” Manic thought.

“Students, I would like to welcome Mr. Mogul to the stage!” Principal Celestia stated as she turned to her right to welcome someone on stage. At the mention of the word 'Mogul', Manic's eyes widened and he sat up fully straight quickly. His eyes darted back and forth

“Did she just say, Mogul?” Manic said with worry as he fiddled his fingers with nervousness.

On the stage, Mogul walked up. He was a large man with short brown hair and a thick brown beard and mustache, wearing a purple business suit and holding a cane in his hand. He had a golden ring on his left index finger. He gave a powerful and charismatic feel. He took the microphone from Celestia. Manic saw him and his face became pale and he slumped his shoulders. He gulped in worry loudly.  Sunset noticed this and turned to him.

“Manic, are you feeling ok? You look sick.” Sunset asked him.

“I need to get out of here.” Manic said nervously. He rose up and began to walk past the students sitting down as he made his way through in desperation. On the stage, Mogul spoke up.

“Greeting, boys, and girls. I am Mogul. I am quite pleased to be working with your school. I am quite confident that this school is full of talented young men and women.” Mogul said in a charismatic tone.

As he was speaking, Manic was trying to exit through the gymnasium as he moved through students as if his life depended on it.  However, he didn’t even get off the bleachers when Mogul spotted him moving through. He smirked upon seeing him.

“Wait a minute, Manic? Is that you?” Mogul boomed loudly.

The entire student body turned towards Manic. Manic froze in his tracks upon hearing his voice. He turned towards Mogul slowly. He was sweating heavily.

“Manic, it really is you! Come up here and join me.” Mogul said happily.

Manic chuckled nervously. He then slowly dragged himself up to the stage, as if he was approaching a death sentence. He came next to Mogul. He placed his hands on Manic’s shoulder firmly. Manic bit his lip firmly when he did that and just looked down on the ground, trying to avoid eye contact with Mogul.

“You know Manic?” Principal Celestia asked with surprise.

“Why of course I do! This brave young man once helped me out greatly. You know, your entire student body could learn a thing or two from him.” Mogul remarked as he patted Manic on the back. Manic slowly lifted his head up and forced a nervous smile.

“Yeah, we go way back.” Manic said nervously. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I should head back to my seat. Being upstage is giving me stage fright.”

“Oh, you modest young lad! Head back. We’ll chat later.” Mogul beamed.  Manic walked back to his seat as students turned to him.  He looked extremely stressed out as he rubbed his forehead with aggression. He came back up and sat next down to Sunset.

“What was that all about?” She asked him, noticing his expression.

“When this assembly is over, I’m making a run for it.” Manic whispered to her.

“Why? Up there, he seemed to speak pretty fondly of you.” Sunset said to him.

“Look, I’ll explain later. I need to concentrate on getting the hell out of here.” Manic said. His eyes were focused on the exit across from him.

“Ah, what a small world we live in.” Mogul said fondly. “Now then as I was saying, with your school's partnership with me, I hope for many benefits to come. I wish to be heavily involved in your school community.”

The students all clapped loudly, except for Manic, who focused on the exist still.  Mogul handed back Principal Celestia the microphone.

“Thank you, Mr. Mogul. Students, that is all.  You may head back to class now.” Principal Celestia said.

The students all rose and began to walk off the bleachers. As they did, Manic dashed off as quickly as he could, leaving a green streak and making a strong gust of wind.

“What’s his problem?” Sonic wondered as he saw Manic dash away with the others. “The whole time, he looked like he was screwed or something.”

“Manic said he’d tell me something about him and Mogul later.” Sunset said. “I’ll go check on him.” 

Sunset walked off towards the exit that  Manic dashed away towards. Manic was streaking through the halls of the school for his life.

“OK, OK, this isn’t good. Mogul’s here. I just need to get out town for a while and hide using a fake name. Lay low for a couple of days or so. He’ll probably forget about me. Yeah, that sounds like it could work.” Manic said, trying to come up with a plan. Manic then reached the entrance of the school and came down the steps. As he was about to turn, he was stopped. His body was glowing green and he was lifted up in the air. 

“Oh, crap.” Manic said with a defeated tone and he closed his eyes.  He looked around to see Mogul when he opened them. His hands were glowing green and he had a smirk on his face.

“Leaving so soon? I thought you would have been much happier to see me.” Mogul said to Manic smugly as he approached him.

“Mogul, hehe hehe. I hoped, er I mean never expected to see you again.” Manic said nervously. “How are the kids?”

“I don’t have any children.” Mogul replied.

“What? Oh, then-.” Manic started to say before Mogul cut off him.

“Spare me the pleasantries Manic. You know you’re one of my least favorite people.” Mogul said.

“Look, about what I did. Give me a break. I’m a kid. Kid’s make mistakes. Can’t you just look the other way for once?” Manic said with a smile on his face. Mogul chuckled to himself.

“You’re a funny one. I like that.” Mogul said.

“Enough to let me go?” Manic asked with a little hope.

“No, sorry son. You gambled in my casino with a fake ID. You owe me money. According to my employees, that’s around 250 thousand dollars.” Mogul casually explained. Manic looked down on the ground upon hearing this

“What’s a couple a grand to a rich guy like you?  Instead of wasting your time with me, why don’t you go do something productive in your life? Like, exercise for once.” Manic replied with a taunting smile. 

“Why do you laugh in the face of doom? You’re in deep trouble, young man.” Mogul said.  He tightened his grip on Manic, causing him to wince.

“Now then, what should I do with you? I’ve lived for centuries, so I can be quite creative.” Mogul wondered as he spun Manic around slowly. “Perhaps I should turn you into a sausage.”

“Yeah, of course, you would.” Manic said dryly.

“Another fat joke? You’re defiant to the end.” Mogul said as he stopped spinning Manic, who was left upside down.

“Relax Mogul. I haven’t seen you this angry since you were on your diet.” Manic quipped. Mogul brought Manic closer to him and slightly glared at him.

“Don’t eat me.” Manic said. Mogul then used his powers to slam Manic on the ground firmly and hold him there.

“Do you have any more?” Mogul said. Manic struggled to rise up and grunted.

“Nope, I think I’m good here.” Manic managed to say.  Mogul released Manic from his grip and he fell completely down on the ground.

“I’ll give you until Thursday. That’s two days.” Mogul told him

“Two days? How am I supposed to get that kind of money in two days?” Manic asked in disbelief as he rose up quickly.

“That’s your problem.” Mogul dismissed.

“All right chubby, looks I’m going to have to teach you a lesson.” Manic said firmly as he pointed towards Mogul.

“Really? You’re going to fight me?” Mogul said slightly amused with a small smirk. He raised an eyebrow.

Manic dashed towards him as a green streak, but Mogul made a shield in front which blew Manic back as he collided with it and he fell to the ground.

“Hey, shields are cheating.” Manic complained. Just then Sunset arrived outside the CHS entrance.  Manic noticed her and he gained a mixed look of worry and surprise as he got up.

“Sunset? Why are you here?” Manic asked surprised.

“I wanted to make sure you were OK.” She replied. She then turned and noticed Mogul standing over Manic. “What’s going on?”

“Miss, I would advise you just walk away from here. Mr. Manic and I were discussing business.” Mogul advised.

“I don’t think so. Manic is my friend.” Sunset said as she walked and came between him and Manic. She stood defiantly to Mogul.

“Sunset, don’t. Believe me, you don’t want to make this guy mad.” Manic warned her.

“Manic, let me help you. I’m sure I can be of some help.” She offered.

“You wish to aid him? Well, Manic here owes me 250 thousand dollars after gambling in my casino.” Mogul explained. Sunset then turned to Manic. She was not impressed as she lowered her eyelids.

“Seriously?” Sunset told him.

“Hey, I wanted to give it a shot.” Manic said, shrugging. 

“Well, in that case, Mr. Mogul, I have a proposition for you.” Sunset offered him as she turned.

“Go on, I’m listening.” Mogul said intrigued.

“Why don’t you and I take part in a little competition? If you win, Manic and I both owe you the money. If I win, you have to promise to leave Manic alone. Deal?” Sunset explained to him.  Mogul rubbed his chin with interest and toyed with the idea. He then spoke up.

“You have courage, young lady. I like that. Fine, meet me at my Casino Night club when you’re school has finished.” Mogul said. He then started to walk off away. Manic looked at Sunset like she was insane. 

“Are you out of your mind?!” Manic exclaimed. “There’s no way you can beat him! He’s been alive for centuries! He’s had way more experience!”

“Relax Manic. I know what I’m doing. Gambling is just about probability. It shouldn’t be too difficult for me to predict the outcome.” Sunset said with no worry.

“Sunset, I really don’t think you know what you’re getting into. “ Manic cautioned.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get your out of your debt, that’s a promise.” Sunset promised. She looked at Manic and gave him a reassuring smile.  Manic sighed. He didn't like how this could end up.

Later the scene shifted. Manic and Sunset were inside her lab. She was writing probability equations on the chalkboard quickly while Manic just sat down at the nearby desk and sulked as he put his hands on his face. His face read 'no hope.'The Rainbooms with Sonic and Tails walked in. They noticed all the writing on the chalkboard.

“Sunset, what’s all this?” Tails asked.

“Oh, I’m just writing down my possible outcomes of victory when I go against Mr. Mogul.” Sunset replied as she wrote.

“Mr. Mogul? What does he have to do with this?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“To make a long story short. He hates my guts and Sunset is trying to help me.” Manic explained in a dull tone.

“I challenged him to a little wager. However, gambling is only probability. You just need to work out the possible outcomes and then it’s simple.” Sunset just explained as she turned to them.

“Sunset, don’t get so cocky. I feel like he wouldn’t agree on this if he knew  there was a chance of him losing.” Sonic pointed out.

“Well if that’s the case, then he’s underestimated me greatly. “ Sunset said full of confidence.

“I’m doomed.” Manic said glumly.  The door suddenly opened and Coconuts, a small robotic monkey with a yellow siren on his head. He was wearing a black suit. He got everyone's attention.

“Manic, the ride for you and your friend is here.” Coconuts said. Sonic and Tails observed him for a while until they burst out laughing suddenly.

“What’s with you two?” AppleJack asked.

The two of them continued to laugh out loud. Sonic wiped a tear.

“Coconuts? I remember you. I used to knock you around when I was a kid sometimes.” Sonic managed to say. “This is what you’ve been reduced to?” Sonic added on with laughter.

Coconuts glared at the two of them heavily. He seethed a little.

“Manic, just come along.” He said with gritted teeth. He exited the door.

“Well, wish us luck.” Sunset said to her friends. She and Manic then went out the door as well. They followed Coconuts into a large black limousine.  They entered it from the back and the limousine drove off as Coconuts entered the driver's seat. The limo drove them to the Casino Night Club. The entrance was packed with lines of people coming in to enter.  It was a small red building with white stripes and the front had  a sign written in cursive that said 'casino' which glowed cyan, surrounded by two playing cards, a jack and queen, and a red die at the top. The entrance was a crystal clear shining yellow door. On the side, there were two large stacks of purple card decks and two large bodyguards in suits and shades next to them. Lights were coming out from the top of it as well. Manic and Sunset exited the limo and walked into the night club, following Coconuts through. The inside had a red carpet divided by a shiny blue floor  in the middle and gold railings. The sides had 4 entrances surrounded by yellow squares to lead upstairs. As well, there were various people on red and white slot machines placed on the carpet as Manic and Sunset walked through. They were completely invested in their gambling. There were large windows with gold sides at the top and a few palm trees. There were gray robots with red visors, wearing black suits for service. Manic looked uneasy as he passed them.

“I wish I could say this place brings back fond memories, but it doesn’t.” Manic grumbled. “It just reminds me of how screwed I am.”

“Manic, how many times do I have to tell you? We’re going to be fine.” 
Sunset reassured. Manic just sighed in defeat. The two  entered a small blue room at the back and saw Mogul sitting at the head of a large table alone. He was folding cards. He was pleased to see the two of them as they took their seats across from him.

“Ah, you’ve arrived.” Mogul said.  “You know it’s not too late to back out.”

“I don’t think so. I’m quite prepared.” Sunset said with confidence. “Now, choose your game.”

“How about a simple game of poker?” Mogul suggested as he laid down the cards. “One round.”

“Easy.” Sunset replied cockily. 

“Manic, shuffle the cards.” Mogul instructed. Manic reluctantly took the deck of cards Mogul laid down, and he shuffled them. He handed a pair of cards to both of them and took his seat. Sunset saw her deck of cards and she smiled.

“(Perfect. With this, I can make a flush.) “Sunset thought to herself. “(I’m sure to win. The chances of him having a better deck are slim.)”

“Are you sure you don’t want to quit?” Sunset said conceitedly.  She played down her cards.

“A flush. Top that.” Sunset said as she folded her arms, thinking she had won. Mogul looked on with surprise and inspected her flush. Manic looked a little hopeful and he did a small smile.

“Impressive. But I’m afraid you don’t have the advantage.” Mogul finally said. 

He laid down his cards. He had four of a kind. Manic's smile faded from his face. Sunset looked on as her jaw dropped slightly and she lost her confident demeanor and just stared at his cards as she gripped the table firmly.

“I believe you know both owe me money.” Mogul said calmly as he looked at his ring.

“No, this can’t be right! I worked out the possible outcomes!” Sunset said trying to make sense of the situation as she grabbed her head with her hands. Manic put his head down and just sighed heavily.

“Sorry little girl. You came in here too overconfident.” Mogul taunted.

“No! I demand that we play again!” Sunset demanded angrily as she brought her head up. Manic turned to her with a look of shock.

“Are you insane?! Sunset, just leave him. We already owe him enough cash as it is!” Manic said.

“No, I can beat him! I’m sure of it!” Sunset declared.

“Miss, what do you wager then?” Mogul asked her. He found her determination to be interesting.

“I wager……my guitar!” Sunset said. She then faced Manic. “Manic, go get my guitar.”

“Sunset, I don’t think-.” Manic started to say.

“Manic, get it now!” She snapped, taking him back.

“All right, All right.” Manic grumbled.  He then dashed back to the school in a green blur and gathered her guitar for her in no time. It was a light blue, clean model. Mogul eyed it with delight.

“Nice instrument.” Mogul stated. “Manic, shuffle the cards.”

Manic again shuffled the cards. He handed a pair of cards to the both of them.  Sunset looked at her cards again and she smirked widely.
“(This time, there’s no way I’ll lose.)” Sunset thought to herself.  She laid down her cards in front of him.   She had a full house. 

“There, I win for sure!” Sunset said, brimming with confidence.

Mogul sighed in a bored tone and laid down his cards. He had a royal flush.  Manic performed a face palm. Sunset's face became one of bewilderment and she rose up from her seat in shock.

“Your guitar, Miss.” Mogul simply stated.

“Impossible. This can’t be right! The probability of you having such good cards is extremely low.” Sunset said. She didn't understand, how could she have been wrong twice?

“Sunset, look let’s get out of here all right? Before this gets any worse.” Manic was telling her.

“No! I refuse to give up. I’m no quitter! Again!” Sunset declared in prideful rage.

“Sunset, no. I’m telling you, this isn’t going to end well.” Manic insisted.

“Manic, do you want my help or not?” Sunset asked him.

“Not really at this point.” Manic muttered. Sunset ignored him and turned back to Mogul.

“All right then, but not poker. How about…..Roulette?” Sunset proposed.

“As you wish.  But what do you wager now?” Mogul asked.

“I wager……My band’s instruments!” Sunset said.

“What? You can’t wager the things of people who aren’t even here. Sunset-.” Manic started but she glared at him with such intensity, he had no choice but to become silent.

“Manic, get the instruments!” Sunset instructed.  Manic sighed. He then dashed off back to the school. Manic entered the band room, where the Rainbooms were with Sonic and Tails.  They were not expecting to see him back so soon.

“Manic? Did you guys win?” Tails asked. "Where's Sunset?"

“No, it’s getting worse. You guys have to come stop Sunset. She’s getting unhinged.” Manic explained.

“Unhinged? How?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Well, she’s just bet all of your instruments. Which is why I’m here.” Manic said. He then dashed and took  Rainbow Dash's guitar, AppleJack's bass, Rarity's keytar, Fluttershy's tambourine and Pinkie Pie's drumset from around the room, leaving the room empty and the rest of them surprised and speechless at what they had heard.

“She did what?!” Rarity exclaimed.

“We should probably go check this out.” Sonic told them.

Manic returned with all the instruments. He then set them down next to him and Sunset.

“Hmmm, these look nice. My band might benefit from using them.” Mogul said as he inspected them.

“Enough talk!” Sunset said impatiently and slammed her fist on the table. “Let’s get started!”

“Very well.” Mogul said. He then snapped his fingers and a service robot handed him a Roulette wheel with a small white ball and he set it on the table.  “What is your bet?”

“I bet… on a double number.” Sunset said.

“I choose a single one.” Mogul said.

“(Aha, I’ve got him right where I want him.  The chances of it entering a single number is less likely.)” Sunset thought to herself.  She started to chuckle to herself slightly and rubbed her hands. Manic looked on in worry as he heard this. He could tell she wasn't thinking straight.

Mogul placed the ball on the wheel and then spun it,  As it spun around, Sunset had a confident smile on her face as it spun. She was sure to win. When it stopped spinning, the ball landed number 36. A double digit number. Sunset looked crushed as she was drained of all the confidence from her face. Manic just shrugged nonchalantly. He expected this.

“Hmmm, I think these instruments will serve the club nicely.” Mogul said calmly.

“What……I don’ get it…….how could……” Sunset was struggling to say. She lowered her hands down and just stared at the ground.

“Are you finished ? Or are there other things you’d like to bet?” Mogul mocked.

“Sunset, let’s go.” Manic urged. “Before we lose anything else.”

Meanwhile outside, Sonic, Tails, and the Rainbooms arrived outside of the Casino entrance and stared at the building.

“Ooooh, this place looks so pretty!” Pinkie said with delight.

“So, they must be somewhere inside here.” Sonic said. “I’m going in.”

Sonic walked up to  little further. He saw that there was a long line in front of them. He groaned and snapped his fingers in annoyance.

“At this rate, we’ll be out here all day.” Fluttershy said.

“No problem.” Sonic said.

Sonic then first went and grabbed Tails. He then zipped into the Night Club super fast as a blue streak. He then back and dashed the other Rainbooms in as well, leaving Rainbow Dash. When Sonic came to Rainbow Dash, he picked her up in bridal fashion quickly and then dashed her into the middle of the club to join the others. He then set her down with everyone else. 

“Sonic, if you ever hold me like that again, that’ll be the last run you ever take.” Rainbow Dash threatened. Sonic shrugged. He began to look around for a while and he spotted through a slightly open door at the back, the back of Sunset's head.

“Found 'em.” Sonic said. The group came and walked where the two of them and entered inside. There, Sunset wasn't looking too good. Her hairs had split ends and was a mess and she had small bags underneath her eyes and she clutched the edge of the table tightly. Manic saw the others and he exchanged a worried glance about Sunset with them. Mogul didn't seem to bothered by their presence and didn't pay them much attention.

“Sunset, what do you think you’re doin’?” AppleJack asked her as she touched her on the back

“I’m trying to help out Manic! He has no self-control whatsoever!” Sunset responded slightly deranged as she faced AppleJack.

“I think this stopped being about me a while ago.” Manic said. “Sunset, you need to stop gambling against this guy.”

“No, OK, I can beat him! I know I can!” Sunset insisted.

“You’ve better our instruments and lost them!” Rainbow Dash said. “Quit it before you lose something else!”

“Never! I just miscalculated that’s all. I should get it this time.” Sunset said defensively.

“Again? My, my, you are quite a stubborn girl.  What do you wager now?” Mogul said. He was enjoying this.

“I wager…” Sunset started to say. She then looked at AppleJack and broke out in a mad grin.

“I’m going to wager…AppleJack’s farm!” Sunset said. Upon hearing this, AppleJack's eyes widened.

“What? You can’t wager my farm without ma permission!” AppleJack protested.

“Trust me, this time, I know what to do!” Sunset said. “Another round of roulette, this time, I chose a split bet!"

“Then, in that case, I’ll just go with straight up.” Mogul said, keeping his cool. 

Mogul again used the wheel. The ball then rolled and this time, it only entered one number, 4 which was a straight up. Sunset slammed her head down on the table in defeat. Everyone else looked on in shock, except for Pinkie who was in the background, playing with the slot machines by pulling the levers rapidly as she ran around.

“Ma farm! What am I goin’ to tell Granny Smith?” AppleJack said with dismay.

“No! Why, why, can’t I win?!” Sunset cried in frustration. She buried her head in her hands. Manic looked on at her. He felt terrible for letting his friend go through all of this for his sake. He couldn't stand to see it.

“(This is gone on for long enough. I can’t let Sunset suffer because of my mistakes. But what can I do?)” Manic thought to himself.  He then had an idea suddenly as his eyes lit up.  Manic walked over to Mogul.

“Mogul, you’re looking a little thirsty. Mind if I get you a drink?” Manic asked.

“Ha, and have you try to poison it? It’s a kind offer, but I think I’ll pass.” Mogul responded. 

Manic then walked away from Mogul and as he did, he “accidentally” bumped the roulette wheel, and it fell off the table into pieces as it smashed to the ground.

“Oops, silly me. How clumsy.” Manic said, trying to play it off as an accident.

“Well, accidents happen. But little girl, if you want to play again, I’m afraid you’ll have to choose another game.” Mogul told Sunset.

“Not so fast.  We have a genius here who can fix up anything.” Manic said as he put his arm around Tails suddenly. “Tails, you’d be able to fix this thing up in no time right? Make it new and improved.” Manic added on with a wink.

“Yeah, I guess.” Tails said.  Tails seemed confused by Manic’s wink. Manic then used his hands to make a screwdriver motion. Tails then got it as his eyes widened.

“Let me see that. But I need to work in a quiet space, so I'll be back.” Tails said. He took the pieces of the wheel from the ground and went out of the room. He came out with it fixed in a minute and a half holding it in one hand.

“Good as new.” Tails said as he placed it on the table.

“Sunset, don’t you want to try one last time?” Manic asked her. 

“What’s the use? I already know I’m going to lose.” Sunset said with little confidence.

“I don’t know. Maybe, this time, you’ll get it.” Manic said reassuringly with a smile.

“Well then, what do you wager?” Mogul asked.

“How about you two make this all or nothing? If she wins, we get all our stuff back. If she loses, then you get…..the whole school.” Manic wagered. Everyone looked at him in shock and Sunset turned to Manic quickly. Now she was the one looking at him as if he was insane.

“Manic, I’m not sure if I can do this-” Sunset began with nervousness before Manic put his hand on her shoulder.

“You’ll be fine. ” Manic said. He smiled at her. It gave her some confidence and she slightly regained her composure.

“I will bet a straight up.” Mogul said.

“Then, in that case, I guess I’ll go with a split bet this time.” Sunset said, slightly nervous.

Mogul spun the wheel. Everyone looked extremely nervous save for Pinkie who was still playing with the machines, as the wheel spun. Sunset clenched her fist in worry, Sonic tapped his foot impatiently, and Rarity bit her lip slightly. Manic and Tails looked at each other with a smile. Mogul looked smug. Eventually, it stopped spinning and the ball landed on first a 0, and then the number 8, a split bet. Sunset looked shocked with happiness as started to smile. The Rainbooms sighed in relief heavily, with AppleJack's being the loudest. Sonic gave a slight smile. Manic and Tails high-fived each other.  Mogul just looked down at the wheel. His expression was difficult to read, slightly surprised, but not disappointed.

“Not bad. Looks like you win, little girl.” Mogul admitted.

“I won? I actually won!” Sunset said with happiness.  She joined her friends to celebrate.

“I get to keep the farm!” AppleJack said happily.

“Nice going Sunset.” Manic said giving the thumbs up. She then hugged Manic unexpectedly. Manic looked surprised at this and she let him go.

“Cool, let’s get out here then.” Sonic said.

“I wouldn’t move if I were you.” Mogul said suddenly. All their eyes were on him now.

“What? Sunset won.” Rainbow Dash said.

Mogul lifted up the wheel. He then showed the group the bottom which had a yellow sphere attached to it that was blinking red.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?” Mogul said unimpressed.

“Manic, what is that?” Sunset asked. Manic laughed nervously.

Mogul used his powers and he demonstrated the Miles electric from behind Tail's hands. The screen was flashing red as well.

“Rigging the equipment is quite low, even for you Manic.” Mogul said with disappointment.

“You cheated?!” Sunset said with a hint of anger to Manic.

“It was to help you!” Manic defended.

Mogul lifted all of them up with his powers easily. They were trapped in green spheres.

“I don’t appreciate cheaters.” Mogul said as he turned them towards the end of his room and he had his back turned to the door. “Now then, what should I do with you?”

Mogul then started to tighten his grip on them with a malicious grin and they all began to struggle. However, a loud thud was heard from behind Mogul suddenly. The group was released from his grip and they fell down. Mogul fell down on the floor knocked out.  Behind him was Knuckles with a grin.

“Tails, that was good timing right?” Knuckles said.

“Knuckles, why are you here?” Sonic asked confused.

“When I went to fix the wheel, I called Knuckles to arrive just in case.” Tails explained.

“Even if he is centuries year old and has demigod-like powers, being unprepared still makes him vulnerable.” Knuckles commented.

Sunset walked over to Manic. Manic slightly slumped his shoulders.

“Look, you’re probably mad that I cheated for you. But, it was the only way I could think of before we lost anything.” Manic said before she could say anything.

“Manic, I’m not mad. You’re right. I was out of control and I guess I let my ego get the better of me.” Sunset admitted.

“Good, I think we both learned something today. You need to learn to control your ego and I need to learn to be better at cheating.” Manic remarked.

“I think that’s the wrong kind of lesson for you, .” Sunset said. She then looked back at Mogul on the floor. “I think we should leave before he wakes up.”

“But what are we gonna do if he wakes up? I doubt he’ll let us off the hook.” Sonic said.

Manic looked around the room and he noticed a small computer on the counter in front. He had an idea as he smiled and walked over to it.

Later, Mogul began to stir. His eyelids flapped before he fully opened them. He held his head and rubbed it as he rose from the ground.

“Oh, when I get those brats I’ll-.” He started to say before he noticed that his Casino was being inspected by the police. Mogul exited the room and saw that officers were removing the slot machines and taking them outside.

“What’s going on here?” Mogul asked. An officer approached him.

“Mogul, we have a warrant to close down this facility. We were tipped off that as the owner of this Casino, you have an empty bank account. You can't operate a Casino with no cash. We were provided with evidence.” The officer explained.

“Evidence? But who could of-.” Mogul started to say before it dawned on him who could have. He scowled when he realized it and clenched his fist and grit his teeth.

“Manic.” He grumbled. Later outside the Casino, the group was making their way. Manic walked next to Sunset. They both had victorious smiles on their faces.

"Even a mystical demigod isn't free from being bankrupt.” Manic said. Sunset laughed slightly.

THE END.









> NEW INFILTRATION
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Infiltration Chapter


During the day in Canterlot, two blue streaks were clashing with one another repeatedly, making soundwaves as they did and dashed through the city. One blue streak over came the other one, sending it crashing to the ground. Sonic then got up, groaning and holding his head in an empty field. Metal Sonic then came over him and walked to him. He then lifted Sonic up by the neck.

“Okay, I’ll admit. You are tougher than last time.” Sonic admitted.

“Submit. I am the true Sonic. You are my loathsome copy.” Metal Sonic said as he pulled Sonic close to him.

“Okay, first of all, two things. 1. You’re a robot how can you possibly be the original Sonic? And 2....” Sonic said as Shadow teleported and kicked Metal Sonic away, sending him on the ground. “That.”

Metal Sonic rose up and  then charged to both Sonic and Shadow but Manic appeared as a green dash and punched him in the air. In the air, Metal Sonic was then restrained by Silver using his psychic powers. All of them surrounded him on the ground with Silver holding him.

“Analyzing. Multiple targets now acquired. Activating counterattack.” Metal Sonic said. A yellow aura then surrounded him and he released an electric wave that blew all of them back, sending them on the ground. As they were getting up, Metal Sonic prepared another attack and charged. Sonic then looked up at him, and saw the glimmer of a Chaos Emerald near his chest. Sonic then charged up a boost, and clashed with Metal Sonic just as he released his electric wave, creating a shock-wave. The force of the shock-wave ripped Metal Sonic’s chest open and sent the Chaos Emerald flying. It also resulting in Sonic, Shadow, Manic, and Silver again being blown far away. The Chaos Emerald continued to fly through the air.

Twilight Sparkle was running to school. She had stayed up all night reviewing her notes on the weird things going on at Canterlot High School. Spike was running next to her.

“C’mon, Spike. We have to get to school on time or my perfect attendance will-.” Twilight started to say as the Chaos Emerald hit her in the back of the head.

“Ow!!” Twilight then rubbed her head and looked behind her. On the ground, she saw the blue Chaos Emerald. She then picked it up and looked at with amazement.

“What’s this? I’ve never seen a jewel like this before.” Twilight wondered. She continued to examine the Chaos Emerald as she checked each of its sides. “I wonder who this belongs to?” She looked around and saw no one. She checked her watch and realized she had to go. She then ran off again in a hurry. As Twilight ran off, the tree around her began to shuffle. Sonic then fell out of it, followed by Manic, Shadow, and Silver.

“I’m never doing that again!” Sonic groaned as he got up and dusted himself. “Everyone okay?”

“Next time, give us a warning before you try something like that you buffoon!” Shadow said annoyed as he rubbed his head.

“Okay, Shadow’s fine.” Sonic said.

“What was up with that Sonic?” Silver asked as he walked up him.

“I saw a Chaos Emerald in Metal Sonic’s chest. I figured the best way to beat him would be to take it out of him. Seeing as he’s not here anymore, I guess it worked.” Sonic said.

“What about the Emerald?” Manic asked as he looked around. “It would be a good thing to se-er I mean we must prevent it from falling into the hands of evil-doers.” He added in an attempt to save face.

“Really? Evil doers?” Sonic said as he rolled his eyes at Manic. “Listen, about that I didn’t see where it fell, but it should be around here somewhere.”

“Of course. Only you could take a victory and turn it into a loss.” Shadow grumbled as he folded his arms unimpressed. 

“Hey, Shadow. If you could shut up and help that would be perfect.” Sonic said. “Can’t you sense Emeralds or something?”

“Only vaguely. In fact, I’m picking up something right now.” Shadow said as his hands glowed a light color of green. He then started to walk off in the north, with Sonic, Silver, and Manic following him. Shadow then stopped in front of a large building that was brown and turquoise with many windows and two pointy towers in the middle. Students wearing the uniforms of Crystal Prep, which were dark purple skirts for the girls and dark purple suits for the boys, were walking into the front entrance.

“What is this place?” Shadow asked, before Sonic pulled him, Silver, and Manic into the bushes nearby after Sonic's eyes widened.

“What’s up, Sonic?” Silver asked inside.

“Okay, I just realized that this is Crystal Prep Academy. They're CHS’s arch-rival. If they have the Emerald, this is going to be a problem.” Sonic said.

“So? I’ll just go in and demand the emerald.” Shadow said.

“It won’t be that simple, Shadow. If they see students from CHS lost something valuable to them, they’ll probably keep it to gloat. We have to play it smart. Use the element of surprise.” Sonic said.

“I got an idea.” Manic said. “Let’s just infiltrate the school undercover and get the emerald. That way no one will know about anything.” 

“That’s surprisingly well thought out for you, Manic.” Shadow said. “But look, everyone’s wearing uniforms. How exactly are we going to blend in?”

Silver was looking around through the bushes. He then saw Jet Set, walking up to the school along with Trenderhoof, Neon Lights, and Royal Pin. 

“Hey, guys. I think I’ve found some “willing” donors of uniforms.” Silver said with a smile. Using psychokinesis, Silver quickly pulled them close into the bushes until they began to notice what was happening.

“Egad! A kidnapping. I demand you release us at on-.” Jet Set started to say before he was knocked out along with the other three by Silver using a psychic wave.  The 4 of them fell to the ground and Sonic and co looked over them.

“Now we have clothes.” Silver said. Later Sonic, Shadow, Manic, and Silver came out of the bushes wearing the Crystal Prep uniform. The 4 of them walked into the school. It was large and the hallway was shining brightly with the color blue. Students walked pass with serious expressions on their face.

“Okay, guys. We try to find the emerald as soon as possible. Ask around if you have too, but be subtle. The most important thing to do is be natural.” Sonic said.

“You four.” a voice said, making the 4 of them turn around. They saw a young woman with pink skin and purple, white and pink hair. She had a dark turquoise outfit and a light turquoise skirt.

“What? Us?” Sonic said nervously. “We're just 4 Crystal Prep students. Who go to Crystal Prep. Because this is our school. Crystal Prep. Go Crystal Prep. If I had a son I would name him Crystal Prep. I love Crystal Prep.”

”So much for natural.” Shadow said as he folded his arms.

“I haven’t seen you around before. You must be new to the school. I'm Dean Cadance.” The woman said.

“Yes. We are new students at Crystal Prep. Our school. Crystal Prep.” Sonic said again nervously. Dean Cadance looked at him weirdly.

“Anyway,if you need any help, just come to me. I’m sure you’ll love it here.” Dean Cadance said.

“Yes. We already love the school that we go to which is Crystal Prep. Crystal Prep rules.” Sonic said once again nervously. She gave him an odd look and walked away. 

“Way to go Sonic. You might as well have told her we're really CHS students infiltrating Crystal Prep.” Manic said a bit loudly as he raised his arms. Other students looked at him and he noticed. “Was the nightmare I had last night.” Manic added to save himself. They then walked away.

“Okay, you're performing poorly at this whole 'fitting in' thing.” Shadow said. “Just act normally.”

“You know you’re social skills suck when Shadow’s giving you advice on fitting in.” Silver said with a slight laugh.  Shadow glared at him and Silver cleared his throat. Just then a soccer ball whizzed over to Sonic.

“Heads up!” A female voice said. Sonic then noticed the ball and dodged it easily with lightning fast reflexes. Indigo Zap, a girl with yellow skin and dark blue hair wearing goggles, then came up to him. She had an impressed look on her face. 

“That was awesome!” She said enthusiastically as she came up in Sonic’s face. “I’ve never seen anyone move like that before!”

“Well, you know me. I’m only the fastest thing alive.” Sonic boasted. Shadow then shot him a glare and he realized his mistake. “Forget I said that.”

Indigo Zap then looked up and down at Sonic. Sonic was puzzled.

“Hmmmm, you look like you’re pretty good at sports. We could use someone like you for some of our sports team.” Indigo Zap said.

“Me? Oh no. I’m terrible at sports. In fact, I have this rare disease which says if I play too many sports, I’ll die.” Sonic said. Indigo Zap just laughed and put a hand on Sonic’s shoulder.

“I like you. C’mon, I’m sure the coach would love to meet you.” Indigo Zap said as she dragged Sonic with her through the hallway. Sonic had a “help me” look on his face.

“Should we help him?” Manic asked. Just then someone bumped into Manic from the behind and he almost lost his balance. “Hey watch where-.” Manic started to say before he saw who did it. It was Lemon Zest, a girl with long green hair and dark pink skin, rocking to her music on her pink headphones. Manic’s eyes then turned into hearts and he smiled. She then noticed Manic and removed her headphones.

“Sorry, dude! This song is just so rad!” She yelled. Manic continued to stare at her with lovesick eyes and a smile. She was a little weirded out.

“Is he okay?” She asked Shadow and Silver.

“He’s fine. He was just dropped on his head as a child. Terrible accident.” Silver said. Lemon Zest shrugged and put back on her headphones. She then walked away in the hallway. Manic then started to follow her.

“Manic, get back here!” Shadow called.  Manic ignored him. Shadow then turned to Silver and sighed. “I guess it’s up you and me to find the emerald.” 

Silver was about to respond when he noticed walking up was Upper Crust and Suri Polomare. His face became one of panic and he then hid behind Shadow.

“Oh, please tell me you’re not going to act like an idiot now.” Shadow said annoyed.

“Those girls know me. If they see me, our cover will be blown. I gotta hide for now.” Silver said. He then went into a nearby room just as the 3 girls walked past and closed the door.

“I was supposed to meet Jet Set 15 minutes ago at his locker, but he never showed up.” Upper Crust was saying.

“It’s official. He’s cheating on you.” Suri said bluntly making Upper Crust gasp.

“What if he is?!” Upper Crust wondered. “This is a tragedy!” She did a dramatic faint.

Silver then looked out the window of the room he entered. When the 3 girls walked past, he sighed. He then turned around to observe the room he was in. There were many clothes on racks. Sunny Flare, a girl with green skin and short purple hair with green stripes, was examining one of them, a black suit with silver accents.

“Hmmm, this suit looks good. But I could only really tell if I had a model.” Sunny Flare said. She then noticed Silver as she turned around. “Who’re you?”

“Me? Well, I’m, uh.” Silver said trying to think of something to say. Sunny Flare continued to observe him as she looked up and down.

“Hey, you know you’d be a perfect model.” Sunny Flare. “Would you try on some of these clothes?” She held up the black suit.

“Well, I’m not sure if I can.” Silver said. Sunny Flare walked over to him and started to stroke his hair. Silver blushed slightly.

“Please? It would make me very happy.” Sunny Flare said with a flirtatious tone bringing her lips inches away from Silver’s. 

“Well, okay. But not for too long.” Silver said.

Shadow was then standing in the hallway alone. He then sighed loudly.

“Why do I always surround myself with those idiots?” Shadow wondered to himself. 

“Oh, please continue to stand in the middle of the hallway and block people. It’s really something. Something to get you hated.” He heard a voice say  making Shadow turn around to face its owner. She had yellow skin with pink hair in a ponytail and freckles. It was Sour Sweet.

“You know, you could just go around me.” Shadow told her. 

“Or you could move.” Sour Sweet said.

“No one tells me what to do.” Shadow said.

“Oh, a rebel. That’s so cool." Sour Sweet said with false sweetness. “If you were in 8th grade.” Her tone was harsher this time.

“Oh, a bipolar girl. That’s annoying. ” Shadow said. Sour Sweet was surprised. Most people just backed off the second they got on to her sweet and sour side. She enjoyed seeing the shock people had when she suddenly made the change.  “This is a waste of my time. I have things to do.” Shadow started to walk away.  

“Hey! Don’t walk away! I’m talking to you!” Sour Sweet said.

“Too late.” Shadow said. She then began to follow him. “Stop following me.”

“I’m so sorry, but there’s just one problem.” Sour Sweet said. “You don’t walk away unless I tell you to!”

“Well, you just annoyed me enough to leave.” Shadow said again unfazed by her change. Sour Sweet was even more surprised. There was something different about this student.

In her lab, Twilight was looking at the emerald. She held it on her desk and examined it with a magnifying glass.

“What do you think it is, Spike?” Twilight asked as she looked down to her green and purple dog who was chewing on a toy bone. Spike looked up and just shrugged.

“I can’t put my finger on it, but I feel there something special about this thing.” Twilight said. “Time to run some test.” She put the emerald down on the desk.

Indigo Zap dragged Sonic to the field. Outside the coach (the one from the Friendship Games short with orange skin and wearing a gray cap.) was with other athletes, who were running laps around the field

“Hello, Indigo.” The coach said greeting her as she came. He then noticed Sonic. “Who’s he?

“He’s a newbie. But he has awesome moves.” Indigo Zap said.

“No, I don’t.” Sonic said softly.

“What’s your name, son?’ The coach asked Sonic.

“My name? It’s well umm. It’s a cool name.” Sonic replied.

“Well, what is it?” The coach asked again.

“(Any name other than Sonic will do), it’s Sonic(crap). I mean it’s not. Well technically it is, but wait it’s not and-.” Sonic was saying nervously. The coach looked at him weirdly.

“He’s a strange one.” The coach said,

“I think he’s funny.” Indigo Zap said. “Why don’t we see what he can do?”

“All right.” The coach turned to Sonic. “All right Sonic, why don’t you run a few laps, and I’ll time you.” He then led Sonic over to a line and held up a stopwatch. 

“(All right, don’t go too fast, be slow).” Sonic thought as he got in running position.

“Go!” The Coach said. Sonic then dashed off and ran “slow” in a blur bur. He then came back to the start of the line almost instantly. Both the coach and Indigo looked at him with amazement.

“2.3 seconds.” The coach said with awe. He dropped the stopwatch.

“(I really need to work on my definition of slow).” Sonic though as they looked at him.

“How did you do that?!” Indigo Zap yelled getting up in his face. “That was faster than my time!” There was a hint of anger and jealously in her voice.

“Maybe I took too many steroids this morning.” Sonic lied. “Oh no, my secret is out. I’m so ashamed. Catch you later.” Sonic started to walk away before the coach held him back by grabbing his arm.

“We need to test you out more!” He said with enthusiasm. Indigo Zap had a sour look on her face.

“(Remember Sonic, be slow in these test).” Sonic thought to himself.

A montage of Sonic being tested was shown. He tried to be “slow”, but he excelled at everything he did. When baseballs were thrown to him, he hit a home run for all of them. At soccer as a goalie, he caught all the balls effortlessly. In football, he easily moved past everyone and scored a touchdown all by himself. The coach looked amazed while Indigo Zap looked mad. She started to steam.

“(Curse you muscle memory).” Sonic thought to himself after he made the touchdown. 

“You…are by far the greatest athlete I’ve ever seen!” The coach said. He patted Sonic on the back. “With you on the teams, Crystal Prep will shine!”

Indigo Zap stomped her foot in anger and stormed off angrily. Sonic looked at her with concern.

“(Aw man. I don’t know her, but I hate to make anyone feel bad. I should go talk to her).” Sonic thought to himself. He then followed Indigo Zap into the school.

Speaking of following, Manic was still following Lemon Zest like a lovesick puppy. She stopped by her locker and started to open it. Manic was just standing there and she didn't notice. Sugarcoat, a girl with lavender skin and white hair in pigtails, came up to Lemon Zest.

“Oh, hey, Sugarcoat!” Lemon Zest shouted over her music.

“Lemon Zest, this weird guy’s been following you.” Sugarcoat said bluntly.

“What weird guy?” Lemon Zest said as she opened her locked, causing it to smack Manic in the face and he hit the ground. Both Lemon Zest and Sugarcoat noticed.

“Him.” Sugarcoat said as she pointed to Manic on the ground. Both of them came over Manic.

“Hey, you okay?” Lemon Zest asked.

“Considering you smacked him right in the nose with your locker and judging from the sound it made when he hit the ground, I’d say he might have a broken nose or a concussion.” Sugarcoat said without emotion.

Manic was still lying on the ground. To him, a pink heart surrounded Lemon Zest and she looked elegant. He then snapped out of his trance and got up quickly.

“Sup, I’m Manic.” Manic said trying to be cool and forgetting he was supposed to be undercover. He then leaned against the locker with one hand.

“Why were you following me?” Lemon Zest asked.

“No, I wasn’t.” Manic lied.

“Yeah you were. You’ve been following her halfway across the school. It’s creepy.” Sugarcoat said. “Plus, you need a haircut.”

“I wasn’t following her. I was following….. Her music. Yeah, that’s it.” Manic said quickly. “You see I’m a professional drummer.”

“Really?!” Lemon Zest shouted with excitement.

“I doubt it.” Sugarcoat said as she folded her arms.

“No, it’s true. I’m a one man band. Gotten some pretty big gigs. No big deal.” Manic said.

“That’s awesome! I’d love to hear you play!” Lemon Zest said. She then took Manic’s hand. He liked where this was going. She then took him to the music room. Sugarcoat then followed them.

Silver was modeling for Sunny Flare. He was wearing the suit from earlier and he was standing with his arms spread out. He had an annoyed look on his face. She was examining him from all angles using a measuring tape.

“Can I go now?” Silver asked.

“Not now, dearie. I still need to check out a few things.” Sunny Flare said as she measured his right arm.

“I’ve been like this for like 30 minutes. My legs are asleep. Plus, I need to go somewhere.” Silver said. Just then at the door through the window, Upper Crust appeared. It looked like she was going to enter. Silver got panic over his face.

“(Oh, crap. If she sees me, my cover will be blown. Gotta think fast. Keep the girl in front of me distracted.)” Silver thought. 
Using his powers, Silver locked the door after it glowed green. Sunny Flare didn't notice, too busy measuring Silver.

His eyes then darted around the room, looking for a possible distraction.  They then landed on the coat rack.

"Wait, I'd rather try...this outfit!" Silver suddenly yelled, as he used his powers to thrown on a violet blazer with green pants over his face, much to Sunny Flare's surprise. 

"What? This old thing?" She said, not noticing Silver's powers once more.  She eyed it once and formed a frown on her face. Due to this,  the sound of Upper Crust trying to open the door flew over head.

"Is this door busted or what?" She said in a stumped manner.

"Yeah, what's wrong with it?" Silver questioned, noticing her facial expression.

"Well, this is a design I suggested for new uniforms at Crystal Prep." She explained. "These uniforms are alright but too common. I wanted to add variety. But Principal Cinch turned them down. I guess she was right. These are too flashy."

Silver saw how down Sunny Flare looked and started to feel sorry for her. This seemed pretty important to her. 

"I don't think it looks bad." Silver suddenly said, speaking  before thinking. "It's colorful, which I like."

Sunny Flare turned to Silver, not expecting to hear her new model say this.

"Really?" She said. "You actually like it?"

"Uh, yeah." Silver went on, still not thinking about his words. He was more focused on cheering her up. "I think this shows you're a good designer. Probably the best I've seen."

Sunny Flare's face turned into one that matched the description of her first name.  

"No one hear has ever told me that. People aren't too interested in fashion. You saying that means a lot." She said with a smile, which Silver returned.

"Since you like my uniform, I have even more outfits I scrapped for other events. Why don't I show you?" Sunny Flare eagerly said. 

Silver then realized everything he had said and had also extended his stay. He formed a faint smile.

Shadow was still walking around the school. His hands were still glowing faintly. 

“Where’s that DAMN Chaos Emerald?” Shadow muttered to himself. Just then, Sour Sweet then came in front of him. “Not you again.”

“I’m so sorry to bother you, Mr. Dark and Edgy but, I’m not done with you!” Sour Sweet said going from sweet to sour again. Shadow just looked bored.

“Wow, you’re really a mix of sugar, spice, and everything nice.” Shadow said deadpan.

“What is it with you? Aren’t you surprised by my sour and sweetness?” Sour Sweet asked annoyed.

“No, I really don’t care. Excuse me, I need things to do.” Shadow said walking past her. She again came in front of him.

“Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Shadow asked.

“Why aren’t you reacting to my personality changes?” Sour Sweet asked frustrated. Shadow still had a bored look on her face. “Don’t you feel emotions?”

“Can’t you control yours?” Shadow asked. “You should probably get that checked out.”

“Oh, don’t worry I will.” Sour Sweet said sweetly. “Right after I get a reaction out of you.”

Shadow sighed heavily.

In her lab, Twilight had hooked up 4 black conducting wire to the Chaos Emerald. 

“I think the first thing I better look at is the conductive properties of this thing.” Twilight said as she turned on the electricity with a switch. The electricity flowed into the emerald. However, the electricity then turned blue and the emerald started to crackle with electricity.

“I don’t think that’s good.” Twilight said with worry on her face. The Chaos Emerald then released a wave of energy which blew Twilight back against the wall.

Sonic was following Indigo Zap, who was still storming off in anger. He then came in front of her.

“Hey, umm are you okay?” Sonic asked. She just glared at him.

“Oh, I’m fine. It’s just that some newbie comes along and makes all my athletic achievements in this school look like a joke.” Indigo Zap said.

“I sense hostility. In my defense, you dragged me there.” Sonic said.

“Yeah, to be part of the teams, not be all of them.” Indigo Zap replied.

“We could both be the best athletes in the school.” Sonic said. At the mention of that, Indigo Zap grabbed Sonic by his arms tightly and pulled him closes inches from her face quickly. “Uh, personal space please.”

“At Crystal Prep, there is no sharing anything! Either you’re number one or you’re not! And I want to be number one!” Indigo Zap yelled in his face.

“Honestly, that sounds like a severely flawed mindset.” Sonic said calmly. Indigo Zap sighed and she let him go.

“I want to beat you up, but you’re just so cool about this, I can’t.” Indigo Zap said. Sonic then noticed a blue energy wave from behind her. He figured it must be the Chaos Emerald.

“Hey, what’s that?” Sonic said as pointed behind her. Indigo Zap turned around and Sonic disappeared in a flash. 

In the music room, Manic was playing a drum solo for Lemon Zest and Sugarcoat. Lemon Zest was liking it as she rocked to it, while Sugarcoat looked bored as she twirled her pigtails. Manic then finished with a large thud.

“How was that?” Manic said with a grin.

“Dude that was the most awesome drum solo I’ve ever seen!” Lemon Zest said with enthusiasm. 

“It wasn’t anything special. It was just you banging things together and making a lot of noise.” Sugarcoat critiqued. Manic glared at her.

“You know, your eyes are deader than a shark’s.” Manic told her. She didn't seem fazed by his comment. Lemon Zest then came up to him.

“You are so cool! Say, after-school, I’m heading to the music store across town. Want to come?” Lemon Zest said.

Manic grinned. He was about to say yes when he saw a blue blur move past the music room behind her.

“(Was that Sonic? Eh I’m sure he won’t come for me. Not when I’m about to score a date with this hot chick).” Manic thought to himself. Sonic then became a blur and grabbed Manic from the music room, making a large gust of wind.  Lemon Zest and Sugarcoat stood there in shock as their hair blew.

“What just happened?” Sugarcoat asked.

Meanwhile, Silver was still standing still on the rack. He could barely feel his legs as Sunny Flare had made him look and try on many outfits she had planned but were not approved by Principal Cinch. These were a bumblee outfit, a translucent green suit, a fancy hat, eye mask and cape for the Crystal Prep Play, new style athlete uniforms which were bright orange and yellow(he was currently wearing this one).....it seemed endless.

"(How many more outfits can she possibly have? And I thought Rarity was bad.)" Silver thought

"You know, I really have to be somewhere..." Silver brought up

"I'm sure it can wait, dearie. Right now, I need you. You're a perfect model and not to mention, you adore my designs." Sunny Flare answered.

Silver sighed. He really had overdone it with trying to make her feel better. Behind Sunny Flare, he then noticed a blue wave going through the halls. His eyes lit up as he recognized it as Chaos Energy.

("The emerald! I have to get it)". Silver said in his head,

Using his psychic powers, Silver made Sunny Flare a bit dizzy by releasing a small green wave from his hand, causing her to move back and hold her head a bit. He then rushed out the door and followed the energy wave.

Sour Sweet was still trying to get a reaction out of Shadow in the hallway.

Sour! Sweet! Sour! Sweet! Sour! Sweet! Do something!” Sour Sweet yelled. Shadow still looked bored. Shadow hands then glowed a brighter green. He then noticed the blue energy wave behind her.

“(The emerald!)” Shadow thought. 

“What’s up with your hands?” Sour Sweet asked. Ignoring her Shadow dashed away quickly and followed the source of the wave. Sour Sweet looked on in disbelief. In front of the door to Twilight’s lab, Sonic, Manic, Silver, and Shadow all gathered. 

“You saw it too?” Shadow asked.

“How could I not? It’s a giant blue wave.” Silver responded.

“Sonic? How could you ruin my opportunity?” Manic said annoyed while glaring at Sonic. “I was about to score a date with the hottest girl I’ve ever seen!”

“Really? That’s all you care about?” Silver asked annoyed. 


"Dude, just what are you wearing? Manic said, noticing Silver's change in attire.  “You look like some kind of sunflower.”

“It's a long story.” Silver told him.

“Guys, shut up.” Sonic said. “We found the source of the emerald wave. Now let’s find it.” 

Twilight then stumbled out of her lab, holding the emerald in her hands.

“I don’t know what that emerald is but-.” Twilight said. She then noticed Sonic and the others around her and she became startled. “Wh-Who are you guys?”

Sonic was about to politely introduce himself as he walked forward. But Shadow said something instead.

“Hand over that Chaos Emerald! Or else!” He threatened, making Twilight shrink back.

“Ch-Chaos Emerald?” She asked.

“Yeah, that thing you have. Give it to us.” Shadow demanded. He started marching over to Twilight, but Sonic came in front of him.

“Shadow, chill.” Sonic said.

“No, I want to get out of here. There's this crazy chick who won’t leave me alone.” Shadow said.

Just then Sour Sweet, and the rest of the Shadowbolts came. Shadow rolled his eyes when he saw them.

“I thought I already told you.” Sour Sweet said sweetly to Shadow. “Don’t walk away from me unless I tell you to!

“You’re right Shadow. She is crazy.” Sonic agreed as he looked at her strangely.

“How did you disappear like that in front of me?” Indigo Zap said to Sonic. “You’re hiding something!” Sonic looked away nervously.

“There you are!” Sunny Flare said to Silver. “You're not finished trying on my outfits!.” 

“Dude!” Lemon Zest said to Manic. “What was up with that blue blur thing? It was so cool!”

“But it wasn’t as cool as my drumming, right?” Manic asked.

“Your drumming’s mediocre.” Sugarcoat said. Manic shot her a look.

“This is a waste of time.” Shadow said. He marched over to Twilight and grabbed the emerald but she held on. “Let go.”

“N-No! This emerald is special. I need it for my research.” Twilight said now struggling with Shadow over the emerald.

“There they are, Dean Cadance!” Jet Set yelled as he, Trenderhoof, Neon Lights, and Royal Pin arrived with Dean Cadance. All of them were in white undershirts and boxers. “Those are the heathens who assaulted us and stole our clothes!” Everyone turned to them.

“I knew we should’ve just locked them in a closet.” Manic muttered to himself.

“Is this true?” Dean Cadance asked looking at Sonic, Shadow, Manic, and Silver. Shadow then pushed Twilight away and got the emerald as she was distracted.

“All right, I have the emerald. Time to go.” Shadow said.

“No! I still need to score my date.” Manic pleaded.

“Well .I have what I came for.” Shadow said. “Chaos Control.” He then teleported away, leaving all of the Crystal Prep residents in shock.

“Did he just teleport?” Sour Sweet asked bewildered.

“Great, now he blew our cover for sure.” Sonic groaned. He then dashed away at super speed, leaving the people of Crystal Prep even more shocked. They then turned to Manic and Silver. Silver levitated himself using psychokinesis, shocking them even more to the point that their jaw's dropped.

“Well I’m out of here.” Silver said. He then took out as fast as he could.

“Come back, my model!" Sunny Flare shouted but to no avail.

This left only Manic lef. He walked over to Lemon Zest.

“So, did that give you any ideas?” Manic said grinning at Lemon Zest. 

“Wait a minute. I don’t what’s going on, but students here have been assaulted and robbed. There are going to be consequences for someone. ” Dean Cadance said. She then turned to Manic.

“Oh no. I am out.” Manic said. He then dashed away as a green blur. He then came back with a pen in his hand. He then wrote a series of numbers on Lemon Zest’s head. 

“Call me.” Manic said. He then dashed away after winking at her. The Crystal Prep students couldn't believe what they had witnessed. There was a moment of silence.

“Those guys are freaks.” Sugarcoat said as she spoke up.

“That was awesome!” Lemon Zest shouted.

“I hope the black haired one comes back.” Sour Sweet said. “I didn’t get a chance to bend him to my will.”

“That Sonic guy was showing me up at sports. Glad he’s gone.” Indigo Zap said. “Though he was pretty nice.”

“That guy with the white hair was the best model ever.” Sunny Flare said with a disappointed tone

Twilight put her hand on her chin.

Later in her lab, Twilight was looking at her map of the weird events surrounding CHS. She put a note on it with the words “blue emerald, boys with weird powers”. Spike was in the corner chewing on a plush toy, this time, a rubber ball. 

“I don’t fully know it yet Spike, but I think those guys are connected to Canterlot High!” Twilight said. “This calls for more research.”

THE END.
> Eclipse
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                                                                                                Eclipse chapter
At Canterlot High in the morning, Derpy, with her gray skin and yellow wavy hair, entered through the door. As she did, she noticed that the hallway was empty and the lights were off, making it shadowed and dark. Normally there were students heading off to class or socializing in the hallway.  She had a puzzled look on her face as she walked through. Derpy continued to walk through the hallway. She passed by two classrooms and noticed that they were empty as she looked through the window. Derpy looked around confused. She put her hand on her chin. Derpy continued to go down the hallway.  As she did, she spotted an open door at the end. Derpy stopped in her tracks. She looked behind her and still saw no one. She then shrugged and continued to walk further towards the door. As she got close to the door and reached for the handle, suddenly a blue streak dashed by and placed a red blindfold over her eyes as it spun her around. Derpy moved her hands around as she stopped spinning before she felt someone take her hand. She then was walked towards somewhere before being stopped in her tracks. 

“1…..2……3!” Derpy heard Pinkie Pie shout.

“Happy Birthday!” Derpy heard very loudly. Derpy took off her blindfold and she saw a yellow and gray banner saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY. There were gray and yellow party streamers everywhere. She saw her classmates wearing yellow party hats. In the center was a yellow birthday cake with 18 gray candles.  Derpy broke out in a smile. Pinkie blew a party horn at her.

“Make a wish!” Pinkie said excitedly. She placed her hands on Derpy’s shoulder and sat her down in front of the candles.  Derpy took a deep breath and blew the candles out at once. Everyone clapped.

“Hey Sonic, remember when you couldn’t blow out 15 birthday candles at once?” Manic said to Sonic jokingly as he nudged him.

“It’s not as easy as she makes it look.” Sonic said slightly annoyed.

Pinkie pulled out of her hair a long list. The list had many names crossed out such as Sandalwood, Lyra, and Photo Finish. Pinkie took a pink pencil out and drew it down to Derpy’s name.  She then crossed it off her list. 

“Perfect!” Pinkie said happily. 

“Another one on yer list done. How many parties does it make now?” AppleJack asked.

“4 for this month! This is the greatest idea I’ve ever had! Throwing a party for everyone at Canterlot High is what I was born to do!” Pinkie said excitedly and leaped for joy.

Just then a blue flash appeared and Shadow teleported in the room and caught everyone's attention,

“What’s going on?” Shadow asked as he looked around.

“Way to be late to the party Shadow.” Sunset said after she did a slight laugh.

Shadow noticed the decorations and the cake. He groaned. He really wasn’t a big fan of parties.

“That’s my cue to leave.” Shadow said.  He turned around to exit the door but Pinkie zoomed in front of him suddenly.

“Wait, aren’t you gonna stay and celebrate Derpy’s birthday with us?” Pinkie asked.

“No.” Shadow said bluntly.

“Pleaaaaase? You’ve never been to any of the birthday parties I’ve thrown for the past month.” Pinkie begged.

Shadow shrugged. “So what? I don’t see the appeal behind Birthday Parties if you ask me.  I mean I’ve never had one.” Shadow told her.

Pinkie froze. The last 4 words Shadow said echoed in her mind. Her eyelids started to drop and she didn't look to well.

“Did you…….just say that you’ve never had a birthday party?” Pinkie said weakly.

“Yeah.” Shadow said.

Pinkie looked dizzy, her eyes closed and she started to fall to the floor. Just before she hit the ground, Rarity put her fainting couch underneath her. 

“It’s a good thing I always bring this. Good heavens! Shadow, what did you say to her?” Rarity asked as she turned to him.

“I just told her that I’ve never had a birthday party and she fainted.” Shadow said. “Anyway, works for me.” Shadow then exited the room.

A little while later, Pinkie started to open her eyes as they flickered for a while. She saw the Rainbooms in front of her alongside Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Manic and Silver looking down at her.

“Are you ok?” Knuckles asked her.

Pinkie got up full of energy from the floor.

“I’m fine. I just had a horrible nightmare that Shadow said he’s never had a birthday party before.” Pinkie said. “Crazy, right?”

“Oh no, that actually happened.” Sonic told her.

“Whaaaaat‼‼‼???” Pinkie yelled. She grabbed Sonic and started to shake him. Sonic grabbed her arms and she stopped.

“Calm down. It’s true, Shadow’s never had a birthday party.” Sonic said.

Pinkie screamed again in disbelief very loudly.

“Stop doing that.” Silver said slightly annoyed.

“This doesn’t make sense. The words never and birthday party should never be in a sentence.” Pinkie exclaimed as she tried to make sense of the situation.

“They just were.” Tails said softy. 

“Pinkie. relax, let Shadow do his own thing.” Rainbow Dash said.

“I can’t leave it! It’s impossible for someone to never have had a birthday party! Everyone needs a birthday party! EVERYONE‼!” Pinkie said, getting a little unhinged as her eye twitched. Everyone exchanged looks at each other.

“Sonic, when’s Shadow’s birthday?” Pinkie asked him quickly. Sonic just shrugged.

“I don’t know.” Sonic said. Pinkie grabbed him by his collar.

“How do you not know?!” Pinkie said desperately.

“I don’t know either. Shadow’s never told us his birthday, or anything about his life actually.” Manic said.

“How can you live with him and not know anything about him!” Pinkie exclaimed with irritation.

“Try living with him first. Shadow only stays with us cuz G.U.N stationed him here and he has nowhere else to go.” Sonic responded. Pinkie let go of Sonic and approached the door.

“I’ll go ask him myself.” Pinkie declared.  She dashed off with a pink streak through the door.

“What’s her deal anyway?” Manic asked.

“Once Pinkie’s set on partying, no one can stop her.” Fluttershy responded.

In the hallway, Shadow was walking along. He then heard the sound of running and he turned around. He saw Pinkie coming towards him at highspeed and leaving a trail of dust as she ran. Shadow rolled his eyes and moved out of her way. He then grabbed her from the behind and placed her down in front of him.

“What now?” Shadow asked.

“I’m going to throw you the best birthday party ever!” Pinkie declared.

“No, you won’t.” Shadow told her.

“Yes I will! When I say there’s going to be a party, there’s going to be a party!” Pinkie said. “Now first, how old are you?”

“Chronologically or physically?” Shadow asked. “In regards to time, I’m about 50 years old. But my body is 18.”

“I’ll stick with 18. 50 candles would be overkill, even for me.” Pinkie said. She grabbed a pen and a piece of paper out of her hair.  She wrote down his age. “Now, when’s your birthday?”

“See, that’s the thing. I can’t have a birthday. Technically, I wasn’t born. I was created.” Shadow responded.

“Born, created, same thing. So, what is the day you were made?” Pinkie said nonchalantly.

“I have no idea. It was such a long time ago, I can barely remember.” Shadow said. Pinkie looked dejected.

“You don’t know your own birthday‼!” Pinkie shouted. She then grabbed Shadow towards her.

“Yes, I don’t.” Shadow said pulling her off him. “Look, don’t worry about it and go throw someone else a party, because I’m never having a birthday party.”  He then teleported, leaving her alone in the hallway.

“Oh no, you will Shadow! I Pinkie Promise!” Pinkie yelled.

Shadow teleported himself on the rooftop of Canterlot High and stared into space.

“I agree, parties are such a waste of time.” Shadow heard a voice in his head say. Shadow became startled.

“Who said that?” Shadow demanded. He looked around, but he was the only one on the roof.

“I did. Well, the thing is you don’t know who I am, do you?” The voice said.

“That’s why I asked. What do you want?” Shadow said.

“Relax Shadow, I’m your friend.” The voice declared.

“I doubt it.” Shadow said. “Who are you? I’m not going to ask again.”

“Or what? You’re going to fight the invisible voice in your head. They already think you’re a psychopath anyway.” The voice taunted.

“Who does?” Shadow said.

“Everyone in there. I mean, you have red and black hair, red eyes, and wear dark red and black. You just scream dangerous.” The voice explained.

“I don’t want to hear judgment coming from you. Are you planning on bothering me the entire day?” Shadow asked as he folded his arms.

“Hey, I’m just trying to help you. I have your best interest at heart.” The voice said.

“Again, I doubt it.” Shadow said.

Later in the hallway, Sonic was walking with Manic. 

“I wonder if Pinkie got anything from Shadow.” Sonic wondered out loud. 

“Probably not. Look.” Manic said as he stopped him and Sonic in their tracks. In front of them, Pinkie dashed towards them at high speed, leaving a dust trail. She stopped in front of them and dust was sprayed everywhere as they coughed. The dust then cleared.

“I’m going to throw Shadow the greatest party at CHS ever!” Pinkie told them.

“You’re still on about that?” Manic asked.

“Yep! I even made myself a Pinkie Promise. And no one breaks a Pinkie Promise!” Pinkie said with excitement. Sonic and Manic exchanged looks.

“So, why’d you stop in front of us?” Sonic asked.

“Well if you don’t know Shadows birthday, maybe you could tell me things about him. Like what he likes.” Pinkie said.

Manic burst out laughing. Pinkie looked puzzled. Sonic elbowed him to stop.

“What’s so funny?” Pinkie asked.

“Shadow doesn’t like anything.” Manic said.

“That’s saying a bit too much, but the thing is, Shadow doesn’t like a lot of things. I barely know what he likes.” Sonic explained.

“Come on. Don’t you know anything about Shadow? What’s his favorite cake? What’s his favorite drink? What’s his favorite kind of dance? What’s his favorite song? What’s his favorite…” Pinkie started to say in a very quickly and excitedly  before Sonic cut her off.

“OK, Pinkie relax. Be calm, be calm.” Sonic said to reassure her.

“How can I be calm?! This has to be the greatest party ever! I can’t screw up anything. In fact, I should start super-planning this now!” Pinkie said 
She dashed away, leaving Sonic and Manic watching her exit the school through the front door.

“Well, she’s losing it.” Manic said as he turned to Sonic. Sonic shrugged.

"Wait, she just left the school. We still have class." Sonic pointed out.

Meanwhile, Shadow was off the roof. He walked through the doors of  the gym.  As he did, Shadow suddenly felt a pain in his head. He held his head and his eyes closed. As he did, Shadow saw a flash of various planets, their skies turning red and lying in ruins. The flash ended and Shadow’s eyes widened and he looked up in surprise.

“Wow, what was that all about?” Shadow asked.

“A gift from me. Meant to give you some inspiration.” The voice said.

“Inspiration? That was cryptic? Not to mention disturbing.” Shadow said.

“OK, I’ll explain. It was a flashback of our various conquest. “ The voice explained.

“Our?” Shadow asked.

“Really?  That should be pretty obvious. But anyway, those flashes I take it have inspired you to do the same?” The voice asked.

“Of course not. It’s made me realize you’re up to no good. I don’t want to lay waste to a planet like what you did.” Shadow said.

“Hey, when expanding an army, there are going to be a few casualties.” The voice said defensively.

“A few?” Shadow said.

“Shadow, who are you talking to?” Rarity asked from behind.

Shadow turned and he saw Rarity, Knuckles, Silver, AppleJack,  and Tails in front of him.

“Oh, look it’s your ‘friends’.” The voice said sarcastically. Shadow ignored it and he scowled. Silver noticed this.

“Are you OK?” Silver asked.

“I’m fine. I wasn’t to talking to anyone at all. Just talking to myself.” Shadow responded.

“Oh yeah, talking to yourself is so much better than speaking to a random voice in your head.” The voice taunted. Shadow tried his best to ignore it.  He grit his teeth and clenched his fist. AppleJack noticed this.

“Shadow, are you sure nothin’s up? You seem a little unhinged.” AppleJack said.

“See? Even after you said your fine, they don’t believe you. It’s pretty clear then that they think something is wrong with you.” The voice said in a condescending manner.

“OK, look! I don’t know who are you or where you come from, but just BACK OFF!” Shadow yelled as he pointed his finger up.  Everyone else was startled by what he said and looked at him.

“I was just worried about you. Sorry.” AppleJack said softly.

“There’s no need to be aggressive Shadow.” Knuckles said with a frown.

Shadow realized the situation and his expression calmed down.

“No AppleJack, I wasn’t talking to you. Listen, I keep hearing this voice in my head that’s taunting me.” Shadow explained. He then realized what he said as they looked at him strangely. “Wait, let me rephrase that.”

“Too late.” The voice said.

“So you were yelling at a voice...in your....head?” Silver said with some skepticism.

“OK, that didn’t sound right but it's true. Someone or something is talking to me. I hear it.” Shadow insisted.

Silver and the others exchanged glances.

“Shadow darling, it seems to me that you’re not well right now. This would be the perfect opportunity for me to take you to therapy.  I’ve always wanted to take you there anyway.” Rarity offered. Shadow looked at her, not liking that suggestion.

“I’m fine. I don’t need therapy.” Shadow declared

“Talking with a voice in your head seems pretty concerning to me.” Tails said.

“I’m not crazy!” Shadow said. “I’ll find the source of this voice and put an end to it!” He then turned around and left the gymnasium as he exited through the door.

“Well, he’s losing it.” Knuckles said.

In the front of the school, Sonic and Manic met up with Sunset and Rainbow Dash.

“Have you guys seen Pinkie around? I haven’t been able to find her at all since this morning.” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yeah, she talked to us a while back. Something about planning Shadow’s party. She seemed a little….stressed. She then left the school.” Sonic said.

“Pinkie usually tends to go overboard with these things. She probably went home to plan it.” Sunset said.

“She seemed crazier than usual. And not like fun crazy, like psycho crazy.” Manic said.

“We better make sure she doesn’t do anything weird.” Rainbow Dash said annoyed.

Sonic and Manic used their speed and dashed Sunset and Rainbow Dash in front of Pinkie's house. The door was slightly open. Sonic opened it fully and the 4 of them entered the living room. Inside, everything was normal, with the furniture, the carpet, and T.V in the center. The lights were off.

"Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash called out. 

The 4 of them walked around but heard nothing. Sonic saw next to the light switch a bright pink button. He looked at it with curiosity.

"I wonder what this does?" Sonic said. He then pressed the button and it made a party horn sound, gathering everyone's attention. Just then, the floor opened up and split into two underneath them, and they fell through it and yelled. Shortly after, they landed on the ground. Sunset rubbed her head as she sat down.

"Where are we?" Sunset said. She then opened her eyes and gasped. They were in a small purple room. The room had a two disco balls, a slide from the back of it, a purple large candy cane, a mint swirled large lollipop, party streamers on the floor and a shelf with present boxes. It had a large cabinet on the right. The 4 of them looked around.


“What is this place?” Manic asked.

"Is this some kind of party cave or something?" Rainbow Dash asked as she approached the candy cane.

Sonic walked up and he turned to the cabinet. He opened up one drawer and was surprised as he saw the names on the various folders.

"Check it out! Looks like Pinkie has party files on everyone." Sonic said as he flipped through the files. He then stopped when he saw his name on a file. He picked up the folder and opened it up. Manic, Sunset, and Rainbow Dash crowded around him and read it.

"It says here that you love chili-dogs, are a big fan of the outdoors, and...afraid of water, so a pool party is out of the question?" Rainbow Dash said. She chuckled at the last part, making Sonic frown and he closed the file.

"I'm not afraid of water, ok? I just don't like the idea of drowning." Sonic said as he placed the file back in the cabinet.

"Pinkie's really organized when it comes to her partying. I underestimated how much effort she puts into it." Sunset stated.

“No, no, no.” They heard Pinkie say.

The 4 of them turned to their right and saw Pinkie slide down the yellow slide into her party cave. In her hands, she was holding a pink, red, blue, and white cake covered sloppily in purple and brown frosting.

“Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash said.

Pinkie looked up and noticed them. She had a tired look on her face.

“Oh, hey guys. Could you come back some other time? I’m trying to figure a few things out.” Pinkie said as she walked up and placed the cake down. She then went to her cabinet and pulled out an empty file with Shadow's name. She got a pen out of her hair and prepared to write.

“Like what?” Sonic said.

“Shadow’s Birthday. I’ve been taking into consideration everything I know. His body’s 18, he was made 50 years ago, and right now the time is 2:50 pm, so….” Pinkie muttered to herself as she scribbled on the file.
. 

“Pinkie, the level of organization here is brilliant. Even I'm not this organized.” Sunset said.

Pinkie stopped writing and looked up at Sunset. 

“Brilliant? If this is, then why haven’t I figured out an answer already‼?” Pinkie yelled as she shook the file rapidly.

“OK, Pinkie, you need to chill out.” Rainbow Dash said to her.

“Chill out? How can I, when I made a Pinkie Promise to throw the best birthday party ever and I don’t even know what to do‼‼‼‼‼‼‼????” Pinkie exclaimed.

Sonic looked around the cave. He noticed a red toothbrush on the shelf.

“Is that Shadow’s toothbrush?” Sonic said in disbelief.

“Yes, it is. Don’t touch it. I can’t have you contaminating it with your DNA. It needs to have just Shadow’s so that I can use to know when he was made.” Pinkie said.

“Pinkie, this is getting out of control.” Sonic told her.

“No, everything is in control.” Pinkie said dismissively. She then picked up the cake from earlier and came in front of Sonic.

“Cake? It’s strawberry peanut butter pineapple.” Pinkie offered with a crazy smile. “If you don’t like it, you can pick from the other 78 cakes I’ve baked.” She pointed to a section of the  covered in cakes with different flavors and color and stacked quite high,

“What’s with all the cakes?” Sunset asked.

“I don’t know what kind of cake Shadow likes, so I should make as many different flavors as I can.” Pinkie said.  She then held up a doll of Shadow suddenly. It looked him with a red button for eyes. Sonic and the others looked worried.

“Don’t worry Pinkie, I’ll love any cake you make.” Pinkie made the Shadow doll say with a gruff voice. She twitched afterward.

“Aww, thanks Shady.” Pinkie responded to it.

“Yep, I appreciate how hard you’re trying to make this party for me.” She had the doll say. She then twitched again.

“That means a lot, Shady. But you know you’re making it hard by not telling me anything about you.” Pinkie said as she held the doll up to her face.

“Well, it’s not my fault. You should’ve been a better friend. Maybe then I’d open up with you.” She made the doll say and it turned away from her. She twitched again.

“Better friend? I’m one of the bestest friends ever! Why…..won’t…..you……tell me ANYTHING!” Pinkie said in anger before she ripped the doll in half.  The 4 of them stared in disbelief as she panted.

“Someone check the clock because I think she’s gone cuckoo.” Manic whispered to Sunset.

Pinkie then pushed the 4 of them towards the slide.

“Excuse me, but I’m really busy right now. I need some privacy.” Pinkie said before she went back to the cabinet. The 4 of them looked back at her with concern. Sonic and Manic then dashed Sunset and Rainbow Dash up the slide, out of Pinkie's house and back to CHS. They entered the hallway.

“She’s totally crazy.” Rainbow Dash said.

“She’s not the only one.” Silver said as he walked up with Rarity, Tails, Knuckles, and AppleJack.

“Shadow claims he hears voices in his head.” Rarity said.

“Great,  so they’re both nut-jobs.” Sonic said. “Where is Shadow anyway?”

“He said somethin’ about findin’ the source of this voice.” AppleJack said.

Shadow walked out the doors of Canterlot High and stood in front of the entrance.

“Now you’ve just made them think you’re even crazier, are you pleased?” The voice asked.

“Thanks to you. Seriously, what do you want with me?” Shadow demanded.

“In due time, you’ll know. So who else are you going to drive off? I’m curious to where you’re going.” The voice said

“A private place, where it’ll help me tolerate you.” Shadow said. 

Shadow turned right and dashed through the woods near the school. He went through them quickly and he came across a small  riverside with grass covering on it near the flowing river. The river separated it from another section of the forest covered in trees. He saw Fluttershy sitting down on the grass surrounded by her animal friends such as a deer, rabbit, birds and a squirrel.

“You’re in my spot.” Shadow said. Fluttershy noticed him and turned around.

“Hi, Shadow. You like to come here too?” Fluttershy asked him.

“Yeah, I’ve been coming here for a while when I need some alone time.” Shadow explained as he walked up towards her. She moved on the grass to allow Shadow a place to sit.  He sat down next to her.

“Why do you come here?” Shadow asked as he turned to her.

“Sometimes, I just need some quality time with my animal friends. Be away from people.” Fluttershy responded as she held Angel bunny in her lap and a bird on her finger. “I love my friends and all, but sometimes people can be too much.”

“You don’t say?” Shadow said.

“When I was growing up, people used to pick me on a lot for being so shy. So I would usually spend time with the animals. They’d always treat me well. ”Fluttershy explained as the deer came up to her. “I mean I have friends now of course, but sometimes, I still feel more comfortable around animals.”

“That’s rough.” Shadow said in agreement. Shadow teleported. He then came back instantly and took out a red apple from his pocket.

“Here, I think your friends would like this.” Shadow said as he handed Fluttershy the apple. She took it and placed it on the ground.  The deer came by and began to eat the apple. Fluttershy picked up a squirrel and offered it to Shadow.

“Petting animals makes being here much more enjoyable.” Fluttershy said.  Shadow took the squirrel and placed it in his lap. He began to pet it softly and did a small smirk. The two of them observed the nature around them such as the trees, birds chirping, and the river flowing and its sound

“You know, people aren’t so bad. I mean the two of us are here, having a nice time.” Shadow said.

“You have a point there.” Fluttershy said as she turned to him and smiled.

“Oh please, I think I’m going to vomit.  You disgust me. You’re the ultimate lifeform and you’re spending time with a rodent?  How the mighty have fallen.” The voice said with great disgust. Shadow grew irritated and he got up, surprising Fluttershy. His face was full of anger.

“I’ve had enough of you! I’m telling you for the last time. Leave me alone! I don’t want anything to do with you. Get, out and I never want to hear from you!” Shadow said angrily.  He then panted and noticed Fluttershy. Fluttershy looked up at Shadow with tears in her eyes. She got up and ran away, sobbing. Shadow watched her run off and his face looked displeased.

“Well done, Shadow. You’ve just isolated perhaps your only true friend among this worthless species. I’m impressed.” The voice taunted.  Shadow then sighed. Enough was enough.

“Enough of this, who are you?” Shadow asked fed up.

“Very well, come by the fields near this place on your right.” The voice said.

Shadow dashed off at high-speed and blazed through the woods. He then arrived at the fields. In the middle of the fields, there was some kind of craft. It was a gray ship with two gray engines on the side. It was shaped like a sphere and contained a red glowing center.

“What the?” Shadow said confused.

There was a hole in the middle of the craft. Shadow heard footsteps and his attention was now on the center.Shortly after, a figure emerged from out of it. It was an alien around the same height as Shadow. He had dark blue skin and he was covered in red stripes. His sclera was black and he had yellow eyes. He had three finger claws and a pointed tail. Shadow was in shock at what he saw. Yet, there was something familiar about this creature. He could feel it.

“Greetings brother.” The figure said to him as it approached him. Shadow stood his ground as it did and gave it a glare, which changed after he heard the word brother.

“Who are you? Why’d you call me brother?” Shadow demanded.

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Eclipse the Darkling. I, like you am a member of the once proud Black Arms race, before you destroyed it.” Eclipse said bitterly. The familiarity of this creature now made sense to Shadow.

“Black Arms? Oh no, I thought I was done with you pests.” Shadow said with a groan.

“I was created before our leader’s demise. You see, I was made to be our species answer to you. Match you in every way. I was called the Ultimate Alien.” Eclipse explained.

“But why are you here? How’d you get here?” Shadow asked.

“I was off the Black Comet when it was destroyed. I was sent here around 2 years ago on this planet, awaiting orders in stasis as my ship landed.  When the comet was destroyed, I awoke quickly and learned everything through the memories of my brethren's  hive mind. Even your betrayal.” Eclipse said.

“So, you’re out for revenge right?” Shadow guessed.

“On the contrary, no. While I despise what you did to our race, you and I are the last remaining Black Arms. I propose we work together. You’re the closest thing to family I have left. Leave behind these weak creatures. You don’t belong with them.  We’re better off with each other.” Eclipse offered as he stuck his hand out. Shadow stared at him for a while, pondering his words. He had a point. Shadow had real no family he could call his own. After today, did he really belong with Sonic and the others? Maybe....

“Wait, these aren't my thoughts! You're messing with my head again! I say…..no. I won’t be used by the Black Arms to destroy this world or anything else. I made a promise to protect the world and getting rid of you seems to be part of it.” Shadow decided.

Eclipse glared at him heavily and retracted his hand.

“Very well then, then you will have no mercy.” Eclipse said.

Later back at Canterlot High, Sonic and the others were sitting on the outside of the front entrance. Just then, they saw Fluttershy arrive in tears. She approached them.

“Fluttershy, what’s wrong?” Sunset asked her.

“It was Shadow. One moment he was being kind and the next thing I know, he just screamed at me.” Fluttershy said.

“Wow, Shadow’s really gone off the deep end.” Knuckles said.

Just then,  Pinkie dashed in front of them. She was holding a series of notes in her hand and she was smiling crazily.

“I think I might be able to figure out his birthday.” Pinkie said excitedly. “Have any of you seen Shadow around?”

“Well, last time I saw him, he was down by the riverside past the forest.” Fluttershy told her.

“Great!” Pinkie said.  She then dashed off.

“We should follow her.” Sonic said.

Meanwhile at the fields, Eclipse shot his tail at Shadow. Shadow grabbed it and he slammed Eclipse down on the ground many times before pulling him close and then kicking him away on the ground.

“Hah, they really call you the ultimate alien?” Shadow said smugly.

“I’m just getting started.” Eclipse said.  Eclipse closed his eyes and his body began to grow before he was a larger version of himself. He was more muscular and his height was taller with 3  red spikes on his head. Shadow reached up to his torso.

“Getting big doesn’t scare me.” Shadow declared

Shadow threw a punch at Eclipse who held it easily. He gave Shadow a sinister grin.

“No, but this should.” Eclipse replied.  He grabbed Shadow and smashed him on the ground 3 times.  He stomped him on the 2 more times. He lifted Shadow up, who was dazed heavily and covered in dirt.

“Now, I break you!” Eclipse said as he as lifted Shadow above his head and then slammed his back on his knee with great force, performing a backbreaker which made Shadow's eyes widen with pain and clench his teeth due to the sudden burst of pain. He threw Shadow down, Shadow struggled to get up and he groaned.

“What’s wrong? Not feeling at the top of your game? I was meant to counter you remember?” Eclipse taunted.

Shadow groaned even more. It was a struggle to remain conscious at this point. It was strange. He wasn't used to being the underdog. This should not happen to the Ultimate Lifeform.

“(Come on, get up.)” Shadow ordered himself. His body wasn't listening, much to his dismay as he laid on there on the ground at Eclipse's mercy.

Eclipse lifted his foot above Shadow and prepared to bring it down.

“Hey, Mr.Alien.” Pinkie suddenly said.

Shadow and Eclipse turned and they both saw Pinkie casually standing there. Shadow's eyes widened with panic

“Pinkie? No, get out of here!” Shadow urge.

“Oh, look, one of your friends. Since you wiped out the Black Arms, I’m going to wipe out your friends as payback. Fair trade right?” Eclipse said as he marched over to her. Shadow looked on with dread as he saw Eclipse tower over Pinkie. Eclipse gave her a malicious grin, while she just looked up at him, observing his appearance and she put her hand on her chin..  He brought his hands down to crush Pinkie but, she moved out of the way and came behind him very fast.

“Now Mr.Alien, from the looks of things, you seem to know Shadow. In that case, could I ask you some questions about him?  Like do you know when he was born?” Pinkie asked as she took out a notepad from her hair.

“What the?” Eclipse said confused as he turned around. He tried to smash Pinkie again with a fist, but she moved away. She moved around him very fast, popping in front of him, behind his shoulders, legs, and head, and started asking him all sort of questions.

“Now, do you know what kind of cake Shadow likes? Do you know if he’d like disco? What kind of party theme would Shadow like? Does he have any allergies? Do you know what kind of invitations he’d like? What theme would Shadow like? What kind of party games has he played?" She asked as she moved around.

Eclipse looked around and he became perplexed. She was moving so fast. His eyes couldn't follow her movements.

“You traded the Black Arms for this?” Eclipse said in disbelief and disgust as he pointed to Shadow.

“(That’s it Pinkie, keep him distracted.)” Shadow thought as he began to rise up. He could feel his strength slowly coming back.

“Heeeeeeey, can you hear me? I’ve just asked you a bunch of questions??????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Pinkie screeched loudly, going around Eclipse's head many times. He held his head in annoyance and shut his eyes.

“Call her off!” Eclipse demanded.

Shadow took of his inhibitor ring as he was fully recovered. From his pocket, he took out a green chaos emerald.  He held it tight and he charged up red energy and dashed to Eclipse as he rose up. Pinkie noticed him coming.

"Ooooh, time to duck and cover.!" She said and she dashed away from Eclipse. Eclipse turned around and he saw a very angry and vengeful Shadow rushing towards him.

“Chaos……Blast!” Shadow shouted.  He released a large red beam from his body. Eclipse was hit by it and he fell out of his monster form. Eclipse was sent flying high up in the air and then he crashed onto the ground and was knocked out as he moaned softly in pain. The monster form body was still there, having a hole in the center. Just then Sonic and the others arrived.

“Pinkie you need to..” Sonic started to say before he saw Shadow, Pinkie, Eclipse on the ground, and the spacecraft. Everyone stopped in their tracks

“Uh, what’s going on?” Sunset asked.

“Long story short, the voice in my head was some kind of alien trying to get revenge on me. There’s his body if you don’t believe me.” Shadow said as he walked to them.  He pointed to the remnants of Eclipses monster form. The hole in the torso was dripping with green liquid.  Everyone looked in disgust and recoiled, except Tails, who fondly observed it.  Rarity looked like she was about to throw up and turned away as she covered her mouth.

“That is so gross.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Hey Shadow, can I have it?” Tails asked intrigued.

“Tails, why would you want that?” Knuckle asked.

“That’s an alien life-form. It would be amazing to study its body.” Tails said responded.

“No.” Shadow said.

Later, a dirty green large G.U.N truck was there at the field with some agents wearing black and blue uniforms with green pads, a silver helmet, and red lenses. In a large tube, two of them placed Eclipse's knocked out body in the truck and closed it. The larger body was taken in on a stretcher that was dangled by a helicopter. Tails looked a little unhappy as he and the others watched on.

"I don't see why they get to keep it." Tails grumbled.

Shadow was in front of the truck and looked on. Next to him, a young woman wearing white knee high boots with light purple hearts at the tips, black leggings with a light purple heart shaped chest plate and short white hair with long white gloves with purple rings at the end. She had blue mascara on her eyelids. It was Rouge.

"Black arms still? Well don't worry, G.U.N'll make sure he stays in lockdown." Rouge reassured him. 

"I  hope so." Shadow said.

Rouge looked past Shadow and at Sonic and the others. She had grew a small smirk.

"I see you've made a lot friends here. The girl with the pink poofy hair is pretty." Rouge teased.

"Don't start." Shadow said as he folded his arms

Pinkie Pie popped up between the two of them suddenly, which startled Rouge, who still had a slight smile.

"All right, Shady, now that the big scary monster is out of the way. Let's focus on your party!" Pinkie proclaimed. Shadow rolled his eyes. He had forgotten about that and was hoping she did too.

"And you are?" Rouge asked. Pinkie turned to her and beamed.

"I'm Pinkie Pie! What's your name!" She asked happily.

"I'm Rouge. Now, what's this talk about a party for Shadow?" Rouge said with interest. Shadow looked at her and glared. She ignored it.

"I want to throw him the greatest party ever!" Pinkie said. Rouge raised an eyebrow.

"Party? I must warn you, Shadow can be quite the party animal really." Rogue said. Shadow looked at her as if she had just uttered the most insane thing he had ever heard. Pinkie turned to Shadow.

"Really?! So, you don't want a party because you're afraid of partying too hard. Don't worry, at your party, you can cut loose!" Pinkie concluded as she gave Shadow a bone crushing hug and lifted him up. He looked at Rouge with a stern 'I'll get you for this' look. She laughed  a little.

"Well, then. I'll be on my way. See you around, Shadow. Pinkie Pie, do take good care of him." Rouge said as she entered the truck. It then drove off with the G.U.N helicopter and another 4 of them,  having the spacecraft attached to it from their bottoms with wires.

"(She did save my life......it's the least I can do.)" Shadow said as Pinkie put him down. He faced her.

“Pinkie, you saved my life back there. So in return I’ll…..I’ll…..I’ll….” Shadow was struggling to say.  She looked at him with curiosity.

"Just say it!" Sonic yelled from afar.

“I’ll let you throw me a party.  We can work out the details.” Shadow muttered under his breath. Pinkie's faced brightened up greatly. That was the best news she had heard, well for the day.

“Seriously??????? Oh, Shady, that means the world to me!” Pinkie said. She took his hand and dashed off quickly. Shadow looked like he was regretting his decision already.

“Don’t call me that.” Shadow said.

“Come on, we should get started.” Pinkie said as they ran off.

“Well, Pinkie’s back to normal.” Sunset said.

“Is she ever normal?” Manic commented.

The group then followed Pinkie and Shadow back to Canterlot High. Back at Canterlot high, in the band-room,  Sonic and the others looked inside through the window, as Pinkie was asking Shadow all sorts of questions as they sat down at a table. She had a notepad and a pen. Shadow had his hand on his face and elbow on the table as he sighed heavily.

THE END.


















> Speed star
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blue Star Chapter
During the middle of a weekend day in Canterlot, Sonic and Rainbow Dash emerged from the doors of music shop and began to walk on the city's sidewalk. The two of them appeared to be having a small argument as Rainbow Dash placed her hand over face in disagreement as Sonic was explaining something to her.

“I’m telling you, super-speed running is waaaaay better than super-speed with flying.” Sonic insisted.

“No way! Super-speed and flight go perfectly together. You’re like a living jet.” Rainbow Dash retorted.

“It’s just not the same. You can literally run on water!” 

“Why run on water, when you can just fly over it?”.

Before the two of them could continue, the Crusaders suddenly ran over to both of them very quickly. When they stopped in front of them, they took some time to catch their breath before Apple Bloom spoke up.

“Sonic *huff*......come quickly!” Apple Bloom said. “Tails has something he really wants to show you.” Sonic raised an eyebrow at what he had heard.

“Is it that arm cannon thing?” Sonic asked. “Because if it is, I told him not to make that. He’s going to get sued if he starts showing it around.”

“Just come on.” Scootaloo said impatiently.

Sonic and Rainbow Dash then followed the Crusaders to Tail's workshop. They entered a small gray  building which had a picture of two fox tails painted on the rooftop. Inside, they found Tails in a chair with his head was lying on an object covered in a white sheet. His hair was messed up, his clothes were wrinkled, and he was snoring softly. Sweetie Belle then approached him.

“Tails wake up!” Sweetie Belle shouted suddenly in his ear, making him jump up, startled. He opened his eyes, revealing them to have bags underneath them and to be quite bloodshot.

“I don’t write comics about me being a super-hero named Captain Super Fox-Man!” Tails shouted as he looked around quickly. His eyes then landed on Sonic and the others looking at him strangely. His cheeks turned bright red and his gazed at the floor , embarrassed. “You can ignore that.”

“So Tails, what is it you wanted to show me?” Sonic asked. “Based on what you look like, it must’ve been something you worked really hard on.”

“Ah yes, that.” Tails said as he lifted his head up, forgetting his embarrassment. He then walked over to object covered in the sheet. “We all know Sonic is the fastest thing alive.”

“That’s highly debatable.” Rainbow Dash interrupted. Sonic shot her a slightly annoyed look.

“That being said, what if there was a way for Sonic to go faster?” Tails said. “Well then, feast your eyes on this.” Tails then uncovered the sheet, revealing a blue convertible sports car with spikes resembling quills in the back and having the wheels contain a red center. Everyone except Sonic looked at the car in amazement. Rainbow Dash looked as if she was admiring a gorgeous piece of art as her eye's studied the car's design.

“Wow. That car looks so cool!” Scootaloo gushed.

“Behold, the SpeedStar. My greatest invention yet. It took me 10 sleepless nights and days to build it, and now here it is in all of its glory. This car can keep up with Sonic, is impervious to most damage, has a built-in GPS system, a music player, cup holders, air conditioning, reclining chairs with vibration features, a mini screen for TV on the front, and plus, my personal favorite, an autopilot system. It's equipped with a special engine I borrowed.” Tails explained proudly.

“Tails, this is the greatest thing you have ever made!” Rainbow Dash squealed. She then started to rub the car and marvel at it closely. “This car is so awesome, we need a new word to describe it! Ultra-awesome!”

“Thanks.” Tails told her. He then turned to Sonic. Sonic just looked at the car with a blank, unsure expression as he squinted a bit and frowned slightly.  “What do you think, Sonic?”

“It looks nice.” Sonic finally said without much enthusiasm. Rainbow Dash quickly turned to Sonic, as if he had just insulted her own mother.

“You take that back!” Rainbow Dash told him sternly. “Just “nice” is an insult to this car!”

“I mean it’s cool and all, but the thing is, Tails, I don’t really need a car. I mean I have super-speed for a reason.” Sonic continued.

“I know. But, this will help you go even faster.” Tails said. “Why don’t you just test her out?” Tails then handed Sonic a pair of blue keys. Sonic looked down at the keys and then at the smiling Tails. 

“You know Tails, I don’t think I have the time to drive.” Sonic said.

“You have super-speed. Since when is time an issue for you?” Apple Bloom pointed out.

“I don’t have the money to drive. I mean what if I bang up the car and need to pay for repairs?” Sonic suddenly added.

“Didn’t Tails say it was impervious to most damage?” Sweetie Belle asked confused.

“I don’t have the right shoes to drive.” Sonic said, desperately looking for an excuse.

“Since when are shoes important for driving?” Scootaloo questioned.

“You three aren't  helping.” Sonic told the Crusaders through grit teeth. Tails then looked a bit disappointed as his smile slowly began to fade away.

“You don’t like it? This is the hardest thing I’ve worked on. I did it so it would help you experience speed in a new way.” Tails explained. His disappointment was clearer as he began to look down on the ground with sadness.

“You know, Tails, if Sonic doesn’t want it, I’ll take it!” Rainbow Dash said eagerly.

Sonic saw the look in Tails's eyes. He could tell he worked really hard on the car. Sonic then sighed. He didn't want to let his best friend down, no matter what.

“Tails, it’s not that I don’t like it. I just need some time to get used it, you know, at my own pace. Tell you what, I’ll give it a test drive tomorrow.” Sonic told him, giving him the thumbs up. Tails's face then brightened.

Sonic and Rainbow Dash later walked away from the workshop. As they did, Rainbow Dash slugged Sonic in the arm, making him turn to her in annoyance.

“What was that for?” Sonic irritably asked.

“Sonic, what’s wrong with you?! How can you look at such a sweet car and don’t even react to it?! That is literally the greatest car in the world!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

Sonic sighed. “Listen Dash, don’t get me wrong, the car does really look great and all, but the thing is, I don’t know how to drive.” He confessed. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.

“Sonic, you’re 17. How do you not know how to drive?” .

“As I said before, I never needed to. When you’re as fast as I am, what’s the point of driving?”.

“Good point.” .

“Anyway, so yeah, I don’t know the first thing about driving or how cars work. But Tails worked so hard on that car, and I can’t let him down.” Sonic said. “Hey, you can drive, right? Maybe you could teach me?”

“Sorry Sonic. With all my extracurricular's, I don’t really have the time.” Rainbow Dash replied. “But you could ask Sunset instead.”

“Sunset?” Sonic responded.

“Yeah, she’s a great driver. She gave me a few pointers when I first started off as well. You won’t find a teacher as good as her. On the plus, she’s probably not too busy these days.” Rainbow Dash said.

“That sounds like it could work. Thanks, Dash!” Sonic said. He dashed away, leaving a trail of wind and a blue streak, causing Rainbow Dash’s hair to blow.

Sunset walked out of the doors of Canterlot library downtown. Just as she did, Sonic suddenly came in front of her, startling her . She yelled a little and jumped back as she leaned against the door.

“Sonic! Stop doing that!” Sunset snapped  as she regained her composure.

“Sorry, but you should be used to it by now. Anyway, I need a favor from you.” Sonic said.

“A favor? Of what kind?” Sunset asked.

“Ok, so long story short: Tails decided to make me a car and he wants me to test it out. Thing is, I don’t know how to drive. Dash told me that you’re a pretty good driver and I was hoping that you could teach me.” Sonic explained.

“Teach you to drive? Sure, why not?” Sunset agreed.

“Oh, thanks a lot, Sunset!” Sonic said. “When should we start?”

“Let’s meet at the school parking lot tomorrow at  8. Tell Tails to bring the car around that time as well.” Sunset said.

“Wake up at 8? It’s bad enough that I have to wake up early on weekdays, but weekends?” Sonic said with displeasure as he frowned a little.

“Sonic, you asked me to be your teacher. If you want me to teach you, you’re going to have to follow my schedule.” Sunset responded.

Sonic groaned but he knew he needed to do this for Tails. “All right. I’ll contact Tails with the details.”

“Perfect. See you tomorrow.” Sunset said. She then walked past Sonic and headed down the sidewalk. Sonic took out his phone and he dialed Tails number as she left.

“Hello?” Tails said on the other side.

“Tails, it’s me. Listen, bring that car of yours to the school parking lot around 8. I’m gonna test it out.” Sonic explained.

“Really? Ok then, sure thing Sonic.” Tails said, his voice filled with happiness.

The next day in the early and fresh sunny morning , Tails was next to the SpeedStar in the parking lot along with Sunset. Sunset looked down at her watch. The time read 7:59.

“Where is Sonic? I told him 8.” Sunset said as she looked around for him.

“Don’t worry Sunset, Sonic should be here right about….” Tails started to say before he was cut off by a blue streak arriving right in front of him, revealing itself to be Sonic.

“….Now.” Tails finished.

“All right Sonic, welcome to your first driving lesson.” Sunset said.

“Driving lesson?” Tails said confused. He turned to Sonic.

“Listen, buddy, the reason why I wasn’t so excited about your car is because I don’t know how to drive at all. But Sunset’s going to teach me and when I learn, I’ll be able to really appreciate how cool this thing is.” Sonic said to Tails as he placed his hand on his shoulder. Tails smiled a little upon hearing this.

“Oh, well that in case, good luck. And please Sonic, be careful with this thing and try not to wreck it. ” Tails said.

Sonic gave Tails the thumbs up. Tails then walked away, leaving Sonic alone with Sunset. The two of them entered the SpeedStar, with Sonic in the drivers seat and Sunset in the passengers seat.

“Let’s hit the road!” Sonic said with excitement as his hands gripped the wheel tightly.

“Wait Sonic, first, we have to do a safety check.” Sunset instructed.

“Safety check? For what?” Sonic said as he faced her.

“For starters, we have to put on our seat belts.” Sunset said as she strapped her seat belt on.

“Seat belt? I probably don’t need one. Besides, I like to live dangerously.” .

“Sonic, seat-belts are some of the car's most important features. They are the number one life savers in vehicle-related incidents.” 

“What about those things called airbags?” .

“They kill more people than they save. Put on your seat-belt. We’re not starting the lesson until your seat-belt is on.”

Sonic grumbled a bit and then he put on the mentioned safety feature. He placed his hands on the wheel again.

“Ok then, lets go!” Sonic said with enthusiasm.

“Wait Sonic. Before you start driving, you need to look around, be aware of your surroundings.” Sunset said.

“Sunset, we are the literally the only car in this parking lot right now.” Sonic said as he lowered his eyelids.

“Still, it’s always good to be careful.” Sunset insisted.

“Can I start driving now?” Sonic asked a little impatiently.

“Sonic, driving a car isn’t easy. You have to know how a car works, first of all.” Sunset said.“First, put your feet on the pedals below.”

Sonic looked down and he noticed the two pedals. He placed his feet on them.

“Ok, now what?” Sonic replied.

“One of those is called a brake. You use it every time you want to stop your car. It’s very important for avoiding accidents. The other is called the accelerator, it lets you speed up.”  Sunset said.

“Ok, there are pedals and one is called a brake.  The other is an accelerator, I like the sound of that. That’s not too hard. Let’s start.” Sonic said. He placed his hands on the wheel. He couldn't wait to start.

“What did I just say? Sonic, you can’t rush into this.” Sunset said firmly. “If I’m going to teach you how to drive, I’m going to do it properly.”

“Look, I push the pedals with my feet and turn the wheel. How hard can that be?” Sonic responded. He was tired of all this 'safety'.

“Sonic, like I said, you have to be a cautious driver. Otherwise, you could cause accidents.” Sunset said.

Sonic rolled his eyes. He noticed in front how there were many blue buttons next to the wheel. Sonic observed them with for a while with curiosity.

“I wonder what this button does.” Sonic said.  He pushed the one directly in front of him. It caused the windshield wipers to appear and they started to wipe the front windows with great speed.

“Sonic, turn that off.” Sunset instructed with slight irritation. "It's very distracting."

Sonic pushed the button and the wipers stopped. He then eyed the other buttons with interest and smiled.

“Say, Tails did say that this car came with a lot of cool stuff, maybe using these buttons will help us figure it out.” Sonic said.

“Sonic, you’re here to learn how to drive the car, not play with the car.” Sunset reminded.

“Oh come on, what’s wrong with a little fun? You can keep teaching me and I’ll figure out what else this thing has. I’ll multitask.” Sonic nonchalantly said.

“That’s not a real thing.” Sunset pointed out.

“It is if you’re the fastest thing alive.” Sonic responded confidently. Sonic looked down again at the buttons and he pressed one that showed a picture of the car twirling. As he did, the SpeedStar started to twirl around many times, a complete 360 as fast as a cyclone. Sunset gripped the sides of the car tightly as it did to prevent herself from falling out while Sonic held on to  the wheel.

“Sonic, turn it off! Turn it off!” Sunset yelled.

“I’m trying!” Sonic shouted as the car continued to turn. Sonic then quickly managed to press the button and the car stopped midair and it came to the ground, making a small thud. Sunset’s hair was a mess and she didn’t look so good as she held her head in dizziness. Sonic didn’t seem too fazed. Sunset then quickly turned to Sonic in a mixture of anger and annoyance.

“Ok, listen, no more button touching! I’m your teacher and you’re going to listen to what I say now, got it!?” Sunset yelled as she came up in Sonic’s face and pointed at  him. Sonic seemed surprised with his eyes wide open and he remained silent. He knew it was better to just comply if he ever wanted to start driving. He nodded slowly.

“Good. Let’s continue on with some actual driving.” Sunset said as she calmed down.

“(Finally.)” Sonic thought to himself. “Ok then, I’m going to blaze past this neighborhood!” Sonic declared.

“No, you’re not.” Sunset said. “There’s a limit to how fast you can go on the road.”

“Whaaat‼‼‼‼‼‼?? A limit to speed?! That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard!” Sonic yelled out in disbelief. He couldn't believe what he had just heard and he looked at Sunset as if she was speaking another language.

“If you’re going to drive, you’re going to have to obey the rules of the road. If I recall, the speed limit is around 35 km/h.” Sunset said.

“A speed limit……what kind of world are we coming to?” Sonic said, trying to wrap his head around the idea as he leaned back in his seat. Sonic started the car reluctantly and the engine rumbled.  He placed his feet on the pedals

“Ok, Sonic to back out, you need to look behind you and turn the wheel.” Sunset informed.

Sonic turned around the car and he shifted the wheel in order to take the car out of the designated parking area. As the car backed up, Sonic did it very fast, causing the car to collide into a with great force. The impact shook Sonic and Sunset a little in their seats. The tree then fell down behind them suddenly. The two looked at the fallen tree, then at each other awkwardly. Just then Tails arrived.

“Oh by the way Sonic, I just remembered…” Tails said before he stopped and saw the fallen tree and the backed up SpeedStar. “The SpeedStar! Is it ok?”

“Yeah, no worries its fine. Just a small accident.” Sonic said in a laid-back manner.

“You know what, I think we’re good for the day Sonic.” Sunset said, quite tired as she unfastened her seat belt and massaged her temples.

“What? But I didn’t even get to drive on the road.” Sonic protested.

“Sonic, you’re not ready to drive on the road yet. Before we start, you need to do your homework. Luckily, I brought these with me.” Sunset said as she reached into her bag and pulled out 3 books. She handed them Sonic and he looked over the titles.

“Driving 101….How to be a cautious driver….what’s this?” Sonic asked as he looked up from the book
.
“Books on driving. Tonight, I want you to read them so that you’ll be more prepared and ready for tomorrows lesson.” Sunset explained.

“You’re giving me homework? For real?

“Yes, I am.”

“Sunset-"

“No objections. You asked me to teach you. This is part of my teaching. You’re going to read these books and be ready for our lesson tomorrow. End of discussion. See your tomorrow.” 

Sunset then exited out of the car and placed her bag on her shoulder. She then walked away from the parking lot, leaving behind a disappointed Sonic and a slightly snickering Tails.

“Not in front of Tails! He looks up to me.” Sonic yelled as she walked away. Tails then came up to him.

“Wow, Sonic, you got burned! Need some ice?” Tails said in a teasing manner.

“Oh yeah, well at least a girl actually talked to me. Who’s burned now?” Sonic said to Tails slightly annoyed. There was a moment of silence between the two of them as Tails looked sour as if he had bitten into a lemon.

“Too much?” Sonic said remorsefully.
.
“Yeah.” Tails said dejectedly.

“Sorry, buddy.” Sonic replied.

The next morning, Sunset was waiting in the parking lot for Sonic again, besides the SpeedStar around the same time as the previous day. This time, however, Rainbow Dash was with her. Rainbow Dash looked around, impatiently waiting for Sonic to come.

“You know, you don’t have to spend your day helping me teach Sonic. I have everything under control.” Sunset told her.

“Help? Oh, I’m just here because I want a chance to ride in this sweet car.” Rainbow Dash admitted as she looked longingly at the SpeedStar. “Where is Sonic? I can’t wait.”

A blue streak appeared in front of Rainbow Dash, startling her and she fell back.  She picked herself up and glared slightly at Sonic.

“Yo.” Sonic said to her and Sunset.

“Hey, Sonic. Did you finish up your reading?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah, yeah I did. Those are 3 hrs of my life I want back.” Sonic muttered.

“It’ll be worth it when you can drive on the road freely.” Sunset responded.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s get started.” Rainbow Dash said with agitation.

Sonic and Sunset entered the driver and passenger seat respectively.  Rainbow Dash entered from the back. Sonic checked the mirror and he placed his hands on the steering wheel. Sonic placed his feet on the pedal and he looked back as he backed the car out of its spot, slowly and carefully. Sunset looked on with approval and she formed a smile. The car turned and Sonic began to drive smoothly into the road of the city.

“Sonic, I’m impressed. You’re doing this in a very efficient manner.” Sunset said pleased.

“What can I say? Guess I’m just a natural.” Sonic responded.

In the backseat, Rainbow Dash looked quite bored out of her mind. She stared out the window and placed her hand on her face.

“Sonic, when are you going to stop with this baby speed and go really fast?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Sonic can’t do that. He’s a responsible driver, he respects the speed limit.” Sunset proclaimed proudly.

“Yep, that’s me. Obeying the limit on speed. The speed limitation.” Sonic said reluctantly and slowly.

“Boring!” Rainbow Dash dismissed. She continued to stare out the window, now with a small frown.

Sonic then drove deeper into the city . As he did, he approached a red stop sign in front of him.

“Stop the car.” Sunset suddenly said. Sonic stopped the car in its tracks.

“Why? What’s wrong?” Sonic asked.

“Sonic, we’re at a stop sign. You’re supposed to stop the car here. It was in one of the books I gave you.” Sunset said.

“Oh yeah, that.” Sonic groaned as he remembered. He was really hoping to avoid one of these. He hated stopping once he started moving.

“You just need to stop here for 3 seconds.” Sunset said.

“Three whole seconds!” Sonic exclaimed with dread. He looked like he was going to lose it at the thought of waiting.

“Three seconds isn’t that much of big deal anyway.” Rainbow Dash said.

Sonic waited at the stop sign. He was shaking with anxiety as his hands were on the steering wheel. Sonic began to sweat with impatience. It felt like forever to him. His eyes darted around nervously. He didn't think he could take anymore of this waiting.

“Ok, you can go now.” Sunset finally said.

“Finally!” Sonic said. He pushed the pedal and the car moved into the center city. As he did, he came in front of a red light.

“Red light, stop now Sonic.” Sunset instructed.

“Ah, come on‼‼‼” Sonic yelled in frustration. He started to bash his head on the steering wheel many times with slight force. As the car waited, another vehicle came next to them. It was a large black SUV with brown, and orange stripes on it. The windows came down and revealed in the driver and passengers seat two teens. One wore a black shirt with a dumb bell symbol on his right and he had dark brown skin with a bang of light tan hair over his left eye. In the passenger seat, the other teen wore a tan shirt with a football symbol on his left while he had tan skin and brown hair covering his eyes.  In the back seat was another teen wearing a white shirt with a basketball symbol on the right. He had gray skin and dark black hair covering his eyes. The three of them shared an athletic build. They were known as Dumbbell, Hoops, and Score respectively. Rainbow Dash turned and she noticed the people in the car. She looked at them with familiarity. She then blinked and  remembered them as her eyes widened with surprise.

“You guys?!” Rainbow Dash called out with a hint of distaste. The three of them noticed and they turned to her. They immediately recognized Rainbow Dash and broke out into cocky smiles.

“Hey, look it’s our old friend, Rainbow Crash!” Hoops said. They began to laugh obnoxiously while Rainbow Dash gave them annoyed glares.

“How you’ve been Crash? Fail any driving test recently?” Dumbbell taunted.

“No, I haven’t.” Rainbow Dash firmly responded.

“Yeah, right. You’re so bad, they probably had to get a babysitter to look after you. “Is it this chump?” He mocked as he turned and saw Sonic in the drivers seat.

Rainbow Dash seethed with anger as she shot daggers at them now.

“All right, that’s enough.” Sonic told them.

The three of them laughed out loud even more obnoxiously than before. Sonic glared at them.

“Some advice, you should have a better taste in girlfriends if you’re with Rainbow Crash!” Hoops sneered. The three of them again snickered loudly. Rainbow Dash looked like she was about to explode and give them a piece of her mind as she rose up a little in her seat , but Sonic spoke up before he could say anything.

“She’s not my girlfriend.” Sonic replied, not interested with their teasing. “Why don’t you guys just get lost or something?”

Dumbbell revved up his car engine. He gave Sonic “the eye.” He rocked his head back and forth in a conceited manner.  Sonic looked and he gulped. 

“Sonic, he’s giving you the “eye.” Come on Sonic, put these guys in their place.” Rainbow Dash urged.

“No, Sonic, ignore them. Don’t get sucked into this.” Sunset told him in a firm tone.

Sonic’s hands started shaking. He began to sweat even more than before. He couldn’t resist a good challenge, especially when it came to speed. 
The urge to race was slowly building up within him and he was having a hard time keeping it under control. He tried to avoid looking at Dumbbell, but it was so hard for him not to.

“Ah forget it, this guy’s probably too slow to even race anyway.” Hoops ridiculed as he waved his hand at Sonic. Hearing the word slow, Sonic stopped shaking and his eyed widened.  His hesitation had now left him as quickly as he could move. He turned to them furiously and quickly.

“You punks want some?!” Sonic said with aggression.

The three of them burst into laughter.

“Yeah, I’ll race you. But, the winner gets to take her home.” Dumbbell said as he pointed to Sunset after he stopped laughing. He gave her a wink. Sunset looked incredibly offended and bewildered at the suggestion as she turned to Sonic after slightly gasping with disgust.

“Sonic, no! I refuse to be a prize!” Sunset protested.

“Don’t worry, Sonic's going to mop the floor with these guys.” Rainbow Dash said with confidence.

“Ok then, teach this loser about real speed.” Hoops said to Dumbbell.

“Sure thing.” Dumbbell said with cockiness.

“All right then speed racer, you’re on!” Sonic accepted .

The light turned green and Sonic pressed the accelerator with great force.  The SpeedStar dashed on with incredible speed. It went almost as fast as Sonic himself and was a fast large blue streak. He was already way far ahead of the three boy bullies. Sunset held on to the edge of her seat as she looked anxious. Rainbow Dash raised her hands in the air. Sonic looked so free and happy. He became excited as he smiled like a madman.

“Yes, I own you punks! Eat my dust!” Sonic yelled back at them. He stood up on top of the car and turned around. He did his signature finger waving to them. The boy bullies looked on in shock. Their jaws were dropped at what they had just witnessed.

“Wow...... that guy's going pretty fast.” Hoops said managed to say, trying to understand what he had just seen.

“Well, I-I can do that too.” Dumbbell said in an attempt to appear tough. Just then next to their car, a blue streak came next to it. The three of them turned and they saw it was Metal Sonic, flying  next to them. His red eyes gave them a serious glare. Now, they were speechless at the sight of seeing a robot, of all things.

“What the?” Dumbbell said, dumbfounded.

Metal Sonic crashed into their car and it was sent flying slightly in the air. The car landed on its back and the three of them yelled. Rainbow Dash looked back with astonishment.

“Did you see that?” Rainbow Dash said to Sunset and Sonic. Sonic looked back , but he didn’t see anything. Just then the car came to a large sudden, stop, launching everyone forward.  Sonic turned and he saw Metal Sonic in front of him. He had his hand placed on the front of the car, preventing it from moving. The engine rustled loudly as the wheels still turned and began to make a screeching noise.

“Metal Sonic? What do you want?” Sonic asked in a very ticked off manner.

Metal Sonic’s scanner began to scan the inside of the car. His scanner was shown as a blue circle that searched the inside of the car. He searched all over the car until under the hood, his scanner beeped red. It read, SU-X40 ENGINE LOCATED.

“Well, I don’t have all day!” Sonic added on, borderlinehb screaming as the impatience was building up in his voice. He really really hated being stopped once he started moving.

“OBJECTIVE: RECLAIM SU-X40 ENGINE STOLEN FROM PREVIOUS UNIT. MISSION NEAR COMPLETION.” Metal Sonic announced.

“Engine? Stolen? Is that what Tails meant when he said he “borrowed” the engine from somewhere. From Metal Sonic?” Sonic said as he managed to connect the dots.

Metal Sonic pressed down further on the car with more force. He glared at Sonic with his menacing red eyes. Sonic knew he wasn't going to ask nicely for it.

“Sonic, what do we do?” Sunset asked with concern.

“No worries, I’ll just run over this idiot.” Sonic said.

He pressed down on the accelerator and the car rumbled loudly. It struggled with Metal Sonic in a power struggle. Metal Sonic was getting slightly pushed away, but not much. Sonic looked down at the car and he noticed a button with an aura in front of it on the right of the wheel. Sonic pressed it down and the SpeedStar's engine flares in the back turned blue and it exploded with a burst of speed in a boost similar to that of Sonic's. Metal Sonic was blown back by the car and it moved on forward as it broke the sound barrier, making a loud boom. Metal Sonic floated in air and he pursued the SpeedStar. The car became a light blue dash that zig-zagged through the other cars on the road to avoid hitting them and also not gather their attention due to its speed.  Sunset held on to her seat for dear life while Rainbow Dash cheered loudly.

“Yeah! This is what I’m talking about!” She yelled excitedly.

“Sonic, is he still on our trail?” Sunset asked .

Sonic turned back and he noticed Metal Sonic in hot pursuit of the car. From Metal Sonics point of view, his scanner was tracking the SpeedStar as a blue homing beacon.

“Yeah, yeah. Didn’t Tails build this thing with any weapons?” Sonic asked as he searched through the different buttons. As he did, Metal Sonic chest glowed red and he fired a red laser at the car. Sonic swerved and he dodged it, making a crater on the ground, which stopped many other cars in their tracks. Metal Sonic fired many more red lasers and Sonic dodged all of them. As he dodged, other cars swerved to avoid the holes in the road formed by Metal Sonic’s lasers. Sunset looked back, worried at all the damage

“Sonic, he’s causing a lot of collateral damage. Someone might get hurt.” Sunset told him.

“True, I better deal with him fast. Come on Tails, doesn’t this thing have any lasers or something?” Sonic remarked as his eyes scanned through the buttons.

As Sonic searched, Metal Sonic hit a street light, causing it to fly up in the air. Sonic moved out the way and the street light crashed into the floor.

“Dude, not cool!” Sonic yelled from behind. “Sunset, take the wheel.” Sonic told her. He took off his seat belt and handed her the wheel.

“No, let me drive it!” Rainbow Dash pleaded.

“Really? Now’s not the time.” Sonic said.  He stood up on the hood of the car and waved down to Metal Sonic. “Yo Metal me! Come down here and face me like a robot-man or whatever!”

Metal Sonic saw Sonic on the top and he descended down and landed on the top of the car alongside Sonic, nearly making Sonic fall down, and faced him. Metal Sonic tried to swipe him with his claws, but Sonic evaded. Sonic retaliated with punches and kicks, but Metal Sonic blocked all of them.  He held Sonic’s foot with his last kick and grabbed Sonic by the throat. He pinned Sonic down on the top of the car. Sonic could feel his head near the road as the car moved and his eyes filled with panic as his eyes shifted from the road to Metal Sonic's ruthless face.  Sunset and Rainbow Dash both gasped . Sonic struggled with Metal Sonic as he tried to move Sonic’s head down on the road. Sonic then punched Metal Sonic across the face, dazing him.  With great force, Sonic kicked Metal Sonic off him and he was off the car. However Metal Sonic simply hovered in the air. Sonic came back in the passenger seat and he wiped his brow.

“Ok, that was dangerous.” Sonic said as he took the wheel from Sunset.

“Now what?” Rainbow Dash said in frustration.

“Well, all that’s left is to try this!” Sonic exclaimed as he pressed his entire hand on the array of buttons. “Button mashing always works.”

Suddenly the SpeedStar began to change.  The wheels lifted up and from the side, two jet wings propelled from it. Sonic and Sunset looked in awe as the car changed while Rainbow Dash was left speechless with her mouth hanging.

“Awesome‼” Rainbow Dash squealed like a child would at a new toy.

“Tails really did go all out with this.” Sonic commented, now impressed with the car. Sonic took the wheel and the Speed Star took to the sky with Metal Sonic chasing.

“You’ve got him away from the ground. That’s good ,but what’s the plan now? This thing doesn’t have any weapons.” Sunset pointed out.

“Yeah and I can’t play follow the leader all day.” Sonic took into account. Sonic thought for  a while and then he had an idea as he turned back to Rainbow Dash.

“Dash, I need you to pony up.” Sonic told her. “Just do…whatever.” Sonic said.

“I’ll try.” Rainbow Dash responded.  She concentrated on the element of loyalty and her wings sprouted as her body glowed cyan. “Ok, what now?”

Sonic now turned to Sunset. “I need you to go with Rainbow Dash and fly back down.”

“What about you?” Sunset asked, her voice full of unease at his suggestion.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll meet you on the ground.” Sonic replied with certainty.

Sunset and Rainbow Dash both exchanged glances, not sure what Sonic had in mind.

“You heard him. Let’s move.” Rainbow Dash said.

Sunset took off her seatbelt and she moved to the back with Rainbow Dash. She held on tight to her and the two of them went up and then flew back down to the ground. They passed Metal Sonic, but he ignored them. Sonic noticed this.

“All right, metal-faker. Come and get me.” Sonic muttered.

Sonic turned the car high up into the air with Metal Sonic following.  He was getting closer and closer. Sonic went up higher and higher, until he passed the clouds. Metal Sonic emerged from them shortly after. As he did, Sonic suddenly turned the car around and he rammed it right into Metal Sonic with tremendous force. He held Metal Sonic as they went to the ground. A blue aura enveloped them. They passed through the clouds and started to move faster to the ground. The aura turned orangish and Sonic began to sweat a little. However, Sonic then took of his seatbelt and he leaped out of the car from the side, leaving it collide with Metal Sonic. Metal Sonic and the SpeedStar crashed into the middle of the road, making quite a sizeable explosion. Sunset and Rainbow Dash looked at the explosion. Their eyes widened, horrified at Sonic's possible fate.

“Sonic!” Rainbow Dash yelled. She started to move forward, but Sunset pulled her back.

“Look up there.” Sunset told her as she pointed to a faint blue comet in the sky.

The two of them turned and they saw Sonic coming down to the ground using his boost. Sonic then landed on the ground in front of them, causing a small blue shockwave.

“That was….interesting.” Sonic managed to say as he got up, struggling to remain standing.  Rainbow Dash came and she hugged him tightly.

“Sonic, it’s a good thing you’re all right!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Suddenly her eyes broadened and she let him go. 

“Wait, a minute........ did you just sacrifice the car?” Rainbow Dash asked him.

“Yeah…..” Sonic replied with hesitation.
Rainbow Dash grabbed Sonic by his collar and began to shake him as if he was a murderer.

“What is the matter with you!? How could you get rid of such a sweet ride!?” She shouted.

Sunset rolled her eyes. Just then, around 4 police cars arrived to investigate the scene of the flames left behind the explosion.  An officer came out of the car and Rainbow Dash let Sonic go.

“I got a report that there was an incident of speeding and drag racing around here.” The officer said.  He turned towards the three of them and gave them a stern look. “Were you the ones speeding?”

Sunset and Rainbow Dash looked nervous, not sure how they could explain what had just happened. However, Sonic spoke up.

“Nope, it wasn’t us. But if you want to know, who was speeding, it was those guys.” Sonic said as he pointed to  Dumbbell and his cronies,  who were pushing their car on the side, trying to make it go up. They then noticed the officer looking at them and stopped pushing the car and stood up straight quickly.

“Is this true?” The officer said as he approached them.

“No, it wasn’t us!  It was that guy! His car was going like really fast and then there was a robot that came out of nowhere and then the car started flying.” Dumbbell said.

“What car?” Sonic said as he looked around, trying to act innocent. “There’s nothing around here.”

“Hmmm, flying cars and robots, eh? I think you three should come with me. I should probably add driving under influence for you boys.” The officer said. The three of them formed alarm looks on their faces.

“What, no! It’s all true.” Hoops protested.

In the background, Sonic, Sunset and Rainbow Dash walked away, leaving them with the officer as they tried to explain themselves. Later, three of them arrived at Tails's workshop. Tails was working on modifying a small T-pup as he twisted its head with a screwdriver as he sat down at his desk. He noticed the three of them entering.

“Oh, what’s up guys? Hey, wait a minute, Sonic, where’s the Speed Star?” Tails asked.

“Oh, it got all destroyed and stuff.” Sonic calmly explained.

“What? How? Sonic, I told you not to wreck it! How did you even in the first place? I said it was indestructible!” Tails said as he rose up from his seat, agitated.

“Actually, you said it was impervious to most damage. Anyhow, you should’ve told me that you stole an engine from Metal Sonic! He came and tried to take it back.” Sonic said, slightly annoyed.

Tails turned red with embarrassment. Sonic did have a point

“Hehe, ok maybe. But still, now I’ll have to build you another one.” Tails said.

“No, that’s ok. I think I’ll stick with my feet.” Sonic said quickly. He then dashed off before Tails could say any more.

“But you can build me one! I want it to be called the Rainbow Dash-Boom! I have a list of details of what it could be like.” Rainbow Dash interjected excitedly.

Sunset and Tails both held their heads with tiredness.
THE END.
> Agents
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Agents chapter
It was an early morning in the city of Canterlot. Shadow was skating through the streets and leaving behind a red trail as he went, headed for school. As he was dashing through, Shadow’s wrist began to beep. Shadow looked down on his wrist and tapped it.

“Agent Shadow, do you copy? I repeat, do you copy?” a voice answered from his wrist.

“Yes sir. What’s the situation?” Shadow asked.

“We have news on your next assignment. Last week, a dangerous criminal escaped custody while being transported towards a G.U.N holding facility. The incident left 3 operatives injured and the theft of a G.U.N vehicle.” The voice replied.

“Sounds bad. What’s the name of this criminal anyway?” Shadow asked.

“I’ll provide you with an image shortly.” The voice answered.

Shadow arrived at the entrance of Canterlot High.  As he did, Shadow dashed to a nearby tree and hid behind it to make sure no one could see. Shadow looked down at his wrist and as he did a hologram appeared. It was of a large, strongly built man who appeared to be in his 50s.  He was wearing white and black uniform with yellow stripes on the pants.  He had white hair and red eyes with white skin.

“Here is the perpetrator Agent Shadow. He goes by the name of BugBear. He’s wanted for heavy armed robbery and theft.  After he escaped from custody, there were sightings of a man fitting his description in Canterlot City. Seeing as you reside here, your assignment is to capture him and bring him back to custody.” The voice instructed Shadow.

“Understood. Initiating the mission now.” Shadow replied.

“Be careful.  He’s quite dangerous.” The voice warned Shadow with concern.

“It’s nothing I won’t be able to handle.” Shadow said with confidence. “Shadow, out.”

Shadow pressed a button his wrist and prepared to leave the tree, just as he was about to, he noticed Lyra and Bon Bon walking up the school steps.

“Last night was so amazing! It was so fun baking those brownies with you!” Lyra said with delight.

“Anything’s fun with my best friend! You complete me.” Bon Bon replied with delight. 

Just then, the two of them heard a beeping sound coming from the watch on Bon Bon’s wrist.

“What’s that?” Lyra asked.

“Oh my watch is just acting up. This happens from time to time. Why don’t you go on ahead? I’ll meet up with you inside.” Bon Bon said.

“Ok, see you later!” Lyra said. She then walked through the doors of CHS. As soon as she was out of sight, Bon Bon looked around to make sure no one was around. She then dashed behind a tree nearby to Shadows. Shadow looked on with curiosity. Bon Bon pressed her watch.

“Special agent Sweetie-Drops, can you hear me? This is Agent Furlong.” A voice said from her watch.

“Loud and clear. What’s wrong Agent?” Bon Bon asked.

(“Special agent Sweetie-Drops?”) Shadow thought to himself.

“I’m afraid that I have some very bad news. It’s BugBear, he’s on the loose.” Agent Furlong said.

Bon Bon’s eyes widened.

“What?! How?!” Bon Bon asked bewildered. 

“He escaped while he was being transported to a facility headed by G.U.N. I should’ve known those guys would mess it up.” Agent Furlong explained. Upon hearing this, Shadow raised an eyebrow but he kept quiet.

“Apparently there have been reports of him being in Canterlot. He’s probably there to get revenge on you for capturing him.” Agent Furlong continued. “Be careful and keep your guard up.”

“Don’t worry Furlong. I captured him once and I can do it again.” Bon Bon replied. She pressed her watch and began to walk from the tree.

“You’re an agent?” Bon Bon heard Shadow ask. She turned around and saw him approaching her.

“What?! How much of that did you hear?” Bon Bon asked with worry.

“I heard enough. I think you have some explaining to do. Don’t bother denying anything.” Shadow told her.

Bon Bon sighed.

“Ok. As you heard, my real name is Special agent Sweetie-Drops. I work for an organization known as S.M.I.LE.” Bon Bon explained.

“S.M.I.L.E? Seriously? That sounds so cuddly and cute.” Shadow said with distaste.

“Well, G.U.N sounds too dark and edgy.” Bon Bon shot back.

“Fair enough.” Shadow admitted.

“As I was saying. I’m one of the agency’s top agents.  I captured a criminal called BugBear a year ago. Now it looks like he’s on the loose in Canterlot and he’s probably after me. I have to find him before anyone gets hurt.”  Bon Bon explained.

“Well what do you know, I was just given the same assignment. Do as you will but just don’t get in my way. We’ll just see whoever catches him first.” Shadow stated. He began to walk off but Bon Bon stopped him.

“Wait. Shadow, since the two of us have the same case, why don’t we just work together to capture him? We would get the job done a lot quicker and much more efficiently.” Bon Bon suggested.

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Ok, let’s do it.” Shadow replied.

“Good. We should exchange contact information to keep in touch, notify the other whenever we’ve found a lead.” Bon Bon said.  She then took out her phone and Shadow did the same. They exchanged phones and wrote down each other’s numbers. They handed their phones back to each other.

“Thanks.” Bon Bon said. Just then Lyra walked out of the door.

“Bon Bon? Are you coming in? The bells going to ring any minu-“ Lyra began to say before she noticed Shadow.

“Oh, uh, hi Shadow.” Lyra said nervously.

“Hey.” Shadow said.

“Sorry about the delay Lyra. I’ll be coming with you now.” Bon Bon said. She then walked towards Lyra and the two of them marched up the steps into the school.

“Bon Bon, why were you talking to Shadow? You’re always telling me how you think he’s scary.” Lyra asked.

“I need Shadow’s help for a really important project.  And he’s not that scary once you get to know him.” Bon Bon replied.

“Really important project? Is there something I can help with?” Lyra asked.

“No, for this project, I just need Shadow’s help.” Bon Bon replied.

“Oh, ok.” Lyra said with a small hint displeasure in her voice.

Outside, Shadow brought his wrist up and tapped it.

“HQ? I have a request. Can you tell me anything about an organization known as S.M.I.L.E?” Shadow asked.

“S.M.I.L.E? What does that third-rate wannabe organization have to do with this?” A voice from his wrist responded.

“One of their agents and I have the same assignment. We’ve decided to work together.” Shadow explained.

“Ha! Believe me, you’re better off doing this mission solo.” The voice said.

Just then the doors to CHS opened and Pinkie Pie came out of them.  She noticed Shadow outside.

“Aha! There you are Shadow! I was afraid that you wouldn’t show up today!” Pinkie said happily.

“I gotta go, we’ll discuss this later.” Shadow whispered. 

“Who were you talking to?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“A man in my wrist who tells me what to do.” Shadow replied bluntly.

Pinkie stared at him for a while in silence.

“Ok then! Let’s go in!” She said enthusiastically as she grabbed his wrist and brought him inside CHS.

Later it was lunchtime at CHS. The Rainbooms sat a table alongside Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Manic and Silver. Lyra and Bon Bon got their meal and sat down at one table.

“Oh my goodness, I can’t believe we both got A’s on our Math test!” Lyra said.

“I can’t believe we got the exact same score!” Bon Bon said happily.

“You know what they say, good minds think alike.” Lyra told her.

Just then Shadow teleported in the cafeteria. People turned and noticed. It was strange for him to be in the cafeteria during lunch time.  Shadow looked around and he saw the table Bon Bon was sitting at. Shadow walked over to her table.

“Bon Bon, I found some extra information on that ‘thing’ we talked about this morning. I figured since you’re free now, we could discuss more about it in depth.” Shadow told her.

“Oh yeah, ‘that’.” Bon Bon replied.  She then turned to Lyra. 

“I’m sorry Lyra, but could you give me and Shadow a minute? We need some privacy. Please?” Bon Bon asked.

“Oh sure, anything for my best friend.” Lyra said with a little disappointment in her voice. Lyra then took her tray and walked over to sit down with Derpy and her bandmates.  Shadow then sat across from Bon Bon.

“What did you find?” Bon Bon asked.

“I was looking at all the sightings that BugBear was. I noticed that all these areas had something in common, a pattern.” Shadow told her.
“What would that be?” Bon Bon asked.

Shadow took out his phone and he showed a map of 4 areas of the sightings to Bon Bon.

“These are all factories.” Bon Bon replied.

“Yeah, all mechanical factories.  I took a look at the reports of the thefts. They said that most of the mechanics for their machines were missing.” Shadow told her.

“That doesn’t make any sense. It’s true that BugBear is a thief, but he usually only steals money.  Why hasn’t he gone to any of banks in Canterlot?’ Bon Bon wondered.

“I’d like to know that as well.” Shadow commented.

As they were speaking, the two of them were being observed by the students. People whispered in curiosity, while Lyra looked on with a little sadness. 

“Are you guys seeing what I’m seeing?’ Rainbow Dash said in disbelief.

“Shadow actually socializing with someone.” Sonic said. “Normally he just goes on the roof and starts brooding.”

“But why isn’t he sitting here, with his friends?‼” Pinkie wondered out loud with mild annoyance.

“Could it perhaps be that our dear Shadow has found himself to be..smitten?” Rarity suggested.

“What?! ” Pinkie exclaimed.

“No way, not Shadow.” Knuckles said.

At their table, Bon Bon noticed the stares that people were giving them.

“Uh, Shadow? People are staring.” Bon Bon said.

“So?” Shadow said.

“It’s a little uncomfortable.” Bon Bon told him.

“Ok, I can fix that.” Shadow said. He grabbed Bon Bon’s shoulder and he teleported the two of them out of the cafeteria. Lyra opened her mouth a little and people began to whisper more.

“That was a little suspicious.” Sunset said.

“Maybe Shadow’s got himself a girl after all. Way to go.” Manic said proudly.

“I don’t think so! Even if he did, why would he pick Bon Bon? Why?!” Pinkie said with a little irritation, causing her to bend her spoon.

Shadow and Bon Bon teleported to the rooftop. 

“Can you give me a heads up next time you do that?” Bon Bon asked.

“Anyway, I was suggesting afterschool, we head towards one of the factories and investigate.” Shadow said. “ We should be able to find a lead.”

“Good idea. Let’s go immediately afterschool ends.” Bon Bon said. The two of them heard the bell ring.

“Now, can you get us off here? I’m scared of heights.” Bon Bon requested.

Shadow again grabbed Bon Bon’s shoulder and he teleported. The two of them were now in the hallway.

“Again, give me a heads up next time.” Bon Bon said slightly annoyed.

“See you later.” Shadow said as he walked off, leaving her alone. Then, Bon Bon was approached by Lyra.

“Sorry about leaving you like that Lyra.” Bon Bon told her.

“Oh, I don’t mind that, Hehehe. Anyway, why did you and Shadow head to the roof?” Lyra asked.

“Oh he didn’t like it being all crowded in there. Nevermind that, let’s head to science.” Bon Bon said. The two of them walked off.  

Another bell rang to signify that the day had ended. Students began to walk out of CHS. Lyra and Bon began to walk down the steps out of the school.

“Afterschool, let’s head to the mall. I hear they have these 4 new ice cream flavours which are to die for!” Lyra suggested happily. Bon Bon looked a little uncomfortable at her suggestion.

“What’s wrong?” Lyra asked her.

“Lyra…..I was planning on heading out somewhere with Shadow.” Bon Bon managed to say.

“Oh.” Lyra said with disappointment. “Well, why doesn’t he just join the two of us? The more the merrier, right?”

“Actually…I planned for it to just be Shadow and I. Only the two of us.” Bon Bon said with hesitation.

“But we haven’t spent much time together today.” Lyra said again with disappointment.

“I’m sorry Lyra. I really am. Shadow’s just really important right now.” Bon Bon told her. “I promise, I’ll make up for it tomorrow.”  She added in a reassuring tone.

In front of the school, Shadow pulled up with his black motorcycle. 

“Bon Bon, we should get going.” Shadow told her.

“Coming.” Bon Bon said. She then turned to Lyra. “Again, I’m really sorry about this.” 

Bon Bon descended down the stairs. She came on the motorcycle behind Shadow and wrapped her arms around his waist.  The two of them rode off. Lyra looked dejected. Sonic and the rest noticed this as well.

“She and Shadow sure have been spending a lot of time together.” Fluttershy commented.

Pinkie Pie stood there and she began steam up, with her bright pink skin turning red and she gave off steam.

“Pinkie, are you feelin’ ok?” AppleJack asked.

“I’m perfectly fine!” Pinkie declared. She then blew up four balloons before popping them aggressively.

As they rode, Shadow spoke up.

“Your friend seems to be disappointed by how much we have to interact.” Shadow said.

“I know. She must feel like I’m abandoning her. I feel terrible. I just wish I could tell her the truth, but I can’t put her in any danger.” Bon Bon said with disappointment.

“Let’s catch BugBear quickly then.” Shadow said.

“By the way, if you’re as fast as Sonic, then why do you have a motorcycle?” Bon Bon asked.

“I just really like this bike.” Shadow responded.

The two of them pulled up to a factory. It read Canterlot Machinery supplies.  Shadow parked his motorcycle and the two of them got off it.
“This was the first one he was spotted at.” Shadow told her. The two of them entered the factory. It was quite empty except for a few workers wearing blue coats and man wearing a grey suit, to signify he was the manager. He noticed Shadow and Bon Bon.

“Hey, what are you two kids doing?” He asked.

Shadow pulled up a red badge with the G.U.N symbol.

“I’m a special operative of G.U.N. I’m here to investigate the theft of the machinery that you experienced not too long ago. Maybe I could find some leads.”  Shadow replied. “By the way, she’s with me.” Shadow added on as he pointed to Bon Bon.

“Aren’t you a little young to be an operative?” The manager asked.

“Do you want to know who robbed you or not? Just point me in the right direction.” Shadow said impatiently.

The manager pointed right.

“That’s where we were robbed.” He said. Shadow and Bon Bon walked in the direction he pointed and he followed them.

“Thank you.” Bon Bon said.

Shadow and Bon Bon arrived at the scene.  It was a small room and it was filled with empty shelves were machine parts should have been. 

“What was in here?” Shadow asked.

“Parts used to make mechanical cranes, drilling machines, you name it.” The manager responded.

“Could you give us a second?” Shadow asked. The manager left the room.

“It doesn’t make any sense, why would BugBear just steal machinery parts?” Bon Bon asked.

“You’re right, especially considering how you said that’s not his style. He hit all the other places and stole the same thing.  I’m starting to think someone else might be behind this.” Shadow said.

“Why would you say that?” Bon Bon asked.

“Did he ever strategically steal from certain locations before?” Shadow asked her.

“No, he just stole from wherever.” Bon Bon explained.

“Exactly. He’s free and now he changes his patterns. I think someone’s hired him.” Shadow deduced.

“But why would anyone hire BugBear? And to steal machinery parts?” Bon Bon commented.

“I don’t know yet, but I think we’ve gotten a little closer to finding him.” Shadow said. “We have all that we need. Let’s go.” 

Shadow grabbed Bon Bon and he teleported the two of them. The manager came in shortly after.

“Hey, is everything all rig-“. He began to say before he saw the room was empty. He looked confused.

“What the?” He said as he scratched his head.

Shadow and Bon Bon teleported in front of his bike.

“Stop doing that!” Bon Bon said.

“Whatever. Anyway, I’m going to contact G.U.N and see if they have any more sightings.” Shadow said as the two of them began to get on his bike.

“I’ll do the same with S.M.I.L.E. We have to catch BugBear!” Bon Bon said.

“I’ve been meaning to ask this. Why does he call himself BugBear? I just feel ridiculous saying it.” Shadow said.

“I don’t know either. Maybe you can ask him when we catch him.” Bon Bon said. 

She and Shadow then rode off.  Shadow then came in front of her house and he dropped her off.

“Contact me as soon as you find anything.” Shadow said.

“Sure thing.” Bon Bon said. 

Shadow then rode off.  Bon Bon entered her house and she walked up the stairs to her room. In her room, she looked around and saw a picture of Lyra and her from when they were in 8th grade. She sighed.

“Lyra when this is all over, we’ll be able to hang out like before.” Bon Bon said. 

It was then early in the morning. Bon Bon was in her bed, sleeping. Then a ringing noise went off next to her. Bon Bon moved her arm and groped around to find the source. She couldn’t reach it, so she got up in her bed and wiped her eyes. In front of her, she saw Shadow holding his phone out in front of her. She screamed loudly. 

“Shadow?! What are you doing in my room?!” Bon Bon asked bewildered.

“Get up and get dressed. I found some major information late last night.” Shadow told her.

“Still, you just can’t barge into my room like that! That’s breaking and entering!” Bon Bon said.

“I didn’t break anything. I waited outside your house and teleported in here.” Shadow explained.

Bon Bon sighed. 

“Ok, wait outside. I’ll be out.” Bon Bon said.

Shadow teleported out of her room, leaving Bon Bon alone to get dressed. Outside of her house, Shadow waited for a while until Bon Bon came out. She and Shadow began to walk.

“What did you find?” Bon Bon asked.

“I had a friend of mine at G.U.N hack into the security cameras around the city. See if we could find anything else on BugBears location.  He found that each time after the thefts, BugBear would return to a single location. The Casino Night Zone.” Shadow explained.

“Casino Night Zone? You mean the gambling casino?” Bon Bon said.

“Precisely. I think whoever hired BugBear has ties to that casino. If my guess is right, he’ll be there tonight.” Shadow said.

“So what’s the plan then?” Bon Bon asked.

“Tonight, we’re going to enter the casino and catch BugBear. We’re going to have blend in so wear something, like a fancy dress. Also bring whatever spy equipment you have.” Shadow instructed.

“Ok, sounds good.” Bon Bon said. 

The two of them then approached the entrance to CHS. As they did, suddenly Bon Bon’s eyes widened.

“Oh no!” Bon Bon exclaimed. “I forget about Lyra! We were supposed to walk to school this morning! I have to find her!”

Bon Bon dashed quickly into the entrance of the school, leaving Shadow alone. As he did, Shadow was approached by Sonic and Manic.

“Shadow, how come you’ve been hanging out with Bon Bon so much?” Sonic asked him.

“It’s nothing special. I just need her help for something, that’s all.” Shadow replied.

“Is it really? You can tell me Shadow. You and her are a thing right?’ Manic said as he put his arm around Shadow.

“Don’t touch me.” Shadow said as he lifted Manic’s arm off him.

In the hallway, Bon Bon hurried quickly, looking for Lyra. She eventually found her in front of the vending machine.

“Lyra! Oh, I’m so glad I found you!” Bon Bon said.

“Oh, it’s you.” Lyra said with a disinterested tone.

“Lyra, I’m really sorry about this morning. I didn’t mean to forget.” Bon Bon said with remorse.

“Let me guess. You were with Shadow right?” Lyra said sourly.

“Yes, I was. But we had something important to discuss.” Bon Bon explained.

“Well, I can sure tell it’s not about some kind of project!” Lyra snapped. “What’s going on between you and him? It’s something more right?”

“Ok, it’s not a project.” Bon Bon admitted. “But Shadow just really needs my attention right now.”

“Have you replaced me with him? Is that?” Lyra asked feeling hurt.

“No, it’s not that! You’re my best friend! But I need Shadow right now.” Bon Bon said.

“If it’s not a project, then why?” Lyra asked.

“I can’t tell you that. I’m sorry.” Bon Bon asked.

“I’m your best friend! You should be able to tell me anything! But if you’re not willing to, then maybe…maybe we’re not fit to be friends.” Lyra said with obvious hurt. She then walked off sadly, leaving Bon Bon alone. She had a very unhappy look on her face and she sighed.

Later it was the evening in Canterlot. Shadow rode his motorcycle, wearing a black suit. He arrived in front of Bon Bon’s house.  Shadow rang the doorbell. He waited for a while until Bon Bon came out wearing a long shiny purple dress. 

“Hey Shadow. You look nice.” Bon Bon said with a little sadness in her voice.

“Do you have your equipment with you?” Shadow asked, not being one for small talk.

“Yeah, it’s all in here.” She said as she held up a small beige handbag. Again her tone was filled with sadness.

“Something the matter?” Shadow asked.

“Yeah. Lyra and I had a fight this morning. She thinks I’m replacing her with you and she wondered if we’re even suited to be friends.  She hasn’t even called me back at all. She means the world to me and I don’t want to lose her.” Bon Bon said.

“Once this whole thing is over with, you can mend your friendship. But for now, I need you to be focused on the mission if we’re going to catch BugBear.” Shadow told her.

“You’re right, let’s go.” Bon Bon said.

The two of them got on Shadow’s motorcycle and drove towards the Casino. They came in front of the entrance and noticed that there was a long line. Shadow parked and the two of them got off. 

“The line is packed. How are we supposed to get in?” Bon Bon asked.

“You know what’s going to happen.” Shadow said. He put his hand on Bon Bon shoulder and teleported the two of them inside.  

“I’m used to it now.” Bon Bon said. 

The two of them began to walk around the Casino.  They wandered through it for a while.

“This place is huge. He could be anywhere.” Bon Bon commented. 

Just then Shadow stopped in his tracks. He looked forward and he saw Mogul, the head of the casino sitting at a large table. Shortly after he saw BugBear walked up to him, wearing a large sash with a blade sheathed in on its back. He whispered something into Mogul’s ear and Mogul rise. The two of them walked off.

“Over there. I saw him talking to the Mogul.” Shadow said.

“Mogul? The guy who was at our school for an assembly once? What does he have to do with this?” Bon Bon asked.

“I think he might behind this. Let’s go after them.” Shadow said.

Shadow and Bon Bon walked through Casino while still in sight of Mogul and BugBear. They made sure not to get too close as they followed them. They saw the two of them walk down a set of stairs in the casino. Shadow and Bon Bon followed them closely.  At the stairs, the two of them started to walk down very quietly and slowly.  As they reached near the end, they heard voices speaking. Shadow stopped and he instructed for Bon Bon to remain quiet. The two of them peeked their heads out a little. 

“I must say I am very impressed with your work.” Mogul’s voice said. “With your help, I’ve received all the necessary supplies I need.”

“As long as I get paid, I’ll keep taking whatever you want. But why did you want me to steal all this junk anyway?” BugBear asked.

“Allow me to show you a demonstration.” Mogul said. 

Mogul used his powers and he levitated many mechanical parts together until they formed a robotic skeleton. Mogul then pulled out small disc and inserted it into the mouth of the robot. The robot’s eyes began to light up and it began to morph itself into a normal person. It looked completely human. BugBear looked confused.

“So you wanted me to help you build an army of robots? What for?” BugBear asked.

“For security. I call these auto automatons. They are perfectly capable of replicating a person. With an army of these, my security would be quite enhanced and no one would even think of crossing me.” Mogul explained.

“Mogul’s a criminal?” Bon Bon whispered with surprise. 

“Weird, but I don’t care either way. When should I expect my payment?” BugBear asked.

“Patience, my dear friend. You’ll have it all in due time.” Mogul said.

“We can’t let them get away with this!” Bon Bon whispered. 

“I know that. Let’s go.” Shadow said.

“Wait, Shadow!” Bon Bon whispered.

Shadow dashed down and he came in front of Mogul and BugBear. The two of them turned towards him.

“That’s all I needed to hear. BugBear, you’re under arrest for escaping custody and armed robbery. As for you Mogul, you’re coming with me to G.U.N. I’m sure they’ll be interested in your plan.” Shadow declared. He then generated a chaos spear in his hand.

“G.U.N? They found me!” BugBear yelled. “I’m not going anywhere punk!”

BugBear unsheathed the blade from his back, revealing a large black dagger. He approached Shadow but Mogul stuck his hand out.

“Let me handle him.” Mogul said. “You know, you look a lot like Manic and his blue brother.”

“Don’t remind me. Anyway, you’re coming with me.” Shadow declared. 

Mogul used his powers and Shadow glowed green and levitated in the air. 

“What the?” Shadow said.

“I see that you generated that spear due to you possessing chaos powers.  But you’re not the one with that gift son.” Mogul said. 
Mogul clenched his fist and green energy started being absorbed from Shadow into Mogul. Shadow groaned and he fell to the floor as his power was being drained. Bon Bon noticed this and she ran out to Shadow.

“Shadow!” Bon Bon yelled as she came to check on him. Shadow was severely drained and almost unconscious. BugBear saw Bon Bon and he growled.

“You!” He exclaimed.

“BugBear! You’re going back into custody! I caught you once and I can do it again!” Bon Bon declared. 

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” BugBear said. He took out a small phone and dialled a number. 

“Bring the girl.” He said. 

Bon Bon heard footsteps coming down from and she turned around. She saw two of Moguls thugs coming down and they had Lyra with them. She had a gag in her mouth. 

“Lyra?!” Bon Bon exclaimed.

“When I got here, I told Mogul about the agent who captured me.  Who would have thought that he would have seen you when he came to the school assembly? Since then, I’ve been keeping tabs on you, and when I saw that she was your best friend, jackpot. It was easy taking her afterschool.” Bugbear gloated.

“Why you….” Bon Bon began to say. She knew that there was nothing that she could do.

“What should we do with them?” BugBear asked. 

“Eliminate them.  They know too much.” Mogul said. “In fact, I have the perfect idea.”

Mogul used his powers animate another robot, only this time leaving it as an exoskeleton. Mogul fired a beam of energy at it, causing it’s eyes to glow green. It charged up laser eyes.

“Any last words Sweetie-Drops?” BugBear taunted. 

Bon Bon looked around. She knew that she was corned. The robots eye glowed even greener. Just then, she noticed Shadow’s inhibitor ring on his wrist. Bon Bon moved her hand and secretly grabbed a ring of Shadow in her hand. As the robot fired a green beam, Bon Bon took out the ring and she deflected the beam with her ring.  The beam hit the robot, destroying it and making an explosion which stunned Mogul, BugBear, and his thugs.  Mogul teleported during the confusion. Bon Bon took out of her handbag a small black grappling gun. She wrapped around one of Lyra’s captors and pulled him towards the other, knocking their heads together and them out. She rushed over to Lyra and took the gag out of her mouth. 

“Bon Bon? What’s going on?’ Lyra asked.

“I’ll explain later.” Bon Bon said. She took out of her handbag a small black taser. She rushed to Shadow and gave him a small electric shock, waking him up. 

“What, why? Shadow said.

“Shadow, quick, now’s our chance.” Bon Bon said.

Shadow looked around and he noticed his surroundings. Shadow dashed towards BugBear and he knocked out his dagger from his hand. Shadow lifted him up and threw him towards the wall near the stairs.

“I’m not getting caught again!” Bugbear declared. He ran up the stairs. 

“You’re not escaping!” Shadow said. Shadow felt sluggish still and struggled to go after him. BugBear reached the top of the stairs and he ran through the casino, knocking customers out of his way and people turned and notice. He felt his arm being grabbed and he turned around and noticed Mogul.

“Mogul? What are you doing?” BugBear asked.

“There are witnesses here. I can’t be seen letting a criminal escape in my casino, bad for my image.” Mogul said.

“What? You traitor!” BugBear yelled before Mogul threw him on the floor. He looked up and saw Shadow, Bon Bon and Lyra in front of him.

“I told you that I’d catch you again.” Bon Bon said. She then kicked him the face hard, knocking him out. 

Later Shadow, Bon Bon and Lyra were standing outside of the Casino. BugBear was being loaded into a G.U.N security truck and was handcuffed. Shadow walked up to him.

“Why is your name BugBear?” Shadow asked.

“It’s simple kid. When I was starting out my career, I needed a new name for myself. One that would click. I just took two random words and combined them together.” Bugbear explained.

“I see that has failed you greatly.” Shadow said. BugBear glared at him before being put in the truck. Lyra was then with Bon Bon.

“Ok, Bon Bon, what just happened?! What is all this?! I mean with criminals and robots and it’s all crazy!” Lyra stated.

Bon Bon sighed.

“I can’t hide the truth from you anymore. Lyra, my name is Special agent Sweetie-drops. I work for an organization called S.M.I.L.E. That criminal was one I caught a while ago. When he popped up here, I was supposed to catch him.” Bon Bon said.

“What?” Lyra said confused. 

“I was spending so much time with Shadow because he and I had the same assignment. I wasn’t trying to replace you. You’ll always be my best friend. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you, I didn’t want you in danger.” Bon Bon said.

“Ok, this will have to get some getting used to, but it’s good to have you back. And I’m sorry for being so jealous.” Lyra said.  The two of them hugged in reconciliation. Shadow walked over.

“Shadow, thanks for helping me out there. You’re a great agent.” Bon Bon told him.

“And thanks for helping in saving me. You’re not scary at all.” Lyra said.

“Who said I was scary?” Shadow asked, making Bon Bon blush a little. Just then a black car pulled up and man with brown skin, a bald head and wearing a black suit came out. He examined the scene.

“Agent Furlong!” Bon Bon announced.

“I see you captured the perpetrator. Good work as usual.” Furlong said.

“I had some help actually.” Bon Bon said. She pointed to Shadow. Furlong noticed him.

“You’re a G.U.N agent eh? Not bad.” He told Shadow. Shadow raised an eyebrow. 

“So this is who you work for.” Lyra said. Furlong turned towards her. He then turned towards Bon Bon.

“She knows you’re an agent?” Furlong said. “Sweetie-drops, we can’t have that. I’m afraid you’re going to have to relocate to another area and we’ll be erasing her memories as well.” Furlong said.

“What?! No, you can’t do that!’ Bon Bon exclaimed.

“Yeah, she’s my best friend!” Lyra protested.

“Sorry, but that’s protocol.” Furlong said. Just then he was lifted up in the air by Shadow. He gasped.

“Tell you what. Let her stay here, don’t erase anyone’s memory and I’ll let you keep your teeth.” Shadow threatened. He nodded and Shadow let him down.

“Anyway, keep up the good work.” Furlong said. He got into the car and he drove off. 

“Oh my goodness, this calls for a victory selfie!” Lyra said. She took out her phone while Bon Bon grabbed Shadow and included him in the picture. Lyra and Bon Bon had big smiles while Shadow had his usual frown. 

The next day, it was morning in Canterlot. Shadow was leaning against a tree with his arms folded. He saw Lyra and Bon Bon walking together towards the entrance. They noticed him and waved. Shadow did a slight smirk and he saw them enter. Then Pinkie Pie came in front of Shadow. She held a light in his face.

“All right Shadow, you’re going to tell me why you’re hanging out with Bon Bon! Does she throw better parties than me? Does she bake better cupcakes? Can she make balloon animals?!” Pinkie interrogated. 

“Calm down. We’re not hanging out anymore, what I needed her for is over with.” Shadow explained. Pinkie leaned back.

“Really? Well then I guess that means you have room for me then!” Pinkie said happily. 

“No.” Shadow said bluntly. He teleported, leaving her surprised.

“Next time, Shadow, next time!” Pinkie declared.

THE END.
> Chao part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chao chapter
It was a weekend morning in Canterlot High.  The entire school was typically empty save for one room. The Rainbooms except Sunset were in the band room with their instruments alongside Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Manic. Rainbow Dash had an impatient look on her face and she strutted around the room impatiently, walking back and forth.

“Where’s Sunset? We’re supposed to be practicing and she was supposed to be here 30 minutes ago!” Rainbow Dash said with irritation.

“It’s not like her to be late.” AppleJack commented as she tuned her guitar. “Do you think we should be worried?”

“I doubt it. I’m pretty sure magical threats or whatever have better things to do at 7:45 in the morning.” Sonic replied calmly as he pointed to the clock while sitting in his chair with his arms on handles in a relaxed manner.

”I’ve already called her like 5 times! If she’s not here soon, then we’ll have to find some other time to practice and there aren’t many other times left!” Rainbow Dash said more annoyed.

“Maybe she has something important to do.” Fluttershy suggested.

“What could be more important than practicing with the most awesome band ever?” Rainbow Dash replied.

“I can think of 10 reasons  off the top of my head.” Manic muttered near the window. Rainbow Dash glared at him slightly.

Just then Sunset burst into the room through the doors. She seemed tired and out of breath. She put her hands on her knees to catch her breath. She was holding in  her hand a  device that was purple with a blank dark screen. It was shaped like the EQG logo. 

“Sunset darling, where have you been?” Rarity asked.

“You were supposed to be here 30 minutes ago! Band practice almost got canceled!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

“Sorry, I’m late. I had something really important to do.  I was just putting the finishing touches on my latest invention.” Sunset explained as she stood up straight.

“Told you.” Manic whispered to Rainbow Dash. She glared at him some more.

Sunset held up her portable device high for everyone to see.

“That looks great. What does it do?” Tails said intrigued.

“Well, you know how magical threats are always just randomly showing up and always taking us by surprise?” Sunset began.

“Surprise? We deal with crazy stuff like 24/7. Honestly at this point, it’s just a hobby.” Sonic replied with his eyelids dropping.

“True, but I still figured we need something to keep track of all it and be prepared. So that’s why I invented a magic detector. It can detect the slightest trace of magic.” Sunset shared.

“A detector? That sounds wonderful! It can give me time to at least choose my outfit before I go battling some monster.” Rarity said pleased as she clasped her hands together.

“Not the point here.” AppleJack replied slightly annoyed.

“I’ll give you all a demonstration,” Sunset said. She then pressed the top button on her device and the screen lit up as purple to show that it was activated.

“Pretty!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

The screen of the device then began to flash red repeatedly and made a large beeping sound. It got everyone’s attention.

“That thing's going crazy. What’s going on?” Knuckles asked. 

“That’s when it’s detected magic. It must mean there’s a magical threat going on!” Sunset declared.

“At this time? Really, I guess I was wrong about magical threats having nothing better to do in the morning.” Sonic commented as he got up from his chair. “We should check it out.”

“But band practice..” Rainbow Dash protested a little. Sonic rolled his eyes.

“We can do that later.” Sunset replied.

“But-“ Rainbow Dash started again.

“Think of it this way. If that magic monster or whatever comes here and destroys the school, then you won’t even have anywhere to practice.” Manic pointed out as he approached her. Rainbow Dash folded her arms.

“Sonic, can you notify Shadow and Silver? The magic reading I’m getting is huge. We could use all the help we need.” Sunset said.

“Sure, though we probably don’t need that faker’s help.” Sonic replied as he got out his phone and sent a text to Shadow and Silver while everyone else headed outside.  A little while later, Silver came to the entrance of the school via floating and he descended down. Shadow teleported next to him instantly.

“What’s up?” Silver asked.

“This better not be just a waste of my time.” Shadow said.

“Chill out faker, it’s some magical threat.” Sonic replied casually. “Now that’s everyone here, let’s do it to it.”

The group headed out with Sonic grabbing Tails and Sunset’s arm as he burst with speed. Shadow and Manic dashed to keep up with him, while Knuckles glided. Silver used his psychic powers to lift up the rest of the Rainbooms with him, causing them to be in a green aura, and he flew after him.

“I hope it’s not something too scary or mean.” Fluttershy said with worry. 

“No worries, we’ll finish this 10 seconds top.” Manic said to reassure her. 

Sonic and co dashed through Canterlot as Sunset looked at the screen of her detector. It began to flash bright pink and much more rapidly as they moved on.

“We must be getting closer to the source. My readings are getting stronger.” Sunset commented. The screen then began to flash purple at high speeds. “Ok, stop here.” 

Sonic stopped in the middle of a green forest that was covered in grass on the ground and trees each with many leaves,  leaving not much sunlight to pass through. Everyone else stopped as well. Sonic looked around and he tapped his foot impatiently and rapidly. 

“I don’t see anything here.” Knuckles said as he looked around.

“This can’t be right. My magic detector gives off the strongest reading right here. There’s got to be something here.” Sunset said as she looked at her device.

Everyone looked around but there was nothing. Everything seemed normal as the leaves of the trees rustled.

“I don’t understand.” Sunset said confused as she put her hand to her head.

“You told me that this wouldn’t be a waste of time.” Shadow told Sonic with irritation as he approached him.

“Hey, the magic detectors the thing that messed up. Don’t look at me.” Sonic said defensively as he raised his hands in defense

“It’s not messed up. There should be something here.” Sunset said confused still.

“I missed band practice for nothing! “Rainbow Dash said clearly disappointed. She stomped her foot on the ground to show this.

Tails began to walk further in the forest. As he did, he felt his shoe step on something. He heard a crunching sound. Tails looked down and he saw a blue key, with a top that resembled a chao head. 
Tails picked it up.

“What’s this?” Tails wondered as he held it in his hands.

“What’ve you got there buddy?” Sonic asked as he noticed Tails observing the key. 

The key then began to glow bright blue and it lifted itself up from Tails hand. Everyone turned in the direction of the key.  Sunset's device began to flash rapidly again.

“Aha, there it is!” Sunset exclaimed.

The key then gave off a bright white light that enveloped everyone there. The light faded and everyone looked around. They were no longer in the forest. Rather they were in a place that had green grass and palm trees growing coconuts.  The sky was blue with a few clouds and the sun shone brightly.

“Cool!” Pinkie Pie said happily.

“Where in tarnation are we?” AppleJack asked as she looked around. 

“I don’t need to be transported to another dimension in the morning.” Manic grumbled.

Sunsets device still began to flash rapidly.

“Wherever we are, it must be the source of the magic reading.” Sunset commented.

There were sounds made. It sounded like little babies or creatures giggling and laughing alongside water splashing.

“Well, at least that doesn’t sound dangerous.” Manic said.

Sonic and the others followed the noises. They followed the noises to in front of large green hedge that was Sonic's height. They went through the green hedge and saw a blue lake. Near and in it, there were many Chao playing inside.  They were small, around the size of babies. They had light blue pudding like bodies with no fingers or toes. At the end of their arms and feets, were yellow shades. They had yellow spheres hovering around their heads. Some were splashing while others floated around it.

“Awwww!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “They're adorable!”

“How precious!” Rarity squealed as she held her hands to her face.

Sunset looked down at her screen and saw that it was still flashing purple.

“These are the source of my magic reading? They look harmless.” Sunset said looking up from her screen with a confused expression.

“This is what I was called for?” Shadow said annoyed as he folded his arms.

“A place full of Chao? Cool.” Sonic uttered.

“Chao?” Rainbow Dash said with confusion. 

“That's the name of these things. Species is called Chao.” Tails explained.

"Right. I remember my master explaining about them to me." Silver suddenly recalled. "He also told me that they like to live in things called a Chao Garden. This must be one."

"Fittin' that such cute critters have a cute name." AppleJack commented with a smile.

"You're right! Just the word is adorable!" Fluttershy agreed.

“Incredible. Can you guys tell me more about them? This is an amazing discovery!” Sunset said intrigued.

“We've come across the Chao a lot and even know a friend who owns one. Basically, they're like pets. Thought I haven't spent too much time with one to know that much about them." Knuckles elaborated. 

The Chao began to crowd around Sonic and the others. Sonic bent down and he petted one. It smiled in delight.  Sonic smirked a little. 

“They seem friendly.” Fluttershy said as she picked one up. It smiled at her and laughed a little.

"Who would've thought there'd be a Chao Garden here of all places?" Manic stated.

A couple of Chao came up to Shadow. Shadow just hmphed and turned away from them, making 
the Chao confused. 

“Come on, Shadow. Even you can’t resist how cute they are.” Manic said as he tickled one, making it smile.

“Well, we’ve found the source of magic. Now, what do we do?” Knuckles asked as Chao surrounded him. 

“Tails, do you know anything more about the Chao?” Sunset asked as she petted one.  Pinkie Pie had a bunch surrounding her as she laid down on the ground. She scooped them up and hugged them, causing them to all smile.

“Hmm, based on what I've observed, it appears their environment influences how they grow.”  Tails said.

"That sounds about right. I remember my master describing Chao's taking on various appearances and abilities based on who they were with." Silver added while a Chao entered his hair.

“Interesting.” Sunset said. She then got an idea, which was shown by her eyes widening. “Guys, I have an idea.” 

Everyone turned to her in order to hear what she had in mind.

“What Silver and Tails said about them really got me thinking. I really want to know more about these creatures, so I suggest an experiment. Why don’t we take some home with us and raise them? See how they turn out.” Sunset suggested.

“Sounds good to me. I could spend the day with a Chao.” Sonic agreed. 

“Another pet? I’m not sure I have the time for one.” Rainbow Dash said unsurely.

“I as well.” Rarity commented.

“I have a solution to that. Aside from our busy lives and I don’t want us to take too many of them, why don’t we raise them in pairs?” Sunset suggested.

“Pairs?! That sounds so much fun!” Pinkie Pie said. “Can we choose our partners?” 

“Sure thing.” Sunset responded.

“Then I pick Shadow!” Pinkie Pie said as she dashed over to Shadow while carrying a Chao. Shadow’s eyes widened.

“What? You want me to raise a living being with her?” Shadow asked in disbelief as he pointed to her.

“It’ll be fun!” Pinkie said happily.  Shadow just folded his arms and lowered his eyebrows. 

“Well, I need someone almost as elegant and stylish as me to assist me. How about you Silver?.” Rarity said as she turned to Silver. 

“Uh, sure.” Silver replied nervously.

“Cool. Dash, since you and I have a lot common, why don’t we take care of one?” Sonic suggested to Rainbow Dash.  She nodded in agreement. 

“Since you’re good with animals and I guess this thing is an animal, Fluttershy, wanna pair up with me?” Manic asked. Fluttershy got a little embarrassed and shrank back a bit.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Manic said. 

“Knuckles?” AppleJack said as she turned to him.  Knuckles gave her the thumbs up.

“Great, then that leaves you and me Tails.” Sunset said. 

“Yeah, no problem.” Tails complied.

Each of the pairs picked out one Chao to take with them. They all were together in a circle.

“Ok, so how do we get out here?” Sonic wondered. 

Just then, another Chao Key came down from the sky, causing everyone to look up at it. The key glowed again and enveloped everyone in a bright light. The light faded again and everyone was back in the forest. It was still the morning.

"It's settled then. We should each go our separate ways with our Chao and then we'll meet up later to discuss our progress." Sunset said, causing everyone to nod and separate out. 

Silver and Rarity headed off in the far right, with Rarity holding the Chao in her hand as they exited the forest.

"Aren't you just the cutest little thing?" Rarity cooed at the Chao, making it giggle happily.  Rarity then noticed a buzzing sound coming from her phone. Rarity then handed the Chao to Silver in order to read her phone. 

"Oh, I almost forget! I promised my parents that we would have brunch at this hour. We should get going." Rarity exclaimed as she took off, leaving Silver behind.

"Wait up." Silver called back and he took after her, entering the city. The two of them came in front of her house and Rarity knocked on the door.

"How do we explain this to your parents?" Silver asked as he pointed to the Chao.

"Oh, they won't be too surprised. I'll just say it's a new kind of pet or something." Rarity said nonchalantly.

The door opened and Hondo Flanks opened up. He noticed the two of them and his face broke out in a smile.

"Rarity, glad you weren't late. And Silver! Oh, it's so nice to see you! I'm glad my little Rarity found the right guy!" He remarked as he patted Silver on the back. Silver looked a little confused and he looked at Rarity.

"Honey, Rarity's here and she brought Silver!" Hondo Flanks called out as he entered the house. Silver and Rarity followed soon after with the Chao in the living room.

"What does he mean 'found the right guy'?" Silver asked her.

"Oh, they might have the impression that you and I are still an item." Rarity responded.

"What! You mean that you never told them?!" Silver said in surprise. The Chao looked up at him due to this.

"It just slipped my mind." Rarity explained.

Cookie Crumbles shortly entered the room alongside Sweetie Bell from upstairs. 

"Silver, I'm so glad you could have joined us!" She said as she hugged Silver tightly.  He looked a little uncomfortable.

"What's this thing?" Sweetie Belle asked as she pointed to the Chao that Silver was holding. It smiled at her. Her whole family was focused on it by then.

"This little darling is known as a Chao. We stumbled upon a garden full of them this morning and decided to take some  and raise them." Rarity explained. The Chao waved playfully at her family, causing them to aww at its cuteness.

"That's just wonderful Rarity. We could always use a new addition to the family!" Cookie Crumbles remarked as she put her hands together.

"Speaking of family, Silver we never really got to know anything about you last time you were here.  What's your family like?" Hondo Flanks asked him.

"Oh well, I never really got to know my family." Silver explained as he tickled the Chao slightly. Hondo and Cookie gasped at his answer.

"That's horrible sweetie!" Cookie Crumbles replied.

"Well, you don't have to worry. From now on, just think of us as your family!" Hondo Flanks replied, making Silvers' eyes widen.

"Oh no, that's ok. I'm fine really. " Silver started to say before Hondo and the rest of them embraced Silver. The Chao purred at the hug. Silver looked at Rarity with worry and she just shrugged at him.

Manic and Fluttershy entered the Canterlot Animal Shelter, with Fluttershy holding the Chao. It had an unresponsive look on its face and just looked around, noticing all the animals inside.

"Why are we coming here?" Manic asked.

"Silver said that this thing is like a pet right? So this is the perfect place to raise it." Fluttershy explained. She petted it on the head but the Chao didn't respond at all. Fluttershy brought it up to her face.

"We're going to take good care of you." Fluttershy told it. It wasn't even paying attention to her, it just looked around the animal shelter.  Fluttershy made a confused expression and she set it down on the ground.

"Manic , can you keep him company for a bit? I'm going to head to the back of the room to look for supplies." Fluttershy said as she headed to the back, leaving Manic alone with the Chao. The Chao looked up at him and began to smile and giggle.  Manic looked disinterested.

"So, uh what can you do exactly?" Manic asked as he looked down on the Chao. The Chao reached up to him as if it wanted him to pick it up. Manic looked at it strangely.

"Settle down, little guy." Manic told it. The Chao still reached up to him, making Manic look a little uncomfortable and he retracted a little bit back from it..  Manic then took out his drumsticks from his pocket and gave them to the Chao.

"Here, why don't you play with these?" Manic said. The Chao took the drumsticks and just held them. It looked confused on what to do as it stared at them.

"You use them like this." Manic said as he took the drumsticks back and started playing a beat on the floor as he crouched down.  The Chao clapped its hands in delight at the noise made. Manic then handed them back to the Chao and it repeated what Manic did as he stood back up.

"That's more like it." Manic said. The Chao then started going around the animal shelter and tapping things with the drumsticks. The animals in their cages noticed this and turned their attention to the Chao. Then Fluttershy came in, with a yellow bouncy ball, a blue soft baby blanket and a clear plastic little animal play pen with six sides. She noticed the Chao and out down the supplies.

"Look what I taught him to do. Pretty cool right?" Manic commented.

"That's amazing. You're quite talented." Fluttershy said as she knelt down to the Chao. The Chao looked at her with a blank expression and turned away from her. It went back to using the drumsticks and started flying around the animal shelter slowly, hitting anything such as the ceiling or reception desk. 

"Was it something I said?" Fluttershy wondered.

"I dunno, maybe it just doesn't like you." Manic suggested,causing Fluttershy to develop a look of worry.

"That...canot be right....all pets...love me." Fluttershy said a little unhinged as the Chao flew around and her right eye twitched slightly.

Knuckles and AppleJack entered Sweet Apple Acres. The Chao was on Knuckle's back and pulled on his hair, causing Knuckles to wince slightly.

"So, how do you plan on raising it?" Knuckles asked as he removed the Chao from his back and held it in his hands.

"I think that the best we can do is teach it good morals." AppleJack said.

"Morals?" Knuckles said. He and the Chao both had confused looks on their faces.

"Yeah, like the moral of hard work. I had us bring it here so that the little fella can see a hard's days work and pick up good habits from it." AppleJack explained as she approached the barn.

"Wait a minute, so you plan for us to spend the whole day working here to teach this thing a lesson?"Knuckles said.

"That's right. We should get started." AppleJack declared.

Knuckles sighed. He knew that there would be no point in arguing. He approached AppleJack with the Chao. A montage of the two of them working was then shown. AppleJack placed the Chao in front of her and she began to mow the lawn with a red lawnmower. The Chao looked on for a while as she moved to the next row before it floated up and began to follow her as she mowed. She noticed this and nodded her head. Later Knuckles had a bunch of grapes in front of him in a barrel with the Chao next to him. Knuckles clenched his fist and placed it inside and began to crush them in order to make juice. He did this for a while until the Chao joined him. Knuckles smirked slightly. AppleJack then began to paint the sides of the house red with a large paintbrush slowly as the Chao was next to her. The Chao observed her working and it floated up and brought the red paint jar to her. She turned to it and she smiled at it. Later the three of them were in front of a large apple tree. Knuckles wound up his fist and he hit the tree with some force, causing it to shake and apples dropped from it. AppleJack collected them in a basket. The Chao floated up and came next to the tree. The Chao mimicked Knuckles and punched the tree. However, the tree broke and came crashing down. AppleJack looked on in surprise as the tree fell and crushed Knuckles underneath it as his eyes widened in worry as the tree's shadow came to him. She and the Chao came to the tree on the floor.

"Knuckles, are you ok?" AppleJack asked.

Knuckles lifted the tree off of him as he grunted and it fell down the opposite side of him. He looked slightly irritated.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He grumbled. "I didn't figure such a little guy could be so strong."

"Yer right,I-"AppleJack said before the Chao lifted her up and floated up in the air. The Chao laughed and began to twirl her around. Knuckles chuckled a little.

"H-hey, knock it off." AppleJack yelled as she twirled.

The Chao then stopped twirling her and she was quite dizzy. The Chao then smiled and threw her high up in the air using great strength. She screamed as she was sent high up in the air to the sky. Knuckles and the Chao looked up in the air.

"You know, she's gonna be really mad when she comes back down." Knuckles told it.

In Pinkie Pie's house, Shadow was sitting on the couch in the living room. He had his arms folded and he looked like he'd rather be doing something else. In the same room, Pinkie was playing a game with the Chao on the carpet. She got out three cupcakes, vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. She then placed a small pink container over each of them and shifted them around. The Chao looked in confusion. Finally, she stopped moving them.

"All right, which one do you think is the chocolate under?" Pinkie asked.

The Chao looked at each of the three containers for a while with its hand to its mouth. Eventually, it picked the one in the center.  Pinkie took off the container to reveal a chocolate cupcake underneath.

"You're right! You deserve a reward!" Pinkie declared. She handed the Chao the cupcake and it ate it happily.

"Shadow, come quickly. Our little Chao is so smart!" Pinkie called over to him.

"It's not our thing. Anyway, I don't see the point of this. You seem to have everything under control. I'm out of here." Shadow said as he rose from the couch and headed to the door. However, Pinkie dashed in front of him, holding the Chao.

"You can't leave silly! Sunset said we both have to watch it. Besides, how can you not want to spend time with it?" She said as she held the Chao in front of him. It giggled at Shadow but he did not respond at all. The Chao looked puzzled. It then flew out of Pinkie's hand and flew out of the living room into the kitchen.

"What's it doing?" Shadow asked.  Pinkie just shrugged. Then the sound of a cannon being fired was heard and Shadow was shot through the door. He landed outside covered in confetti.  He looked displeased. The Chao held the cannon in its hand and laughed as it floated.

"My party cannon! You sure know how to have fun!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"And I've just been given a reason not to want to spend time with it." Shadow remarked. He then teleported away after he stood back up. The Chao looked a little confused and Pinkie came next to it.

"Don't worry. I'll find him using my Pinkie sense. Ooooh, we're playing hide and seek!" Pinkie said. She and the Chao then went outside. 

In Sunsets lab, she and Tails entered as she carried the Chao in her hands. Tails seemed a little anxious and he cleared this throat in order to speak up.

"So Sunset, not gonna lie, I'm kind of nervous. I mean taking care of a live thing is a lot of responsibility" Tails admitted.

"It'll be fine. It's probably like taking care of a pet" Sunset replied simply without looking at him, which didn't help Tails's uneasiness. 

"I've never done that before either. Tails answered.

"Don't worry about it. We're both pretty smart, we'll manage. Compared to all the stuff you've done, this should be a cakewalk." Sunset responded as she cradled the Chao in her arms, causing it to smile.

" Well, you do have a point there. Tails agreed. "Ok, let's get started."

Sunset set the Chao down behind a monitoring screen.  She then went into a closet and put on a white lab coat and black gloves.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Tails asked her.

"I'm going to gather data as you spend time with it. Allowing me to know a lot about their species." Sunset said as she put black wires on the Chao. It looked a little scared and began to shake a little.

"Don't worry, these are harmless." Sunset reassured it as she patted it on the head, making it stop shaking. "Now Tails, I want you to start playing with it, treating it nicely. Don't mind me, it'll be like I'm not even here
." 
Tails looked a little unsure but he just shrugged.  Tails then sat down next to Chao while Sunset went up and observed them through her machine.  Tails petted the Chao on the head, causing it to smile and purr with delight. On her screen, Sunset saw pink waves and she took notes from them.

"Now, try something else." Sunset called back to Tails. "This data is valuable."

A montage was then shown with Tails doing various activities with it. Tails was holding it in his arms and Sunset took notes as her screen produced pink waves as well.. Tails was as well feeding the Chao various fruits such as apples and berries, causing it to smile as well.  Tails as well was outside near the river and he watched the Chao swim in a circle. Sunset looked very intrigued as she scribbled down on her clipboard. Tails approached her.

"You were right, taking care of it doesn't seem so hard. Do you want to spend some time with it now?" Tails called out to Sunset.

"Yeah, I will. But in the meantime, go try something else with it, this creature is fascinating." Sunset said not looking up from her notes, causing Tails to look slightly stumped.

Sonic and Rainbow Dash were on CHS soccer field which was empty.  Sonic was holding the Chao in his hands while Rainbow didn't look too pleased.

"Come to think of it, I probably shouldn't have agreed to this thing." Rainbow Dash said. "I have so much stuff to do like practicing my guitar skills and improving my already awesome soccer playing."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun to look after this guy." Sonic said as he tickled the Chao. "Besides, we can raise it any way we want, so why not just fit it into your schedule?" 

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea actually. Being around me while I be awesome will surely make this thing like 20% more awesome!" Rainbow Dash agreed. 

"Plus, you get to spend the entire day with me." Sonic added on playfully. Rainbow just gave him an unimpressed look. She took the Chao from Sonic and placed it in front of the soccer goal. Rainbow Dash then got a series of soccer balls and placed them in front of her.

"Listen up. I'm going to try and shoot into that goal and you're going to try and block all my shots, got it?" She instructed to the Chao. It stared at her for a while before it smiled and nodded. Rainbow Dash juggled the soccer ball for a while until she shot a goal at the post. It zoomed past the Chao who did nothing to stop it. It laughed as the ball went in.

"No, you're supposed to block my shot." Rainbow Dash said slightly annoyed. She fired another ball at the goal but it went into the goal without the Chao even trying to block it. It clapped and Rainbow got even more annoyed.

"OK, one last time, block it!" She said firmly. She kicked the ball to the Chao who  again didn't even try to block it. Rainbow Dash put her hands on her face in annoyance. The Chao flew up to her with a confused look.

"This thing is lame! It can't even follow simple instructions." Rainbow Dash stated, causing the Chao to look a little sad as it sank to the ground.

"Take it easy, Dash. He should probably see how it's done first." Sonic suggested. He removed the Chao from the goal post and set it down next to it. He then came in front of the goal.

"Now, look what I do." Sonic said to it. "Dash, hit away."

Rainbow Dash fired many soccer balls at Sonic but with his superior speed, he easily prevented each of them from getting into the goal. The Chao looked on in amazement.

"Show off." Rainbow Dash grumbled as she folded her arms.

Sonic then stretched his arms.  He came over to the Chao and petted it on the head.

"Now you try." Sonic told it as he placed the Chao in front of the goal post.

Rainbow Dash again dribbled her soccer ball for while until she fired it at the goal. Immediately, the Chao moved quite fast and knocked the ball away, surprising her and Sonic.

"Yeah, now we're talking!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She fired many more balls at the goal and the Chao moved so fast that it was able to deflect all of them easily. Sonic smiled a little as he sat down on the grass.

"I changed my mind, this thing is awesome!" Rainbow Dash said as she lifted the Chao up happily. It smiled at her.

"But it's pretty quick though. Not as fast as yours truly, but still I'm impressed." Sonic remarked. "I think we should call it Chonic. You know, like Chao and Sonic put together."

"We're not calling it that. That's like 20 % less awesome." Rainbow Dash said. The Chao nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, in Eggman's lair, Eggman was sitting in front of his large computer. He was looking at the blueprints for a new robot he was making on the screen. Just then his computer started flashing yellow.

"What's this?" He wondered. Eggman pressed a green button on the left side of the screen and then his screen changed to yellow text in order to reveal why it was flashing yellow.

"Large sources of magical energy?!" He read. "I could use this to my advantage, might find me a way to get rid of that pesky blue pest. This requires some investigation!" He declared as he rose up from his chair and pointed his finger upward.

Part 1 end.
> Manic digging himself deeper
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                                                         Manic Digging Himself Deeper

At the Canterlot Animal Shelter, during the day, Fluttershy and Rarity entered. Then Manic followed them inside looking incredibly unhappy with a frown on his face and his eyelids drooped. It was more like he was dragging himself there to be more accurate and he slumped against the door after it was closed. He knew he was in for a long day.

"This is lame." Manic complained as he folded his arms.

"Well, you wouldn't be here if you hadn't broken the vending machine, stole all of the snacks inside, and sold them to students at higher prices, which is illegal by the way." Rarity said as she pointed her finger at him.

" I call it making a creative profit. Though I probably should have been more creative in the way I covered my tracks. All of sudden having a giant supply of snacks the day the machine broke didn't look too good for me." Manic admitted as he put his finger on his chin and pondered his past action.

"Well, I'm glad you're here. The animal shelter could always use more help." Fluttershy said as she was going to puppy cages at the bottom. She picked up a happy, small brown, puppy and offered it Manic with a smile on her face, as if she was giving him a million dollars. The puppy smiled at him. Manic didn't look impressed with what was in front of him.

"I'm sure you'll have a good time. Everybody loves animals and they love us." Fluttershy said.

Manic took the puppy reluctantly. They stared at each other for a while with the puppy smiling and Manic with a blank, bored expression on his face . The puppy noticed his lack of enthusiasm and lost it's smile and frowned. It then suddenly bit Manic on his arm and he shrieked as his eyes widened and pain shot through his arms as the sharp canine's entered pierced through his skin. Manic dropped it as he recoiled back and it nearly hit the ground before Fluttershy reacted quickly and caught it.

"Manic! You have to be more careful around the small animals" Fluttershy scolded as she petted the puppy to comfort it.

"Careful? That thing bit me. Does it have rabies or what?" Manic said with irritation as he held his arm in pain. He looked at it with a quite worried expression and rubbed where he was bitten.

"Take your time. Let them get to know you and they'll adore you. " Fluttershy explained.

"Yeah, whatever. On a completely unrelated note, do you know where this place keeps all the money earned? I just want to make sure it stays safe and doesn't fall into the wrong hands." Manic said in a poor attempt to be smooth.

"You mean like yours. No stealing. Remember, you have to actually do something or Principal Celestia is going to send you to remedial detention." Rarity said, shuddering as she did at the thought of it.

"Manic, why don't you take Angel outside for some air for 10 minutes? It'll be a great way for you to get off to a good start." Fluttershy said handing as she went to the floor and Angel, a white small rabbit, leaped into her hand. She then extended her hand to Manic. Angel looked unhappy at the idea and crossed his arms as he glared at Manic with displeasure at being in his company. Manic's reaction matched his as well.

"Okay fine, but if this thing bites me I'm not responsible for what I do." Manic said as he took Angel in his hands and exited through the back door.

Angel was hopping around in the grass while Manic was sitting down, looking extremely bored with his legs folded. He looked like he was about to fall asleep as his head drooped.

"Well, this more boring than watching paint dry, can't you do anything cool,?" Manic said to the rabbit.

Angel then looked at Manic as he stopped hopping and he glared at him. He then started hopping away towards the sidewalk quickly, getting Manic's attention as he rose up from the grass.

"Hey, get back here." Manic said as he followed him in an annoyed tone. Angel started to hop faster and faster towards the sidewalk while Manic started walking after him. Angel was then on the sidewalk. In the road, the an array of dozen cars were stopped as the light shone red. They were all eager to move.

"All right just stay there, you stupid rabbit. Now don't do anything like go into the road when the light turns green and the cars start moving." Manic said coming closer to Angel slowly with his arms reached out to grab him.

The instant Manic said this, the light turned green and Angel hopped into the road, Manic rushed towards him, but stopped in his tracks when he almost got run over and the car honked its horn with aggression. Manic saw a car moving towards Angel and covered his eyes in horror as he saw what was about to happen. He heard a crash and he winced. When he opened his eyes, he saw leftover dust from the cars movement. Manic saw a white patch lying on the ground, looking like it had been run over when the dust cleared. Manic looked extremely worried at what he had seen as he clenched his teeth with nervousness.

"Oh, crap. Why did I have to say that?" Manic said with panic and regret as he ran towards the patch and hoped for the best. Manic picked it up and checked for life by pressing his ear on its chest. There was none. He turned pale. He felt his heart pounding rather rapidly.

"Okay, Manic don't panic, don't panic. You'll find a way around this. If there's no body, then the incident didn't happen. That's step 1. Now for step 2, how do I prevent Fluttershy and Rarity from finding out what I did?" Manic said to himself as walked around in circles, in a desperate attempt to calm himself down.

Manic thought for a while. Then he took the white patch and threw it in the trash can nearby. He wiped his forehead and started panting heavily. He then ran all the way home through the city leaving a green streak as he did. He then opened the door and ran upstairs furiously. Sonic was on the couch with his arms folded behind his back, relaxing and he noticed him.

"Hey Manic, where's the fire?" Sonic called to him.

"If anyone asks, I was in my room the whole time, and I never left it." Manic said as he shut the door quickly, making a large slam heard throughout the house.

The next day at school, Manic was walking through the hallway and he looked paranoid. His eyes had bags under them and were bloodshot, indicating that he didn't get much sleep. He looked around from behind constantly as if he was expecting the world to end or something, causing other students to give him strange looks and avoid him.

"All right time to get my story straight. I was playing with the little guy and then I was knocked out by some rabbit smugglings thugs. They then took the rabbit. You'll probably never see him again as I have no idea what they look like. Time to move on and get a new rabbit. Yeah, that'll work." Manic said to himself nervously as he fiddled his arms. He chuckled nervously.

Manic then bumped into Fluttershy from the behind. He then wildly scrambled back when she turned around and noticed him.

"Hey Fluttershy, fancy seeing you here, at the school you go to." Manic said nervously as he tried to remain calm.

"Manic, good thing I saw you. Yesterday after taking out Angel, you didn't come back to the animal shelter. Rarity's really mad and she wants to report you to Principal Celestia for skipping out. But I thought we should give you a chance to explain yourself." Fluttershy said.

"(All right remember rabbit smugglings thugs.)" Manic thought. "Well you see yesterday there was a car accident and- I mean there were car smugglings rabbits, er, there thugs stealing cars, er there were –(Dammit.)" Manic said trying to explain.

Fluttershy looked at him weirdly and confused at what he had just said. Manic then composed himself and stood straight.

"The truth is yesterday, Angel was feeling sick, and I took her-" Manic began.

"Him." Fluttershy corrected.

"Whatever. The thing is Angel was sick, and I took him home with me to nurse him back to health on my own. I kind of bonded with the little guy during our brief trip outside, and I wanted to show you and Rarity the real me." Manic continued on.

"Really? He didn't look sick before you left. Is he okay?" Fluttershy asked concerned.

"Oh, I looked online, and he has Criptapia-rabbato- scolorirsis. It stays dormant but then it hits like a bomb. It's pretty bad." Manic explained quickly.

"That's terrible. You should take him back to the shelter. We have all kinds of medicine there." Fluttershy said with worry.

"Oh no. There's no known medical cure. Just some rest and affection will do the trick, it's what I found. He should stay with me until he gets better." Manic said quickly.

"Oh well, since it seems you guys are really getting along, I'll allow it. Can I see him this afternoon"? Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah sure(,Dammit again.)" Manic said as he just spoke. "Come around at 3".

"Bye Manic." Fluttershy said as she walked away

Manic then slumped to the ground and held his head as she left. He looked hopeless.

"(I'm screwed)." Manic thought.

At lunch, Manic entered the cafeteria, trying to come up with a plan for step 3 as he held his head down. Then Rarity appeared in front of him suddenly and grabbed him by his arms firmly. She was not too pleased with him.

"There you are you lowlife ditcher! How could you leave both Fluttershy and I like that!. We had to clean up all of the cages yesterday. Disgusting! That should've been you! " Rarity said with anger as she grabbed Manic and started to shake him.

Fluttershy then entered the cafeteria. She noticed what Rarity was doing to Manic and went over to the two of them.She then split them up.

"It's okay Rarity. Angel was sick yesterday so Manic took him home to nurse him back to health." Fluttershy explained.

"Really? He didn't look sick to me. What does he have Manic?" Rarity asked him.

"Oh well, he has Rabbita Polfera Schizphrena, it's pretty bad." Manic responded a little uneasily. His eyes darted back and forth.

"I thought you said he had Criptapia-rabbato- scolorirsis?" Fluttershy said confused.

(How did she remember that?) Right, that's what he has." Manic said going along with it.

"I've never heard of it. I doubt he's sick. What are you up to Manic?" Rarity asked with suspicion.

"He is sick, and in fact, you should come to my house at 3 in order to see him. (Dammit!)" Manic said.

"Okay, we'll be there to see him, if he's actually there." Rarity said with even more suspicion as she raised an eyebrow.

Rarity and Fluttershy then walked away to go sit at their table. Manic again slumped to the floor as if he was granted a death sentence.

"I'm double royally screwed." Manic groaned

At Manic's house afterschool, he was going through stuff, and opening all of the cabinets and drawers super quickly. Sonic was watching him confused as he dashed around as items were thrown around everywhere like a hurricane.

"Ok Manic, what's going on? Since yesterday, you've been freaking out." Sonic asked.

"Sonic, can you keep a secret?" Manic asked as he dashed up to him with desperation.

"Depends on what it is." Sonic replied.

"Okay, so I had to go to the animal shelter with Fluttershy and Rarity yesterday. They then made me take out Fluttershy's pet rabbit outside, but then he went to the road and got run over by a car, and now I lied to Fluttershy saying he's sick at my house, and now she and Rarity are coming over in order to see him, but they can't because he's dead and I need to come up with something or I'm screwed." Manic said nervously and quickly. He clearly wasn't calm and looked like he was about to burst with anxiety.

"Hmm, that's quite the problem." Sonic replied.

The doorbell rang and Manic felt sick to his stomach as he slouched. He then hid behind Sonic.

"Quick Sonic, you have to do something! I can't face them!" Manic begged.

Sonic then dashed to the kitchen quickly and he came back. He handed Manic a mango.

"A mango? Why are giving me this?!" Manic yelled with irritation.

"Do I have to spell it out for you? Just wrap that thing in a towel or something and pretend that's your rabbit. Just say he's sleeping or something." Sonic explained.

"That's a good plan. Thanks, Sonic." Manic said a little calmly. As he ran upstairs he didn't notice Sonic's mischievous grin.

Manic then went back downstairs and opened the door. Rarity and Fluttershy were there in front of the door. Rarity eyed him with suspicion while Fluttershy just smiled.

"Rarity! Fluttershy! Nice of you guys to make it. Come inside." Manic said in a welcoming manner as he broke out in a smile.

"Where's Angel?" Rarity asked suddenly.

"The little guy's sleeping. He's awfully tired. I don't think he wants company now." Manic explained smoothly.

"What are you talking about Manic? Just because he's asleep doesn't mean that they can't come and give him, oh ,I don't know a kiss as he sleeps for encouragement. I hear that works best when rabbits are sick." Sonic suddenly said as he dashed next to Manic.

Manic gave Sonic a death glare and huffed slightly. Sonic grinned widely.

"That's a great idea. Let's do it. Show us the way Manic!" Fluttershy said with enthusiasm.

"Umm, I just forgot which room he's in. Taking care of him is really tiring." Manic said quickly as he rubbed his hand behind his head.

"Manic, I heard you put him in the guest room. It's the 3rd door on the left when you come upstairs." Sonic said as he pointed upstairs.

Rarity and Fluttershy then walked up the stairs. Manic went and grabbed Sonic by his arms quickly and looked at him with intense frustration as if he wanted to rip his arms off.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to get me caught?" Manic seethed with anger.

"I just want to see how long you can keep this up. You're lying to Fluttershy's face and that's not cool. You need to learn your lesson one way. And on the plus side, it's kinda entertaining. " Sonic explained slightly amused as he pried Manic's hands off his arms.

"When this is over, I'll get you for this Sonic." Manic threatened as he ran upstairs.

Rarity and Fluttershy entered in the guest room. On the center of the bed was a mango wrapped in a white blanket. Both of them approached it. Manic then burst into the room suddenly.

"I just figured this out, Rabbita noenphye dilimia is very dangerous to humans!" Manic said as he barged in loudly as if there was a bomb in the room.

"I thought it was called Criptapia-rabbato- scolorirsis" Fluttershy said again confused.

"Whatever. Anyway, people shouldn't be near rabbits with the disease as it can get us sick too." Manic warned as he came in front of the two of them.

"Well if that's true, then how come you're able to care for him without being sick?" Rarity asked.

"Oh, well I have umm, some special gear that I keep to help care for him." Manic made up on the spot.

"Where is this gear? I would like to see it." Rarity demanded.

"Umm, it's daily rental material. But we should really get out here, as we could disturb Angel. He needs his sleep." Manic said as he rushed both of them downstairs, and outside. He then slammed the door quickly and sighed in relief as the anxiety left his body. Sonic was watching the whole thing and he laughed. Manic glared at him

"Okay, I have to give you credit. I'm surprised you were able to make that work." Sonic said as he finished laughing approached him

"I'm at my wits end. I don't know how long I can keep this up. There has to be something that I can do in order to make this work." Manic said in a defeated tone and his shoulders sunk. Manic sank down to the ground and if he could go deeper, he probably would have.

"Dude, I think you should just own up to it and tell Fluttershy. What's the worst that could happen? " Sonic suggested. Manic looked at Sonic as if that was the craziest thing he had ever heard.

"She'll hate me for life and cut me off from her life entirely," Manic said.

"OK, she'll probably be pissed for a while. But if she finds out without you telling her, she'll never forgive you." Sonic warned.

"That's why I need to come up with something. What to do, what to do?" Manic thought out loud. Seeing Manic like this made Sonic sigh. Just then Manic snapped his fingers to indicate that he had an idea and he rose up quickly.

"I know, I'll just get Fluttershy another rabbit that looks exactly like Angel! She'll never know the difference!" Manic said with hope.

"Manic, there are so many ways that could backfire. First of all, how do you plan on doing that?" Sonic asked.

"I'll just go buy one. Easy." Manic replied.

"You're broke remember? And you can't steal one." Sonic pointed out. At the word steal, Manic's eyes widened.

"Who says I can't?" Manic said as he smiled deviously and turned to Sonic. Sonic realized that he had made a terrible mistake with his words.

"Manic, no. You've stolen a lot of things before, but an animal's going too far. That's what Eggman does for a living! Do you really want to be lumped into the same category as him?" Sonic said trying to talk Manic out of it.

"It's nothing like Eggman. I'm doing it for a good cause. It's not like I'm enslaving it or anything." Manic dismissed. Sonic facepalmed. He knew there was no talking Manic out of it.

"Look, man, do you. I'll leave you to make the choice. I hope you make the right one." Sonic said. He dashed away upstairs, leaving Manic.

"What should I do?" Manic wondered. Just then on Manic's shoulders, a red Manic with horns appeared and a white Manic with a halo appeared in red smoke and white smoke. Manic turned to face them.

"Come on Manic, just take the rabbit. No one will have to know." The red Manic suggested on his left.

"He's right, go get it." The white Manic urged on his right. Manic was extremely confused at what he had just heard.

"Aren't you supposed to talk me out of it or something?" Manic said as he faced the white him. It shrugged.

"Hey, I don't want Fluttershy to hate us and we're out of options." The white one said. The two of them vanished in smoke again.

"Well, I've made up my mind. But I'm going to need some help." Manic decided. "Sonic said no, so that leaves..." Manic then dashed off to the rooftop of the house and he found Shadow sitting there as he came in front of him. Shadow dropped his eyelids to show that he wasn't happy to see him.

"What do you want?" Shadow asked annoyed.

"I'll cut to the chase. I need you to help me stea-I mean borrow a rabbit from the Canterlot pet shop. I killed Fluttershy's pet by accident and I need to get her a new one before she notices." Manic explained casually.

"Why should I help you at all?" Shadow asked bluntly.

"Because......wait, give me a minute." Manic said. Shadow looked at him unimpressed and rolled his eyes.

"Ok, I got nothing. But I need your help! Pleeeeeeeaaasseeeeeeeee!" Manic begged as he held his hands together.

Shadow made an annoyed face as he squinted and winced in annoyance. He couldn't stand Manic's begging at all.

"Fine, as long as you stop whining." Shadow said annoyed. "I'll just transport you there and that's it."

"Thanks, Shadow! You're a great guy! Don't listen to what people say about you being a disgruntled loner." Manic said as he put his hands on Shadow's shoulder. Shadow looked at him unimpressed still and glared at him even more.

Meanwhile in Eggman's lair, Eggman was sitting in his chair, trying to think of another scheme. He tore up many pieces of paper in anger and threw them on the ground. Eggman put his hands on his face with great irritation. Orbot and Cubot looked on from the behind.

"This is just perfect. Thanks to that meddling blue pest, I haven't been able to capture animals in order to fuel my badniks! He's always there to stop me! My army is running slow. I need those animals as a power source!" Eggman complained as slammed his fist on his desk greatly.

"Sir, if you don't mind me suggesting, why don't you just take the animals at a time when Sonic is unavailable? Like when he's sleeping." Orbot suggested as he approached him. Eggman perked up at the suggestion and turned to him. He liked where this was going.

"That's an excellent idea. I could take the animals right under his nose! He wouldn't even notice! Now, where could I find a bunch of small animals at once?" Eggman wondered out loud.

"If I recall, that city he lives in, what was it called again? Canterlot? It has a pet shop." Orbit explained.

"Pet shop! Perfect. Orbot, you have to be my most useful creation yet!" Eggman declared as he got up and rushed away to prepare to leave.

"What about me?" Cubot asked confused as he scratched his head.

Meanwhile, it was nighttime in Canterlot and it was totally quiet and empty. In front of the pet shop, Manic and Shadow came in front it. Shadow looked like he would rather be doing something else as he just looked around the area.

"All right, the coast is clear. Now let's break in." Manic said as he picked up a rock and was going to throw it through the glass.

"Woah, what  are you doing?" Shadow asked as took the rock from Manic and looked at him with disbelief.

"I was going to use that to break the window, so we could head in." Manic explained.

"Are you crazy? You'll set off the alarm and cops will come. I'll just teleport us in." Shadow said.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you could do that. " Manic remembered.

"Chaos Control." Shadow said as he teleported both of them inside.

Inside both of them entered the pet shop and looked around. As they walked through, they saw that all the cages were empty. Not even single animal was in there. Manic looked confused and he scratched his head as he stopped in the middle.

"Hey, what gives? Isn't a pet shop supposed to be full of pets? Where did all the animals go?" Manic wondered. Shadow then tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to him.

"Perhaps it has something to do with that giant hole in the ceiling." Shadow said nonchalantly as he pointed to a large hole in the ceiling above and Manic looked up.

"Oh, probably. We should check that out." Manic said. He and Shadow jumped and dashed through the hole.

On the rooftop, Eggman placed a small sleeping kitten into a large gray cylinder capsule with a yellow button coming out of the top. He then closed the door of the capsule and dusted his hands. It was attached to the back of his eggmobile and he prepared to enter it.

"Ah, this wasn't too difficult. Got the animals and no trouble at all. I should perhaps listen to Orbot more often." Eggman said as he whistled happily and got into his egg mobile

"Hey!" Manic yelled, causing Eggman to be startled and almost give the doctor a heart attack. He turned around. He saw Manic and Shadow facing him, the latter with his arms folded. They all seemed surprised to see each other.

"Eggman?!" The two of them said in confusion.

"You two?!" Eggman yelled back.

"Doctor, what are you doing here?" Shadow asked puzzled as to why he would even be in a place such as this.

"And what's with the capsule?" Manic asked in a demanding tone. Suddenly, he managed to put two and two together and pointed to him. "Hey, you're responsible for the animals missing, aren't you?

"Oh, I...uh....was just....." Eggman attempted to explain as he rubbed the back of his head. Shadow and Manic looked at each other, unimpressed with the lack of the doctor's explanation.

"You're stealing these animals to use a power source right?" Manic guessed correctly.

"Alright, fine, I am indeed." Eggman admitted as he brought his hands down in defeat. He knew there was no point in trying to save face.

"That's not cool." Manic said with distaste and he folded his arms.

"You wanted to do the same thing." Shadow pointed out. Manic glared at him as he turned around, dreading the idea of being lumped into the same category as Eggman.

"I don;t have to explain myself to you two. I have enough animals here anyway. I'll just be on my way." Eggman said as he entered the eggmobile. He pressed a button on the centre of the eggmobile it hovered and flew away into the night at a considerate speed.

"We can't let him get away." Manic declared. He dashed after him, with Shadow following. Eggman noticed as the two followed him on the road and kept up with his speed. The eggmobile dashed away with Shadow and Manic in pursuit via the road still. Eggman grew annoyed and he grumbled.

"Oh come on. This is Sonic's job!" Eggman yelled. He pressed a button on the mobile and it began to fire different rounds of ammunition at the two of them as he turned around. The two of them easily evaded the shots due to their superior speed and closed in. Eggman then pressed another button and a checkered brown ball came out underneath attached to a chain. Eggman tried to hit the both of them with it, but they were to quick as they moved from side to side to dodge it and he hit the road. Shadow then jumped up and kicked the chain, making the wrecking ball fall off. He and Manic came underneath the egg mobile

"That thing's pretty high. I have an idea." Manic said. He then dashed forward and he hopped of Shadow's head suddenly, causing him to fall to the ground and fall on his face. Mid-air, Manic dashed through the Eggmobile many times, damaging it with each strike and causing it to wobble. With the last strike, Manic hit the bottom with his Eskima sticks at highspeed. A soundwave was made and it blew the Eggmobile far away, causing the capsule full of animals to fall out. Eggman yelled as the mobile flew throughout the night. Manic landed on the ground, next to the capsule.

"Piece of cake." Manic said. He then turned and noticed Shadow coming towards him, looking angry and as if he wanted to strangle him. Shadow leaned in front of him.

"Never...again." Shadow said harshly. Manic backed up.

"Sorry about that, but it worked out great. Now, let's get these guys back to the pet shop." Manic said He jumped on top of the yellow button, making the capsule open in and revealed sleeping animals such as rabbits, puppies, kittens, and birds. He and Shadow dashed back to the pet shop and put the animals back in their cage using their speed.The last one was the white rabbit that Manic held. It looked just like Angel. Manic looked at it with great conflict as he struggled on what to do as he clutched it. Manic sighed and he placed it back in its cage.

"I thought you were taking that rabbit." Shadow said, surprised at Manic's behaviour.

"I was, but seeing Eggman doing that changed my mind. He ruins everything!" Manic grumbled as he put his foot down. He hoped he had made the right choice. "Let's get out of here." He and Shadow teleported out of the pet shop.

The next day Manic walked in the hallway with Shadow and Sonic. He looked like he was out of options as his face showed that he was fed up with this whole fiasco.

"Dammit! I didn't get the rabbit!...... I think I'm just going to tell them the truth" Manic said dismayed at what he had to do.

"That's surprisingly responsible and mature of you. Well, you made the right choice man. Here they are. Good luck." Sonic told him as he was proud of his brothers decision as he began to walk away. Shadow just teleported, leaving Manic alone.

Manic walked over to Rarity and Fluttershy by their lockers. They noticed him. Manic looked like he really didn't want to be there, but he knew he had no choice.

"Hello Manic, do you need something?" Rarity said.

"Actually, I do. Listen. I need to tell you both something. It's about Angel. Listen two days ago-"Manic began.

In Fluttershy's backpack something popped up, it was Angel. Manic's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe what was in front of him. He was alive and well.

"Angel?! But I saw you get run over by a car. You're supposed to be dead!" Manic shouted.

"I found him yesterday outside of the animal shelter. He was playing there. He must've felt better while you were taking care of him, and came to see us." Fluttershy explained.

"What is this about getting run over by a car, and him being dead?" Rarity asked confused.

"Just forget it. I'm glad to see the little guy okay." Manic said, he began to chuckle. He was so relieved. "(Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes!)"

Principal Celestia then came up behind Manic. She didn't look quite pleased as she had her arms folded and a stern expression.

"Manic, could I have a word with you?" Principal Celestia said. "Alone." She added as she turned to Rarity and Fluttershy. The two of them then walked off, leaving Manic alone. He turned to her, not noticing her facial expression. He was in too good of a mood to think anything could go wrong.

"Sure, what about?" Manic asked.

"This morning on the news, there was a report about 2 thieves entering a pet shop and trying to steal something. The 2 of them looked like teenagers, and I was thinking there was no way 2 of my students would do something like that. Then I remembered you're one of my students" Principal Celestia dryly stated. Manic's eyes widened. His good mood died suddenly as he heard her speak.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Manic responded nervously. He hoped she would buy it.

"Manic, they showed footage of the security tape on the news. Is there something you want to tell me?" Principal Celestia said. Manic sighed. He had enough of lying.

"It's a long story, but at the animal shelter, I thought I killed Fluttershy's pet and I started to freak out. So I decided to go to the pet shop and borrow one but it turns out this guy called Eggman was there to steal the animals to power his robotic army and-" Manic began before he noticed Principals Celestia's face, which indicated that she didn't believe him. She looked at him as if he was describing something out of a cartoon as she raised an eyebrow.

"You don't believe me do you?" Manic realized. He saw that just talking wasn't helping his case/

"Magical threats are one thing but an evil scientist kidnapping animals for his robot army and being called Eggman is another. I expect to see you in remedial detention for the next month." Principal Celestia said. She walked off, leaving Manic alone.

Manic then sighed in defeat and slumped his shoulders.
> Chao part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chao part 2
Eggman, riding in his eggmobile, flew high above the city of Canterlot. He was too high up for any of the citizens to realize him flying through. Attached to the back of the eggmobile, was a large silver capsule that he normally used to capture small animals. Eggman focused on the screen of his ride in front of him, which had a red beeping dot on it, which indicated that there was magic nearby. The dot began to beep purple as Eggman flew above the forest. Eggman turned his attention to this.

“A change, the energy reading must be in this forest!” Eggman realized. He descended the eggmobile through the tree’s of the forest slowly until he reached the ground and stopped. Eggman got out of his mobile and unplugged the portable magic sensor from the cockpit of the eggmobile. The dot was still beeping as Eggman looked around the forest. It was empty, nothing out of the ordinary. The only movement was that of the wind blowing the trees. Eggman scratched his head and looked down on the screen.

“I don’t get it. I don’t see anything, but this thing is still beeping.” He said confused as he held it up. “Don’t tell me I hit a dead end!”

Eggman took two steps forward and then he heard a small crunching sound from underneath his foot. He looked down and saw the small blue Chao key. He picked it up with curiosity.

“What is this?” Eggman said as he examined the key. Suddenly, the key flashed a light blue color and lifted itself up in the air from his hand, startling the doctor as he took a step back.  The key then flashed a giant white flash which covered Eggman as he shielded his eyes from the blinding light with his arms.  When the flash ended, Eggman brought his arms down and he looked around. He wasn’t in the forest anymore. He now was in the Chao Garden. In front of him was a large green hedge as tall as him.

“What just happened?” Eggman said as he examined his new surroundings. “It looks like I’m no longer in the forest. That key must’ve brought me here! I guess my device wasn’t malfunctioning after all.” He then looked down at the screen and the dot was now flashing yellow rapidly and beeping loudly.

“I guess this space must be the location of the magical source.” Eggman commented. He then heard some rustling in the hedge in front of him, which startled him a little.

“Who’s there?!” He demanded. He then heard a little more rustling before out of the hedge, emerged several Chao, with some crawling through it as others floated through it. Eggman became puzzled as he saw the small creatures heading towards him.

“Chao?” Eggman said now as he had a crowd of Chao around him. They observed him with curiosity and put their hands to their mouths. The sensor beeped loudly still, causing the Chao to turn their attention towards it and Eggman looked down as well before looking back at the Chao, who still were focused on the beeping. Eggman then had a realization as he raised his finger slightly to the Chao.

“Chao..are the source of this magical reading?! He said with extreme displeasure. “They're hamrless harmless!” He sighed loudly and slumped his shoulders as he hung his head in disappointment.  The Chao crowded around him and continued to stare at him. 

“(I was expecting something much more from such a large energy reading! Not these cute cuddly creatures! I brought my capsule for no-)” Eggman began before he suddenly rose up and his face broke out into a large wicked grin. 

“Then again, I know better than to judge a book by its cover.” Eggman said as he looked down at the Chao on the ground maliciously. They still looked up at him with confusion. He rubbed his hands together deviously.

Meanwhile, Shadow was at his quiet place. He sat down on the grass as he pressed his hands down on it. He was just alone as he stared into the crystal clear lake and listened to the running water.

“Ah,  peace and quiet is all I need. Especially now that I’m away from Pinkie Pie and that creature.” Shadow said calmly. 

Just then, a small bubbling ripple appeared in the lake, catching Shadow’s attention. Then another ripple happened as well in the same spot, causing Shadow to rise up. Two more ripples happened after that and Shadow walked over to the water. A series of ripples then occurred and Shadow looked down at the water, puzzled. He glared slightly and crouched down to his knees. Shadow peered into the water. This time, nothing happened for a few seconds as Shadow stared at it.  Suddenly, a giant splash erupted from the water as a blast of confetti was shot from it and a party horn noise was made as it hit Shadow in the face, blowing him back and causing him to fall to the ground. Out of the water, a Chao emerged, floating and holding the party cannon.  Next to it, Pinkie Pie came out, wearing a pink wetsuit, with pink goggles and a yellow breathing tube. She removed the tube from her mouth and smiled widely as she turned to the Chao.

“See, I knew we’d find him!” Pinkie told it. It smiled back at her. The two of them then approached Shadow and looked down at him happily as he laid on the ground . He had confetti all over his face and had a blank expression as he stared at them.

“That was a fun game of Hide and Seek!” Pinkie said. Shadow then rose up from the ground and rubbed the confetti off his face. He glared at the two of them when he was done.

“How’d you find me here?” Shadow asked.

“With my Pinkie sense of course!” Pinkie exclaimed. The Chao nodded in agreement. Shadow sighed loudly  in annoyance.

“I told you, I don’t want anything to do with this creature.” Shadow said as pointed to the Chao. It lost its smile and lowered the party cannon.

“Come on, Shady! It needs both of us to take care of it and besides, it’s having so much fun playing with you!” Pinkie replied.

“You mean attacking me with that weapon of yours? That’s not really playing.” Shadow responded. He folded his arms and turned away from her.

“So, what do you want to play now? Still hide and seek, or another game?” Pinkie asked him eagerly and missing his point entirely.

“Neither.” Shadow stated. He teleported in a blue flash, leaving Pinkie and the Chao. They turned to each other before Pinkie smiled again .

“Hide and seek it is!” Pinkie declared. The Chao smiled heavily at her suggestion.

Back at the Canterlot Animal Shelter, Fluttershy clutched and petted  Angel bunny in her hands near the store’s entrance as she observed the Chao in the middle of the room. It was surrounded by a puppy, kitten, and a few hamsters. The Chao gently gave each of them a pat on the head, making them purr or bark in delight. Manic was next to it, but he wasn’t paying attention to it all. He had his back leaned against the wall and his head down as he tapped his drumsticks slightly against the wall. 

“I don’t understand why it doesn’t seem to like me. I’m always so nice and kind to it, but it just doesn’t even respond to me at all.” Fluttershy said with a sad tone as she fluffed Angel’s tail. Upon hearing this, Angel crossed his arms and glared at the Chao with a jealous frown.

“Manic doesn’t even pay it attention, but it always ends up going to him. Maybe there’s something I’m doing wrong.” Fluttershy began to ponder as she stopped fluffing Angel’s tail. Upon this, he looked up at her and gave her an annoyed glance. The Chao then looked up at Manic and noticed what he was doing with his drumsticks. It flew up towards Manic and he noticed as he raised his head towards it.

“What’s up?” He asked as he continued to tap his sticks against the wall. The Chao then looked down at his hands. Manic noticed where it was looking.

“Oh, you must really like these. Well, here you go.” Manic said as he became a green blur and dashed out of the animal shelter. He then came back shortly with  two smaller drumsticks in his hands. He then handed them to  Chao.  It stared at him with curiosity at what he had just done before  it took them and began to tap the sticks together rapidly. The other animals crowded around the Chao happily as it did. Seeing this caused Fluttershy to form an envious glare as she fumed and began to shake slightly with anger. Angel noticed this and he hopped out of her hands quickly with a nervous expression.

“Why... doesn’t….. it love me?!” Fluttershy said bitterly but softly as she grit her teeth.

The Chao didn’t notice this at it continued to hit the drumsticks together. The Chao then began to vibrate in place suddenly and then it’s entire body was shaking. Fluttershy lost her anger and looked at the Chao with worry. She approached it and Manic  noticed this as well and his face made a confused look. The two observed it as  began to vibrate more rapidly.

“Uh, what’s it doing?” Manic asked.

“Is something wrong?” Fluttershy asked it with concern. The Chao didn’t even notice her at all and just continued to shake. Eventually, it raised its  two arms  and hit the drumsticks it was holding together with a very hard clap. The result was a booming shockwave that made a loud popping noise, which caused Manic and Fluttershy to duck and cover their ears as the shockwave went through the animal shelter and destroyed all the windows instantly. The animals, in a state of panic, all rushed out of the shelter as they barked and hissed away into the streets. Manic and Fluttershy rose up and upon seeing the state the shelter was in, Fluttershy gasped loudly as she held her hand to her mouth. She looked like she was about to have a heart attack. Manic groaned as he facepalmed at the sound of the missing animals.

“I’ll go and get them.” Manic said with annoyance. He dashed out of the animal center, leaving Fluttershy and the Chao. Fluttershy turned towards it.

“Now, what you did was very wrong. I know you like to play with the drumsticks, but you have to be considerate of others around you. I know you didn’t mean it, but you ended up scaring all the animals away. Next time, please be more aware of your surroundings.” Fluttershy told it gently with a warm smile. It just stared at her with the same blank expression and blinked once. The Chao then flew away from her at high speed and after Manic out of the shleter. Fluttershy’s eye began to twitch and then she came on to her knees after this.

“STOP IGNORING ME!!!!!!!”Fluttershy yelled at the top of her lungs to the sky.

Back at Sweetapple acres, Knuckles and AppleJack were now with the Chao in the kitchen of her home. The Chao floated as AppleJack sat in the corner on a chair while she was placing an ice pack on her forehead. She looked quite dazed and dizzy. Knuckles and the Chao exchanged small glances before Knuckles approached her.

“Are you feeling better?” Knuckles asked.

“I’ll be fine. I didn’t think such a little fella could be so strong.” AppleJack replied as she rose up from her chair and wobbled a little as she struggled to  maintain her balance and she sat down again. “It just happened out of the blue.”

“Yeah, it saw me hit that tree and then it was almost as strong as me.” Knuckles pondered. He stared at the Chao for a while and it looked back at him with interest. “I think these things must pick up whatever traits they’re exposed to.”

“That explains a lot.” AppleJack said tiredly and she slumped in her chair. The Chao flew over to her and looked at her, slightly worried. AppleJack gave it a slightly reassuring smile after she noticed this. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine, partner. You just need to control that strength of yers.” The Chao began to examine its arms and started flexing them slightly in confusion. Knuckles then faced the Chao.

“I’ll teach you everything I know about discipline. Got it?” Knuckles said as he pointed to the Chao sternly. The Chao nodded its head in agreement happily. 

“Cool.” Knuckles said. He held out his fist for a fist bump. The Chao stared at his fist before looking down at one of its own. It then released a fist bump to Knuckles. However, the Chao didn’t hold back it’s strength and Knuckles was sent crashing through the wall of the kitchen and outside on the ground. AppleJack gasped and rose up. She and the Chao looked through the Knuckles shaped hole in the wall and saw Knuckles resting against a tree with a dazed expression.

“I’m ok. Let’s get started.” Knuckles said in a staggered tone as he gave the thumbs up.

“Looks like Knuckles and I have a lot of work to do.” AppleJack said with a sigh. She placed the ice pack on the table and headed outside.

Eggman descended back to the entrance of his lair as it opened up for him to land. As he set down his eggmobile, he saw Orbot and Cubot waiting for his arrival.

“Welcome back sir, did you find the source of that magical reading?” Orbot asked as Eggman got out of the mobile.

“Yes, I didn’t return empty-handed. Allow me to demonstrate.” Eggman said as he walked over to the capsule attached the eggmobile. He pressed a small green button on the front and the doors of the capsule opened up. The capsule was full of many  Chao, sleeping peacefully. Orbot and Cubot examined them before looking back at Eggman. Eggman looked proud at his catch as he crossed his arms triumphantly. Cubot scratched his head

“Sir…...why do have so many...Chao” Orbot questioned.

“They were the source of the magical reading. From now on, they’re going to  be my new power source!” Eggman declared. "Why didn't I think of this earlier?" Orbot and Cubot looked at each other upon hearing this.

“And I thought he was crazy for using small animals.” Cubot said in a snobbish British accent. Eggman gave him a small glare.

“I’m not crazy!” Eggman said defensively as he closed the door of the capsule. “Take the capsule and follow me! Let’s get the Egg Albatross ready! I want to get more of them.”

Eggman then headed off deeper into the lair, leaving Orbot and Cubot with the capsule. Orbot sighed in reluctance.

“Just try not to drop it.” Orbot told Cubot.

“Such grueling work is beneath me.” Cubot stated and Orbot held his head and groaned.

In Rarity’s home, Silver and the Chao waited outside the door to Rarity’s room in the hallway. They looked like they had been waiting out there for some time. The Chao looked up at the door, while Silver sat down as his hand rested on his face and looked bored out of his mind. He then turned to the door.

“She’s been in there for almost two hours. What could she be up to?” Silver asked. The Chao turned to him and just shrugged. Suddenly, the door burst open, startling the Chao and Silver, the former which then entered Silver’s hair, while Silver stepped back slightly.  Rarity stood at the door, looking incredibly pleased with herself.

“They’re finished!” Rarity announced.

“What is?” Silver asked. The Chao emerged itself from Silver’s hair upon hearing her statement and flew down to her.

“Enter and marvel at some of my finest work yet!” Rarity instructed as she entered the room, followed by Silver and the Chao. In the center, there was a clothing rack that was full of small baby sized outfits. There was a blue pirate outfit, a blue tuxedo, a blue astronaut outfit, blue marching band uniform and more. The Chao looked on in amazement while Rarity looked quite satisfied with her work.

“So this is why you were in here for so long.” Silver realized.

“Of course!  I couldn’t decide on what outfit would be good for the little darling, so I though, why not all of them?” Rarity explained as she patted the Chao on the head. “The choice is yours.”

The Chao then flew towards the clothing rack eagerly. Next, a montage of the Chao wearing different outfits was shown. It first wore the astronaut outfit as it made a saluting gesture. Next, the Chao put on the marching band uniform and played an air horn. It then placed a police uniform, complete with the black shades and made a play gun with its hand and pretended to fire. The Chao then placed on a blue hippie outfit and did a meditation pose as it floated mid-air. Rarity squealed in delight while Silver just smiled slightly as the two of them watched.

“This is just perfect! You are so adorable! We must match together!” Rarity said as she dashed quickly and pulled out another clothing rack, this time with outfits her own size.  Rarity and the Chao each put on a matching blue sweater along with a blue beret  hat and yellow pants. They both admired each other.

“We look so great together! But I feel as if something is missing.” Rarity said, placing her hand on her chin. She began to think what it could be. The Chao then mimicked her as well and Silver just looked on, kind of lost. Rarity then had an ‘aha’ moment as she raised her finger and the Chao copied her.

“We need three to be the perfect matching set!” Rarity exclaimed. “Silver, you must join us!” She then dashed and got another clothing rack, this time, suited for males. Silver turned to her and he looked bewildered at her suggestion.

“Me?! Oh no, I’m perfectly fine the way I am. I’m not good with fashion anyway.” Silver said as he started to back away towards the door slowly as Rarity approached him. The Chao then flew towards the rack Rarity got and pulled out a male outfit. It then flew around Silver rapidly before it stopped and Silver was now matching with it and Rarity. Silver looked down at himself, not too pleased as he looked  with disapproval.

“Wonderful! I see that it has my fashion sense!” Rarity declared happily and the Chao clapped it’s hand together.

Back in Sunset’s lab, Sunset sat down on the table, reviewing her notes while Tails stood by the door, holding the Chao in his hand. Sunset was so engrossed in her notes while Tails looked on, slightly bothered by this with a small frown.

“I’ve seen a lot of creatures while I was with Princess Celestia, but this Chao has got to be the most interesting one I’ve ever seen! Everything about it is so fascinating! It responds differently to various forms of affection! Its mood is affected by the flavor of what it eats! Over a period of time, it seems to prefer one type of physical activity!” Sunset was saying as she read through her studies. Tails then approached her table and came next to her, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“That’s cool and all, but are you sure you don’t want to try playing with it?” Tails asked.

“I’ll get to it.” Sunset responded, not paying much attention and she continued to read.

“You’ve said that already...4 times.” Tails reminded.

“I know and I will.” Sunset insisted. Upon hearing this, Tails pulled up a seat next to her and he placed the Chao on the table, right next to her. Sunset stopped reading and she turned to face Tails and the Chao.

“What are you doing?” Sunset asked, mildly annoyed. “I was reading.”

“I get that. Listen. Sunset, I see that you’re really excited about studying a new kind of creature and all, but it’s not just a lab experiment. It’s also a living thing that enjoys having fun.” Tails informed her. “Just look it.”

Sunset turned from Tails and stared directly at the Chao. She examined its completely  innocent look.  The big blue eyes it had and that small, baby-like smile as it looked back at her. Sunset formed a small smile as she felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest and rose from the table. She couldn’t resist its cuteness, no matter how hard she tried.

“Tails, you’re right. I am excited by my studies, but I should take the chance to spend time with it.” She recognized. Shen then lifted the Chao off the table and held it up. “How about we go play outside?”

The Chao smiled widely at her suggestion and flew from her hands outside the door. Sunset and Tails then followed it outside.

At the field, Rainbow Dash sat next to the Chao on the bleachers as she began to pet it softly. The Chao purred with happiness while Rainbow began to beam.

“I’m actually glad I agreed to look after this thing. It’s pretty awesome!” Rainbow Dash said.  Sonic then came as a blue streak in front of them suddenly and they turned to him and rose from the bleachers.

“Ok, I just mapped the city so Chonic and I can go on our run.” Sonic stated.

“One, we’re not calling it Chonic. Second, why are you going on a run?” Rainbow Dash responded.

“Because he’s pretty fast right now, but if he wants to hone his speed, he needs to get into the habit of practicing. A little run around the city should do the trick.” Sonic explained.

“Around the city? Sonic, are you sure he’s ready to go around the city? He could get lost.” Rainbow Dash said, with her voice full of concern.

“I’ll be with him, he’ll be fine.” Sonic reassured.

“But still, the city’s a dangerous place. He should run with some protection.” Rainbow Dash said with uneasiness. She then ran inside the entrance to the school gym. Shortly after, she came out with a football helmet, a baseball catcher guard, knee and shin pads, small gloves and boots and came over to the Chao. She then dressed it up in the various equipment and then set it down on the ground. Sonic looked at it, and he didn’t seem to like what he saw.  The Chao could barely stand due to the weight of the helmet and it fell over. It wiggled its feet in an attempt to stay up.

“Lame. How’s he supposed to run with all this junk all over him?” Sonic said. He then zipped around the Chao and removed the sports equipment and placed them on the ground. The Chao sat up and wiped its brow in relief. “That’s better.”

“Hey, what’d you do that for?” Rainbow Dash said irritably. “Safety comes first.”

“He’ll be fine. He doesn’t need all that stuff.” Sonic dismissed.

“You can never be too careful. I don’t want to take any chances.” Rainbow Dash pressed on.

“What chances? It’s in the city. What’s the worst that could happen?” Sonic argued.

“Do I really need to answer that question?” Rainbow Dash dryly said.

“Why don’t we see what he wants? Hey, Cho-” Sonic began before he looked down and noticed that the Chao wasn’t on the ground next to him where he was before. He and Rainbow Dash looked at the spot, baffled.

“Where’d he go? Chonic, Chonic!” Sonic called out as he looked around the field.

“He was here a second ago. He couldn’t have gone too far. He should be right around here.” Rainbow Dash said, as her voice was starting to fill with panic and she began to look around the field quickly and anxiously. “What if he dashed off and went in the city alone?! He could be hurt now or worse!

“Relax. I’m sure he’s still around.” Sonic replied as he kept his cool. He then noticed a small blue cocoon around the size of the Chao underneath the bleachers in the corner of his eye and then focused on it. “Hey Dash, look at that.”

Rainbow Dash turned and she saw what Sonic was pointing to the cocoon and came next to him.

“It’s the same color as Chonic. Wait, I mean, the Chao. Could it be in there?” Rainbow Dash commented.

The cocoon then began to peel itself open slowly, until it revealed the Chao. Now, the Chao was slightly larger, reaching up to Sonic’s knee and it had his hairstyle along with some rainbow colored highlights there as well. It began to examine its new body and feel its head as it came out from underneath the bleachers.

“Check it out!  Chonic just changed! I have to say, he’s quite good-looking now.” Sonic observed with approval.  Rainbow Dash went over to  Chonic and knelt down to pet him. 

“This is pretty cool actually! Now, he’s 20 % more awesome!” Rainbow Dash proclaimed gladly. Chonic looked up at her warmly.  Suddenly, Chonic began to rise up in the air slowly. He had a puzzled expression as it looked around rapidly. Sonic came over to inspect this as Rainbow Dash looked slightly surprised at hia sudden floating.

“Is this some kind of new trick?” Sonic wondered.

Chonic began to rise higher and higher up into the air. He formed a distressed look on his face as he looked down at Sonic and Rainbow Dash and tried to scramble towards them, but couldn’t as he went up towards the sky. Sonic and Rainbow Dash now looked troubled by Chonic's fearful face.

“Hey, you’re going up too high! Get down!” Rainbow Dash yelled upward to Chonic. Chonic tried to struggle, but he just still went up until he vanished into the clouds. Sonic and Rainbow Dash gasped at this sight.

“What was that?!” Rainbow Dash cried.

Outside the front entrance of the school, the Chao that was with Tails and Sunset flew out of the doors excitedly, with the two of them following. When they reached the end steps, they saw the Chao rising up in the sky while it was upside down and they stopped in their tracks.

“What’s going on?” Tails said as he and Sunset looked on as the Chao headed towards the cloud.

Back at Rarity’s house, Silver sighed as the Chao began to fly around him and put on a new outfit for him. It and Rarity were wearing Egyptian themed outfits, both dressed as pharaohs. As it was about to place the golden headpiece on Silver, the Chao suddenly stopped flying around Silver and it was pulled out of the window in Rarity’s room, surprising Silver and Rarity. The two of them headed towards the window and looked out and above, where they say the Chao skyrocketing to the sky.

In Sweet apple acres, the Chao sat down on the grass as it looked up at Knuckles and AppleJack, who were towering above it. They then turned to each other.

“So, what should we teach it first exactly?” Knuckles said.

“Well, I was thinkin-what the hay!” AppleJack began before she saw the Chao ascending above the ground and then shooting up way above them at high speed. She and Knuckles watched helplessly as the Chao was lost from their sight.

Back at the Animal Shelter, Fluttershy sat down at the counter, looking slightly unhappy as her eyes were focused on the ground. Just then, the door opened up and Fluttershy turned to see Manic holding  dogs, kittens, hamsters and birds in his arm. Manic looked incredibly beat as he yawned. Behind him, the Chao held two puppies in its hand and displayed them with glee.

“Ok, we finally managed to bring the animals back.” Manic said exhausted as he laid down the animals and the Chao did the same thing. Fluttershy got up from the counter and headed to place the animals back in their cages, when suddenly the Chao was pulled away from the animal shelter very quickly. Fluttershy placed her hand over her mouth and her eyes widened in an unsettled manner. Manic turned around and his knees  reached the ground with a worn out look on his face.

“Come on. Not again!” He complained as he flayed his arms around and put his head down.

On the streets of Canterlot, Pinkie Pie and the Chao walked on the sidewalk, being on the lookout for Shadow. They looked around for any sign of him as the Chao held the party cannon, ready to fire.

“Shadow, Shadow!” Pinkie Pie called out. “You’ve been hiding for a long time now and I think it’s your time to seek.”

Pinkie then heard her party cannon hit the ground from behind her and she turned around and saw the Chao heading upwards suddenly. She seemed to enjoy the sight of it doing that.

“Wow, you’re super floaty now! But hey, you forgot the party cannon!” Pinkie yelled up to it as it mounted up higher and she held up the cannon.

On the field, Rainbow Dash began to strut around furiously. She was quite upset at losing the Chao as she began to freak out as her thoughts poured out of her mouth rapidly.

“What was that? Why did he just go up in the air? He looked so scared! He must be in trouble! Who knows what could happen to him up there.” Rainbow Dash began to say in dread at the thought of it getting hurt and she grabbed her face. Sonic tapped his foot against the ground quickly and he focused on the sky.

“Let me check this out.” Sonic said. Sonic then dashed up towards the rooftop of the school. On the top, he found Shadow, much to his surprise, who was staring off with his arms folded as usual. Shadow noticed him and turned to him.

“Shadow? Why aren’t you with Pinkie and the Chao?” Sonic asked. Shadow raised an eyebrow and Sonic realized it was a dumb question to ask. “Anyway, could you do me a favor? Come look at the clouds up there with me.”

Shadow didn’t ask why and he just walked up next to Sonic. The two of them began to stare  at the clouds for a while. Then, Sonic noticed a dark orange  Eggman symbol that seemed to be on some kind of yellow aircraft through the clouds. Sonic glowered in slight anger.

“Eggman. Should’ve know.” Sonic grumbled.

“What’s the doctor up to this time?’ Shadow questioned.

“Dunno. But he took Chonic!” Sonic said as he pounded his fist into his hand and dashed down.

“Chonic?” Shadow said in disbelief before he dashed down with Sonic.

Sonic and Shadow reached the field again where they saw, Rainbow Dash, Sunset, and Tails there.

“Sonic! Did you see anything?” Tails asked him.

“Yep. It’s Eggman. No surprise there.” Sonic responded. 

“ He’s probably planning on using their magic for something.” Sunset deduced.

“Who cares why?! We have to get our Chao back!” Rainbow Dash expressed impatiently.

“We will. Anyway, from the way he was moving, it looks like he was heading towards the forest where we found our Chao. We should head there now." Sonic said.

"Good plan. I'll notify everyone else. I'm sure that they've lost their Chao to him too." Sunset added on as she took out her phone and sent a text message to the rest that said 'Lost ur Chao? Head to the forest'.

"Let's do it to it!" Sonic declared as he grabbed Rainbow Dash and Tail's arms and he sped away. Shadow picked up Sunset and took after them quickly.

In the cockpit of Eggman's machine, Eggman stood at the controls and he rubbed his hands in delight with Orbot and Cubot at his side and he had a large grin which showed his teeth.

"Perfect. Who would've thought that blue pest and his friends would have picked up some Chao? Not only do I get another power source, but I get to tick off Sonic at the same time." Eggman gloated. "Now, I just need to find that key again so I can go back  and take all of them this time."

Eggman's machine then flew over the top of the forest and it began to descend down. As it did,  its design was revealed. The bottom had a silver center with a golden cannon in the front. On the sides, it had two red and golden propellers attached to its spread out wings armed with cannons. In the middle was a golden and red blimp with a red and silver propeller and golden cannons on the side. On the top rested a red mechanical hawk with a blue cockpit. On the back of the hawk was Eggman's capture capsule.

In the middle of the forest, Sonic, Shadow, Sunset, Tails and Rainbow Dash sped in and they noticed Knuckles and the others in front of them, waiting. Sonic and Shadow slowed down and stopped moving. Shadow set down Sunset and approached the rest.

“Glad you could all be here.” Sonic said. “Eggman is the source of our missing Chao problem.

“I figured as much.” Knuckles said.

Sonic and the others save for Rarity landed their eyes on the Egyptian outfit Silver was wearing and stared at him strangely. Silver noticed this and faced them.

"What? I'm helping the Chao be happy, ok?" Silver said with mild irritation. " Anyway, so Eggman behind's this huh?" 

“Why does that Eggman always have to take cute and innocent creatures?!” Fluttershy stated angrily.

“Probably loneliness.” Sonic suggested. “Anyway, Eggman should be here soon. Then we can get back Chonic and the others.”

“Chonic?” Manic said as if he didn’t hear him right.

“Yeah. I called mine Chonic. Chainbow Dash didn’t sound so good. You guys should probably name yours. For starters...Chanic.” Sonic told him. He then turned to Silver and Rarity. “Hmmm….Charity!”. He then faced Knuckles and AppleJack. Sonic let out a small laugh and did slight smile. This made Knuckles walk up to him firmly.

“Don’t say Chuckles.” Knuckles threatened as he pointed at him. Sonic raised his arms in defense and his eyelids dropped slightly.

“I wasn’t going to say Chuckles.” Sonic insisted. Knuckles folded his arms and gave him an annoyed glare.

Pinkie Pie then noticed Shadow and her face broke out into a smile as she went up to him.

“There you are, Shady! Now it’s  your turn to seek!” Pinkie said. Shadow just held his head  and sighed deeply. He couldn’t believe she was still on about that, even at this time.

“Guys, look up there!” Sunset said as she pointed upward, making everyone else look up. They saw the Egg Albatross descending down. As it did, it knocked over a couple of tree’s in half, making them crash down around Sonic and the others. The Albatross then stopped moving.  Fluttershy saw the destroyed tree’s and her face broke out into one of horror at this complete disregard for nature.

“Sonic. Wasn’t expecting to see you here. Anyway, could you please move? I need to find that key again. Or don’t, so I can crush you. Either works for me.” Eggman said from the top of the Albatross.

“No way! Give back the Chao. Tiny animals are one thing, but these things are like babies. This is low, even for you, Eggman.” Sonic told him with disgust. Eggman received glares from the rest of the group, especially a deadly one from Fluttershy. Eggman just ignored them.

“I’m not interested in your lecture. Anyway, crushed it is!” Eggman said gleefully  as the Albatross rose slightly above the trees. Sonic and the others got into defensive positions. The Rainbooms closed their eyes and each concentrated on their respective element before they rose up in the air and ponied up. Eggman looked slightly taken back. He didn't expect to see a couple of normal girls use magic.

“That’s pretty!” Cubot said in wonder. Eggman looked back at him with slight irritation. Eggman slammed his fist on the controls in the center and the Albatross fired a dozen cannonballs down at the group.  They all moved out of the way quickly while Silver held the cannon balls in place with his psychic powers and he shot them at the bottom part, damaging it a little bit.  Sonic, Shadow, and Manic became streaks of the respective color and they went through the bottom as well, destroying bits with each strike before they all hit it at once, making it explode. Eggman staggered in his cockpit.

“No matter. Get a load of this!” Eggman said. The blimp fired more cannon balls, but Sonic and the others were too fast to hit as they landed on the ground. Sunset fired a stream of fire at the blimp, burning the top slightly. Rarity fired a diamond shower, making hard dents into it as well and destroying the paint job, revealing its metallic look. Pinkie Pie and AppleJack both shot a combined yellow and pink wave, which made a much larger dent into the front blimp and destroyed the propeller. Knuckles and Tails were on the ground. Knuckles came in front of Tails and he crouched down. Tails then launched up with a thunder shoot, making Knuckles head up to the blimp quickly as he cackled with yellow electricity and he punched the dent hard, making it disconnect from the Egg Hawk on the top and it came falling down before it exploded into bits everywhere as Knuckles landed. Eggman lost his balance and fell out of his seat. He got up and wobbled for a bit before he managed to sit down.

“Ok, then change of plans! Retreat!” Eggman cried out in panic and nervousness as the Egg Hawk began to rise up and prepared to escape. Before it left, Eggman noticed Fluttershy fly up in front of him.

“Oh, well, she looks harmless.” Eggman said in relief. Fluttershy’s body began to glow purple and she fired many purple butterflies at the Egg Hawk. They didn’t do any damage, but they blocked Eggman’s vision.

“I can’t see!” Eggman cried out. When they cleared, Eggman saw something charging towards him, full speed ahead. It was Rainbow Dash and she looked extreme angry as she gave the doctor an intense glare. Eggman's face sunk  in defeat when he saw  her headed towards him.

“GIVE ME BACK MY CHAO!!!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she flew right through the Egg Hawk, splitting it in half and the capsule fell right off it and  headed towards the ground.  

“That was unexpected.” Eggman managed to say before he pressed the eject button on his eggmobile, separating it from the Egg Hawk as it exploded mid-air.  Before the capsule hit the ground, Fluttershy pressed the yellow button at the top, releasing the Chao from it. The Chao crowded around Fluttershy as she descended to the ground gently with them and they reached the floor, where Sonic and the others were. Rainbow Dash joined them shortly.

“Yeah! That was way past cool!” Sonic said as he ruffled Tail’s hair and fist bumped Knuckles.  He and Rainbow Dash then high-fived at their victory. Shadow just smirked while Manic and Silver gave each other the thumbs up as  Pinkie jumped up excitedly and the rest of the Rainbooms smiled.

“I agree. More like 40-Hey, he’s getting away!” Rainbow Dash noticed as she saw the eggmobile flying off in the distance and pointed towards it, making everyone look up at it.

“I got this.” Sonic said. He picked up a small nearby rock the size of his hand and began to spin his arm around extremely fast before he released the rock, projecting it in the air as if it was a bullet. The rock then hit the eggmobile, making an explosion of gray smoke that made Eggman’s face in a frown.

“Done.” Sonic said as he dusted his hands The group was surrounded by a large number of Chao, who looked up at them happily. Rainbow Dash picked up Chonic and she hugged him very tightly and close to her.

“Nice work. We saved them all.” Sunset said.

Then, the blue Chao key from before suddenly floated down in front of them from the sky and it was noticed by everyone.

“That key from before.” Shadow stated.

The key then flashed a large blue light, engulfing everyone along with the Chao in it. When the flash died down, Sonic and co looked around and they saw that they were back in the Chao Garden. This time, they were by the clear blue lake surrounded by grass and coconut trees. Some of the Chao that were with them headed into the water and began to play as they swam, splashed and flew around. The group smiled at this, even Shadow letting out a small smile at the Chao's happiness

“After all this, I think we deserve a nice relaxing day here.” Sonic stated as he looked down at Chonic, who smiled back at him.

Later, Silver, Rarity, and their Chao were surrounded by a few Chao as they showed off their matching Egyptian outfits to the Chao, who looked at them with astonishment and flew around them to get a better look at the clothes. Silver looked extremely embarrassed as his face turned slightly red and he tried to avoid eye contact with the Chao as he focused on the floor.  Pinkie Pie and her Chao were with another group of Chao as it fired the party cannon, making it rain confetti as the Chao’s clapped in delight along with Pinkie.  Shadow rested against a palm tree as he sat down. A Chao was down on his head while two Chao tugged at his arms as another latched on to his  shoes. Shadow looked emotionless the whole time until a blast of confetti was shot in his face, covering him in it. Pinkie and the Chaos started to giggle while Shadow just looked on and fumed slightly. Manic and Fluttershy’s Chao began to hit its drumsticks against the floor along with Manic, trying to find the right beat. Fluttershy looked on at them, but instead of getting jealous, she watched them warmly and did a small smile.  The Chao then flew up to her, much to her surprise. It latched itself on to her tightly with a smile and Fluttershy looked like she had won the lottery as her mouth widened with joy.

“Yessss!! IT LOVES ME!!!” She screamed loudly and hysterically. Manic just gave her a strange look when he heard this.

Knuckles and AppleJack observed as their Chao began to shake the coconut tree roughly, making coconuts fall out for the other Chao to collect . As it did, the Chao lifted the coconut tree up by accident, making both Knuckles and AppleJack gain tense looks as they stared at it, fearing what it might do next.  The Chao held the tree for a while before it gently placed it back in its place, making Knuckles and AppleJack sigh with relief. Near the lake, Tails and Sunset splashed the water near Chao playing in it as the two  sat near the edge of the lake, making the Chao laugh. Just then, two blue streaks and a rainbow streak passed by the water, soaking both Tails and Sunset completely as they formed looks of astonishment. Through the garden, the streaks soared by, surprising many Chao as they did, making them look on curiously. One streak was Sonic, next to him was Chonic and on the other side, Rainbow Dash as she flew.

“Race ya to the other end of the garden!” Sonic yelled as he zipped ahead, leaving Rainbow Dash and Chonic.

“You’re on!” Rainbow Dash replied as she flew ahead as well. Chonic then dashed to catch up with them.

The end.
> Holiday Special
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Holiday Special
In the city of Canterlot, it was the special time of the year again: The holidays. The entire city was covered in thick blankets of snow alongside various holiday decorations such as lights, stars, bells, and trees throughout.  All of Canterlot was prepared for the season, including Canterlot High, which was arguably the most decorated location in town. The staff and student body was certainly in the holiday mood.  Manic was just about to enter the student entrance before a blue streak that was zipping through all of town came and skidded to a stop, which covered him head to toe in snow, with only his eyes being visible. Manic lowered his eyelids and vibrated all of the snow off. When he was done, he saw that he was facing Sonic.

"Thanks for that." Manic dryly said.

"Sorry, man. But it was a good look for you." Sonic jokingly said as the two of them entered the school. As they did, Sonic noticed that Manic was wearing a bunch of plants all over his sweater.

"What are you wearing?" He asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Mistletoe. With this, some lucky girl can great a holiday present." Manic said with a grin as Sonic just rolled his eyes. The two of them then came face to face with Trixie which made Manic's grin grow larger.

"Hey, Trixie." He called, getting the magicians attention.  When she what he was wearing, she didn't look too impressed.

"Seriously?" Trixie said as she folded her arms.

"What? I call it an earlier holiday gift." Manic replied. Trixie then grew a smirk on her face.

"Well, ok then. Close your eyes." She instructed, much to Manic's surprise.

"Wow, really? Ok, then!" Manic gleefully as he did as he was told. Due to this, he didn't notice that Trixie had reached into her pocket and pulled out one of her smoke bombs.

"Pucker up!" She yelled as she threw the smoke bomb in Manic's face, leaving a blue cloud as Manic began to hack and cough. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Trixie was gone.

"You should've seen that coming."Sonic told him as Manic grumbled a bit.

The two of them then made their way into the bad room, where they found the Rainbooms, minus Pinkie Pie with Spike already waiting inside alongside Silver, Tails, and Knuckles.

"What happened to you?" Rainbow Dash asked as she saw all the blue powder all over Manic's face.

"Don't want to talk about it." He answered as he crossed his arms.

"So, uh, what does Pinkie Pie have in store?" Silver asked. "What do you guys usually do around the holidays?"

"You say that as if you've never celebrated the holidays." Rarity said before she raised an eyebrow. "Wait, have you?"

"Well, no. Where I come from, there's never really been a time to celebrate much of anything. The only source I had for the basics were old history books." Silver explained as Rarity looked mortified.

"You've never celebrated the holidays! This a tragedy!" Rarity said in an over dramatic manner as she gripped Silver's shoulders.

"Speaking of which, Sunset, did you have something like this in Equestria?" Twilight asked her friend as Sunset shrugged a bit.

"Yeah, it was called Hearth Warming. But I was never really big on it, wasn't that close with anyone back home." She admitted.

"I see, what you mean. Back at Crystal Prep, we never really talked about it during this time of the year." Twilight said.

"Well then, it settled, for you three, we're going to make sure you enjoy the best holiday season ever!" Rainbow Dash said as she pointed at Silver, Twilight, and Sunset.

Suddenly, a knock was heard at the door and everyone turned around.

"I'll get it." Knuckles said as he headed towards the door and opened it. When he did, he saw that no one was there but there was a giant blue present wrapped in a pink bow.  It had no card or anything. Knuckles was puzzled as he took the present in the center of the room.

"Anyone due for a present already?" Knuckles asked he set the box down. 

"Who's it from?" Fluttershy asked.

"Dunno. It doesn't say anything at all." He responded.

"Judging by the color, it's probably from Pinkie." Spike guessed.

"So this was her surprise? I wonder what it is?" Tails said as he went to go untie the present. Before his fingers could touch it, the present started to shake violently, making him and Knuckles step back as did everyone else in the room. Fluttershy hid behind Manic.

"What's going on?!" Sonic asked as the presents shaking grew faster and faster before it burst open as green and red colored confetti was sprayed throughout the room and Pinkie was revealed with a candy cane in her mouth as she did a Taa-Da pose.

"Happy Holidays!" She happily yelled as all of her friends smiled to her.

"So this was yer surprise?" AppleJack asked as she helped Pinkie get out of the box.

"Of course not, silly! This was only my grand entrance! This year we shoul-" Pinkie said as she scanned the room and noticed that a certain black and red haired boy was missing.

On the snowy rooftop, Shadow had his arms folded he looked out into the city. He could clearly see that city was celebrating the holidays. Seeing this caused Shadow to begin to remember a moment from his space.

"Shadow, what do you think it's like down there?" A female voice asked Shadow as he walked up to the window Space Colony Ark. Turning around was a young girl of around 12 years of age wearing a long blue dress with blonde hair with bright blue eyes. 

"What do you mean, Maria?" Shadow asked in a somewhat confused manner.

"I mean, how do you think the people down there celebrate the holiday season. Do you think it's any different from what we do up here?" Maria explained.

"I dunno, maybe, why do you ask?" Shadow asked.

"Well, I guess it's fine here, but one day, I'd like to go down and see what it's like to celebrate the season's greeting down there, you know. On that beautiful blue world. I hear there's something called snow down there. I wonder what's it like?" Shadow remembered Maria asking as the two of them looked down at the image of the Earth.

"You'll find out one day. When the two of us go down here. I promise." Shadow said in a reassuring tone as the Maria looked at him and gave him a warm smile.

"Really? Oh, Shadow, that's wonderful!" Maria exclaimed as the flashback ended as Shadow opened his eyes and looked up to see the snow falling. Some landed in his hand and he clenched his fist tightly.

"Maria..." Shadow started to say before he heard a familiar whoosh sound emerge from behind him. He sighed out loud.

"What do you want, Sonic?" Shadow asked, his tone as cold as the winter weather.

"Gee, well, everyone's down there and you're up here, what do you think, faker?" Sonic asked.

"Whatever you and your little group are planning, I don't want any part of it." Shadow insisted. "Now leave me alone."

"Dude, really? Even at this time, you're still grouchy? Come on, it's pretty cold out here anyway." Sonic protested.

"I said I want to be alone. Now leave." Shadow ordered.

"Shadow, come on, man. Pinkie worked really hard for whatever she has planned and she'll be disappointed if you don't join in. Do you really want to let her down now?" Sonic asked.

"This time of the year means nothing to me." Shadow insisted but he thought about Sonic's words. He knew if he didn't come, she would pester him about it later and he sighed.

"Fine, I'll join in on whatever you have, but not for too long." Shadow finally decided as Sonic let out a small laugh. He then dashed forward and pulled Shadow with him back into the bandroom quickly, to the others surprise. Shadow then took his arm away from Sonic

"Never, touch me." Shadow told him firmly.

"Yaaaah! Now that Shady's here, we can get started!" Pinkie declared as Shadow just folded his arms.

"With what?" Sunset asked.

Pinkie then pulled a basket out of her which was filled with slips of paper.

"This year, we're going to do Secret Santa!" Pinkie yelled

"What?" Silver asked.

"All of our names are on these sheets of paper. One by one, we all pick a name from the basket and whoever we get, we have to give them a present!" Pinkie explained. "I figured it would be the best way to show our friendship!"

"That sounds like a lot of fun, Pinkie!" Sunset said. "Great idea!"

"It's going to be great!" Pinkie declared.

"Wait, a minute, you said all of our names, does that mean Spike too?" Manic asked.

"Yeah! Why not?" Pinkie told him.

"But he's a dog." Manic pointed out.

"I'm a talking dog." Spike brought up.

"But still a dog. What's your idea of a present, a bone?" Manic asked as Spike's eyes darted back and forth.

"N-no!" Spike said with a nervous look.

Pinkie held out the basket as the others went in and picked a name. Shadow was the last as he reluctantly took the last name. With the basket empty, Pinkie beamed.

"Great! Now, don't open your name slip until we're out of the room and we'll exchange gifts two days from now when we meet at AppleJack's house!" Pinkie said. "Hope you all pick good presents!"

With that said, Pinkie then jumped back into the present and rewrapped it. There was a little ruffling and shaking and the present re-opened to show that Pinkie had vanished as everyone else looked on, dumbfounded.

"How does she do that?" Knuckles asked.

"It's best not to question Pinkie's antics." AppleJack said as she began to head out the door with her slip, followed by the others except for Shadow who just decided to teleport out of the room in a hurry.  In the hallway, everyone else went their separate ways as they each split up. As they did, they each opened up their slips to reveal who got who: Rarity had gotten Tails, Knuckles had gotten Rarity, Twilight had received Silver, Rainbow Dash had gotten Knuckles, AppleJack had Manic, Pinkie Pie was with Sonic, Manic had gotten Pinkie, Fluttershy had Shadow, Silver had Sunset, Sonic had AppleJack, Tails got Rainbow Dash with Sunset receiving Spike, who had Fluttershy.

On the rooftop, Shadow looked down at the piece of paper in his hand and he saw Twilight's name was written on it. He didn't react at all and closed his hand again.

Later that day, in Pinkie Pie's house, Manic was sitting on the couch in the living room as he sat across from Pinkie's older sister, Maud Pie. She had uninterested look on her face as she appeared to be petting her 'pet'  rock, Boulder.

"So....seeing as you're Pinkie's older sister,  I figured you would know what she likes best." Manic was saying as Maud finished touching her rock and she just started looking directly at Manic. Manic started to feel uncomfortable as she did this for a while without saying a word.

"So...........any ideas?" Manic asked but he was still met with silence. "(And I thought talking to Shadow was a challenge.)

"Well....she's had her eye on this double deluxe sized pinata from the mall." Maud finally said as Manic's face lit up.

"Really? Awesome! How much is it?" He asked.

"I need to check the receipt." Maud answered as Manic sighed and hung his head.

"Come on, isn' there something else I could get her?!" Manic said as he rose from his chair and Maud looked at him.

"I hear she also likes this one of a kind holiday season firework pack. You could buy that, though you better hurry. There's only one left in stock." Maud said as Manic became speechless.

"What?! I have to go now!" Manic said as he headed to the door. "Thanks, Maud!" 

"Don't disappoint my sister." Maud said in a monotone voice as Manic finally finished closing the door behind him. He then stopped.

"(Was that a threat?)" He thought as he looked back at the door in an unsure manner.

Knuckles was using his spikes as he climbed down a large trench. Knuckles looked down and saw that he still had a bit of  way to go and rolled his eyes.

"The length I go for a good present." He grumbled. "Rarity better like it." He added as he descended further.

AppleJack was in her kitchen as she prepared an apron and took out a large bowl. Aside were ingredients such as cake batter, eggs, milk alongside apples and cinnamon. She then stretched out her hands.

"All right, Manic. Get ready for an extra special treat." She said with confidence as she started to bake.

At the Carousel Boutique, Rarity was sitting at her desk as she looked through photos of Tails as she was wearing her eyeglasses. She was heavily concentrated as she studied each image thoroughly.

"Hmmmm......that should do it for the darling's approximate size. But the thing  is, what would suit him?" Rarity wondered as she tapped her finger on her chin as she was lost in thought. Suddenly, her eyes widened as an idea clicked in her head and she beamed.

"This is wonderful!, I know he'll adore it!" Rarity declared as she started to get to work.

At the mall, Sonic and Rainbow Dash both entered through the front door. They saw that the entire mall was heavily packed with people everywhere doing some last minute shopping.

"Wow...this entire place is so crowded! It's going to be hard to find a good gift." Rainbow Dash noticed as she looked out into the crowd of people.

Sonic's face broke out into a grin. "I've always liked a little challenge. Hey, I have an idea. How about we see who can find their gift first?"

"You're on!" Rainbow gleefully said. Before the two of them could start zipping around the mall, they were suddenly stopped by the sound of a bell ringing. They turned around to see a someone dressed as an elf.

"Congratulations! You two are our 1000th customer pair to enter today!" He informed them.

"Who was keeping count?" Rainbow asked.

"1000th, huh? So, what do we win? A free discount or something?" Sonic questioned.

"Actually, yes. But there's a catch." He informed them.

"What?" They said in unison.

"You two have to kiss under this mistletoe!" He said, causing both of their faces to fill with shock as they quickly turned to each other.

"WHAT?!"

"Yes. It's our mall tradition. So, get at it, you two!"The elf urged.

Sonic and Rainbow Dash both exchanged nervous glances at each other. They weren't really comfortable with the whole idea.

"Can't we send you a picture or something?" Sonic offered instead but the elf shook his head, which caused the two of them to turn to each other with unsure looks. They needed to find some way to get out of this.

In his lab, Tails was digging through his inventions in a box as he threw pieces metal parts together. Finally, Tails received the last part and threw it on the rest of the metal. He turned around as he got his wrench together.

"Normally I would make this for Sonic, but seeing as he and Rainbow are so similar, I'm sure she'll enjoy it just as much as he would." Tails commented as he began to get to work.

Back at her house, Pinkie slid down into her secret room via the slide as she landed and looked up at all the different cabinets. She quickly zipped to one on the right and she opened it as she rapidly read through various files as she finally found Sonics. She then opened that up and took out one piece of paper.

"Good thing I'm always prepared. Though I will have to replace this page. Oh well, it's fun to find out more about what my friends like!" Pinkie exclaimed as she went back to the slide and somehow managed to slide herself up to it.

While Sonic and Rainbow Dash were trying to get out of their sticky situation, Silver arrived at the other entrance of the mall as he placed his fingers on his chin and walked through the crowds.

"Ok, Silver, think. What does Sunset, like? We've barely spoken to each other, so that doesn't help. Come on, think. What do I always see her doing? She's always....wait, everyone does that. Why couldn't I be telepathic psychic?" Silver said to himself before he approached the escalators. "Maybe if I walk around long enough, I'll find out what she likes. Yeah, that'll work."

Silver then lifted up his head and he saw how vast and large the mall. He looked at the upstairs and downstair and his face sank a bit as he knew he would be here for a while.

" Why couldn't I have super speed?" He mumbled to himself.

Back in the city, Sunset and Twilight alongside Spike emerged from a nearby store just across from Sugar Cube corner. Spike was holding a bag in his mouth as Sunset and Twilight each had bags with their gifts as well.

"That went well. We managed to get out gifts early. Now all we just have to do is wrap them." Sunset said.

"Yeah, we can do that tomorrow. Anyway, thanks for coming along with my shopping. See you tomorrow." Twilight said as Sunset took the other way and she began to head home alongside Spike.

"I hope our friends like the gifts, Spike." She said to her companion.

As Twilight and Spike were heading out, they didn't notice that behind them was Shadow, holding in his hands, a slip of paper.

"(I don't want anything to do with this meaningless holiday or event. I'll just give Twilight her present now and be done with it)." Shadow thought as he started to walk forward.

"Um...Shadow?" He heard a familiar soft voice call out to him.

Shadow turned around to see Fluttershy, giving him a timid look. When she saw his expression, she was starting to have second thoughts. She had wanted to chat with him a bit to see if she could find out if he liked anything but it was difficult.

"What do you want?" Shadow answered in an icy tone.

"Well, I...just saw you down here and was wondering....maybe we...could walk home together?" Fluttershy offered. "If..that's...all right...."

"Not interested. Around this time of year...I just want to be alone." Shadow replied. In his tone, Fluttershy noticed a hint of pain in it and puzzled her slightly.

"(Is there something bothering Shadow?)" She thought.

"Are you going to keep standing around? I told you my answer." Shadow said, slightly annoyed as Fluttershy shrank back a bit.

"Shadow....can....I ask...one more thing if you don't mind?"

"What?"

"Are you...ok? Around this time....you don't feel like yourself and since you're my friend....I want to know if I can help."

Shadow's eyes widened at Fluttershy's sudden words. He looked directly at her. He looked at her worried face and then into her eyes. He saw her blue eyes, full of kindness. Just like Maria's.  Noticing this caused Shadow to wince once more as he clenched his fist and made a 'tch' sound. Fluttershy noticed.

"Shadow?" She asked.

In response, Shadow ended up teleporting quickly in a blue flash, leaving Fluttershy alone. When he was gone, she looked up, still having that worried expression.

"Something is wrong.....but what?" She wondered out loud.

Two days had passed and it was time to celebrate. At her house, AppleJack was preparing  decorations alongside Granny Smith and her siblings Big Mac and Apple Bloom. There was a large laurel wreath near the fireplace, a large tree with lights and snowflakes and different colored stockings around the living room.  AppleJack finished placing a star at the top of the tree when she heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it!" Apple Bloom declared as she went and opened the door to reveal Rarity and Rainbow Dash alongside her two friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.  The former two were carrying wrapped gifts.

"Awesome, glad you two could make it!" Apple Bloom declared as she and her two friends went inside. Rarity and Rainbow Dash entered the living room where they saw AppleJack placing the finishing touches.

"I must say, you've outdone yourself this time." Rarity praised as AJ turned around. 

"This looks awesome, AJ!" Rainbow added.

"Thanks. By the way, you can put your gifts under the tree." AppleJack instructed as she pointed to it.

Outside, Silver was flying through, holding out his present as he wore a green Santa outfit and hat. He looked around, slightly lost as he then saw Sunset, Twilight and Spike enter house from below, each with their presents.

"That must be the place." Silver decided as he floated down and landed in front of the house just as AppleJack was going to close the door. 

"Hi, Silver! Nice outfit, come on in." AppleJack greeted as he entered the living room. "Just put your present under the tree."

"Silver, I'm impressed. You're all dressed for the occasion! As a fashion enthusiast,  I'm so proud!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Actually, It was Sonic's idea. He said it would be right for the mood." Silver explained as he sat down between Sunset and Twilight.

There was another ring from the doorbell and this time when AppleJack opened it up, she saw Sonic, Manic, Tails, and Knuckles with their gifts. Sonic and Manic were both wearing matching red Santa outfits as Tails wore a turquoise cyan elf outift leaving Knuckles with a brown sweater and reindeer ears on the top of his head in the place of a hat. 

"Y'all look great!" AppleJack said as the four of them followed her inside to see the others, who were also impressed with their costumes.

"Happy, Holidays everybody!" Manic said as he tipped his hat.

When Rainbow Dash saw Knuckles outfit, she let out a little smirk and she began to snicker.

"Uh, Knuckles, why you're dressed as a reindeer of all things?" She asked, as he frowned a bit and everyone else let out small laughs.

"I picked the shortest straw." He grumbled as he folded his arms.

"Everyone, welcome Chuckles, the Red Haired Reindeer." Sonic said jokingly as he put his arm around Knuckles, making everyone chuckle as Knuckles gave Sonic a slight glare.

"You couldn't lay off with the teasing even at this time?" 

"Oh, you know it shows that you're my buddy."

The door rang one more time and the last two Rainbooms, Pinkie and Fluttershy, alongside Maud Pie joined the others as they sat in the living room.

"I'm so excited for when we get gifts!!!! I can't wait to see what I got, or what you got, or you, or you, or you, or, you..." Pinkie said as she went around pointing to her friends before Sunset grabbed her arm.

"Settle down, Pinkie. We'll get to that." She told her.

Granny Smith then came into the room, carrying a plate that had many cups of a warm liquid with smoke coming from it.

"Y'all are in for a treat. Our Apple Family Egg Nog is only 2nd to our cider!" She proudly said as everyone took cups and began to sip.  She was right, it tasted good.

"This is amazing." Tails happily said.

"You know...this is really nice. All of us here, spending some good quality time. Thanks, AppleJack, you've made this holiday great so far." Twilight said as AppleJack beamed.

"You said, it!" Pinkie agreed.

Fluttershy looked around at everyone present in the room. As she did, she quickly took note that Shadow wasn't present.

"Wait, Shadow isn't here." She said out loud, which made everyone turn to her.

"Yeah, so? " Manic casually said, which made Sonic elbow him to make him keep quiet.

"You're right.  I wonder where he is?" Sonic wondered before he got a frown on his face. "Though it'd be lame if he doesn't show up. That means whoever he got for Secret Santa won't get their gift."

Fluttershy recalled back to her meeting with Shadow from the other day. She remembered seeing the pain on his face as he stood there.  She looked down at the ground for a while before she looked up with a determined face and quickly rushed to the door.

"Fluttershy, where are you going?" Sunset asked as she opened the door.

"I'll find Shadow." She answered as the door quickly shut behind her.

Shadow was sitting around near the lake in his spot hidden by the forest. He had his arms wrapped around his knees as he stared out with a cold, indifferent expression.

"Shadow, when we someday, get down to Earth, we can celebrate the holidays for real.  I mean, with my Grandfather. Up here, he's normally so busy but when we go down, maybe he'll have time to join us." Shadow remembered Maria saying as he wrapped his arms tighter around his knees.

"Shadow?" Fluttershy's voice said from behind him as Shadow turned to see her looking at him. 

"Why are you here? I thought I made it clear I wanted to be alone." Shadow answered.

"Well....everyone's else is at AppleJack's house. We're getting ready to share our gifts." Fluttershy explained.

"Then head back there." Shadow told her.

"Not without you." She insisted. Fluttershy approached Shadow and sat down next with him.

"Shadow. I know, something's bothering you. I'm your friend. You can tell me what." Fluttershy said kindly as she put her hand on his shoulder, as Shadow turned to see her with that same look full of kindness as he saw before. Again, he couldn't help but think of Maria. He sighed a sorrowful one.

"Maria." Shadow finally said as Fluttershy became confused.

"Who?" She asked.

"Maria. When I was on board the Ark, I knew a girl who went by the name of Maria.  There, the two of us become friends. We were very close, I considered her like a sister. She was thoughtful, kind and caring....sort of like you." Shadow began as Fluttershy listened.

"She was always there for me and supportive. She loved seeing the planet from space.  It was her dream to go down there one day alongside me. One thing she always told me was how she wanted to celebrate the holidays down here. She'd never seen snow and was interested.......but, just before I came down here.....there was an incident and....Maria died, right in front of me." He continued as Fluttershy gasped at that last part.

"Oh, Shadow...I'm so sorry..." She said, trying to comfort him.

"Now, she'll never get the chance she wanted to enjoy the holidays like you do. It's just not right. She didn't deserve to have that stripped away from her. Now do you see why I don't see the point in celebrating anything at this time of year?" Shadow finally finished.

Fluttershy saw Shadow's look, full of sorrow. He was right. With his story, no wonder he acted extra grumpy during the season. But...

"Shadow, what you told me is hard to take in and I can't understand, what you are going through. But, are you certain Maria would've wanted you to be like this?" She questioned as Shadow turned to her with a quizzical look.

"Maria sounded like she cared a lot about you and your wellbeing. I know you mentioned how it was her dream to be down here at this time, but from what you said, she always wanted to share her happiness with you. She wanted you to be happy. And seeing you all sad right now,  I don't think she'd like that." Fluttershy lectured, making Shadow look up to get a good look at her as he took in her words. It sounded like something Maria would say.

Shadow thought heavily about his conversations with Maria. Happiness.....she was right. Maria especially wanted Shadow to be able to enjoy her dream with her. She was gone now....but maybe...carrying on what she wanted would be a better way to honor her memory. Shadow then began to rise from the ground as Fluttershy looked up at him.

"Fluttershy....you're right. Maria might not have been able to fulfill her dream....but, I can do it for her.  I'm certain that's what she would've wanted." Shadow decided which made Fluttershy form a giant smile on her face as she stood as well.

"Let's head to AppleJacks." She said warmly.

Back at AppleJack's house, the others were still waiting for Fluttershy to arrive in her living room.

"She's been gone for almost an hour, do you think she found him?" Rarity asked.

"Probably, Shadow doesn't move around a lot.  But the question is, did she convince him to come along?" Sonic answered.

"I doubt it. Shadow's pretty stubborn and Fluttershy's not exactly the persuasive type." Rainbow said.

" I hope so! Otherwise, Secret Santa will be ruined!!!!" Pinkie screamed out loud at the mere thought.

After that, the door swung open to reveal Fluttershy, with Shadow right behind her, much to everyone's surprise.

"Wow, she actually did it..." Manic said with an impressed tone.

"Now we can celebrate for real." Fluttershy said.

"Glad you finally came around, faker. You were being moodier than usual, but nice to see you decided to spend some time with your friends." Sonic told him 

"Hmph. Don't get the wrong idea. I didn't come here for you. It was just too cold outside and I need somewhere to be warm." Shadow said dismissivley,  making Sonic chuckle a bit.

"You came!!!" Pinkie said excitedly as she threw her around Shadow and gave him a tight hug, which caused him to roll his eyes. "Now, let's exchange gifts."

The group went over to the tree and everyone save for Shadow took out the presents they had placed underneath. Manic went first as he handed his present to Pinkie. She quickly tore off the wrapping paper and when she saw it, her eyes widened in happiness. It was the deluxe holiday fireworks set.

"Eeeeee! It's just the thing I wanted the second most! Thanks, Manic!" She said as she gave him a big hug. From behind, Manic saw Maud and he gave her the thumbs up and she still had an emotionless expression and Manic formed a confused look, not sure if he had failed or succeeded.

Knuckles then took his gift and he handed it to, Rarity, who immediately gasped in delight as she took it.

"Oh, Knuckles! You gave me a shard of the Master Emerald, didn't you?! You're the best!" She squealed as Knuckles raised an eyebrow.

"Uhhh....no. I would never do that." He said, making Rarity lose her excitement as she pouted a little.  "But you'll still like it."

Rarity opened up her gift to reveal a white hexagonal shaped piece of jewelry. Rarity regained her excitement as she saw it.

"This is magnificent! It may not be the Master Emerald, but it's good enough. Thank you, thank you!" She said with glee.

Twilight then walked up to Silver and handed him his present. Silver unwrapped it to see a small snow globe of a city that looked quite tranquil. The globe had a blue sky like covering in order to replicate it. Silver studied it, quite pleased with what he saw.

"This looks really nice." He said as he held it.

"Well, when I found out you were from a not so great future, I wanted to give you something that can represent what your future can be like," Twilight explained as Silver smiled.

Pinkie then went up to Sonic quickly and shoved her gift in his face. Sonic then took and unraveled it like no time. What Sonic saw were a large pair of headphones that were a brilliant blue color.

"Sweet! The high definition version of the tunes headphones! This is awesome!" He said as Pinkie beamed.

"I knew you'd love it!" She said.

Tails was with Rainbow Dash as he handed her a tiny gift. Her eyes lowered as she took it and when she opened it, she looked sort of disappointed as she held a cyan guitar pick.

"A guitar pick? I have tons of those." She informed him.

"I know, but this isn't a normal pick. This one has been modified to change any pitch and allow you to tune your guitar as well. As well, it also can fix any string that's broken, can immediately bring up any chords you need and augment your sound as well." Tails said, which made her gain a slightly impressed look.

"Ok...that does sound cool." She admitted.

Sonic and Rainbow Dash then took out their gifts and handed them to AppleJack and Knuckles. When AppleJack opened her box, it shone brightly as she looked in awe at a set of 12 dozen golden apples she held. Meanwhile, Knuckles's gift was a training equipment, full of weights, training mats and practice dummies for example.

"Well, ah'll be! These golden blush apples are only supposed to grow once every 4 years! These will be great for my recipes." AppleJack commented.

"Yeah, this kit is top notch. These look like they cost a fortune, how'd you pay for them anyway?" Knuckles asked.

Sonic and Rainbow Dash exchanged nervous glances as Sonic rubbed the back of his neck.

"Eh, I'd prefer not to talk about it." He cryptically said.

Rarity could barely contain herself as she handed her gift over to Tails. When Tails got rid of the paper, he found a  green pilot outfit with blue goggles.

"Woah, this looks nice." Tails said as he admired his new suit.

"It's amazing! It fits your personality so well!" Rarity stated.

After setting down her present, AppleJack walked to the fridge and she then came back holding a wrapped gift for Manic. She then presented it to him and we undid all the wrapping, he found himself looking at a cake shaped like his drum kit.

"Wow, my gift is cool looking and delicious as well." Manic said as he ate one of the cymbals as his taste buds danced to the treat. 

"Glad ya like it, sugah cube." AppleJack said happily.

Silver used his psychic powers to take his gift from under the tree, which he then gave to Sunset.  After taking off the covering, Sunset found herself looking at a thick book that was titled, "Music throughout the ages."

"This combines two of my favorite hobbies. I appreciate the gift, Silver." Sunset told him.

"I'm glad you like it. It was the last thing I found while I was looking around in the mall.  I was almost there for 6 hrs." He said in a tired manner.

Spike dragged his gift from under the tree and presented it to Fluttershy. Fluttershy then saw that her gift was a wooden carving, which represented various types of animals found in the forest.

"Oh, Spike, this is wonderful!" She said as she rubbed Spike's chin. He then turned to Manic with a victorious look.

"See, I can give good gifts!" He said as Manic just shrugged.

"Speaking of gifts, here's yours,"Sunset said as she placed a house shaped present to Spike. He then tore through the paper to reveal a yellow doghouse, just his size. He then wagged his tail in happiness.

"I've always wanted a dog house, actually. It would be nice to have a little Spike time every now and then." He said as he sniffed the house over and over as Sunset let out a small smile.

Shadow then walked towards Twilight and she turned around to face him. He then reached into his pocket and took out a coupon, which he handed to her. Twilight then read it out loud.

"Booked time at the ice rink? What for?" She asked in a confused manner.

"I've heard you speak about how Timber wants to take you ice skating but you don't know how. With these, you should learn in no time. I'll teach you. I'm kind of an expert at skating." Shadow explained, which made Twilight smile.

"Thanks, Shadow." She responded.

"You're teaching her? When are you going to learn man? She has a boyfriend." Sonic teased, which made Twilight blush and Shadow turned to Sonic.

"Don't you want your holiday to be devoid of pain?" Shadow said as Sonic rubbed his nose.

Lastly, Fluttershy came up to Shadow as he faced her. She handed him something in the form of a small statue, which Shadow unwrapped to be the image of an ice blue snow angel. It was quite beautiful and seeing it made Shadow think of his Maria, as he fondly remembered her smile.

"Happy Holidays, Shadow." Fluttershy said as Shadow let out a tiny smile.

"Fluttershy...thank you."Shadow uttered as he still looked at her with his small smile, which she returned. She then gave him hug, which Shadow found himself returning as well.

"Guys, let's go outside and use my fireworks!" Pinkie yelled as she rushed out of the door, leaving it out open.

"Sounds like a plan!" Sonic said as he and the others went out, leaving Shadow alone for a while as he looked around the room, before back at his gift.

"Happy Holidays, Maria." He said softly before he went outside to join the others.
> Valentines-2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was once again that special time of year, the day that was about celebrating love: Valentines Day. As usual, Canterlot High was in the spirit for the holiday as shown by the students and staff wearing red or pink clothes with heart-shaped accessories. Most of them were exchanging Valentine's cards with each other in the halls as Silver walked through the doors. He looked around with a confused expression. He had never seen anything like this before, so it was all new to him. He then shortly met up with Rarity, Fluttershy, and Manic in the hall.

"So, this is what the Valentine holiday is supposed to be like?" Silver asked them.

"Yes, isn't it marvelous, darling?" Rarity gushed. "A day where people get together and find a special somebody! It's so romantic!"

"It's not enough if you ask me!" Rarity and the others suddenly heard Pinkie's voice and they started to look around for her but she was nowhere to be found.

"Pinkie, where are you?" Fluttershy asked.

"In here." Pinkie's voice said from a locker. The 4 of them turned to it and got closer for a better look.

"What are you doing in there?" Manic asked.

"Open up and you'll see!" Pinkie answered in a cryptic manner.

"I swear, there better not be some kind of giant cake or something, I just this vest cleaned." Manic remarked as he went to open the locker. As he did, suddenly, a red version of Pinkie's Party cannon popped out, but she was absent.

"Wait, what?" Manic said as he turned back to the others, who looked just as lost as he did and Silver shrugged.

"That's strange, where could she be?" Rarity wondered before the cannon suddenly started to rumble and shake violently, catching other students attention as they turned to see it beginning to erupt. After a while, the cannon fired a large shout, which released Valentine decorations such as hearts, flowers, cards and candy before Pinkie herself emerged from the cannon as she was shot in the air. She landed on the floor as the students looked around in awe at her designs.

"I take it all this ruckus is Pinkie?" AppleJack said as she came from the bandroom alongside Knuckles, Twilight, Sunset and Rainbow Dash. They stopped in their tracks to take a look a the newly decorated hallway.

"You really did it this time." Knuckles observed.

"Of course!" Pinkie happily responded. "I'm just so excited! It's like this day was made for me! It's the best!"

"So Sunset, did they have anything like this back in Equestria?." Twilight asked her friend..

"Yeah, it was called Heart and Hooves day.It was more or less the same as this day. I wasn't that into anyway. Didn't really have a special somepony back then. I guess it's the same here, but at least I get to celebrate it with friends." Sunset responded.

"If you ask me, Valentines day the lamest holiday. There's nothing fun to do, like pranks or getting presents. The only good thing is that you get candy if you ask me." Rainbow Dash said as she took a candy heart from Pinkie's decoration and popped one in her mouth.

"Rainbow Dash, what an awful thing to say." Rarity scolded as Rainbow shrugged.

"I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. It lets girls notice how cool guys like me are." Manic said as he rubbed his nose cockily and Rainbow rolled her eyes. 

"Yeah, you're like 20% less cool." She snarked as Manic lowered his eyelids.

The front door of the school opened and it was Shadow as he entered. He looked around and noticed all the Valentine ornaments. His eyes landed on Pinkie in the center, who waved to him. Shadow's response was to close the door and he began to walk down the steps before Pinkie suddenly appeared in front of him, startling him.

"Hey, Shady! Happy Valentine's day!" She told him.

"But you were, how did you-, nevermind," Shadow said before he realized it was futile to try and make sense of Pinkie's antics.

"You know....I got a special Valentine today, can you guess who it is?" Pinkie asked him with a wink as Shadow just slightly fumed. He knew her answer.




At SugarCube Corner, Sonic was waiting outside as he tapped his foot impatiently.  After a while, Tails came out, holding an extra-large hot chocolate which was decorated with pink whipped cream and covered in red sauce.

"It's about time, what took you so long, man?" Sonic asked.

"Sorry, Sonic. They were having a special sale for their Valentine combo." He explained. Hearing the word 'Valentine' made Sonic groan slightly. He had forgotten it was that day today. He figured that if they arrived at school, he wouldn't forget for the rest of the day.

"We should head to school. We're getting kind of close to being late." Tails said as he checked his watch and began to walk in front.

"About that....listen, buddy, you go on ahead. I'll catch up. I just want to take a quick run before classes start." Sonic explained to him as Tails turned back.

"You sure?" Tails replied.

"Yeah, I'll see ya later." Sonic insisted as Tails turned around and headed for school. Sonic turned in the opposite direction and became a  blue streak as he zipped through the city.

"(I'm not sure if I can stomach a whole day of this Valentine nonsense. I think I'll just lay low for today. I doubt I'll miss anything since Valentine is going to be on everyone's minds. Well, mostly everyone.)" Sonic thought as he was running outside the outskirts of the city and came across a large grassy plain. Just as he was about to enter it, a loud puffy pink cloud appeared in front of him, catching him off guard as he skidded to a stop as he entered it. Sonic wheezed and coughed as he emerged from the cloud and fanned it away.

"*cough* What was that?!" He exclaimed.

"Hi, Speedy!" He heard two familiar voices say in unison. 

Sonic eyes widened and he was really hoping it wasn't who he thought it was. He slowly turned around.

"(Please no)" He hoped as he came face to face with the two Erotes, Eros and Anteros. Sonic sighed out loud.

"(Not these guys again. What do they want now?)"

"It's you two. What's up?" Sonic said as he forced a smile. He didn't want to make them mad like last time.

"It's Valentines day, silly! That's what's up!" They both answered.

"That much, I got. Look, I thought we were cool. I learned my lesson, love isn't useless. " Sonic said.

"We are. We just wanted to check in on you, make sure you enjoy the holiday to the fullest. But....you aren't doing that. Do you know why?" They asked him.

Sonic scratched his head. He had to make sure to say the right thing so they wouldn't get offended.

"Uh......I dunno." He said with a shrug.

"You don't have a Valentine! That's it!" They informed him as they came up in his face. 

"Oh, don't worry about me, I'm perfectly ok with that. I can still enjoy the day without one.  Thanks for stopping by, but everything is A-ok." Sonic quickly said in an attempt to persuade them.

"No, no, no! We insist. We want you to be the happiest today!" The Erotes both said. "You have to have a Valentine."

"I would love to, but the thing is....I don't know anyone who could. Oh well, too bad." Sonic said as he began to back up.

"That's ok, we can decide who's best for you!" The Erotes exclaimed as Sonic's ears perked up at that suggestion.

"Wait-wha-"Sonic began before the two Erotes turned their hands intangible and placed them through Sonic's head as he was temporarily frozen with his mouth open. They dug their hands in his head for a while before their eyes lit up and they took their hands out. Sonic gasped for a bit once they were done.

"What....did.....you....do?!" Sonic demanded as he caught his breath.

"We looked around in your memories to see who would be the best fit." The Erotes explained. " And we say its.....

"Sunset Shimmer!" Anteros said.

"Rainbow Dash!" Eros said.

The two Erotes eyes widened as they realized they disagreed with each other and they made eye contact. Sonic just looked around as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Brother, what are you saying? Rainbow Dash is the perfect fit for Sonic. Their personalities are so alike." Eros said to his brother.

"You're mistaken, my dear brother. Sonic and Sunset Shimmer have spent many great moments together. Their chemistry is amazing." Anteros argued.

"I am not hearing this." Sonic said as he gripped his head and sank with embarrassment. 

The Erotes shot each other glares before they began to argue.

"Sunset Shimmer!" Anteros yelled.

"Rainbow Dash!" Eros yelled.

The two shouted the names back and forth as Sonic just looked in total disbelief at what was going on before Anteros stopped the both of them.

"Brother, this argument is getting us nowhere. I have a suggestion. Why don't the two of us prove it?" Anteros offered as Eros looked interested and Sonic looked confused.

"I'm listening." Eros said, intrigued.

"Why don't each try to set Speedy up with who we think he should go with and we'll see who he picks." Anteros suggested as Eros face lit up.

"Brilliant idea, brother! May the best Erote win!" Eros agreed.

"Wait!!!" Sonic yelled, catching both of their attention. "What do you think you're doing?! You can't just go meddling in my life like this!"

"Oh, it's for your own good! You'll thank us!" The Erotes said as they vanished in a puff of smokes. Sonic frantically looked around for them but he didn't see anything as he formed an 'oh crap' look as he put his hand on his face.

"This is going to to cost me!" Sonic muttered under his breath as he dashed off for dear life, leaving behind a large gust of wind as he rushed throughout the city before he shortly arrived at the steps of CHS. He then began to desperately search for any sign of the Erotes.

"Ok....they gotta be around here somewhere." Sonic said before he looked up and gasped. He saw the two Erotes, who were now a  transparent pink color. He mad eye contact with them and they gave him a wink with the thumbs up before they disappeared into smoke once more. After they did, Sonic heard the bell rang and he quickly dashed inside the school. 





Inside, Sonic was still looking for the Erotes, but in a more discrete manner. In front of him, he saw Rainbow Dash heading towards her locker.

"Hmmmmm, everything seems fine in the halls. Where could they be?" Sonic said before he saw a pink smoke come from Rainbow Dash's locker, which she didn't notice and he turned his attention there. When Rainbow opened her locker and reached in, she pulled out a blue Valentine card which had Sonic's symbol in as she studied it in a confused manner. Sonic's eyes widened in horror at what he saw.

"From Sonic?" Rainbow Dash read. "I thought he didn't like Valentines Day. Unless, is he...."

Rainbow Dash paused and thought a little about the idea of Sonic actually going out of his way to give her a Valentine card. Sonic noticed this and his expression turned to sheer panic.

"Well.....I should see what it says." Rainbow decided as Sonic saw her beginning to open up the envelope, much to Sonic's dismay.

"(NO! She can't open that!)"Sonic screamed inside his head as he dashed as fast as he could and turned into a blue streak as he took the card from Rainbow's hand, shutting her and making her hair blow. Rainbow Dash was stunned for a moment before she turned to see Sonic holding the card before he ripped it up like crazy and began to pant. He then wiped his brow.

"Sonic? What are you doing?" Rainbow asked as Sonic turned to see her.

"Oh, hey Dash! What's up?" Sonic said, trying to act casual.

"I should ask you that? Why'd you rip that Valentine card you gave me?" She asked.

"Oh, that old thing? Well......I. did it because...it was supposed to be a prank! Yeah! But then I realized it was way too lame, so I decided to scrap it." He explained quickly to save face as Rainbow Dash gave him a weird look.

"Really, huh? Well, glad you came to your senses. You should know by now that you can't outprank me."  She said as she playfully punched his arm.

"Yep, I now that. Heh, heh, heh." Sonic responded in a nervous manner, making Rainbow Dash look at him strangely again.

"Well, see ya later." She said as she walked off to class. When she was out of sight, Sonic slumped against the locker with relief.

"Phew. So far, so good."He said before he heard the sound of giggling. He looked up and he saw the two Erotes wink at him once more as they flew into the boys bathroom. Sonic growled a bit as he dashed in after them. When he was there, it was empty as he paused to take a look.

"That wasn't fair, Speedy, you ruined my turn." Eros complained as Sonic turned around to see him with a disappointed look as Anteros looked pleased.

"I'm telling you, knock it off!" Sonic demanded as they just giggled once more at him.

"Oh, but this is perfect and fun. Besides, I don't think there'll be much you can do against my trick. Catch you later, dude." Anteros finished as he changed his voice to that of Sonic's, much to his surprise.

"What the? What do you have planned?! Tell me!" Sonic barked.

"No spoilers." Anteros replied, still in Sonic's voice before he and his brother disappeared into smoke as Sonic growled. He then headed out of the bathroom door and stopped in front of Flash Sentry, who was giving him an odd look.

"Wow! Sonic, are you ok? I heard voices. Who were you talking to?" Flash asked him.

"Oh uh, no one. Just thinking outloud, don't worry about it. Anyway, gotta speed." Sonic answered in a huff as he sped away. Flash shrugged in confusion after he left.





The bell rang again, which signified that the students had a break now as the hallway was flooded with them. Sonic emerged as well but he was wary. It had been quiet, too quiet. He knew the Erotes were up to something, but what? 

"And get this, Sonic tried to prank me today." He heard Rainbow Dash say. Sonic looked around the corner to see her walking with Fluttershy and Sunset Shimmer as they exited the classroom.

"That doesn't sound very nice." Fluttershy said with disapproval.

"Eh, I don't mind. Makes this lame day sort of exciting, you know?" Rainbow replied.

The sound of a phone ringing was heard and it was coming from Sunset's pocket. She then took out her phone to see who was calling.

"Speaking of which, I'm getting a call from him now." Sunset said as Sonic looked confused. He hadn't dialed her number on his phone.  

Sunset answered the phone to hear Sonic's voice coming from it as she listened and then she took it away from her ear.

"Sonic says he wants me to go somewhere private. He says he has something important to tell me." Sunset explained as Sonic jaw dropped open slightly. Now he knew why Anteros had spoken in his voice.

"What could it be?" Fluttershy asked.

"I guess I'll find out. I'll catch up with you guys later." Sunset said as she headed in the opposite direction of her friends as Sonic looked mortified.

"(Ah, man! They're probably going to say some kind of confession! In my voice! I gotta find them!)" Sonic screamed in his mind as he became a streak, passing by students, including Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, leaving them mystified.

"Wait, was that?" Rainbow Dash said in a perplexed manner.

Sonic was searching like crazy around the school as he speed in and out of classrooms and labs alongside turning over recycling bins and trash can. He had to find them and fast.

"Where are they? Where are they?" He said to himself as he going up and down the stairs around the halls. As he did, he passed by Tails and Twilight.

"Oh, there you are Sonic. I was worried you-" Tails was saying before Sonic just rushed past the two of them. They both looked back to see Sonic continuing his search, puzzled.

"What's gotten into him?" Twilight asked as she and Tails exchanged glances.

Sonic dashed out of the school and checked around the field and the rooftop but no sign of the Erotes as he stood on the roof.

"Where are they? Come on, come on!" Sonic said as he dashed back in the school.

Meanwhile, Sunset entered the bandroom as she sat down on a table and held the phone to her ear.

"Ok, Sonic, I'm alone. What do you want to say?" She asked.

"Good. Now, Sunset. What I'm about to say takes a lot of guts, so listen carefully." His voice said.

Sonic dashed in the hall and he passed by the bandroom. He then came back and saw Sunset listening on the phone and pressed his face and hands against the door as he made an anguished look.

"(NOOOOOOO! I need to stop them!)" He screamed inside his thoughts as he dashed ahead. 

Sonic then found himself now in the gym and he began to zip through it many times.

"They have to be here! This is the last place left!" Sonic said as he went around it. Suddenly, he heard a faint sound of what sounded like his voice and he stopped running. He listened further for a source as he tiptoed closer to it and found himself pressing his head against the gym wall in front of him.

"Sunset, I want you to know how I feel." He heard his voice said as his eyes widened.

"(Aha!)" He thought as he wound up his fist slightly before smashing it into the wall, making a hole in it. He then saw the transparent Erotes, with Anteros holding his phone as Eros looked on. They both turned to see the furious Sonic and yelped as they saw him coming towards them.

"EEEP!" Sunset heard from the other end as she raised an eyebrow. "You litte!" She also heard before the sound of a hung up phone was now present.

"Hello, Sonic? Sonic? You want to tell me how you feel about what? Sonic?" She said before she held up her screen, which showed he had hung up.

"Huh. That was weird." Sunset said as she put her phone in her pocket and headed to leave the band room.





In the cafeteria, Sunset sat down and joined the rest of the Rainbooms alongside Knuckles, Tails, Manic and Silver but Sonic was nowhere to be found.

"What did Sonic want to tell you?" Fluttershy asked her.

"I don't know. He started saying some things, there was some weird noise and he just hung up." Sunset explained. "It was so strange."

"Was he trying to prank you, too? What's his deal?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Twilight and I saw him earlier and he was like running around like he needed to find something really badly." Tails brought up.

"What the hays gotten into him? Why is he acting like this on Valentines day of all days?" AppleJack questioned.

"Maybe he's planning some kind of super secret Valentine party?!" Pinkie suggested in an excited tone at the idea.

"I seriously doubt that. You know it's not his favorite day. But still, all the stuff he's done doesn't sound like how he'd act, even towards something he dislikes." Knuckles began to ponder.

"Now that you mention it, aside from in the halls, I haven't seen much of Sonic today at all." Twilight said.

Suddenly from outside the cafeteria, what sounded like an airplane propelling was heard outside as all the student stopped what they were doing to listen. The noise was getting louder and closer and it made them stand up to go see it. As they stood near the window to get a better look, they managed to see what looked like a red and yellow biplane with a folded banner behind it.

"Hey Tails, isn't that your plane?" Silver realized as he focused more on aircraft.

"Yeah....it is! Is that Sonic piloting it?" Tails said with a surprised manner.




Outside, Sonic stopped in front of the field as he looked around for the Erotes again.

"Where did those little freaks go?" He said before he heard the familair sound of a plane proppler. Sonic looked up and he nearly had a heart attack from what he saw. It was the Tornado, flying above CHS.

"The Tornado?! But Tails is inside! Who's-?" Sonic said before it dawned on him who else could it be and he glowered. "They wouldn't!"

The large banner attached to the Tornado suddenly began to unfold itself and it spelt out the phrase 'I LOVE' and Sonic panicked as he now knew what the Erotes were up to. He then dashed to the schools rooftop.





" 'I love'?" Rainbow Dash read. "What's he doing now?"

On the rooftop, Shadow was staring out into space before he noticed the Tornado as well, which caught his eye as he saw that the banner was now beginning to say 'I LOVE RA'.

"Why does Sonic have his plane out?" Shadow wondered. Just as he did, a blue streak zipped past him and he saw Sonic leap off the top of the rooftop, which surprised him.

"Sonic?! Then whose driving the plane?" He wondered out loud.




"Hey look, someones jumping towards the plane." Manic pointed out from inside as now everyone else focused on what was happening.

Mid-Air, Sonic did an airboost to get himself closer to the banner, which was starting to unveil the letter I. Before it did, Sonic became a blue streak, shredding it to pieces entirely as they were sucked into and completley erased by the plane proppler.

"Hey, no fair!" Eros complained from the Tornado cockpit as his brother flew next to him.

The two of them heard a loud thud on the top of planes wings and looked up to see Sonic, who was now seething with rage, making the Erotes scream.

"Get out of my plane!" Sonic shouted as the two of them vanished into puffs of smokes. However, this meant the plane had no pilot and it was starting to fall towards the ground. Sonic hung on to the wing for dear life as it was descending. The students below gasped at what they saw.

"Oh, no! It's going to crash!" Fluttershy exclaimed.

"Sonic's in there! We have to do something!" Sunset stated as she and the others began to head out the door.

As the Tornado fell, Sonic put both hands on the wing and he pulled himself closer on top of it before he was directly above the cockpit. He then jumped into and immediately grabbed on the controls. He then shifted the Tornados course from going down to up just as the Rainbooms and the others arrived outside.

"Hey, he got the hang of it!" Knuckles noticed as he and the group watched as the Tornado flew off in the sky.





"These things are driving me crazy." Sonic said he parked the Tornado in its usual spot behind Tail's workhouse and wiped his brow. 

"I need to catch them and fast. I'm not sure how much of this I can take anymore." Sonic said with a tired tone as he dashed and headed back to school through the city. As he was running in the city, he passed by a jewelry store and noticed that the entrance seemed to open slighty without anyone entering. He slowed down to observe the scene.

"What the? Am I seeing things?" Sonic said as he looked from across the street.

In the store, everything seemed normal for a while. That is, until Sonic noticed that a white pearl necklace in the background seemed to be levitating without anyone holding it. Sonic rubbed his eyelids to make sure he was clearly seeing the scene in front him and sure enough, he was. It was discrete and the store was quite crowded, so no one noticed except for him. He watched as the necklace began to float itself into the back exit of the store.

"What in the?" Sonic said before he sighed in annoyance. He knew it was the Erotes and then became a blue streak in the same direction that the necklace was headed out of.  He came into a back alley and saw the floating necklace. Before it went any further, Sonic grabbed onto one of it's ends and he felt a yank.

"Hey, what gives?" He heard Anteros's voice say before he revealed himself.

"I should be asking you that! What are you doing now?" Sonic questioned.

"Simple. I'm going to take this necklace and give it to Sunset Shimmer and make it look like it's from you." Anteros casually explained.

"Question. Did you even pay for it?" Sonic asked him.

"No." was Anteros answer.

"Well...that's stealing! You can't take things that don't belong to you! Even in the name of love or whatever! I'm taking this back." Sonic said as he pulled on the necklace but Anteros didn't budge.

"No, let go, you're ruining everything!" Anteros yelled as he and Sonic did tug of war with the necklace.

"Hey, the pearl necklace is missing!" The two of them heard a voice from the store say, stopping them in their tracks.

"What, how?"

"I dunno, someone must've stolen it!"

"Look, the backdoor exit is open. The thief couldn't have gone far!"

"Uh oh, later, Speedy!" Anteros said as he vanished, leaving Sonic alone with the necklace. Sonic began to panic as he knew that if the store owners saw him, they would think he stole it. He was stumped before he slapped his forehead.

"Duh!" Sonic said as he dashed so fast in the store and put the necklace back in its proper place just as two of the owners came outside.

"I don't see anyone! Did they leave already?"

"Hey guys, come in! The necklace is back!" Sonic heard a voice say as he looked on from the street at the other owners heading back in due to this and he sank to the floor, relieved.

The two Erotes appeared in a puff of smoke just above the city. They looked quite frustrated.

"Brother, this isn't going anywhere. He keeps getting in the way." Anteros complained.

"You're right. At this rate, things'll never go as planned. And we're running out of time.....unless." Eros said before he grew a mischievous grin and turned to his brother.

"I've got the perfect idea! Now..." Eros said as he began to whisper his plan to Anteros.





Back at CHS, it was the end of the day as the students began to pour out as they headed down the steps, including the Rainbooms and the rest of the group, except for Rainbow Dash as she decided to stay after to practice her soccer skills.

"I wonder what could be going on with Sonic? That whole thing was the plane was absurd." Tails said outloud.

"Yeah and after that, he just vanished." Manic added. "Is he going crazy?

"I hope he's alright." Fluttershy said with a worried tone.

"I'm going to try calling him." Sunset said as she reached into her pocket for her phone. When she did, she grew a confused look as it wasn't there. She searched the rest of her body, but didn't find it anywhere.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked.

"My phone. I could've sworn I put it in my pocket. I must've left it in the bandroom. You guys go on ahead." Sunset said as she ran back inside to search for her phone.

Sunset walked through the halls until she came into the bandroom. Right on the table was her phone in plain sight. 

"Silly me. I should be more careful." She commented as she went to take it.

As her back was turned, Sunset didn't notice the small shadow coming from behind her. Suddenly, she felt something sharp sting her back and she perked up.

"What the? I-" She started to say before she fell completely unconscious.





On the soccer field, Rainbow Dash was juggling her soccer ball for a while as she stood in front of the goal. After doing this for a while, she then launched it at the goal with a strong kick. Before it went inside, the ball then popped suddenly, much to her suprise.

"What was that?!" She exclaimed as she ran over to where it had happened.  She examined the scene but everything appeared to be normal. Just then, she felt a sharp sting on her back and her eyes widened.

"Hey, what's the-" Rainbow Dash yelled but before she could finish, she sank to the ground, out cold.





Sonic was still a blue streak as he investigated the city still before he dashed back in front of Canterlot.

"This game of tag is starting to get boring. But at least the days almost over. Soon, I won't have to put up with this much longer." Sonic said to himself.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure." Sonic heard two familar voices say as he turned to see the Erotes floating above him. He was less than thrilled to see them and his face showed it.

"You two. Why can't you just leave me alone? You're wasting your time. Valentine's day's nearly done, so you might as well give up." He informed them.

"Well, there is one thing we haven't tried yet. You're in for a real surprise." They said with a giggle. Sonic didn't like that and he raised an eyebrow.

"I never liked riddles. What are you talking about?" He questioned.

"Here." Eros said as he fired an arrow with an orange tip to Sonic, who caught it easily. He then examined it. He noticed there was a map to some kind of location on it.

"What gives?" Sonic asked.

"Follow the map and you'll see. See you soon, Speedy!" The Erotes cheerfully said as they disappeared into smoke, leaving Sonic to study the map. He glowered a bit as he did.

"Fine, I'll take your bait. Anything to get this over with." He grumbled as he dashed off in the direction of the map.





After a while, Sonic found himself in some kind of ancient ruins. There were marble temples, columns and statues scattered everywhere and the entire area was covered in green grassy hills that went up and down. Sonic recognized this place immediately.

"The Marble Zone?" He said as he scratched his head. "Never thought I'd visit this place again. I don't like this."

Sonic continued to press forward as he dashed through the area as the hills went up and down and he avoided the occasional lava shots that erupted from the ground and the hills that burst into flames. Soon, he began to enter the underground part, a purple dungeon like area. Sonic shivered a bit as he began to descend.

"I really don't like this." He muttered to himself as he got deeper into the zone.

"Someone get us out of here!"He heard Rainbow Dash cry out from below as he froze in place.

"Rainbow Dash? What's she doing here?" Sonic wondered outloud. 

"Can anyone here us?" He then heard Sunset yell, which puzzled him even more.

"Sunset's here too? Oh man, what did those little creeps do?" Sonic said with a bit of worry in his voice as he sped up, watching out for the spikes emerging from the ground or coming from above. Sonic was now in the furthest part of the zone and he soon found himself facing an entire floor of lava. When he saw what was in front of him, he gasped. There, he saw two pink bubbles which were held just above it. In them were Sunset and Rainbow Dash, the former who was quite concerned with the lava below while the latter appeared to look quite angry at her situation.

"Rainbow Dash? Sunset?" He called out, making the two girls turn to him.

"Sonic?! Thank goodness you're here." Sunset said with relief.

"What are you guys doing there?" Sonic asked.

"What kind of question is that? How should we know? One minute I was practicing my soccer skills, the next thing, I'm trapped here!" Rainbow exclaimed with great annoyance.

"Can't you bust out of there?" Sonic asked.

"Nope. Their magic doesn't work inside those things, Speedy!" All three of them heard the Erotes says as the two of them appeared above Sunset and Rainbow Dash. The two girls weren't expecting to see them.

"You two? What are you doing here?" Sunset asked as Rainbow Dash frowned.

"Wait, did you bring us here?" She asked them as the two Erotes nodded happily.

"WHY?!" Rainbow Dash screamed.

"Because, he needs to choose." They said as they pointed to Sonic, which made Sunset and Rainbow Dash look at him as well.

"Sonic, what did you do now?" Sunset asked.

"Nothing, I swear." Sonic told her before his attention turned to the Erotes. "What do you mean choose?"

"It's simple. Both of them are in danger of falling inside the lava. With us here, there's not enough time for you to save both, so you have to pick one. And the one you pick will show which one of them is meant to be your true love." The Erotes explained as Rainbow Dash and Sunset looked as if that was the craziest thing they had ever heard while Sonic put his hand over his face.

"This is insane. You two are crazy! I'm not going to let one of my friend fall in lava!" He declared.

"True love? Sonic, what are they talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"It's simple. I believe you and Sonic should be together. My brother believes him and Sunset would be better. So, we're forcing him to choose." Eros explained as Rainbow Dash and Sunset looked even more confused.

"One of us? With Sonic?" Sunset said in a perplexed manner. "Why?"

"Well, we both read his mind and it seems he has good chemistry with you two." Anteros said as Sonic just whimpered as he massaged his temples while Sunset and Rainbow exchanged glances.

"For the last time, I'm not going to date either of them. Just give it up." Sonic pleaded

"Nope. You'll have to pick one. Who do you like more?" The Erotes questioned.

"(Oh man. These guys are really serious. Sunset and Rainbow are in deep trouble. There's gotta be something I do. Think man, I've been here before. Use this place to my advantage.)" Sonic thought as he studied the area. His eyes landed on the ceiling and then he remembered what they were for as he smiled.

"(Hope this works.)" 

"Ok, I should be truthful. The reason why I say this is because.....I can't choose between Sunset and Rainbow Dash." Sonic 'admitted', much to Erotes surprise and Sunset and Rainbow's shock.

"Yeah. I mean, how can I choose? Sunset's so smart, kind and caring. She's also a great leader. But at the same time, Rainbow Dash is just so awesome. I mean, she's great at sports and so athletic." Sonic went on, as the two girls blushed a little, as they turned away, feeling a bit embarassed, while the two Erotes looked pleased.

"Oh, why didn't you say so, silly?" The Erotes asked him.

"I just had trouble being truthful. The struggle was tearing me apart. But I have a solution. You should hit me with one of your arrows. That way, I'll be able to decide once and for all." He suggested as Rainbow and Sunset formed astonished looks at what Sonic said as the Erotes grin.

"Gladly! We're so happy you're being true to yourself, Speedy!" They said as they both prepared a large pink arrow together and aimed at Sonic, who spread out his arms ready to get hit.

"Here's to love!" The Erotes declared as they fired arrow straight towards Sonic.

However, before the arrow hit him, Sonic let out a smirk. Using his reflexes, he caught the arrow in one hand, stupefying the Erotes while Rainbow and Sunset now had bewildered expressions.

"Hey, what's the big-" The Erotes complained as Sonic turned the arrow around and launched it straight towards them. They panicked as they duck and with force, the arrow struck the top part of the dungeon, causing purple blocks to come down on the lava and form a pathway.  Sunset and Rainbow's bubbles popped due to the Erotes losing focus and they landed on the platforms with a thud. Now they understood what was going on. 

"Yes!" Sonic said as he turned to the Erotes now. The two of them looked back at the very angry looking Sunset and Rainbow Dash and Sonic, who had a sly grin as he cracked his knuckles.

"Time to go!" They said before they were intercepted by Rainbow Dash using her speed. She then grabbed them by their wings tightly so they couldn't fly or teleport. They struggled as Sonic and Sunset walked up towards them.

"Not so fast you little creeps." Rainbow Dash said.

"I thought you two learned your lessons from last time." Sunset scolded.

"We were just doing our jobs." The Erotes protested.

"By putting us in danger?!"Rainbow Dash nearly screamed.

"Well....when you put it that way...." They said.

Sonic came near them and he took out two arrows from their slings and he examined them. After a while, he got a smile.

"I don't like that." Eros whispered to his brother.

"I have the perfect punishment for these two." Sonic said as he aimed the arrow steadily at them. 

"Wait. You don't have to do that! Come on. We just wanted to help you." They pleaded as Sonic jabbed the two of them, causing them to wince. Suddenly, their bodies began to harden as they slowly turned to stone before they were completely still.

"Perfect." Sonic said with a smile.

"So, what do we do with the statues?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Let's send them back to Equestria. I'm sure Princess Twilight would like to add these to her castle." Sunset suggested.

"Sounds good to me. As long as I never have to see them again. Now let's get out this place." Sonic said.

"Hold on. But those Erotes really thought that you and me or you and Sunset, could be a thing?" Rainbow Dash said with curiosity.

"You heard them." Sonic answered.

"But that stuff you said back there. About us. Did..you really mean that?" Sunset asked him.

"Nah. I just said it to trick them." Sonic nonchalantly said with a handwave. Hearing this made Sunset and Rainbow Dash look not too happy as they frowned at him.

"So you don't think I'm smart? Or nice? Or a good leader?" Sunset said with mild irritation.

"Or that I'm good at sports? Or awesome?" Rainbow Dash added.

Sonic then now realized what he said and that he was now in an uncomfortable situation. His eyes darted back and forth nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.

"No, I mean, I can explain. See, what I meant to say was., no that won't sound right, give me a second." Sonic said as he began to think as the two girls gave him icy glares and just started to walk past him towards the exit.

"Rainbow? Sunset? Wait for me. I can explain." Sonic shouted as he took off after them, but they weren't listening.
> The Adventures of Knuckles and Daring Do
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Adventures of Knuckles and Daring Do

Angel Island was a gigantic floating island high in the sky above the clouds. It was normally a secure and tranquil place, housing a large amount of vegetation all around which could easily be seen and plenty of wild life as well. The island was vast and contained many different areas on it. One certain place was the Hidden Palace. It was a hidden chamber located deep within the Island. It was a dark blue area with a smooth green road with purple rocks in the background. It's most notable aspect was what it was home to. In the center of it was gigantic golden shrine which held an enormous green emerald. This was known as the Master Emerald, an object of immeasurable power and the artifact keeping Angel Island floating. Standing in front of the shrine with his arms crossed was its guardian, Knuckles.

"(It's good to spend some time here with the Master Emerald. I can leave it here hidden where no one knows while I'm away, but it's important to check in every now and then. Productive use of a weekend if you ask me.)" Knuckles thought to himself.  "(Besides, being the near Emerald itself is quite calming.)"

Knuckles stood guard for a while, not really expecting anything as he just stared out into space for a while. Things were pretty uneventful until Knuckles heard a small buzzing sound around him. The buzzing grew louder and louder and the source revealed itself to be a group of flies. The flies swarmed around him and Knuckles tried his best to ignore them but the buzzing was getting noisier, much to Knuckles irritation. Knuckles tried to keep his patience, but as he kept hearing the buzzing, he eventually lost it.

"Ugh, stupid flies." Knuckles said as he tried to swat them away but the flies moved away from it. The buzzing continued and Knuckle sighed in annoyance.

"Just get lost already!" Knuckles snapped as he kept trying to hit the flies away but they just moving around. The flies buzzing grew much more rapid an aggressive and they eventually started to swarm around Knuckles.

"Hey! Get away from me!" Knuckles said as he flailed his fist around and moved. The flies were directly in his face, so he couldn't exactly see where he was going. Knuckles started moving his arms around more aggressively. He tumbled back and as he did, Knuckles felt his fist collide slightly with something as they scraped a bit of a surface as there was the sound of something being chipped. As he heard this, his eyes widened out loud and the flies flew off, clearing his vision.

Knuckles looked out and saw that by mistake, he had taken a small piece of the Master Emerald off from it as the small shard floated above and glowed green.

"Oh, no."Knuckles said in a small voice as he facepalmed.

The piece of the Emerald began to rise higher into the air before it sped away at light speed and exited the Hidden Palace with a green trail, leaving behind Knuckles as his shoulders sank.

"Great, this is just great. I guard the emerald and I end up being the one who endangers it." He said, clearly embarrassed at what he had done. He then lifted his face up.

"Well, as it's guardian, it's up to me find the piece back." Knuckles stated as he put his fist together. He then headed for the exit of the Hidden Palace.




Down in the city of Canterlot, Knuckles was gliding above it. It was quite busy during the weekend with people moving on the sidewalks and cars moving past. Knuckles was quite high, so he wasn't noticed. As he left the outskirts of the city, he then saw a red house with a large red barn behind it. It was Sweet Apple Acres, home to AppleJack. She was outside, carrying a basket of apples as she walked to the back entrance of her house. Knuckles then descended down a few feet behind her before he landed on the ground.

"AppleJack." Knuckles said as she turned around to see him.  

"Knuckles? What the hay are you doing here? Didn't you say that you would be guardin' that Master Emerald of yers?" AppleJack asked.

"Yes...."Knuckles began as he rubbed the back of his neck. "About that, there's been a...complication."

"Whaddya mean? What's wrong?" She questioned.

"Ahem. Due to an....um,  incident,  a shard of the Emerald has gone missing, so I need to find it." He explained in an awkward manner.

"Only a shard? How in the hay did that happen?" AppleJack asked.

"Like I said. It was complicated. Anyway, I just wanted to let  you-" Knuckles said before he was interrupted by Rainbow Dash's voice.

"Hey, AppleJack as you coming with us to the mall or what?" Rainbow Dash asked as she, Sonic and Tails walked through AJ's house and opened the back door. They all stopped in their tracks when they saw Knuckles, much to his dismay. He really didn't want to see Sonic in a situation like this.

"Knuckles? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be watching the Master Emerald?" Sonic brought up.

"Well, you see....there's been a problem." Knuckles slowly said.

"What else is new?" Sonic sarcastically responded

"Give me a break. Anyway, I was just telling AppleJack that a piece has gone missing and I need to find it. I might be gone for a few days at most." Knuckles informed them.

"Only a piece?" Tails said as he lifted an eyebrow.

"That's what I was wonderin' to." AppleJack explained.

"Isn't it like guarded in some kind of hidden chamber? What could go wrong there?" Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"Care to explain Knucklehead?" Sonic said quizzically as he crossed his arms.

Knuckles was in a tight position. He couldn't exactly tell them how the emerald piece had disappeared. That would be way too embarrassing and Sonic teased him enough already.

"What is this? 50 questions?"Knuckles quickly said. "Look, I just wanted to let you guys know I might not be around for a bit. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find the shard soon."

"Ok then, Knux. But are ya sure ya don't want any help?" AppleJack offered.

"I appreciate the offer, but the Master Emerald is my responsibility. I have to take care of this." Knuckles insisted.

"All right, if that's ya want.. Good luck and be careful." AppleJack told him.

"Yeah, see ya later Knux." Sonic said as he gave him a farewell salute.

"Thanks. Hopefully, I'll shouldn't be gone for too long." Knuckles said as he jumped towards the rooftop of AppleJacks house. He then leaped a few feet in the air and began to glide as his friends watched him take off.




Almost a day and a half had passed since Knuckles had left Canterlot. He glided over an entire overgrown rainforest covered completely by tall grassy trees. He could sense the movement of Emerald shards but due to the fact that it was one piece, the signal was faint and he could barely keep track of it. So far, he hadn't had much luck.

"(It's a lot easier to track the emeralds energy when there's so many of them. The signals too scarce for me to make any actual progress. But I have to find it. Especially since this is my fault in the first place. How could I be so reckless?)" Knuckles thought as he formed a glum look on his face. However, he then shook his head to snap out of it.

"(No time for moping around. I have to do my duty as guardian)" Knuckles decided. 

Knuckles then felt a sharp sense in his head, catching his attention.

"(The signals getting stronger. I better get down.)" Knuckles realized as he began to come down inside the rainforest.

In the forest, Knuckles noticed it was a damp, swampy area covered with thick branches, vines, leaves, and trees. It had a few small bodies of water as well as he began to move through it. It was an area known as the Mystic Ruins.

"Never thought I'd visit this place again." Knuckle said out loud as he walked through the jungle. "Though I admit, even if the emeralds signal is stronger and I am familiar with this place, it's so crowded and huge that searching might take a while.

Knuckles then began to follow where he could feel the emeralds signal getting closer. It was still the same as before, but he was hoping he could at least improve it as he explored the area. Some time passed and Knuckles wasn't sure how long he'd been walking.

"Still nothing." Knuckles muttered to himself before he heard the sound of some rustling, which made him stop in his tracks. Knuckles then began to look around to try and locate a possible source for the movement as the rustling became more frequent. He got his fist up for defence.

"(An ambush?)" He guessed. He couldn't make out where it was coming from exactly due to a large amount of flora with his eyes, so he decided to close them and focus on his hearing. He listened carefully and heard the noise was loudest on his left side, about a few meters behind. The rustling then went out of control as he turned around.

"Aha!" Knuckles yelled as he raised his fist to see a startled figure in front of him who jumped back and landed on the floor. When Knuckles saw who it was, he became astonished. It was a young woman with light gold skin. Her hair was black and gray, which resembled Rainbow Dash's hair style. She wore a military green explorers shirt with white leggings, her feet covered in brown boots which had white laces. Her head was covered by a white pith hat with a black stripe. The figure was ........Daring Do!

"Daring Do?! You're real?!" Knuckles said with disbelief as he lowered his fist. It couldn't be another actress from that time he and his friends visited the movie set. Her hair looked natural and not a wig to begin with. The Mystic Ruins didn't attract normal citizens as well.

Daring Do rose up from the ground as she dusted herself off and she looked at Knuckles and adjusted her hat.

"What's it to you?" She said in a defensive manner.

"I mean, you're a book character! I was even on the set of a movie about your books!" Knuckles stated. "How does that explain all those books!? Unless....are you also AK Yearling?! And does that mean....everything you've done is real as well?!"

Daring Do just squinted slightly but she said nothing. Her silence seemed to indicate that Knuckles was correct.

"Well, guess you've found out my secret." She said before she raised an eyebrow. "Wait a minute, if you're a fan of my books, what's someone like you doing here?  A normal person wouldn't come to this jungle. It's usually held visited by archaeologist and you don't look like one."

"First, I'm not a fan. Second, I'm not exactly what you'd call normal. I'm a treasure hunter. I'm searching for something very important to me." Knuckles explained to her as Daring Do looked puzzled.

"You're a treasure hunter?" She said with skepticism.

"That's right. I've dealt with my fair share of adventures. I'm a pro." He confirmed as he folded his arms as Daring Do still didn't look to convinced. "Now I have a question for you. What are you doing here?"

"A few hours ago. I began to follow the trail of Dr. Cabballeron, a rogue archaeologist. Apparently yesterday, he and his henchmen spotted a green flash that  was flying throughout the sky. I overheard Caballeron say he thinks it some kind of precious item or something. After that, I knew I couldn't let him get his hands on it, so I followed him. However, when he entered the forest, I lost his trail." Daring Do told him. "And no, you can't come with me. I work alone and I don't need you getting in my way."

Hearing Daring Do talk about a giant green flash made Knuckle's eyes widened. He immediately knew what Daring Do was talking about as  she began to walk off.

"Wait a minute, I am coming with you. The green thing that you described must have been a shard of the Master Emerald." Knuckles quickly said, causing Daring Do to pause as she turned around to him with a strange but curious look.

"Master Emerald? I mean, I've read about it in some historical records, but it's real?" Daring Do said before she got a defensive look. "How do you know that?"

"Because the thing I'm looking for is an Emerald shard. I'm the Master Emeralds guardian. What happened was....complicated." Knuckles clarified as Daring Do looked on with uncertainty.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" She questioned.

"I can sense the Emerald Shards. How do you think I knew to come to this place exactly?"Knuckles brought up and Daring Do was silent as she put her hand to her chin. It made sense.

"Besides, if I'm with you, you'll probably found your bad guy and the shard as well instead of just wandering around aimlessly.  Once we find them, I'll take the piece and be on my way." Knuckles suggested. He had a point there.

Daring Do contemplated his offer before she finally sighed.

"Fine, I guess I don't have much of a choice." Daring Do finally said. "Ok then, lead the way." She added as she stepped aside to let Knuckles come in front of her.

"Ok. Before I met you, the signal for the shard was getting stronger in this jungle. Now....it should be somewhere....in this direction." Knuckles said as he began to walk left into some bushes as Daring Do began to follow.




Daring Do and Knuckles continued to explore the jungle as Knuckles lead the way. The two of them walked along for a while throughout the forest.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Daring Do inquired.

"It's the best bet I've got. The emerald shard's signal is weak due to it being isolated but I can still feel traces of its power." Knuckles replied.

"How can you do that?" She wondered.

"I don't know. It's just been something I was born with. A useful trick when the shards are missing everywhere." Knuckles answered.

"So you've had to locate shards before? Some guardian." Daring Do said in an unimpressed tone as Knuckles turned around to give her a slight glare but he kept silent.  He didn't want to lose concentration arguing.

As the two of them walked, suddenly, they came out of all flora and in front of long wooden bridge that extended to the other side. The bridge didn't look too safe as underneath was a series of river rapids.

"This bridge looks like it could collapse with any force. Maybe, there's another way." Knuckles suggested before Daring Do quickly walked ahead in front of him.

"We don't have time. The sooner we find that shard before Caballeron, the better." She said as she began to walk on the bridge. She took slow steps to make sure she didn't make it collapse as the bridge wobbled.

"Hey, wait up!" Knuckles called out as he too began to traverse the path, albeit slowly like Daring Do. His added weight made the bridge shake even more and the two of them had trouble making it across.

"Careful...careful..." Daring Do repeated to herself as the two of them steadily move across the bridge. 

However, when they took another step, it made the entire bridge to tremble dangerously as they both gripped the sides of the bridge. Unfortunately, this caused the bridge to snap loose from the other side as it began to swing down. The two of them were now sent tumbling to the river rapids below.

"Wow!" Knuckles yelled as he managed to glide across to keep himself safe. He looked down to see Daring holding on to the bridge sides as they swung back to the other side.

"Daring Do! Don't worry, I'll-" Knuckles cried out before Daring Do press her feet against the other side as she held on to the bridge straps. She pushed herself forward and swung to the opposite side using the straps and as she headed toward it, she let go of the straps, launching her in the air. As she was airborne, Daring Do took out a whip from her pocket and cracked it, causing it to wrap around a small branch as she moved put her feet on the wall and was now hanging. Knuckles looked on in amazement as he glided above to where she was and put his fist in the on the surface to stick to it.

"-Just watch you save yourself." He said softly.  He then looked down to see her.

"Need help getting up?" He offered but she shot him a look.

"No. I'm fine." She said as she started to make her way up. Knuckles was able to climb up quickly due to his superior climbing skills as he reached the top in no time. When he did, he waited up for Daring Do to arrive. As she got close, Knuckles offered his hands to help her, but she just ignored him and pulled herself up. She then adjusted her hat.

"I don't need help. As you can see, I'm fine on my own." She stated firmly. "Now, lead the way."

Knuckles resumed following the shards signal with Daring Do behind him. As he did, the went over Daring Do's insistence on being alone. It made him think back to how he was before he met Sonic and the other. Alone, doing his duty....

Knuckles thought was interrupted by a sudden increase in the Emeralds signal as his head snapped up quickly and he stopped, much to Daring Do's confusion.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I just felt an increase in the signal. The shard is closer. This way!"Knuckles said as he and Daring Do moved forward quickly.

As they did, Knuckles felt the signal getting stronger and stronger. The piece was defitnelty nearby as the two of them walked through giant leaves.

"It should be somewhere around here." Knuckles said before he and Daring Do heard voices.

"Excellent. This is better than what I was expecting." They heard a man's voice say in a thick South American accent.

The voice caught Daring Do's attention. She recognized it as her face perked up.

"Get down!" She said in a harsh whisper as she took Knuckles down to the ground underneath the leaves.

"Hey! What gives?! He said in an annoyed manner.

"Shhhhh!! Look." Daring Do instructed as she pointed forward through the leaves.

The two of them looked ahead to look at some kind of campsite. In the center was a middle-aged man with brown skin and slicked backed black hair with gray streaks. He had a five o'clock shadow as he wore a sophisticated white shirt with a red polka dot tie and teal pants. His arm had the tattoo of a golden skull with red eyes. He was surrounded by three other men with light tan, dark green and gray skin respectively as they wore explorers outfits. One of them wore a black cowboy hat with a white strap and a red scarf while the other had dark shades over his eyes. The last of them had thick orange sideburns.  Around them were many other men, who each wore different colored facepaint and all had their hair slicked back as they held spears in addition to their explorers attire. In the center, the man with the skull tattoo held up the green shard as it glowed brightly.

"Ahh, yes, this shard is going to come in handy. I think it is the first step to finding the lost treasure of the ancient civilization in these ruins." The man said with a greedy tone.

"Dr. Caballeron!" Daring Do cried in out in a small voice.

"And my emerald shard!" Knuckles said with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Ok, here's the plan. I-" Daring Do started to say before Knuckles just got out of the leaves and approached the campsite, much to Daring Do's shock as  her jaw dropped.

"Hey!" Knuckles yelled, making Dr. Caballeron and his henchmen turn to him. They looked slightly confused to see him.

"Can I help you, young man?" Caballeron asked.

"Yeah. Hand over that shard or else." Knuckles demanded as Caballeron and his goons gave each other strange looks as one of them shrugged. He then chuckled slightly.

"Or else what, boy?" Caballeron sneered.

"I'll beat it from you." Knuckles threatened as he cracked his fist.

"I'm not a fan of practical jokes. Take care of this boy." Caballeron instructed as he snapped his fingers.

One of his henchmen approached Knuckles and reached his hand out to grab him, but Knuckles gripped it tightly, bringing him to his knees, much to the surprise of Caballeron and the others. Knuckles then flipped the man on the ground as Caballeron and his lackeys were stupefied.

"Now, that shard." Knuckles said as he stuck his hand out.

"Get him!" Caballeron ordered the rest of his minions as they charged towards Knuckles, who let out a small grin.

Knuckles lifted another one of the henchmen over him before he turned back to punch two of them, sending them against trees. Two others with spears tried to stab Knuckles but he lifted them up and slammed them together. The one he flipped over earlier came behind Knuckles who turned around and punched him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him as he fell to the floor. Due to this, another man with a spear ran to Knuckles as his back was turned but Daring Do came out and kicked him onto the ground. She then looked at Knuckles as if he was crazy.

"Just what do you think you're doing?!" She yelled.

"Fighting henchmen, what does it look like?" Knuckles answered as he punched another flunky on the floor.

"What were you thinking? Just charging into them like that?!" Daring Do scolded as she kicked a goon in the face. "I had a plan!

"So did I. Get the shard. Knuckles responded.

As Caballeron observed Knuckles and Daring Do taking out his henchmen, he retreated deeper into the campsite and came across four cages. Using a key, he unlocked them and 5 growls were heard. Out of the cages emerged a tiger, a panther, a leopard, a lynx and a small white cat. They all roared and hissed, getting Knuckles and Daring's Do attention. The tiger and panther pounced on Knuckles, pinning him to the ground as he struggled with them. The remaining 3 cats began to chase after Daring Do, who managed to evade them as she ducked and jumped.

"Look what you've gotten us into!"Daring Do shouted as she took out her whip and released it at the lynx's legs, causing it to fall over on other cats.

"This is the easiest way for me to get the Master Emerald shard back!" Knuckles yelled back as the cats tried to bite him.

From inside a tent, Dr. Caballeron heard Knuckles words. He then gained an intrigued look on his face.

"(Master Emerald? It actually exist? This is most excellent news.)" He thought to himself. He then turned to see a table  housed many darts as he formed a grin.

Using his strength, Knuckles lifted up the two big cats and he tossed them on the floor. Before he could do anything else, a gun shot was heard and Knuckles felt something sharp piece the back of his neck as he suddenly felt very weak and  tumbled to his knees.

"What the?" Knuckles said as he removed a dart from his neck and turned around to see Dr. Caballeron with a rifle. He then fired three more shots which hit Knuckles in the shoulder and chest as his vision became much weaker and he felt as if he could barely stand. He then began to wobble.

"Tranquilizer darts strong enough to put down an elephant." Caballeron said smugly as Knuckles was then pinned down on the ground by two of his cronies.

Daring Do noticed this and gained a concerned look on her face. She then reached for Knuckles before a rope was thrown around her, slamming her to the ground as two other men tackled her. Daring Do struggled but she was trapped.

"I must admit, I am for once, grateful for your prescence Daring Do. Thanks to you and your sidekick, I am now aware of the existence of the Master Emerald.  I only thought it was a rumour, but now that I know it is the real deal, it is going to make me a very rich man." Caballeron boasted.

"You won't get away with this!" was the last thing Knuckles heard Daring Do say before he blacked out.




Later, Knuckles started to slowly open his eyes and he could feel as if he was moving. He raised his head to see that he was being dragged on across the floor. He noticed that he was wrapped around in chains alongside Daring Do, who had an extremely displeased look on her face. He turned ahead to see the chain was being held by three of Dr. Caballeron's men as he and the rest of his underlings walked forward.

"Oh, finally awake."Daring Do noticed in a sarcastic tone.

"Wha? Where are we?" Knuckles said weakly. He felt sore all over and he could barely feel his body.

"I don't know where Caballeron is taking us, but we're captured. And it's your fault!" She scolded in a harsh tone.

Knuckles then put his head down. He couldn't argue. She was right. He had acted too impatiently. 

"We're here." The two of them heard Dr. Caballeron say as they stopped moving.

Knuckles and Daring Do looked ahead to see they were in front of a large temple that resembled a shrine of some sort.

"What is this place, Caballeron?" Daring Do demanded.

"This is the shrine that belonged to the ancient civilization that once lived her. Inside, I'll get all my answers to find the Master Emerald!" Caballeron explained.

"No, you won't!" Knuckles managed to say as Caballeron chuckled.

"I wouldn't resist if I were you. The chemicals in those darts is still running through your body." Caballeron informed him. "Men, let's get moving."

Knuckles and Daring Do were then dragged ahead as Dr. Caballeron and his henchmen marched up the steps into the entrance of the temple.

Inside the temple, it was dark for a bit as they made their way through the entrance. However,  a small light then began to shine at the end and when they approached it, it revealed the inside of the temple.  There were large pillars protruding out of a body of water.  There were three platforms, each covered in green grass and rocky pillar remains. Across, there were two sets of thick stairs which led to another chamber.

"Incredible." Caballeron said before he turned to Knuckles and Daring Do.

"You." He said as he pointed to Knuckles. "Tell me, where is the rest of the Master Emerald is." 

Knuckles then began to laugh slightly, which puzzled both Caballeron and Daring Do. 

"What is so funny, boy?!" Caballeron yelled.

"You think the Master Emerald is here? Hahaha! It's not here. You couldn't even begin to imagine where it is." Knuckles told him with a haughty look.

"What?!" Caballeron yelled in rage. "You're telling me I came across in this temple for nothing?!"

"Looks like it." Knuckles just stated as Caballeron turned red with rage before he took a deep breath and calmed down.

"This is not a complete lost. I did this find shard, which should make me a fortune. And...." He said as he looked at the exit from across the room and flashed a malicious grin. "I think I can finally get rid of Daring Do!"

Caballeron and his men traveled across the platforms as they brought Knuckles and Daring Do towards the entrance to the rest of the temple. They then gave them a shove as the two of them were sent falling down a large hole

"Farewell Daring Do!" Caballeron called before he let out an evil laugh.

Knuckles and Daring slid down the large hole for a while before they crashed into a chamber. It was a spiral one and the walls were decorated with blue murals.

"What is this place?" Daring Do wondered as she and Knuckles looked around. This area seemed familiar to Knuckles and his face broke out into one of panic.

"This is a-" Knuckles began to say before the two of them heard a rumbling sound. Across from them, a series of stone pillars started to emerge from the walls alongside multiple bursts of flames, leaving them trapped.

"-Booby trap." He said with a sigh.

"I have to get out of here and stop Caballeron!" Daring Do stated as she tried to remove herself from the chains that held her. It was no use. 

"No, we have to." Knuckles stated as Daring Do stopped and gave him a glare.

"I think you've helped enough. You got us captured, remember?" She harshly reminded him.

"Yeah, I know. But, you can't do this on your own. And neither can I. I should have realized that from the start." Knuckles confessed. "I know you say you work alone, but it' s not always the best option. Trust me, I used to be like you. I......have this friend. Sure, he gets on my nerves sometimes, but thanks to him, I've learned how valuable it is to have a helping hand every now and then when the situation calls for it. And this is one of those situations.

Daring Do listened to Knuckle's  words and she considered what he said as she was silent for a while. The pillars and fire started to close in.

"Ok. But, you got any bright ideas to get us out of here?" She asked him.

Knuckles looked around the chamber and he noticed there was a series of spikes located on his right side on top of a square structure. It gave him an idea.

"Follow me." He instructed as he and Daring Do lifted themselves up. The two of them made their way towards the spikes.

"Ok then. Do as I do." Knuckles said as he and Daring Do came back to back. In this position, they threw the middle of the chain that surrounded them over the spike. Knuckles then pulled in the opposite direction as did Daring Do, forcing the chains against the spike, applying pressure on it. The two of them managed to tug harder away from each other before the chain collapsed as it broke into many pieces due to their force. They were now free.

"Nice idea." Daring Do praised as she and Knuckles faced each other. They then turned around to notice the incoming pillars and fire. "I don't suppose you have a way for us to get out of here?"

Knuckles then put his fist together. " The sedatives still might be in my body, but I can still try to make our way out."

Knuckles turned towards the floor and using whatever remainder of his strength he could manage, he began to dig through it rapidly, making a large person sized hole as he continued to dig forward. Daring Do looked in, impressed as she followed Knuckles down in the hole, saving the two of them from their impending doom just as it came on top of them. Knuckles started to dig a pathway for them out.

Later, outside the skirts of the temple, the ground began to rumble a bit before Knuckles emerged out of it as he crawled to the surface. Daring Do then came shortly afterward.  As he got up, Knuckles found it difficult to stand and almost collapsed but Daring Do caught him as he wiped his brow.

"Guess that took more out of me than I thought." He said as he stood up and tried to get his composure. "We have to stop Caballeron and get the shard back. But like this, I'm not sure if I'm in any shape to take them all head on."

"Don't worry, I have a plan." Daring Do informed him as she got a  grin and  put her hands on his shoulders.




Back at the campsite, Dr. Caballeron and his goons had returned there as Caballeron displayed the shard to his men proudly.

"I'd say this was a good day. I get rich and Daring Do dies."He said 

Suddenly, he and his goons heard a loud noise. It sounded as if something was being hit a strong force. They all stopped and looked around.

"What was that?" He said as he and his men frantically looked but saw nothing. They then heard the same noise coming from a different direction, making them turn around but still nothing.

"An intruder?! Daring Do?! But that can't be!" Caballeron said in an angry tone. 

This time, the noise was heard multiple times all around the place and Caballeron growled. He wasn't sure where it was coming from and where to look

"Spread out and find whatever that is!" He commanded as he and his men left the campsite a bit to go search around in the leaves. As they did, from the back, Knuckles sneaked into a large tent.

A few feet from the camp site, Caballeron and his men then heard a loud gunshot, making them become alert as they looked back.

"What was that?! It was coming from the camp!" He realized as he and his men rushed back to their site. The moment they entered, many of Caballeron's men were hit in the shoulder with darts as they fell to the ground as multiple shots were heard. Caballero and the rest of his men then looked as if they had seen a ghost as they turned to find Knuckles and Daring Do. Knuckles held the rifle as Daring Do displayed a few rocks in her hand with a smirk. She had used them as distractions.

"Daring Do?! But how?!" Caballeron screamed

"Let's be real, Caballeron, how many death traps have I escaped from?" Daring Do mocked as Caballeron grit his teeth.

"Stop them!" Caballeron ordered.

Before his men could react, Knuckles fired a series of shots, hitting them all in their shoulders as they fell to the floor due to the darts. Only Caballeron was left as he looked around in desperation.

"Curse you Daring Do and her sidekick!" Caballeros managed to yell before Knuckles fired two rounds, hitting him in each of his shoulders as his eyes got a droopy expression and he fell to the floor, out cold. As he did, he released the piece of the Master Emerald from his hand, which Knuckles gladly took.

"I'll be taking this."Knuckles said as he clutched the shard into his hand. "And I'm not her sidekick." He then walked over to Daring Do.

"That was a good plan." He complimented.

"Yeah, it's a good thing Caballeron super paranoid." She joked. "I'm glad you got your piece back."

"Thanks. I couldn't have done it without your help." Knuckles said.

"And I couldn't have escaped that trap without you. We make a good team." Daring Do admitted. "By the way, I never got your name."

"Knuckles." Knuckles told her as he stuck his hand out and Daring Do did the same. They then shook hands.

"Knuckles, eh? I'll remember that name. I might put you in my next book." She said with a smile.

"Maybe then I'd start reading them." Knuckles replied as he did the same

"About that, do you mind keeping what you've learned a secret? I think you can imagine how things might turn out if people knew." Daring Do requested.

"Sure thing. Your secret's safe with me." Knuckles promised. "I better head out."

"You sure you'll be fine getting out of here?" Daring Do asked.

"Yeah, I'm still a little droopy, but not enough that I can't find my way back home." Knuckles said. "What about you?"

"I'll just tip the cops off to come get Caballeron. After that, I'll just go where the adventure takes me." Daring Do answered as she adjusted her hat.

"Got you. Take care, Daring Do." Knuckles said as he leapt in the air and began to glide his way out of the Mystic Ruins as Daring Do looked on.





At Sweet Apple Acres, AppleJack was heading out of her house with Rainbow Dash. As she looked up, she noticed something coming towards her from the sky. She squinted her eyes to see that it was Knuckles.

"Knuckles, he's back." AppleJack said as she pointed to the sky, causing Rainbow Dash to see Knuckles coming towards them. He then landed on the ground.

"Hey A.J. Rainbow Dash." He greeted them. His eyes looked slightly droopy.

"Did ya find the piece?" AppleJack asked before Knuckles displayed the glowing green shard in his hand. "Way to go!"

"Did you get into some kind of crazy, awesome adventure?" Rainbow Dash questioned.

Knuckles remembered Daring Do's words. He knew how much of a super fan Rainbow Dash was, so if he told her what had happened......

"Nah. Nothing eventful. Just some *yawn* treasure hunting." Knuckles said as he was finding it harder to stay awake.

"Knux? Are you ok?" AppleJack said quizzically as she noticed the tired look on his face.

"*yawn* Yeah. I'm fine. Just need to-" 

"ZZZZZZZZZZZ""

Knuckles then fell down on the ground suddenly, knocked out as he began to sleep silently. Rainbow Dash and AppleJack looked on with perplexed expressions at the sleeping Knuckles before they turned to each other.

"Yeah, 'nothing uneventful'." Rainbow Dash said with a slight smile as AppleJack slightly laughed.
> Time after Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time after Time

It was a normal day in the city of Canterlot. Today was looking particularly nice. The sun shone brightly through the beautiful clear blue sky.  It was peaceful and tranquil as people walked through the city, going about their own business as buses and cars moved around. In the sky, Silver was flying through in a green aura as he headed for Canterlot High. As he did, he took the time to actually appreciate just how magnificent the day was looking to be. He really admired what he saw as he looked around.

Silver had really enjoyed the time he had spent in Canterlot. For him, it was a great opportunity  to be  in such a beautiful place where people could go about their daily lives without much difficulty. He also took a liking to being a student at CHS. There, he had  made many great friends which he knew he would last a lifetime. He had created fond memories with all these people.  Today, he really started to understand and value how lucky he was to be here.

"(I gotta admit, living in this city is pretty great.)" He thought to himself.

Yet. as he started going over these feelings, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that something wasn't right. He didn't know how to explain, but a part of him actually felt bad for taking delight in living in Canterlot. The feeling had been nagging at him for a while, but he usually didn't  give it too much attention 

"(I wonder where this feeling is coming from?)" Silver contemplated.

Before he could think any further, he looked down to see Rarity walking on the street as she was close to CHS. Making sure he wasn't seen, Silver flew downwards to join her as she walked.

"Rarity!" She heard Silver say as she looked around to see him coming ahead.

"Oh, Silver! Good morning." Rarity replied as Silver was now walking next to her.

"Same to you. I mean, really, what a good morning, the city's never looked better." Silver said.

Rarity let out a small laugh. "The cities looked this way for the past few days now."

"I know, but....I just can't overlook how great it looks, you know? I mean, it really makes me appreciate just how great this city is." Silver said as he looked up with a smile on his face.

"Well, someone woke up on the right side of the bed." Rarity told him with a chuckle.

Silver just turned to her with a smile. Again, it was moments like these with his friends that he was glad to be able to have.....

....Yet again, that lingering feeling of doubt resurfaced as Silver did a small frown, which Rarity didn't notice. Why was he feeling like this?

Before he could ponder on it anymore, Silver realized that he and Rarity were approaching the entrance to Canterlot High as they could see the Wondercolt statue in front of them. Suddenly, they heard the bell ring loudly.

"Goodness! We better hurry! Don't want to be late!" Rarity exclaimed as she ran ahead, with Silver following. The two of them then walked through the steps of the school and entered it.

Inside CHS, Silver and Rarity entered a classroom on the right that was filled with many students as they headed for their desks in the middle. On the chalkboard, they could see the teacher, Ms.Cherilee erase  writing on it before she turned around to her students.

"Class, I have some special news. Today, we're going to have a guest speaker." Cherilee announced, causing all the students to murmur among themselves. They wondered who it could be as Silver looked on with interest.

"He should be here any minute. He's a famous and well-published scientist who has written many books on his theories." Cherilee continued, which caught  the students's attention.

Suddenly, the door burst open and a man carrying a briefcase came through it. He had well combed brown hair and grayish-amber skin and cobalt blue eyes. He wore a large brown trenchcoat over a light brown suit with a green bowtie.  There was a symbol of a golden hourglass on his right shoulder. 

"I hope I'm not too late." The man said with a British accent as he reached into his pockets to pull out a stopwatch. He checked it and grinned. "Yes, only a minute and 44 seconds left to spare!"

Silver formed a curious look on his face. This man seemed very precise.

"Welcome, Dr. Hooves! We are so glad to have you here." Cherliee welcomed as Dr. Hooves closed his stopwatch.

"Ah, it is a pleasure, my dear! I don't mind coming in and enriching these young minds with the various possibilities of science." He said. "Maybe someone here might appreciate my work." He added in a small tone as he glowered a bit.

Dr. Hooves quickly snapped out of it and he turned to face the class. 

"Good morning students! I'm here today to talk to you about the magic that is science. I've been studying the field my entire life ever since a certain incident that happened to me when I was young. Science allows us to explore and predict the impossible! It makes sense of the world around us." He explained.

Dr. Hooves took out a piece chalk and drew a large circle on the board. He began to write letters on it, spelling out the word 'TIME'.

"This is my favorite field in the realm of science. Time! A concept that has been present and is as old as the universe. We've been trying to understand Time for as long as we can remember. Time is crucial to us, a necessary component of our existence. We all each have our time to which we belong. And the amazing this is, all of our times are connected!" Dr. Hooves elaborated as he drew a wide web on the board.

Hearing all of Dr. Hooves explanation about time caused something to click with Silver. Time.....Time.........Time!

Silver's eyes widened and he nearly let out a gasp. Now he realized why he got that nagging feeling every time he admired Canterlot. It was because this wasn't his own time!

"(What have I been doing?! I'm not from this time period! The only reason why I came back here was to prevent a disaster in this time in order to save my own! I didn't come here  on vacation! I almost forget my purpose! While I've been here enjoying myself, my timeline could still be suffering or be even worse off!") He berated in a stream of thoughts.

Silver suddenly began to feel terrible. How could he have bene so selfish and forget the important mission that he was tasked with? He formed an extremely glum look on his face. Due to this, he more or less zoned out for the rest of Dr. Hooves presentation, barely remembering what he had said....




Before Silver knew it, the bell rang, bringing him out of his mood briefly as he looked up to see Dr. Hooves finishing his explanation.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. But, I'll stick around for the rest of the day until the end of the school. If you have any questions, please come find me." Dr. Hooves said as he began to erase the board and faced Cherilee. "Ms. Cherilee, it been a pleasure."

Cheerilee had a very bored expression on her face and looked as if she could doze off any minute. Hearing Dr. Hooves word made her more awake.

"Oh, what? Ah, yes! Thank you, doctor!" Cherilee quickly said as she clapped loudly with the  students as Dr, Hooves took a bow. 

"Class, you are now dismissed." Cherilee then announced as the students rose up to leave the classroom.

Silver headed for the door, still harbouring the feelings of guilt. He didn't notice Rarity come up next to him.

"Well, I'll say, that talk was.....interesting to say the least." Rarity said.

"Mmmmm." Silver just uttered, puzzling Rarity. She noticed the gloomy expression he had on his face and looked concerned.

"Silver, is everything all right?" Rarity asked as Silver turned to her.

"What? Oh yeah, sure." Silver answered in a disinterested tone.

"Are you sure? You seem quite different to how were this morning." Rarity stated.

"Yeah, maybe just feeling a bit tired. That's all." Silver told her. "If you don't mind Rarity, I need to go clear my head for a bit, just be alone for a while." He then requested.

"Oh, all right then then. I'll leave you to that. But if there is anything wrong, remember, the others and I are here for you." Rarity told him as Silver nodded.

With that said, Rarity took off deeper into the halls while Silver walked in the opposite direction to the front doors of the school. He went outside and turned left to the parking lot  where no one was and he sat down on the sidewalk as he put his hands on his face.

"What's wrong with me? How could I have forgotten about my mission? Sure this world, this time...it's beautiful, but I don't belong here. " Silver rebuked himself as he closed his eyes. "I might have failed to save my own time."

Silver then levitated a few rocks in his hands using his powers as he twirled them around, trying to think of a solution to his problems.




Back in the school, Dr. Hooves was walking out in the hallway before he noticed a beeping sound coming from his pocket. He reached into it to pull out a small tuning fork-like device attached to a red digital screen, which was giving off a reading as a yellow dot.

"What's this? My energy meter is detecting something? Here?" He said in a curious tone. "This requires investigation!"

Dr. Hooves followed the reading he was gathering from his device as he marched through the halls, receiving some strange looks from a few students as he did. He followed the signal out of the school and onto the steps of the entrance as it was getting stronger. The reading turned a red color now.

"Ah, the energy reading is close." Dr. Hooves said as he looked around to find a possible source and he turned left.

Dr. Hooves continued to follow the information from his device just before he heard Silver speak.

"I have these great powers and I can't even use them to save my own time period." Silver said with a sigh, making Dr. Hooves eyes widen.

Dr. Hooves looked towards the parking lot and he could see Silver sitting down. What surprised him most were the floating green rocks which he appeared to be doing himself.

"The fate of the future depends on me. I have to do something!" Silver said with conviction.

"Egad, my boy! That is remarkable!" Dr. Hooves yelled,  startling Silver as he turned around to see him and  dropped the rocks.

Silver had a nervous look on his face as he saw the doctor approaching him.

"Uh, me? What was remarkable? I-I don't know what you're talking about." Silver said in anxious tone as he tried to save face.

"Oh, don't be modest, lad! I saw the whole thing. You must have been the signal that my energy meter picked up." Dr. Hooves simply replied as he showcased the device to Silver.

"Uhh, you're acting like this sort of normal." Silver said in a confused manner.

"Oh, I've seen stranger things than you, my boy, no need to worry. But I couldn't help but overhear what you said about time." Dr. Hooves continued. "You mentioned your own time period and the future."

Silver froze. He had heard all of that. He wasn't sure how to explain himself to the doctor and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, uh,,,you see....actually....it's.." Silver was saying.

"Are you really from the future?!" Dr. Hooves said with a hint of excitement. "If so, then that is just marvelous! It means my theories were correct!"

"Theories?" Silver said as he raised an eyebrow.

"As you heard in my presentation, I've been studying time for some time now. I've developed theories on time travel, but if you're from the future, then it means my work just wasn't all for nothing!" Dr. Hooves stated.

Silver was still kind of lost. Honestly, he wasn't sure where to go with all of this. 

"Well, just on going back in time then. My forward in time ideas and experiments need some refinement." Dr. Hooves admitted with mild dismay.

This interested Silver. Going forward in time?' Could this be what he needed?

"Forward in time. You mean like traveling to the future?" Silver asked.

"Yes,  actually.  If  traveling from back in time is done as you said, then I think I may have figured out a way to go forward." Dr. Hooves said. "Tell you what. After school, why don't you come visit me in my lab?"

Dr. Hooves handed Silver a small white card that had an address written on it. Silver looked down at it and then up at the doctor.

"Here is hardly the place to discuss my theories. Visit me in my lab and I can tell you everything I've been working on." Dr. Hooves suggested.

Silver was suddenly starting to feel a lot better. This was the chance he was looking for all along!

"Sure! You got it!" Silver agreed.

"Excellent. See you later, lad!" Dr. Hooves said as he walked away back to the entrance of CHS, leaving Silver to read the card again.

"Well,  this is just my lucky day." Silver said with a smile.




Later, it was the end of the day at Canterlot High as students began to exit the school. Silver walked out of the entrance and quickly down the steps. He was sort of excited. A way to return to the future was in gasp.

"(I hope this Dr. Hooves guy is the real deal. )" He thought.

Shortly after he was down, Rarity emerged out of the doors as she was walked with AppleJack and Manic. She noticed Silver heading towards the sidewalk.

'Oh, there he is. You two go on without me. I'll catch up." Rarity told her two friends. They nodded and left her as she walked to find Silver.

"Silver." Rarity called, making him turn to see her.

"Oh, Rarity. What's up?" Silver replied.

"I just wanted to check in on you. I haven't seen you for the rest of the day. Are you feeling better?" She asked.

"Much better. Trust me." Silver answered as he got a slight smile.

"That's wonderful. The others and I are going to the Sugar Cube Corner for a treat. Are you joining us?" Rarity offered.

"I'd love to, really. But there's somewhere important I have to be.  Like urgent." Silver told her.

"Oh, well in that case, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Rarity responded.

"Yeah. Later, Rarity." Silver said as he parted ways with her and ran ahead on the sidewalk.




Silver followed the address written on the small card and he found himself near the outskirts of the Canterlot. As he was, he came in front of a small brown building with a few windows. He read down on the card and then on the address of the mailbox next to it.

"This should be the place." Silver said as he walked up to the door of the building. He then knocked on it.

Silver waited a while after he did. Shortly after, the door opened and Dr. Hooves was there. He grinned widely as he saw Silver.

"Ah, there you are! Come on!" He said as he eagerly grabbed Silver arm and took him inside.

Silver was amazed at what he saw. The inside was a dark area and it was covered by a series of machines. What was noticeable was that almost all of them had some sort of clock on them. There was a miniature old style airplane located at the top and a red sphere with many golden knobs coming out of it.  A devices shaped like an old record player was in the center. There was also a small blue glowing plasma orb and in the center, a large floating jar with different colored flashing orbs in some kind of green liquid.

"Wow...."Silver said as he looked around.

"Welcome to my labatory!" Dr. Hooves said proudly.

"Doc, do you know where I can find more masking tape?" Silver heard a female voice say. He turned to see Derpy coming from the closet as she was wrapped head to toe in tape.

"Derpy? What are you doing here?" Silver asked. He wasn't expecting to see her in a place like this.

"Oh, hi, Silver. I'm the doctors's assistant." She informed him.

"Yes, Ms. Derpy is quite handy to keep around." Dr. Hooves answered. "As for your question my dear, there should be some underneath the cabinet on the-"

Dr. Hooves and Silver turned to see Derpy wasn't listening as she touched the plasma orb, sending electricity through her body as her hair went up and she had a grin.

"Um, should we do something about that?" Silver asked.

"Oh no, it's fine. The girl just likes to have her fun every now and then. Reminds me a bit of myself when I was her age. Ah, the things I did in my youth. I remember the time I once-'Dr. Hooves started to say before he shook his head rapidly.

"Wait, why are you here again?"He asked Silver.

"Because you wanted to talk to me about your time travel theories." Silver reminded.

"Ah, yes! I remember now! You're from the future!" The Doctor recalled. "Before, I begin, I think I need to know a little about your situation. Tell me about yourself, lad."

"Okay. Doctor, My name is Silver and I'm actually from 200 years into the future. Where I come from, my world is a place of ruins.  Apparently, my master who trained me to use my powers told me that there is supposed to be some kind of disaster that occurs around this time period. I came back here in order to try and stop it. I used something called a time stone to travel here but it got destroyed and I've been stuck here. I've been in this place for so long that's I almost forget about my mission." Silver explained as Dr. Hooves listened with interest.

"I must say, that is quite the predicament." He responded.

"You said you've been working on theories on time travel and what I've done prove it true, right? If there's anything you can do, please, you have to help me!" Silver begged as he put his hands together.

Dr. Hooves then broke out into a grin.

"Well, my lad, there is something I've been working on. Follow me." He answered as he headed to the back of his lab.

Silver followed Dr. Hooves to the back and he noticed there was a large device wrapped in a white sheet.

"I've been working on a way to travel forward in time my whole life. Decades, centuries of research." Dr. Hooves began.

"(Did he say centuries?")" Silver thought to himself with a confused expression.

"Behold!' Dr. Hooves said as he took off the sheet.

Silver saw that he was staring at a red old-fashioned phone booth at first with a large window on the top. Dr. Hooves seemed to take pride in it while Silver was stumped.

"Uh........What is it?" Silver asked as he scratched his head.

"This is....well, I haven't thought of a name for it yet....but it has the potential to be a time machine.  I've set it to be able to travel to any time period using all my research. I've been so close, but there's something missing. It requires an extremely powerful energy source and nothing I've come across appears to be sufficient." Dr. Hooves clarified.

Silver then began to go over the Doctor's words. He had an idea as his face lit up.

"Doctor, what if I told you that I know where to find such a power source?" Silver said, gaining the Doctors interest.

"You do?! If so, that would be amazing!" Dr. Hooves exclaimed as lifted Silver up with excitement.

"Yes. I think I can get it to you. If I can, then can we try out your machine to see if it works?" Silver suggested.

"My boy, that would be the greatest thing in the entire world!" Dr. Hooves said with happiness. "If this works, I could revolutionize science itself!"

"Uh....can you put me down, please?" Silver requested as he was still being held by the doctor.

"Ah, yes, sorry about that." Dr. Hooves said with slight embarrassment as he put Silver down.

"Anyway, since tomorrow's the start of the weekend, why don't I bring the power source and we can do a test run?" Silver proposed.

"That sound's marvelous! I'm looking forward to great things with you, lad!" Dr. Hooves said as she shook Silver's hand up and down rapidly, leaving him a little dazed.

"Great! See you tomorrow, Doctor and thanks so much!" Silver said as he headed for the door to let himself out. When he was outside, he couldn't help but smile.




The next day, the Rainbooms along with Sonic and Co were waiting in front of the Wondercolts statue in front of the school.  Earlier this morning, Silver had sent all a text message saying he needed to talk to them urgently.  They had arrived not too long ago and we're waiting for Silver.

"What could be so important that Silver called all of us out here?" Fluttershy wondered as she clutched her pet bunny Angel  in her hands.

"Don't know. But he better have a good reason for waking me up early on a weekend." Manic grumbled a bit as he yawned.

"Maybe it's some kind of surprise! I love surprises! I wonder what is it?" Pinkie said full of energy as she tried to imagine all the things that could happen as she formed a giant pink thought cloud with a variety of scenarios.

"He did say it was urgent. Maybe it has something to do with that errand he had to run yesterday." Rarity brought up.

Suddenly, Silver was flying near the area and he noticed his friends in front of the statue. He then descended down to meet them as they saw he had arrived and approached him.

"Great, you're all here." Silver said.

"Yeah, so what's so important? Where's the fire, man?" Sonic asked him.

Silver cleared his throat.

"As you all know, I'm not from this time. I come from the future, right?" Silver started to say as the others nodded. In truth, it was hard to remember since he hadn't brought it up in a while.

"What about it?" Tails pressed on.

"Well, as I explained last time, I came here in order to save my future.  A while back, I lost my means to return home and have been stuck here ever since. In that time, I started to lose track of my mission." Silver continued as his friends now gave him puzzled looks. 

"Silver, where are you going with all this?" Sunset asked. "Is this about feeling you don't belong? If so, it's not true. I came from another world and I've been accepted here."

"No, it's definitely not that Sunset.  I really do appreciate that you guys have welcomed me here, but I can't forget about my original purpose for. I need to save my future." Silver stated.

"I can relate to being devoted to your purpose, believe me, but aren't you stuck here? There's not much you can do it about it at this rate." Knuckles pointed out.

"Yes. I was. But that has changed, maybe." Silver announced, making his friends even more confused. Rarity wasn't liking where this was going as her eyes looked a little worried.

"Yesterday, in class, this doctor called Dr. Hooves came in and he talked about time. Afterward, I had a lucky encounter with him. Turns out he's been working on theories related to time and has a potentially working time machine." Silver said.

The others looked slightly astonished and turned to each other. Sure they had done a lot of things, but time travel without the use of a external source?

"A time machine? Sound kinda way out there, even for us." Rainbow Dash said with skepticism as she crossed her arms.

"No, this guy's the real deal. I hope. He said we can try out his machine today but he needs a super powerful battery of some sort." Silver went on. "I'm pretty sure you can guess what that is...."

Silver's eyes landed on Shadow. As they did, he instantly knew what Silver was talking out. He reached into his pocket and displayed the green Chaos Emerald.

"Chaos Emerald?" Shadow correctly guessed.

"Yep. So, uh...Shadow.....seeing as you have one..."Silver uneasily and slowly started to say before Shadow just tossed him the emerald, much to his surprise.

"Really?!" Silver said as his face lit up.

"I don't mind necessarily. You're not doing it for something useless." Shadow just simply said.

"Aw, thanks, Shadow!" Silver said as he gave him the thumbs up. Shadow didn't react and Silver turned away from him awkwardly.

"So does this mean your heading  back to your own time?"Tails questioned.

"I'll wait and see. That's why we're doing a test run. It's why I called you all out here." Silver explained.

"In that case, sounds like good news for you, dude." Sonic said as he gave him the thumbs up.

"Silver, if you think this is what's best, then we support you." Sunset reassured as the rest of his friends looked at him with supportive faces. Except for Rarity. She didn't look too pleased with this news.

"Are you quite certain this is what you want?" She said in a slightly worked up tone as she walked over to Silver. "I mean, you seem to be having a good time here. And we....we do enjoy having you around."

"I know, Rarity. I'm glad that I got to meet you guys. But I can't just forget my mission." Silver said.

Rarity still didn't look too convinced by Silver's words. In fact, her displeasure seemed to grow. But she forced a smile.

"Well, as Sunset said, as your, friends we support you." She managed to make herself say. 

"Thank you. I'm going to test it out now actually." Silver said as he looked at the green emerald.

"Wait. You don't mind if I come along with you, do you?" Twilight suddenly asked as everyone else turned to her.

"Twilight? Why do you want to go?"Spike asked her.

"Because....this a scientific breakthrough! I mean, a time travelling experiment using pure science alone! How can I miss this?! I can even add some extra reading on my list with this Doctor' theories!" Twilight said as she started to geek out heavily.  She then noticed the stares her friends were her. She blushed a bit as she calmed down.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt." Silver said with approval. "But we better hurry. I don't know exactly when the Doctor will be at his lab."

"Right, then let's go!" Twilight eagerly said as she came to join Silver.

"Okay. See you guys around." Silver waved to the rest of his friends as he, Twilight and Spike took off as they looked on.

"I gotta say, that's pretty noble of Silver to prioritize his mission so much." Applejack stated. She then turned to see Rarity who was looking somewhat dejected with a frown .

"Rarity? Are you ok?" She asked her, making Rarity turn to see her.

"Oh, me? Oh, don't worry, darling. I'm perfectly fine." Rarity said with a somewhat nonchalant tone. That wasn't the case

'If you'll excuse me. I need to head back to the Canterlot Boutique. Get started on some designs." Rarity suddenly said, excusing herself from the group as she took off quickly on the sidewalk.

As she headed for her workplace, Rarity let out a melancholic sigh as she formed a slightly disappointed look on her face.





In front of Dr. Hooves lab, Silver, Twilight and Spike were standing in front of it. Twilight was giddy with excitement, putting Silver and Spike slightly off.

"I can't believe it! I'm going to be a witness to a scientific breakthrough!" Twilight said as she could barely contain her enthuasism.

Silver and Spike exchanged looks, with the latter just shrugging.

"Does she always get like this?" Silver asked him.

"You have no idea." Spike dryly answered.

Silver turned around and he knocked on the door to the lab. A little while after, Derpy opened the door.

"Hi, Silver. Hi, Twilight." She said as she noticed the latter.

"Derpy?" Twilight said in a somewhat perplexed tone.

"I'm the doctors assistant.  Come on in."  Derpy said as she entered the lab, with the two of them following.

When she saw the contents of the lab, Twilights jaw almost dropped. The entire thing was incredible to her and she looked like a kid in a candy store.

"This place....is....incredible! Just look at all the fine machinery. It makes my lab look like a junior science kit!" Twilight gushed as she examined the entire room while  Spike looked on.

Silver couldn't help but form a small smile as he turned to Derpy.

"Where's the Doctor?" He asked her.

"Oh, he should be here right about..." Derpy said before Dr. Hooves suddenly burst through the door, drinking a milkshake.

"...now." Derpy finished as the Doctor walked over. He finished slurping his milkshake.

"Ahhh! Exquisite I say. They it could use a little work on getting the flavor and the ice to blend together at just the right percentage." He said as he began to examine his drink.

Twilight noticed the Doctor come in and her excitement increased.

"You're the owner of this lab!?" Dr. Hooves heard Twilight say as he looked from his drink to see her with a wide smile.

"This place is incredible. The structure! The contents!" Twilight praised as the Doctor chuckled a bit.

"Thank you, my dear. I spent a long time preparing this place." Dr. Hooves said. "And who might you be?"

"Oh, I'm Twilight Sparkle, an aspiring scientist! I heard about your theories on time travel and I-" Twilight began before she heard Silver clear this throat loudly. 

"Uh, Twilight. I appreciate that you're glad to be here, but I do need to speak with the Doctor." Silver reminded her as Twilight slightly turned red.

"Oh, sorry, about that. I'll leave you to it." She said as she went to explore more of the lab.

"Ah, Silver! Good to see you again, chap. I must say, you're friend is quite enthusiastic." Dr. Hooves said.

"She wanted to witness a scientific revolution." He explained. "Speaking of which, I have the power source for your machine."

Silver took out the Chaos Emerald and he displayed it to Dr. Hooves,  who looked on in awe.

"This jewel...it looks incredible!" He said as he eyed the emerald. "Are you sure it will be sufficient?"

"Believe it, it'll be more than enough." Silver reassured.

"In that case. Let me get my machine." Dr. Hooves answered as he went to the back of the room.

Dr. Hooves pushed the time machine, still covered in a sheet across the floor and to the center of the area. It took a bit of force and time but it was there. He then took off the sheet, gaining Twilights attention.

"Wow! That's the time machine?!'" She said in a quizzical tone.

"Yes, my dear. Come inside and take a look. You as well, Derpy." Dr. Hooves said.

Derpy was near the jar that contained the different flashing orbs and looked at them with amazement as she heard her name being called. She then removed the jar from it's holding and brought it with her over to the Doctor.

Dr. Hooves opened the front of the time machine and went inside it, followed by the others before he closed the door. It had a lot more space than one would think as it was wide enough to hold the 4 of them and Spike. The inside was blue chrome color and had different colored light bulbs around it and smaller switches. It had a flip switch on its right side and in the center was a large table-like structure with a hole in the middle, big enough for the Chaos Emerald to fit in.

"Incredible. This looks..." Silver said as he was at a loss for words.

"Amazing!" Twilight finished s she clutched Spike. 

"All these years of hard work have been put to good use." Dr. Hooves announced. "Now then, are you ready to see the result?"

Twilight nodded excitedly as Derpy was still focused on the jar she had. Silver clutched the emerald and walked over to the center.

"(I can't believe it. I'm finally going to find a way back.)" Silver thought as he placed the emerald in the hole.

When Silver did, the light bulbs lit up brightly  and the sound of a machine starting up began to appear. The machines chrome color now turned a bright green.

"Can you believe it, Spike?!" Twilight asked her companion, who had a disinterested look on his face.

"All right then, for a test run, why don't we try something small, like an hour into the future?" Dr. Hooves said as he reached for the flip switch. Silver nodded in agreement.

Dr. Hooves placed his hands on the switch and he lowered it only by a few inches. As he did, the machine began to shake and vibrate as everyone looked on.

"Oooohhh!" Derpy said with delight. "It's just like a roller coaster!"

The machine's shaking grew more unstable as Silver looked out the window of the machine to see that outside was starting to flash different colors. As he did, Silver suddenly noticing purple cracks of electricity started to form around. They were getting more violent.

"Is this supposed to happen?" He asked, a little unsettled by the sight.

"No need to worry. Just a small-" Dr. Hooves began before the machines' shaking started to get very uncontrollable. throwing everyone off balance as they hit the floor.

"-hiccup?" He now said with uncertainty.

The machine suddenly took a giant flash forward as it moved at hypersonic speed, sending everyone against the wall due to the force of how fast it was moving. They could barely move as due to how strong the force was. Outside, Silver now saw a giant purple spiral area as the machine started to move through it.

"Is this normal?!" He yelled over the movement.

"I'm not sure!" Dr. Hooves shouted  back.

Suddenly, the machine came to a sudden halt, releasing everyone from the walls as they came to the ground with a hard thud. When Silver rose up and held his head,  he looked through the window to see they were still in the purple spiral.

"Ummmm, aren't we supposed to have left this.....whatever here is?" He asked.

Dr. Hooves looked up to see through the window as well. He formed a frown on his face.

"This isn't right. We should be at our destination." He said as he put his finger to his chin.

"We can get out of here, right?" Twilight asked with slight worry.

Before Dr. Hooves could answer Twilight, the machine suddenly started shaking, sending everyone off balance once more. The shaking was even more violent than before as the machine rocked back and forth.

"Doctor, what's going on?!" Silver screamed.

"I-This shouldn't be happening?!" Dr. Hooves shouted.

The shaking continued, sending everyone around in the machine. From the window, Silver could see a series of black energy hands were surrounding the machine.

"What are those?!" He called out.

Suddenly, there were dents heard at the top of the machine as Silver and the others looked on. Whatever the hands were, they weren't friendly. There were scrapping sounds heard as well as a clawed hand made its way through the top of the machine.

"What do we do?!"Twilight yelled out with panic.

The top of the time machine was then torn open, much to everyone's horror as they saw the black claws reached towards them. Within seconds, multiple black hands came around everywhere and tore the entire time machine apart, trapping the 5 of them in the hyperspace as they started to tumble through it and float helplessly. As they did, Silver used his powers to grab the Chaos Emerald, which he placed in his pocket. 

"Nooooo! All my years of work and research!" Dr. Hooves cried out with great distress.

Dr. Hooves was then grabbed by multiple black hands from the back as he struggled to fight against them.

"Hey, watch the suit!" He yelled as the hands took hold of his entire body.

The claws reached out and began to grab Twilight, who protectively held Spike, Derpy, and Silver. They all began to resist, but it was no use. The grips of the claws was strong and painful

"We have to do something!" Silver declared as his hand began to glow green as another claw reached for him. As it did, it disappeared, much to his surprise.

"My powers, of course!" Silver realized as his entire body turned green, getting rid of all the other claws that grabbed him. He now was floating and free. He saw Twilight striving hard against the black hands.

"Twilight, use your powers!" Silver called to her.

Twilight's hand began to shine purple and she used her telekinesis to remove one of the clawed hands from her body. Silver had the right idea. She then made the rest of them vanish as she released a telekinetic wave from her hand.  

"Way to go, Twilight!" Spike congratulated.

"Good thinking, Silver. But we have to help the Doctor and Derpy!" Twilight pointed out.

The two of them turned to see Dery and Dr. Hooves in the clutches of the black hands as they frantically tried to escape. Using their powers, Silver and Twilight made them glow green and purple respectively as the claws vanished away from them, bringing them to safety.

"Egad!"Dr. Hooves said as he and Derpy were brought closer to Silver and Twilight.

However, the number of black hands surrounding them began to multiply. There was an entire array of them.

"There's too many of them!" Twilight called as the hands began to reach for them.

She was right. Silver wasn't sure if he and Twilight could fend off that many of them. They had to get rid of them and fast.  As he looked around for an idea, his eyes then landed on the jar that Derpy held.

"Doc, what's in that jar?"Silver inquired to Dr. Hooves.

"Well, those are my flameless fireworks! But I'm not sure how to set them off!"He explained.

"You're  about to  find out!"

Using his power, Silver took the jar from Derpy, who wasn't expecting that as it was now floating in the center. Using his powers, Silver cracked it open, revealing the many different floating spheres. He then turned to Twilight.

"Twilight, I need you to help me grab those spheres and surround ourselves with them!" He instructed as Twilight nodded.

Silver and Twilight each carried energy spheres using both of their hands and placed them around themselves, Dr. Hooves, Spike, and Derpy in green and purple auras, cutting them off from the black hands.

"Ok, now try and crush them!" Silver called out!

Silver and Twilight then began to curl up their fingers, placing pressure on the energy spheres before they cracked and were set off. The fireworks made a large series of colourful explosions as  destroying all the surrounding black hands completely. Derpy giggled at what she saw. It was destructive, yet beautiful. 

"Remarkable." Dr. Hooves observed.

As the explosions cleared, everyone now could see each other as they floated to safety. Silver wiped his brow.

"Everyone ok?" Twilight asked as Derpy nodded.

"Just a question...how are we going to get out of here?" Spike asked.

"The talking dog is right. Without my time machine, we're sitting ducks!" Dr. Hooves realized.

Silver then reached into his pocket as he took out the green Chaos Emerald.

"We can use this." Silver said.

"How is that going to help?" Dr. Hooves asked.

"Again, trust me on this one, Doctor. Everyone, put your hands on the emerald and hold on tight.." Silver told the others.

Everyone else each placed their hands and paw over the emerald as Silver held it.

"Chaos...Control!" Silver yelled as he, Twilight, Dr. Hooves, Derpy, and Spike were enveloped in a brilliant blue flash as they disappeared




The 5 of them reappeared back in Dr.Hooves lab as they all landed on the floor. Silver looked around to make sure they were in the right place.

"Phew. We're back." Silver said with relief.

"That was.....more than what I was expecting," Twilight admitted. "I need to lie down for a bit."

Dr. Hooves looked on with an extremely dejected look. He let out a sad, loud sigh.

There goes years of hard work." He mumbled to himself.

"Doctor, do you have any idea what went wrong?" Silver asked.

"My guess is that after seeing what that emerald of yours can do, the energy generated by it was simply too powerful for my machine to handle." Dr. Hooves estimated.  

"How long do you think it would take to make another one?" Silver questioned.

"If I'm lucky.....around 150 years." Dr. Hooves said, sinking Silvers hopes completely. So much for going back to the future.

Dr. Hooves noticed Silvers expression and he started to feel terrible that he couldn't help him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of much help."He said as he placed his hand on Silver's shoulder.

"It's ok, Doctor. I do appreciate everything you've done, I really do. I still feel like I owe you one for at least trying. If you ever need anything, just ask." Silver responded, causing the Doctor to beam.

"I must say, it was a pleasure meeting you!" He stated as he and Silver shook hands. "I don't think this was just a random encounter. With time, there's always a reason behind things."




Later, Silver was walking down the streets of Canterlot. Twilight had already gone home, but Silver needed to some time to himself after that whole fiasco as he placed his hands in his pockets.

"(My one chance to get back home, ruined. Now how am I supposed to save my time?)"

As Silver walked through the city, he passed by the ice cream shop. When he did, he noticed Rarity was sitting in a booth alone. She had ordered a large vanilla sundae but she was barely eating it as she touched it with her spoon. She seemed kind of down.

"Rarity?" She heard Silver say as she looked up to see him entering the ice cream shop.

" Silver. How was your experiment?" She asked in a dull tone as Silver sat down across from her.

"It was a failure." Silver replied in an equally dull one.

Hearing this caught Rarity's attention as her expression changed.

"Really?!" She said as her mood was improved slightly. However, when she saw the look on Silver's face, she started to feel guilty for feeling that way. She remembered how eager he was to go back to the future.

"Oh, Silver, I'm sorry." She told him.

"It's just that...I have to save my time. If I can't get back, then what can  do?" Silver said as he rested his arms on the table.

"Silver, I know you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. Well, maybe it is...but, you don't have to go through this alone, remember. The others and I are here to help you. We're your friends." Rarity said.

Silver looked up to see the sincerity in Rarity's eyes. As he did, he thought over Dr. Hooves words.

"With time, there's always a reason."

With that in mind, Silver's mood began to change. He managed to make a small smile.

"You know what? Maybe I've been looking at this the wrong way. What if there's a reason for me to be here in the past?  What if me being here is how I save my future?"Silver pondered out loud, gaining a new sense of optimism.

"What makes you think that?" Rarity asked.

"Some wise words from a friend.  Silver answered.

His eyes then landed on Rarity's sundae.

"Are you going to eat that?" He said quizzically, making Rarity defensively pull away her desert.

"Of course! If you want one, you're going to have to order your own." Rarity replied.

Silver's smile then grew larger.

"That sounds like a good idea." He said as he reached for the menu on the table.
> The Show must go on.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Show Must Go On 

It was a typical day in the city of Canterlot. In front of a large and clearly expensive empty venue indoors, Trixie was standing there, wearing her blue wizard hat and cape coated with blue white and yellow stars and celestial objects. Behind her, she had a small miniature wagon that was colored yellow with a red rooftop. It had a small entrance in front and had a symbol of a purple crescent moon in front.  It had a small purple sign with Trixie's symbol, a crescent moon with small stars. 

Trixie was standing in front of a large man with white skin and short purple hair. He had a thick purple mustache alongside a small purple goatee and thick bushy eyebrows.  He wore a blue tracksuit as a golden chain hung from his neck. Next to him was a young teen girl with orange skin and her hair wrapped in a purple ponytail. She shared the man's eyebrows and had a blue checkered shirt alongside a red scarf with orange pants.

"Ms. Trixie, I must thank you for offering to perform for my daughter's birthday." The man said with a thick Russian accent as he placed his arms around the girl next to him. "No other magician could make it on time and I was worried that I would have to cancel. My little girl just adores the magics." He continued as the girl nodded eagerly with a smile, displaying her braces.

"When I heard of your services, I knew I just had to hire you. I would hate to disappoint Plaid Stripe." The man finished.

"You made the right choice, Mr. Stripes. The Great and Powerful Trrrrrrixie is the greatest magician of her time!" Trixie boasted.

"Ah, that is good to hear. Then I expect an excellent show for my daughter's show." Mr. Stripes replied.

"Of course, I'm going to knock your socks off. Just observe, I'll give a quick demo." Trixie said as she took a smoke pellet and threw it on the ground, causing a large screen of blue smoke to appear.

The smoke cleared and Trixie wasn't in sight as Mr. Stripes and daughter looked around for her. Suddenly, Trixie appeared behind them as she got their attention.

"That is just one of the many talents of the Great and Powerful Trrrrixie!" She stated.

Trixie noticed that Mr. Stripes and his daughter didn't look too impressed. She got a confused look on her face.

"Uh, what's wrong?" Trixie asked.

"Every year for my birthday, I've always had a magician there. In my 13 years, I've seen almost every trick in the book. For this show, I want something new and inventive!" Plaid Stripes demanded with a lisp.

Trixie let out a small laugh and waved her hand in a dismissive manner.

"I'm sure you haven't seen everything. Have you seen  the Square in the Circle?"

"Yep."

"The Deck of cards that no matter which one you pick, it will always be the Joker?"

"Yep."

"The cape of invisibility?"

"Yep."

"The Vanishing Box with a person cut in half?"

"Yep."

"The inescapable water tank."

"That was last year."

"....The inseparable handcuffs??"

"You bet."

".......The never ending rainbow ?"

"I told you, I've seen it all! I want something exciting! Isn't that right, Daddy?" Plaid Stripes said as she turned to her father.

Trixie now looked a little nervous as she tried to force a smile.

"Yes. This year, I promised my daughter she would have the greatest magic show ever seen. I would do anything to make her smile. So, I expect you to perform an entirely new act." Mr. Stripes explained.

"Well...... hypothetically speaking, what if I...for example, didn't bring any new tricks?" Trixie asked uneasily.

"Then this would be the worst magic show ever!" Plaid Stripes yelled out.

"Yes, my daughter would be absolutely crushed. And I hate to see her smile taken away. If she is not happy, then I am not happy." Mr. Stripes started to say before he leaned in Trixie's face in an intimidating manner. She gulped uneasily.

"And you would not like me when I am unhappy. So in other words, if you disappoint my daughter, I'll have you pay back all the money I spent on you and for renting this venue." Mr. Stripes threatened in a pushy manner.

Trixie almost had a heart attack at what he said. She looked back at the venue and realized it must've have cost a fortune. She suddenly didn't feel so good as she felt an enormous amount of pressure on her and her face sank.

"But, it will be alright. After all, you say you are the best magician of your time." Mr. Stripes said in a jolly tone. "I look forward to an excellent show."

"Yep, the Great and Powerful Trixie has totally got this. Trixie is totally not freaking out and feels that this might be the most stressful thing she's ever done." Trixie said in an anxious tone as sh let out a nervous laugh .

"That's the spirit. See you later, Ms. Trixie." Mr. Stripes said as he and his daughter walked off, leaving Trixie with her wagon.

"Yep. That's the spirit." Trixie said weakly as she watched the two of them walk away. When they left, Trixie suddenly sank to the floor as she leaned against her wagon.




Back in Canterlot, Trixie was at the Sugar Cube Corner, which was mostly empty. She was sitting in a booth with her hands on her face and looking extremely stressed out.

"What is Trixie going to do? Mr. Stripes and his daughter want the best magic show ever, but they've seen all the tricks I have planned out!If I don't bring anything new, it's going to cost me an arm and a leg." Trixie complained as she put her head down.

"Trixie needs a miracle." She said in a small voice as she lifted her head.

Suddenly, Trixie looked out the window to see Silver walking on the sidewalk. He was holding a full grocery bag and just going about his business. As he walked forward, Silver then noticed a jar of jam was slipping out his bag and nearly hit the floor. However, Silver acted quickly, using his psychic powers to prevent it from hitting the floor as it glowed green alongside his hand.  Silver looked around to make sure no one could see him and he placed the jar back in the bag and continued to walk.

Trixie had seen the whole thing. When her eyes landed on Silver using his powers, an idea clicked in her head and she broke out into a smile.

"(Trixie's got the perfect plan!)" She thought as she exited the Sugar Cube Corner.

As Silver continued to walk down the sidewalk, he  heard Trixie call out to him.

"Hey, wait up!" Trixie yelled as he turned around to see her coming towards him. Silver then stopped his tracks.

"Oh, hey, it's...Trixie, right?" Silver said. He didn't know her too well.

"Yes. I am the Great and Powerful Trrrrixie!" She confirmed as she raised her hand high. "And you are......uh....Venice, was it?"

"Silver." Silver corrected. He was curious to why Trixie came up to him. They had barely spoken to each other during his time at CHS.

"So, what can I do for you? I mean, we normally don't talk." Silver asked her.

"Trixie needs your help. Urgently." Trixie answered.

"Me? What can I do?" Silver said in a puzzled tone.

"It's like this. I got a gig performing a magic show at a venue for a birthday party. The problem is, the owner of the venue's daughter has seen almost every magic trick. And all those are the ones I planned to do. I was told if I don't come up with something new, I'm going to be charged all the money used to rent the place and the amount it cost to hire me." Trixie explained.

"That sounds bad." Silver stated. "But I'm not sure how I can help."

"Trixie knows about you and your powers. You can make things move around with your mind. With that, you can help me pull off a new one kind of magical act!" Trixie suggested as she beamed.

Silver looked unsure as he began to rub the back of his head nervously. 

"I dunno Trixie. I mean, I get that you're in a tough position, but I'm not sure if I should use my powers for something like this." Silver admitted, much to Trixie's dismay. That was the last thing she wanted to hear.

"Please, Silver you have to help me! This could be Trixie's chance to make it big as a performing magician. If I fail this, not only will I be bankrupt, I'll be a laughing stock as a performer!" She begged as she put her hands together.

Silver was conflicted. He didn't feel like this was an appropriate use of his powers, but he saw that Trixie really needed help and he couldn't say no to someone in need. After thinking it over for a while, he sighed.

"Okay, I'll help you out." Silver finally said. 

Hearing this made Trixie form a wide smile on her face.

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Trixie said with happiness. "You're a life saver.  Here's the address of the place. Around 6 in the evening, meet me there! The show starts at 6:30, but I just want to go over some tricks we can do!  Trixie added as she handed a Silver a small card with a picture of the venue.

"Got it." Silver said as he took it. "I guess I'll see you later."

"Of course! And thanks so much, Silver! Trixie owes you one!" Trixie said as she walked away to get prepared for the event, leaving Silver alone.

"Man, I hope I'm doing the right thing." He said to himself.




Later during the evening, the venue was prepared for Trixie's magic show. Lights were shown from it and guest trickled in as they filled the seats inside.  The entrance had a poster advertising the event, calling it 'TRIXIE, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, LIVE AND IN PERSON.' The poster featured Trixie gripping a golden sphere with two large eyes behind her.

Backstage behind the curtains, Trixie peered through a hole and she saw the entire crowd that appeared. In the front were Mr. Stripes and his daughter. Trixie looked a little anxious as she pulled the curtain back. 

"Get it together, Trixie. You can do this. You can do this." She said to herself. 

Silver then arrived backstage as he approached the still nervous Trixie.

"Hey, hope I'm on time. " Trixie heard Silver say as she turned around to see him coming towards her. She relaxed a bit.

"Perfect! You're here!" Trixie said with relief.

"Yeah. Gotta say it's quite the crowd outside." Silver commented, making Trixie get even more uneasy, which he noticed.

"Not that you can't handle it." He quickly added. "With my help, you'll be sure to blow them away."

"Trixie hope so. Anyway, let's go over what I had in mind." Trixie said.

A while later, the lights started to dim off in the venue, signifying that it was time for the show to start. The audience now had their attention on the stage. A blue light shone in the center and shortly after, Trixie emerged.

"Welcome to the Great and Powerful Trrrrixie's one of a kind special magic show!" She announced with confidence.

"Trixie promises that this will be a one of a kind event, never performed in the history of magic!" She went on.  "Are you ready to have your minds blown?"

Plaid stripe eagerly nodded in the crowd.

"Behold, the power that is Trixie!"

The light was shown on a stack of different colored thick books. Trixie turned to them and pointed both of her hands toward it. For a while, nothing seemed to happen before suddenly, each of the books started to be enveloped in a green aura, catching the interest of the audience as they started to float in the air and headed for Trixie individually. Trixie then 'made' the books surround her in a circle.

"Observe!" Trixie stated as the books started spinning around her more rapidly. The audience was impressed with what they saw as they murmured amongst themselves. Trixie liked where this was going.

Trixie then began to juggle each of the floating books around for a while before she made them stop and float mid-air and arranged them in a stack, setting them down on the floor once more and captivating the audience.

"This is only a fraction of what Trixie can do!" She said.

The light was then shown on a large full tank of water.  Using her 'powers', Trixie turned her attention towards it and she 'lifted' all of the liquid from the tank mid-air, much to the audience's delight. She then 'condensed" the liquid to form a giant bubble full of water, before taking it apart to form small droplets.

"Be amazed at how even the elements bend to Trixie's will!" Trixie stated before she placed the water back into the tank.

Trixie then brought a small golden birdcage in front of her. This time, she 'bent' it apart, reducing to different metal pieces. She then 'rearranged' the metal to form a medallion, similar to the one that Mr. Stripes wore before she 'handed' it to Plaid Stripes in the audience, who grinned with delight as she did. 

"Trixie would like to thank the audience for their time!" Trixie announced as she floated in the air with a green aura and took a bow.

Trixie was meet with cheers and applauses from the entire crowd. They had all loved her!  Trixie gained a large smile on her face as she descended to the ground. All of this praise was for her!

"Thank you, thank you!" Trixie hopes to see you all soon one day she said as the curtains closed.

Trixie was now backstage and she could barely contain her excitement. She had actually pulled it off and was a success! She giggled slightly.

"Sounds like they enjoyed the show." Silver said as he approached her.

"They did! And it's all thanks to you!" Trixie exclaimed as she ran and threw her arms around Silver suddenly, giving him a tight hug. Silver certainly wasn't expecting this and was taken aback, his eyes widening slightly.

Trixie realized what she was doing and she immediately let go of Silver as her eyes widened as well.

"Um, can Trixie pay you to pretend that never happened?" Trixie awkwardly asked.

Just then, Silver and Trixie were joined by Mr. Stripe's backstage. He was looking quite pleased as his face sported a large grin.

"Ms. Trixie, your show was a success. My daughter loved it! She said it was the best show she's ever seen!" Mr. Stripes congratulated.

"Really?!" Trixie asked.

"Yes, she was so happy." Mr. Stripes verified. His eyes then landed on Silver.

"Who is boy with funny hair?" He asked, making Silver frown as he touched and examined his hair.

"He's a friend for moral support." Trixie quickly explained as Mr. Stripes cleared his throat.

"Ah, well, aside from my daughter, the entire audience loved your show. In fact, there were some people wished to speak to you." Mr. Stripes informed her, causing her to smile widely.

"They want to speak to me?! I'll be right out!" Trixie eagerly replied before she turned to Silver. "Wait here, Silver."

Silver watched as Mr. Stripes and Trixie exited backstage through the curtains while he waited for her to return. A little while later, Trixie came back and she looked extremely joyful.

"Guess what?! It turns out a few members of the audience are holding special events of their own this week individually. They were so blown away by my magic tricks, they want me to perform!" Trixie happily announced.

"Really? That's great, Trixie." Silver congratulated.

"Silver, I need you to help me again." Trixie requested, which made Silver get an unsure look on his face.

"Trixie, I agreed to help you because this was just a one-time thing. Again, I'm not sure if I'm comfortable using my powers extensively for something like this." Silver admitted with some hesitation.

"Silver, please, you have to do this! You heard Mr. Stripes. The audience loves the act we do. In fact, this could be my chance to hit it big!" Trixie pleaded.

Silver was conflicted again. He realized that this was such a huge opportunity for Trixie and he didn't want to crush her dreams. He could tell by the look on her face this is what she always wanted.

".....Okay, I'll do it." He said, which was like music to Trixie's ears.

"Oh, Silver, you're the best assistant ever!" Trixie said as she gave him another hug, which again, ended awkwardly as she let go.

"Ahem, again, can I pay you to pretend that never happened?"




So, Silver and Trixie began improving her career. The first night was located in an extremely fancy restaurant crowded with guests. As the light dimmed, a puff of blue smoke appeared on stage. Trixie emerged from it as the audience cheered and she took a bow. Trixie then clapped her hands, revealing a series of fruits in baskets on different tables such as watermelons, muskmelons, apples, and mangos as lights shown on them. Trixie then stuck her hands out as the fruits levitated in the air, much to the awe of the audience. Trixie then 'spun' them around in order to make them form like a small tornado around her. She then 'stopped' them all in front of her before the fruits were sliced into a series of pieces as the audience eagerly looked down. Different slices of fruit were now floating in front of Trixie and she  'levitated,' a series of small bowls in front of her. The fruit pieces were then placed in the bowls, which Trixie handed out to some members of the audience. They clapped out loud as Trixie waved to them and the curtains closed. Backstage, Trixie was feeling really proud of herself as Silver came next to her and she faced him.

"Do you hear that?! They love Trixie because how amazingly talented she is!" Trixie exclaimed, causing Silver to slightly raise an eyebrow.

"Yeah, they love your talent. With my help." Silver brought up.

"Isn't that what I said? Of course, I couldn't do it without your help, Silver. Anyway, I think I'll head out to the audience, grace them with their performer's presence. You can head home if you want."  Trixie said as she walked down the steps of the stage to the main audience as Silver looked on. 

"Man, I hope I haven't gotten myself into anything I'll regret." He said with uncertainty.




The night after that, the magic show was to be held in a special theater as the seats quickly packed up. Backstage, Trixie was looking through alongside Silver.

"Wow, this is even more people than last time. Time to show them what Trixie can do.." Trixie said as she flipped her hair.

"Uh...you mean what I can do?" Silver said as he raised a finger.

"Oh, Silver, who cares about the technicalities? Just do your job and everything will run smoothly. " Trixie reminded him as she headed out curtains.  Silver had a mildly annoyed look on his face.

"Yeah, sure." He grumbled as he heard clapping and cheers for Trixie.

On stage, Trixie had a series of different colored blocks in front of her. Using her 'magic', Trixie caused them to rise in the air and doing so, she managed to rearrange them to form different shapes such as a man's stick figure, an arching rainbow, the image of a small bird, a little four legged animal and even in the shape of her trademark symbol, a crescent moon. After that was done, Trixie 'suspended' the blocks mid-air and 'fired' a series of small green energy blast, forming tiny holes in the blocks. She 'did' this for a while with the intent of making a message in them. When it was finished, the blocks turned around in order to reveal that Trixie's name was now engraved on them as the audience praised her loudly. Trixie then snapped her fingers and all of the blocks disappeared in green puffs,  as the applause grew louder and the lights dimmed on the stage.

"Trixie is killing it out there!" Trixie said backstage.

"Looks like the audience enjoyed our show." She heard Silver say as he approached her.

"Well, it was like mostly me who they enjoyed." Trixie quickly said making Silver frown a bit. " I mean, I am the face of this whole thing after all."

"But's it's my powers though." Silver told her.

"They don't need to know that. And it's better if it stays that way. Now if you'll excuse me, Trixie needs to go sign some autographs." Trixie said as she walked by Silver in a snobby manner. 

As Silver watched her leave, he gave her a slight glare. He wasn't liking where this was going.




For the third night, Trixi's show took place in an outside area during the evening, attended by a huge crowd, who seemed quite keen to see her performance.  Suddenly, a bright blue light was shown in the center of the stage but Trixie was nowhere to be found. The audience looked a little confused as they looked around, wondering where she could be.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie has arrived!" Trixie suddenly said loudly as the crowd looked up to see her flying above them in a green aura. She was met with a loud series of cheers as she descended and waved to her fans.

"Witness the magic of Trixie!" She yelled as she put her hands up, causing a series of fireworks to emerge from the center of the stage, impressing the spectators. 

Before the fireworks could erupt, they stopped as they were surrounded in green auras. Trixie then 'twirled' the fireworks around with her both hands for the audience to see.  She even 'made' some of the flow past the head of the crowd as they followed her movements. The fireworks then stopped as Trixie rose them high in the air and she 'clenched' her fist, causing them to explode in a series of small sparkles everywhere, much to the delight of the congregation. Trixie then stuck her hand out again as the little sparks stopped and Trixie then brought them to the center of the stage. They were then arranged in order to form a giant image of her face as she displayed it to the crowd, lighting up the evening. Trixie then clapped her hands as the sparks vanished, making it dark again before another light shown on Trixie as she bowed once more as the audience cheered like crazy.

"Thank you, thank you! Trixie is aware of how amazing she is!" She bragged as the spectators started to chant her name. Trixie was really liking this.

"Trixie will be coming down to meet her adoring fans!" Trixie said as she walked down to meet the crowd and  many people came around and started to ask questions.

"How did you get so talented?" One person asked.

"Well, that's-" Trixie started to say before she heard Silver calling her name from behind. She turned around to see him coming from the stage as he waved out to her.

"Trixie! I just wanted to say, another show well done!" Silver praised as he joined Trixie and the crowd.

"Who's he?" A member of the crowd asked.

"Oh, don't pay attention to him. He's no one worth remembering." Trixie quickly said as she came in front Silver, much to his chagrin as he frowned.

"Hey, I-" Silver began before Trixie cut him off.

"Listen, Trixie is super busy dealing with her fanbase. She doesn't have time to deal with you now. So, go bother someone else." Trixie snubbed as Silver's irritation grew. He couldn't believe she was acting like this. After everything he had done to help her.

Silver silently but angrily walked to the backstage as Trixie stayed with the crowd, oblivious to his annoyance.

A while later, Silver was backstage as he sat down with displeasure written all over his face. Trixie joined him shortly as she seemed excited about something.

"You're never going to believe this! In the audience, it turns out, some members of the Canterlot theater of performing magic were there! They offered to book me for a show tomorrow and they said I'll have access to top of the notch equipment! This is the break I've been dreaming of!" Trixie gushed.

"Hmmmm." Silver said in a disinterested tone, which Trixie took note of.

"What's with you? Didn't you hear the news?" Trixie said in a quizzical tone.

Silver sighed loudly and he got up to face Trixie.

"Yeah, I did. But what I want to know is, why'd you snub me out back there?" Silver questioned.

"Oh, come on, you're not upset over that, are you? I needed to attend to my fans." Trixie dismissed, which wasn't what Silver wanted to hear.

"Trixie, I've realized the more you've been getting these gigs, the less you're acknowledging my contribution. You've just been snubbing me out." Silver told her.

"Silver, I don't see the big deal, I'm the main star after all." Trixie said in a snobbish tone.

"But I'm doing the all the work! You shouldn't let this get to your head." Silver said in an exasperated tone.

"Pfft! Don't flatter yourself." Trixie said. "Then how come they people are always cheering my name?"

"Because they don't know I'm helping you! I'm the reason for your success! I made you!" Silver yelled.

"Urgggh, Trixie doesn't have to deal with this. I'd be nicer if I were you. Otherwise, I might use my talents to remind you of your place." Trixie told him.

"What talents?! It's all me!" Silver reminded her.

"Bite your tongue! How dare you insult my talent! Stop getting so greedy for attention!" Trixie shot back.

"I'm greedy?! That's it! That's the last straw! If you're going to keep treating me like this, then I'm done! I quit! You can do your magic show without me!" Silver declared as he stormed off from the stage.

"Fine then! Trixie doesn't need you anyway! Trixie'll show you she can do good just on her own! She's better as a solo act anyway!" Trixie shouted as Silver walked away.




The next day, a bit late in the evening, Trixie had already arrived at the site of the Canterlot theater. Behind it, she had been given her own trailer in order to prepare. She had placed her symbol in front of the door to let her presence be know.  Trixie was going over her magic tricks as she looked in her box.

"Trixie doesn't need Silver. Trixie was doing just fine on her own before he arrived." She grumbled as she dug through her supplies. As she did, Trixie thought back to the first night that she and Silver had performed. She remembered how amazing his help was, the reception from the audience and how grateful she felt towards him. She started to feel somewhat sad as she sighed before she shook her head.

"No. Trixie does not miss Silver, even though he was the best assistant she could ask for and maybe she was taking him for granted and she should have treated him better . Trixie is glad he is gone." She insisted, but she was having a hard time believing those words herself as she sighed once more.

Trixie then heard a knock on her door, making her lift her head as she turned around.

"Could it be...Silver? Not that Trixie cares!" Trixie wondered as she went to the door. 

When Trixie opened it, she gasped out loud as she formed a shocked look on her face.

"What are you doing here?!"




In Sonic's house, Silver was lying down on the couch with a deadpan expression on his face in the living room. He had been like that for a while now as he just stared off into space. Suddenly, the door opened and Sonic came in.

"Oh, hey, Silver." Sonic greeted as he closed the door. "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere with Trixie today?"

"Ha, no way! I quit. She was taking me for granted and acting like she did all the work when it was all me. Who does she think she is?!" Silver told him an angry tone. "She's on her own for this one."

"Huh. Sounds rough." Sonic said as he listened in. "You know, sure, Trixie can be a pain sometimes, but she's not all bad when you get to know her."

"Whatever. Anyway, she shouldn't have treated me the way she did. Maybe then I'd be helping her for her performance." Silver grumbled.

"The performance she's doing......without my powers to make her stand out........" Silver slowly realized as he started to sit up. "In front of an entire crowd......"

"Yep." Sonic said nonchalantly.

".....and if I'm not there.....she'll make a fool of herself.........ruining her career." Silver  added.

"Probably." Sonic agreed.

Silver was silent for a while as he stood up on the couch for a while. He was going over what he had just said.

"Just go to her already." Sonic told him.

Silver quickly rushed out of the door to go find Trixie, leaving a loud slam as he did.




Silver flew above Canterlot as he headed towards where the Magic Theatre was. From the top, Silver could see it. He noticed a trailer in the back and recognized Trixie's symbol in front of it.

"There." He said as he came down down a few inches from the trailer and began to approach it.

Silver slightly knocked on the door.

"Trixie? It's me Silver. I wanted to check in on you." Silver said.

He heard nothing for a while and he decided to knock again.

"Trixie? I know thing didn't end well last time, but I still can't let you embarrass yourself." Silver continued.

Still nothing. Silver got confused as he tried knocking harder on the door. As he did, it slightly creaked open.

"Trixie?" Silver said as he entered the trailer. As he did, his eyes widened with worry.

Inside, the trailer was a mess at it looked there was some kind of struggle as Trixie's equipment was all over the place with her magic attire on the floor. The mirror was cracked and the desk flipped over. In fact, the whole place looked like it had been turned upside down.

"Trixie?! Trixie?!" Silver cried as he examined the area. Where could she have gone?




A few feet from her trailer, Trixie was bound and gagged as she was held in the arms of Bark, who was in a three seated yellow floating bike known as the Marvelous Queen. Bark was in the left seat, his partner Bean on the right and their leader, Fang in the centre as the bike flew above Canterlot.

"It was easy to catch her. It's a good thing Bean actually likes to watch magic tricks. Who would've guessed that it would lead us to find our 'get rich quick' scheme." Fang said as Trixie muffled out some angry words.

"Sorry, can't understand you with all that tape on your mouth.Anyway, you never paid us for the last time we were hired by you, so think of this as your way to." Fang smugly told her.

"Hey, hey, hey, can you pull a rabbit out of your hat? Make a coin come out of my ear? Cut me in half?" Bean asked enthusiastically as Trixie sighed.

"We're here." Fang suddenly said as the Marvelous Queen stopped and floated on top of a large bank in Canterlot from the back where they couldn't be seen. It was the Canterlot national bank.

"Bean, ungag her." Fang ordered.

"You got it! But after this, you promise to make a rabbit appear, Trixie Wixxie?' Bean said to Trixie as he approached her.

He then ripped the piece of tape from her mouth, causing her to wince a bit. She glared at the Hooligans.

"Why have you brought Trixie here?!" Trixie screamed.

"It's simple. Using your magic powers, you're going to enter the vault and take out all the money in there." Fang explained.

"You're insane! Trixie doesn't have any magic powers!" Trixie cried.

"Liar, Liar, pants on fire!" Bean taunted.

"Trixie's not lying!" She insisted.

"Nice try. You're not getting your way out of this one. We've seen videos of your performances and I've seen enough crazy things to know when something's the real deal." Fang said. "Now, you're going to open that vault or else."

Fang then displayed his gun, making Trixie gulp in fright.

"But it's true. Trixie doesn't have any magic powers! I had help!" Trixie quickly said.

"From who?" Fang said skeptically.

"From me." The Hooligans heard Silver say as they turned around to see an angry Silver floating in a green aura above them, much to their astonishment while Trixie looked relieved.

"Silver!" She exclaimed.

"What the? She was telling the truth?!" Fang said with dismay as he looked back and forth at Trixie and then at Silver. " So much for our big score!"

"Hand her over or else." Silver said in a serious tone.

Fang was in a tough position. He wasn't looking for a fight. Suddenly, he formed a malicious grin.

"You want her? Go get her! Bark!" He yelled.

Bark then grabbed the frightened Trixie and tossed her out of the Marvelous Queen, much to Silver's horror as he immediately flew down to go after the screaming Trixie as the Hooligans quickly flew away.

Trixie shrieked for dear life as she headed for the ground. Before she touched it, she was caught in a green field. She looked up to see Silver gently place her on the ground as she sighed in relief.

"Silver! I'm so glad to see you!" Trixie said with joy.

"We'll talk later. I gotta go after those guys!" Silver said as he flew after the Hooligans.

In the sky, the Hooligans took off. As they did, Fang was driving like crazy.

"Why can't anything ever go my way?!" He complained.

"Uh, Boss....there's a flying fern coming towards us." Bean told him, which was one of the craziest things he had ever heard Bean say.

"What the?' Fang said before he turned around to see a very pissed off Silver on their trail. His eyes lowered.

"Bean!" He ordered.

"Yeaaaaah!" Bean said with joy as he turned around and began to throw a series of bombs towards Silver.

Silver was able to evade them in the air as he flew.  He caught three bombs and shot them back towards the Hooligans. As they approached them, Bark used his superior strength to punch them, generating clouds of explosions. Through the clouds, a series of shots tried to hit Silver, who was able to dodge them.The source of them was Fang.

"Hold still!" He said through grit teeth as he kept trying to shoot Silver, who evaded each blow as Bean kept tossing bombs as well.

"Bean, change of plan!" Fang suddenly said.

Bean fired two slightly larger bombs than Silver. Before they could hit him, Fang fired at them, causing them to explode right in front of Silver, stunning as him and blinding his vision as he couldn't see through the dust cloud and he was slightly blow back due to the force of the blast. Through the cloud, the Hooligans charged towards him as Bark socked him right in the face and Silver staggered. He then placed Silver in a tight bear hug as Fang aimed the gun at Silver with a menacing look.

"Kid, you're going to regret getting in our way." Fang sneered

As he was held by Bark Silver struggled as he surrounded himself in a green aura, releasing himself from Barks grip as Fang fired his gun, causing the former to duck to avoid being shot. Silver was now floating above the Hooligans and using his powers, he stopped them in their tracks as he froze the Marvelous Queen.

"Hey, what gives?!" Fang yelled.

"Cool, I'm part of a magic act!" Bean said with glee.

"I should tell you, you're going to regret threatening my friend!"Silver said as he put his tightened his grip on the Hooligans.

"Hey, don't you dare mess with my ride!" Fang shouted.

Using his powers, Silver caused the engine of the Marvelous Queen to begin to shake dangerously before he released the Hooligans from his grip, causing them to be sent flying out of control as they went around uncontrollably in the sky as they left behind a giant series of dust clouds.

"Wheeeeee!" Bean happily said.

"I'll get you for thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Fang yelled.

Silver watched as the Hooligans disappeared from his sight before he floated down back to where Trixie was.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I am now. Thanks to you."Trixie answered.

"Good to hear." Silver stated. 

There was an awkward silence between the two of them before Trixie finally spoke up.

"Silver....I'd like to say...I'm really sorry for the way I acted." Trixie blurted out, much to his surprise.

"You are?" He replied.

"Of course. The only reason I was so Great and Powerful was because of you. You helped me rise up to the fame I wanted. But, I let it all get to my head and I overlooked just how important you really were. Now, I want to change. I want us to be Great and Powerful together." Trixie said, her voice full of remorse. "If you can forgive me that is?"

"Trixie, I gotta say, I really appreciate your apology. I came her because I didn't want you to make a fool out of yourself. But after hearing what you said, I'm more than willing to help you out." Silver responded with a smile.

"Perfect!" Trixie said as she hugged Silver tightly again. She then quickly let go.

"Come on. We can still make it time if we hurry." She told him.





Back at the Canterlot Theatre, there was a huge gallery of attendants as they waited patiently for the show to start.  Suddenly, a blue smoke explosion happened on stage and it cleared quickly, revealing Trixie.

"Come one, come all to the Great and Powerful Trixie's act!" Trixie broadcasted. "But first, Trixie would like to introduce her Great and Powerful assistant, Silver!"

A green smoke explosion occurred on the right side of Trixie. From it, Silver emerged towards the spectators and waved towards them.

"Without him, Trixie wouldn't be where she is, right now! So tonights show is going to be twice as spectacular!" Trixie promised.

"Prepare to be amazed!" Silver declared as he and Trixie began to perform their show.
> Sonic's Fear
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

What Sonic Fears

It was midday Saturday at Canterlot Highschool, and it was quite a busy one. CHS was hosting a school fair in order to fundraise new projects at the school such as improving the music equipment, cafeteria service, more funding for extracurricular activities, etc. Many people from all around the town were there and had good reasons to be. CHS went all out with the event. They had activities such as a bounce house booth run by Pinkie, Tails, and Manic. Well at least by Manic, and Tails as Pinkie was in the bounce house with all the other people who were in it as well.

"Shouldn't we charge her for using that?" Tails asked as the two of them watched Pinkie jump and down.

"Weeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!" Pinkie yelled in delight as she bounced.

"We will. But when this is all over. And double in exchange for us covering for her." Manic answered with a grin.

Rarity was in charge of the face/body painting activities along with Fluttershy, and Sunset. Rarity, and Fluttershy were doing the painting while Sunset was keeping track of the money. 

"I just love this!" Rarity exclaimed as she was face painting a young customer with red and blue jewels over her face. "I'm getting paid to do makeup!"

"You're not the only one." Sunset said as she glanced over to Fluttershy. Fluttershy was painting a tiger face over another customer using white, and black paint. 

"All done." Fluttershy said as she finished. She handed her customer a mirror. She squealed in delight at what she saw and ran off happily. "All right who's next?" 

A large mob of people soon came near Fluttershy, each of them wanting to be her next customer, and shouting their demands.  Her animal themed face paintings were pretty popular.

"Oh, um, all of you?" Fluttershy said as she shrank back from the mob, and looked nervous. This was getting a little out of hand for her.

Silver, Applejack, and Twilight were in charge of the Apple bobbing event. Silver looked at the barrel with curiosity.

"What is the point of this game exactly?" Silver asked. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Wow, you really don't have anythin' to do in the future, don't you sugar cube." Applejack responded. "The point is to see who can pick up the most apples only using their teeth."

"So, it's a game that test how good are teeth are for....picking up things?" Silver said, a little confused.

"No, it's just for fun." Applejack said. "Why don't you give it a try?"

"Actually, I'm not sure about the sanitation level of this game." Twilight brought up. "Given the fact that people must submerge themselves in the water, and use their teeth, which involves opening their mouth, which is the dirtiest part of the body, combined with the possibility of illness-."

As Twilight was talking, a family who was just about to sign up for the Apple Bobbing heard her and got disgusted looks on their face. They soon turned away from the booth, making Applejack shot Twilight a minor look of annoyance.

"Oops, sorry." Twilight said with a slight blush.

At the entrance of the fair, there was a sign which read "CHS Saturday Fair. " It was white, and the words were written in rainbow colors.  Shadow, Knuckles, and Bulk Biceps were holding signs that said "Welcome", "Have Lot's of Fun", and "Stay Happy", also written in rainbow colors. The three of them were dressed in blue pony costumes, with yellow ears and a yellow C shaped like a horseshoe in the center with a blue/yellow tail. Knuckles looked annoyed, Shadow looked indifferent, and Bulk smiled.

"This is why I hate drawing straws for jobs." Knuckles grumbled.

Shadow didn't say anything and continued to have a stoic, bored expression on his face.

"Um, hey guys my back itches. Could you scratch it with one of your signs?" Bulk asked Shadow and Knuckles as he turned his back towards them. Both of them simply looked up at him.

Meanwhile Sonic and Rainbow Dash were in charge of the inflatable water slide. The problem was that the water slide wasn't there yet and hadn't been for two hours. Sonic and Rainbow Dash were both lying on the desk in front of where it was supposed to be, looking half asleep. The Crusaders then came up towards the two of them.

"The slide still isn't here?" Scootaloo asked a little annoyed. "Aw man!"

"How do you think we feel?" Rainbow Dash said. "At least you guys get to explore the rest of the fair. We're stuck here until it arrives."

"Unable to move. Waiting." Sonic complained in an incredibly irritated tone. "This is my personal nightmare. I thought being in charge of a water slide would be cool or something."

Suddenly, a truck arrived on the field where the fair was being held next to where Sonic and Rainbow Dash where. The driver got out and came to them.

"Excuse me, is there where the order for a water slide was supposed to be delivered?" The driver asked.

"The water slide?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "You mean it's here?! Finally! 

"All right, sign here." The driver said as he brought out a piece of paper with a clipboard. Rainbow Dash took a pen from the clipboard and signed. When she did, the driver opened the back of the truck, and inside was an inflatable water slide.  He went to the front of the truck, pulled a handle, and the water slide slid out on the field. He then handed Sonic an instruction manual.

"Follow this and your water slide should be set up within 30 minutes. Take care." The driver then got back in the truck and went out.

"30 minutes? Oh, come on!" Sonic said. He then threw away the manual. Using his super-speed Sonic ran around the water slide for a while creating a small blue blur/tornado. The tornado started to rise, and soon after Sonic came back down, and the water slide, which was the size of about 4 stories, was set up.

"Done. Who needs an instruction manual when you can just randomly try everything at super-speed?" Sonic boasted.

"Wow, CHS really went all out for this thing." Sweetie Belle said as she observed the water slide.

"It looks amazin'." AppleBloom commented.

"It sure does." Rainbow Dash agreed. "All we need to do it set up the water and we'll be fine. Sonic, can you go to the top and make sure the water comes out when I turn on the hose?" 

"Sure thing," Sonic complied. He then dashed towards the top of the water slide, and once he was there, he looked down and gave Rainbow the thumbs up. Rainbow Dash then took a hose pipe and attached it to a hole in the water slide. She then attached the hose pipe to a hose and turned on the faucet towards maximum pressure. 

Sonic was waiting at the top of the slide and looked down the back. Still no water. He was getting even more impatient.

"C'mon, Dash!" Sonic called from the top. "I don't-." 

Suddenly a large burst of highly pressurized water came from the back of the water slide, and hit Sonic in the face, sending him down the slide with the water as well. The water quickly filled the pool at the bottom of the water slide.

"All right!" Rainbow Dash said as the water slide was finally working.

Meanwhile, Sonic was still stuck in the pool, submerged completely in water as the pool continued to fill.

"(What the-? So much.....water. Can't move at all. Stuck like a rock! I can't take it! I need....to....GET OUT!)". Sonic thought to himself as he began to panic. He then continued to flail around helplessly underwater, but it was to no avail, making him panic even more.

"(I'm stuck!!!!!!!. I need to get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out!)." Sonic thought to himself in an anxious manner. Underwater, a blue aura surrounded Sonic.

"Where's Sonic?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I just asked him to check-."

Suddenly, Sonic burst from the water slide pool, surrounded by a blue aura, freeing him. Unfortunately, this also released the water in the pool as well, sending a wave of water at the fair. The water wasn't that deep, so it didn't do much damage, but the real threat was Sonic. As Sonic crashed through the water slide, he also deflated it, causing it to collapse on Rainbow Dash and the Crusaders.  As a boost, he then went straight through the fair, tearing through many booths set up such as Rarity'swhich spilled paint, and makeup everywhere even on them. Rarity gasped as her shirt was covered in multicolored paint, while Sunset and Fluttershy looked on in shock. Sonic crashed through the Apple Bobbing barrel sending water/apples all over Twilight, Silver, and AppleJack as they were blown back. Sonic also crashed through the bounce house, deflating it, and it collapsed on all those inside, including Pinkie who was still in it. Pinkie then poked her head out of the heap.

"Awwwww!" Pinkie looked around in disappointment.

Sonic continued to crash through booth after booth, sending plushy prizes, chairs, food,  etc everything flying in the air, and into other booths, structures, and even people, causing a panic. People were running all over the fair, and objects were flying everywhere.

At the front of the fair, Knuckles, Shadow, and Bulk were still at their position.

"Hey, I think I hear-." Bulk started to say as Sonic came, and crashed through the Welcome sign along with Knuckles, and Bulk(Shadow managed to teleport out of the way). The three of them then crashed onto the ground.

"Ow." Bulks said weakly.

"Aw man, what hit me?" Knuckles said as he rubbed his head, and looked up. He then saw Sonic lying on the ground next to the ruins of the sign. "Sonic?"

Sonic then groaned as he rose up. He was completely wet. As Sonic rose up, his eyes opened in shock as he saw the fair or what was left of it. The whole place was a mess up booths destroyed, food, and debris lying everywhere with people running in a panic. The color drained from his face, and a look of guilt appeared on it. Most of the group were a mess. Sunset, Fluttershy, and Rarity were covered in paint, with Twilight, Silver, and AppleJack having water and apple pieces all over while Rainbow Dash was soaking wet along with the Crusaders.  All of them looked at Sonic with astonishment alongside the rest of the group.

"Sonic?" Sunset said as she reached her hand out towards him. Without thinking, Sonic bolted away from the scene as a blue blur.




Later Sonic was lying on his bed, which was shaped like a red race car while strumming his red electric guitar weakly. He then heard a knock on his door.

"Sonic, are you in there?" Fluttershy's voice asked.

"No." He weakly replied. 

"All, right were coming in." Rainbow Dash's voice decided. She and Fluttershy then entered Sonic's room. He didn't even look up at them.

"Where's everyone else?" Sonic questioned in a small voice

"Still cleaning up back at the school." Rainbow Dash replied. "Sonic, what the heck happened?! You freaked out, and destroyed the whole fair"

"I noticed." He said dryly. "I was there."

"But why?" Fluttershy asked. "You seemed fine for the other parts of the day."

"Yeah, until the water slide was turned on." Rainbow Dash brought, causing her to suddenly pause. "Sonic, did the water have something to do with your freak out?"

Sonic didn't respond and instead, continued to strum his guitar.

"I thought you just didn't like water, but this whole incident proved something else." Fluttershy said. "You're afraid of water aren't you, Sonic?"

Sonic sighed and sat up on his bed. 

"All right, I am. In fact, I'm terrified of water." He admitted.

"But why?" Rainbow Dash said. "You're surrounded by water all the time. C'mon."

"I'm not afraid of water in general. I just hate being trapped in water. I mean, when you're in the water you can't move at all. You're like a stone. What's worse is you can't even call for help. That freaks me out." Sonic confessed.

"No kidding." Rainbow Dash muttered. "Then why'd you agree to set up the water slide with me?"

"I didn't think there'd be THAT much water." Sonic answered. "Unless someone put too much water when filling it up." He shot Rainbow Dash a look.

"Hey, this is about you, not me." She replied.

"Sonic, there's nothing wrong with being afraid of anything." Fluttershy reassured as she next to him on the bed. "You should've told us before and maybe we could've helped you with it."

"But, I'm Sonic." He responded as he folded his arms. "I can't be afraid of something like this. It's embarrassing." 

"Fear is nothing embarrassing," She continued "Sonic, as your friends, we're going to help you with this." You need to conquer your fear."

"And how am I going to do that?" Sonic asked, a little cynical.

"Don't sweat it." Rainbow Dash told him. "I have just the thing."




Later Sonic, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy were at the local pool. Sonic wore a blue bathing suit with his symbol on it. Rainbow Dash wore a light blue one-piece with white shorts over it. Fluttershy wore a dark pink one piece with yellow shorts over it. Both of them had their cutie mark symbols on them.

"Why are we here exactly?" Sonic said a little nervous, not so enthusiastic about the water everywhere.

"Simple, this is how you're how you're going to conquer your fear." Rainbow Dash said. "By jumping off of that." 

Rainbow Dash pointed to a giant ladder with a diving board on it on the other side. Sonic's jaw dropped as he looked at it.

"Are you crazy?!" Sonic shouted. "You want me to jump off of that!? No way!"

"Sonic, this is the only way you can conquer your fear." Rainbow Dash insisted.

"I'm not sure Rainbow Dash. I mean this is a rather large step." Fluttershy said with worry as she put her hand to her mouth. "He should start small with baby steps."

"Yeah, I'm with Fluttershy," Sonic eagerly agreed. "Baby steps."

All of a sudden, a splash of water hit Sonic, making him jump back.

"What?! Who did that?!" He yelled as he was soaking wet and frantically looked around for the perpetrator.

Hoops, Dumb-Bell, and Score all laughed loud, and obnoxiously. Dumb-Bell was holding a water gun as he grinned maliciously, floating in the pool along with his friends. Sonic noticed them and glared.

"Check it out. Rainbow Crash, Klutzershy, and Slownic altogether." Hoops sneered. Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"Slow?!" Sonic shot back. "Who won our race last time?!"

"A weird robot thingy getting in the way made it hard to tell who won." Hoops responded.

"Anyway, we heard about your little freakout. We were wondering what could make you act like a bigger loser than you already are. We heard everything. Slownic is afraid of water." Dumb-Bell mocked in a smug tone. All three of them then burst out laughing.

"I'm not!" Sonic shouted at them.

"Uh-oh, he's mad." Hoops said in a faux scared tone.

"I hope he doesn't come here in this nice, wet, water." Score said in the same tone.

"Yeah, he'd really teach us a lesson." Dumb-Bell taunted. He then splashed water at Sonic. 

Sonic was fuming and really wanted to let those jerks have it, but he saw how much water they were in, and it looked pretty deep. If he got in there, he'd be a sinking stone. He couldn't go in. Sonic just sighed and put his head down. All three of them laughed louder.

"You bullies! How dare you make fun of Sonic!" Fluttershy suddenly said hotly. "So what if he's afraid? At least he's trying to overcome his fear."

"Yeah. And besides, if you guys are so tough, why don't you come out here and laugh in Sonic's face?" Rainbow Dash dared. That actually got them, and the three of them looked a little nervous.

"Well, ummmm....." Hoops said uneasily.

"That's what I thought." Rainbow Dash dismissed before she then turned to face Sonic. "Besides, he's about to conquer his fear by jumping off the diving board right now. Just you watch."

"Wait, what-". Sonic started to say before Rainbow Dash touched her geode, making a blue pulse appear. She then grabbed Sonic, and dashed him to the diving board.

"You'll thank me for this." Rainbow Dash promised as she pushed him off. Sonic then fell through the air and crashed into the pool making a large splash, and a wave which blew away some other people. She then ran down next to Fluttershy.

"See?" Rainbow Dash said. "All he needed was a little encouragement. He'll be swimming around in this pool in no time.

There was a long pause, and Sonic didn't rise from the water. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy both waited but he still didn't rise.

"Oh, dear. I hope Sonic is all right." Fluttershy said with worry.

"This is Sonic. Of course, he's fine." Rainbow Dash said. But she too sounded a little concerned. She then gave a nervous chuckle. "Anytime, Sonic!"

Suddenly the water started to move, and Sonic appeared out it. But he wasn't swimming. Rather he was flailing his arms, desperately trying to stay afloat.

"UH, UH, UH, AHHHH!" Sonic panicked. He then went underwater a few times, gurgling as he did.

"Rainbow Dash, Sonic's drowning!" Fluttershy cried. "We have to do something!"

"I'm on it!" Rainbow Dash said. She then jumped into the water and swam towards Sonic. Sonic then went underwater and didn't rise up. Luckily, Rainbow reached him and pulled him up. With Sonic in her left arm, she used her right arm to swim to the edge of the pool and got Sonic out the pool before coming out herself. As Sonic coughed up water, Fluttershy put her hands on his shoulders for support. He then looked up at Rainbow Dash with fury.

"Never. Do. That. Again." He said firmly. Rainbow Dash saw how serious Sonic was, and looked down with guilt.

"Sonic. I'm sorry." Rainbow Dash said with tremendous guilt in her voice. Sonic was still mad, but he knew Dash was sincere, and his expressions softened.

"Well, I can't stay mad at your forever as you did save me." He added in a more lightened tone. Hoops, Dumb-Bell, and Score then laughed loudly again, causing Sonic to turn towards them with a glare.

"Yeah, you really showed that water, Slownic." Dumb-Bell mocked, as all three of them laughed louder.

"Normally, I hate waiting, but I think in this case, I'm going to wait until you guys get out of the pool." Sonic threatened as he stood up and cracked his knuckles.

"Ignore them. Sonic, why don't we give my way a try. Baby steps." Fluttershy suggested.

"Sure, why not?" He agreed. "I hate starting slow, but maybe it's for the best right now."




"No way." Sonic said. Fluttershy had lead Sonic to another pool, that was much more shallow. The problem was that this pool was where the beginner's classes were being held and beginners meant little kids. Many small children were in the water while their parents watched from afar.

"When you said "Baby Steps", I didn't think you meant baby steps literally," Sonic complained.

"Well this the first level of swim classes that the pool offers," Fluttershy responded. "The other classes have a pool that I think you'd find too deep."

"I'd rather drown than take swim classes with babies." Sonic declared as he turned away and crossed his arms.

"C'mon, Sonic. Give it a try. I'll be with you the whole time, so you won't have to do this alone." Fluttershy insisted

"Mommy, I'm peeing!" A child shouted. Sonic then gave Fluttershy a look which said: "This will never happen."




Later Sonic, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash were walking around Canterlot. Sonic looked pretty dejected as he was still afraid of water.

"Cheer up, Sonic. I'm sure we'll find some way to get rid of this problem." Rainbow Dash said.

"Thanks for the encouragement Dash, but at this point, I'll probably need to bring a life jacket with me wherever I see water." Sonic grumbled.

"There must be some way to help you for good." Fluttershy said with concern.

"Are you tired of not being able to conquer your fears?!" A loud voice suddenly said. Sonic perked up upon hearing this.

"Oh yeah." Sonic said.

"Do your fears prevent you from being the macho-person you could be?!" The voice asked. "Are they interfering with your life?!"

"Yes, and yes." Sonic responded.

"Then come to Iron Wills Fear Conquering Seminar. You tried the rest, now get the best!" The voice declared

Sonic then turned around, and saw in front of him a store that had a poster of a dark skinned blue man who was very muscular. He had a dark cobalt mohawk with the same colored goatee. He wore a sleeve-ripped grayish cobalt blue suit shirt with a black tie along with dark blue almost black pants. He also had a large silver nose ring. The poster showed him punching a shadow like entity with red eyes. The poster read "Punch out your fears with Iron Wills." The voice was coming from two loud speakers on top of the store.

"Now this sounds like exactly what I need." Sonic eagerly said. He then entered the store with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. As they entered, smoke suddenly surrounded them and fireworks were shot all over the place. Stage lights were moving around the stage before they reached the center of the smoke hiding a muscular figure in them. The smoke subsided and Iron Will appeared in front of them.

"WELCOME TO IRON WIll's FEAR CONQUERING SEMINAR!!!!!!!!" Iron Will shouted as he flexed, and kissed his muscles. "BY THE END OF IT, YOU'LL BE AS TOUGH AS ME!!!!!"

"This guy likes to make an entrance." Rainbow Dash joked in a small tone. 

Iron Will then came in front of the trio.

"All right, which one of you is here for Iron Will's lesson?!" Iron Will shouted,  blowing the trio slightly back.

"Is it you?!" Iron Will pointed at Fluttershy who was shrinking back from how lively Iron Will was. "You look like you might be a long-term case."

"Actually, it's me." Sonic spoke up, making Iron Will turn to him.

"And what could someone like you be afraid of?!" Iron Will demanded.

"Well, it's kind of embarrassing but-." Sonic started to say.

"He's afraid of water." Rainbow Dash interrupted.

"Water? Iron Will does not understand how you can be afraid of water. You're even its color." Iron Will said as he pointed towards Sonic's attire and hair.

"Hey, your poster said you'd help overcome fears, not judge." Sonic shot back.

"All right, Iron Will will help you, kid." Iron Will said. "But you must do exactly as Iron Will says and no questioning."

"Okay, Sonic will do whatever Iron Will says." Sonic said in a tone mimicking the way Iron Will speaks. Iron Will was not amused as he frowned slightly.

"Rule 1. Do not make fun of the way Iron Will speaks." Iron Will firmly said as he pointed at Sonic's chest.




Sonic was then standing in front of a wall with Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy in front of him.

"Sonic are you sure this is a good idea?" Fluttershy asked in a cautious tone.

"I'm out of options." Sonic replied.

"Doesn't this guy seem a little.....out of it?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well he's better than nothing and his way is worth a shot." Sonic said.

"All right everyone moves out of Iron Will's way!" Iron Will shouted. He was holding a water hose in his hand, making Sonic gulp when he saw it.

"What are you going to do with that?" Rainbow Dash asked skeptically.

"You'll see." Iron Will said as he aimed the hose at Sonic. Sonic eye's widened and he looked a little pale. Fluttershy noticed this.

"You better not spray Sonic with that hose." Fluttershy said. "I think that'll make things worse."

"Kid, tell your girlfriend to get out of Iron Will's way!" Iron Will shouted at Sonic.

"Fluttershy, Dash, it's cool." Sonic told them even though he was shaking a little. 

"Okay, Sonic but remember you can quit at any time." Fluttershy reassured before she and Rainbow Dash walked off.

"Remember this kid." Iron Will shouted. "Don't Run from your fear, show it, its end is near!"

Iron Will then turned on the hose at full power, and blast Sonic with it, sending him towards the wall. Sonic flailed aimlessly as the water pushed him towards the wall.

"Glug, aaaaagh, glugh, aaaaahhhhhh, sto-." Sonic shouted as he was sprayed. 

"What are you doing?!" Fluttershy shouted at Iron Will.

"Iron Will's plan!" Iron Will responded. "Run through the water, kid."

"That's crazy"! Rainbow Dash screamed

Sonic barely heard Iron Will, and he struggled to run through the water. His feet started to get some speed, and he made it through some parts of the water. But the floor also was wet due to the water, and Sonic slipped, making him crash towards the floor. The water pushed Sonic further back into the wall, and now he had less of a fighting chance. He struggled to get up but kept going down due to the water.

"That's it!" Fluttershy shouted. She then turned off the hose. The water died down, and Sonic was left shivering at the wall.

"Hey, what gives!?" Iron Will shouted. 

"Are you crazy!?" Fluttershy yelled. "You're supposed to help him not torture him!"

"But Iron Will was helping." Iron Will responded.

"No, you weren't!" Fluttershy shrieked. "You were just picking on him, and exploiting his fear! I won't stand for anyone bullying my friends. Now you actually get serious about helping him or you'll be REALLY sorry buster!

Iron Will was surprised and taken back by Fluttershy's outburst, and he looked a little nervous as he noticed her furious look

"I'd listen to her." Rainbow Dash advised. "She seems pretty serious."

"Maybe Iron Will was a little rough in this approach." Iron Will said as he cleared his throat. "The next thing will be more....safe."

Sonic then rose from the wall, a soaking wet mess. He then coughed out water and looked up, glaring at Iron Will.




The four of them were now at the edge of a lake with Sonic wearing a life jacket.

"All right, this next, safer-" Iron Will said as Sonic, and Fluttershy gave him a glare."-part of Iron Will's program will be simple. You will just lie in the lake, while Iron Will coaches you there's nothing to be afraid of."

"No funny business." Sonic warned as he pointed at Iron Will.

"Iron Will promises. Now get in the water." Iron Will said. "And remember, It's just water, there won't be a slaughter.

Sonic looked at the water. It was so......wet. And it looked pretty deep. Sonic wasn't sure if he wanted to get in. But one way or the other, he had to conquer his fear. Besides, he had a life jacket on, so things should be relatively safe. And as Iron Will said, it's just water there won't be a slaughter.

Suddenly bubbling sounds came from the water, and the water started to create small waves. Then out of the water was a shark fin, startling everyone as they slightly gasped.

"(A shark fin?)" Sonic thought confused. "(But sharks don't swim in these waters)."

Out of the water emerged a giant robot shark with a red trunk, tail tip and head with a white snout, jaw, and tail. It had a black underbelly and chin. The pectoral fins were black with cyan outlines, with caudal fins sharp and black. A white upper back with a red dorsal fin and two stubby antennas were part of it as well. It had horizontal pupils with cyan sclera, along with sharp teeth and a cyan underbelly. At the top was a glass container with Eggman in it.

Sonic, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy looked up at the robot with anger, while Iron Will's jaw dropped, and he looked beyond shocked.

"What is going on?!" Iron Will asked bewildered.

"Eggman!" Sonic shouted.

"Ho-ho. Fancy meeting you here Sonic." Eggman greeted. "I was just testing the Egg-Shark out, and just my luck you're here. Prepare to meet your doom."

The Egg Shark then dove into the water and disappeared from view.

"(This is bad. If he's using a shark, then he has the advantage in the water. I've got to-)." Sonic thought to himself before the Egg Shark reappeared in front of him and smacked him with its tail in the water. He c then rose back to the surface, gasping for air, and flailing his arms before the Egg Shark tackled him into the water.

"Sonic!" Fluttershy shouted. "We have to do something!"

"Iron Will did not sign up for this. Iron Will has a family." Iron Will said anxiously. "I'll send you the bill for the lesson later." Iron Will then promptly bolted out of there.

"So much for Iron Will helping about conquering fears." Rainbow Dash said as she rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'll jump in, and give Sonic some backup."

"Wait, Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy said. "Your Geode only gives you super speed, not super swimming. You'll be slower underwater, and I'm not sure if you'll be much help."

"Well then what are we supposed to do?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We aren't leaving Sonic."

"I have a plan." Fluttershy said. She then knelt down, and placed both of her palms in the water, and concentrated. As she did she ponied up(gaining a ponytail, and pony ears). She sent a yellow pulse throughout the water.

"(Please all those critters in the water, help my friend)" Fluttershy thought.

The Eggshark was pulling Sonic deeper, and deeper underwater. Sonic was trying to move his arms but the pressure made it harder to do and he was getting weaker.

"(I can barely move)." Sonic thought. "(Things are getting....darker. It's....hard.....to....breathe....losing....strength. It...... can't end like this. Have.....to......protect.....). He was slowly losing consciousness due to lack of oxygen, and pressure.

"What's the matter, Sonic?" Eggman said with a sneer. "Don't like the water?"

Before Sonic could fully pass out a pack of fish came in front of Eggman, obscuring his view.

"What the-?" Eggman shouted. "I can't see anything!" 

The pack grew larger, and larger until Eggman's view was completely gone. While Eggman was blinded, another pack came near Sonic and lifted him up. The pack then lifted him towards the surface of the lake. Sonic then started to gasp for air. When he was done he looked around at the fish.

"Saved by fish?" He said in a bewildered tone. He then turned to the side of the lake, and saw Fluttershy ponied up, making him grin. 

"Nice one Flutters!" Sonic praised as he gave her the thumbs up.

Suddenly Eggman came out of the water looking annoyed.

"You may have escaped for now, but you won't get off so lucky next time." Eggman warned. He then fired two torpedos from the fins of the Egg Shark towards Sonic which blew him out of the water, and next to the Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash as he skidded on the floor.

"Well at least, I'm back on land." Sonic said as he rose up before he faced Eggman with a determined look. "Time to go fishing for Eggman!"

"Wait Sonic, I have a plan." Fluttershy told him. "But you'll have to go back in the water."

What?" Sonic answered. "I think I've had my fill of water today."

"If he's not up for it, I'll do it." Rainbow Dash volunteered.

"I think Sonic should handle this." Fluttershy told her before she turned to Sonic. Trust me. This'll help us beat Eggman and your fear."

Sonic REALLY didn't want to go back in the water, but he saw Fluttershy was sincere as he looked in her eyes and trusted her.

"All right." Sonic complied. "What do I do?"

"First dive." Fluttershy said.

Sonic then dove back in the water. As he did a pack of fish surrounded him and gave him support. Sonic felt more mobile in the water.

"(Hey, I can move)." Sonic thought. "(This is awesome!!)"

The Eggshark then also came underwater and faced Sonic, firing more torpedos at him.  Sonic, with the fish supporting him, was easily able to swim(yes Sonic swimming) and dodge them with great speed. He then charged himself with a boost and headed towards the Egg Shark, knocking it back. The Egg Shark regained its posture and tried to lunge at Sonic with a bite, which he easily dodged.

"(This is amazing. When I can actually move, water is pretty cool. I wish I could stay longer, but there's this whole oxygen thing)." Sonic thought. He then charged another boost downwards and delivered a boost charged ax kick towards the Egg Shark, breaking it in half. Eggman's eyes widened in fear as he and the two pieces of the Egg Shark plummeted to the bottom of the lake.

"You think Sonic's okay?" Rainbow Dash said with a hint of unease in her voice.

"I trust my friends are keeping him safe." Fluttershy expressed with faith in the fish.

"But he's been underwater for a while now, what if-." Rainbow Dash started to say before the water started to rise and Sonic came bursting out. He then landed on the shore.

"That was pretty cool." Sonic admitted. The flock of fish which helped Sonic came near the shore. Sonic looked down at them and gave them the thumbs up. "You guys are awesome!"

"Thank you for your help." Fluttershy told the fish. They then nodded and swam away.

"What took you so long?" Rainbow Dash asked a little annoyed as she punched Sonic in the arm.

"Aw, I didn't know you were worried about me, Dash." Sonic said in a teasing tone.

"I wasn't." Rainbow Dash said a little flustered. "I just didn't want you making Fluttershy upset."

Sonic and Fluttershy exchanged amused glances.

"So, Sonic how do you feel about the water now?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah, I mean you beat Eggman in the water." Rainbow Dash added.

"Well, the water......still terrifies me. If it wasn't for those fish I'd be a dead, sinking rock. I won't be going near water for the next.....lifetime." Sonic declared.

"Come on, really?" Rainbow Dash said annoyed, while Fluttershy smiled.

"Baby steps." She said.

"But this whole fiasco did remind me. I haven't really apologized or made amends for what I did at the fair." Sonic brought up. "I definitely need to make things right there and explain."

"I'm sure everyone will appreciate that." Fluttershy said. "Dash, and I will support you the whole time."

The three of them then went off to CHS for Sonic to make up for his "freak out."
> FlutterBat
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flutterbat

It was a dark and late night in the city of Canterlot with a full moon and misty air. At this hour, the entire city was asleep as most people were in bed and businesses were closed down. There were barely any lights in the city except for the street light and a light coming from the only shop that was still active at this hour. It was coming from the Canterlot Animal Shelter. Inside, Fluttershy was wearing her uniform, a turquoise outfit with a skirt that had a pink highlight while she wore a white nurse hat on the top.  In one hand, she held a small bottle of pills while the other was a glass of water. She walked over to the cage of the puppies and opened it up to take a small brown one out. 

"Say 'Ahhh'." Fluttershy gently instructed which caused the puppy to yawn widely. Fluttershy then slipped a pill in the glass of water, which she then had the puppy drink slowly. When it was done, she placed it back in its cage and closed the door. Inside, she noticed the puppy had made a sour look on its face, much to her dismay.

"I'm sorry, but even if the medicine doesn't taste good, you still have to take it so you won't get sick." Fluttershy told it. "Now, I better give these to the rest of the animals."

Fluttershy then went around and gave all the animals in the center such as rabbits, lizards, cats, birds, fish, and hamster. It took a bit of time, but she didn't mind. She loved spending time at the animal shelter.

"Whew, that's everyone accounted for." Fluttershy said with relief as she wiped her brow.  "Now you'll all be healthy for the upcoming season. I'm going to head out for a bit of fresh air."

Fluttershy walked to the door that was in the back and opened it up to let herself outside.  There was a chill in the air, which made her shiver a bit as she gripped her shoulders.

"Oh, it's awfully cold tonight." She observed as she looked around.

Suddenly, Fluttershy heard the sound of chirping that was coming from above her, which caught her attention as she looked up. As she did, she looked up to see that the source of it was a swarm of bats who were flying throughout the night sky. After a while, they then descended down on the top of the animal shelter. 

"Excuse me?" Fluttershy called, which made the bats look down to see her waving up to them. 

"Hello there, bats. If you don't mind me asking, what brings you to Canterlot? I don't normally see you around here?" She asked them.

The bats responded by making chirping noises as Fluttershy listened in.

"I see, you're on migration. How's that going for you?" She replied.

The bats chirped once more, which made Fluttershy put her hand to her mouth.

"Oh no.  A lot of you keep getting sick while on the route. That's terrible." Fluttershy expressed.  "I wish I could help."

Fluttershy then got an idea as her face lit up.

"Wait here." She instructed to the bats as she went inside. After a little while, she came out with a bottle of water, a napkin and the pills she had from earlier.

"If it's alright with you, you can take these pills to prevent you from being sick. I've been giving it to my animal friends, so it should work for you." Fluttershy called out. "Just come on down."

The swarm of bats then began to descend down towards where Fluttershy was and came down in front of her. She knelt down and picked one of them up.

"Open wide." She requested, making the bat open its mouth and she fed it a pill, followed by giving it a sip of water.

After that was done, she used the napkin to disinfect the top of the water bottle as she set the bat down. Fluttershy then repeated the process of giving the bats their medicine before there was only one left.  This one seemed a bit shy and hesitant as Fluttershy got near it, causing her to give it a warm smile.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you." She reassured as she gently picked it up, putting it somewhat at ease. 

"I don't understand why people seem to dislike bats. They're cute and cuddly when you get to know them. I know you are." She went on. "I love you just like all the other animals."

Doing this suddenly caused Fluttershy's body to glow bright pink as she formed pony ears and wings as her hair grew longer. This sight was unexpected to the bat she held, startling it just as Fluttershy was going to feed it a pill with her finger. Instead of taking the pill, the bat ended sinking it's two teeth into Fluttershy's finger.

"Ow!" She winced as she felt a sharp pain her finger, which made her draw it back. In response, the bat flew from her hand and floated up as it looked to see her grip her finger. Where the bat had bitten her started to glow red as her pink energy resonated with it though it died down as Fluttershy went to look at it. She then turned to the bat.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I startled you. I guess I should have been more careful." Fluttershy apologized. "Let's try this again."

Fluttershy took the bottle cap and placed a small bit of water in it while also slipping the pill in. She then extended it to the bat, who then drank the water and also took the pill as well.  Once this was done, the other bats floated in the air as well.

"That's all of you. I do hope you have a safe trip." Fluttershy said as the bats took up the sky and flew off. Fluttershy beamed as she watched them smile and headed back inside. However, she didn't notice that the two bite marks where she had been bitten were giving off a red glow once more.




The next day in the morning at Canterlot High,  Manic was by his locker as he began to twist the combination to open it up. When he finally got it right, he moved to open his door. As soon as it did, Pinkie emerged from it.

"Hi, , Manic!" She greeted, startling Manic as he fell down on the floor. When he got up, he saw Pinkie standing in front of him with her arms behind her back.

"How did you even get in my locker? How did you even fit in there?" Manic questioned.

"I have my ways." Pinkie cryptically answered.  "Anyway, I just wanted to remind you of our drum-off later this afternoon."

Manic let out a small snicker.

"How could I forget?" Manic responded. "Today, I'm going to school you in the art of drumming. I can drum like a hundred times faster than you."

"Maybe....but I'm so creative with what I come up with! Ooooh, I know this is gonna be fun!" Pinkie replied.

Suddenly, the door to the school came in and Fluttershy entered. As she did, she was looking terrible. Her eyes were bloodshot and had bags underneath them while her hair was a total mess. She looked like she hadn't slept in a long time and she let out a loud yawn. Manic and Pinkie got a look at her as she walking by.

"Wow, Fluttershy, are you ok?" Manic asked.

"Yeah, because you look bad. I mean reaaaaaallly bad." Pinkie asked as Fluttershy yawned even more.

"I don't know what's wrong with me. I just couldn't sleep last night and ended up staying awake for the whole time and not mention I have this awful headache." Fluttershy explained in a tired and weak tone before she lifted her hand to cover her face. "And is it just me or is it really bright out?"

As Fluttershy lifted her hand, Manic and Pinkie noticed that her finger was swollen with two small red puncture holes  in it, much to their concern.

"What's with your finger?" Manic questioned, causing Fluttershy to bring it down to take a look.

"Oh, I just got a little bite yesterday. I already treated with antibiotic cream." She explained.

"Well, if I was you, I'd like stuff my finger in a mountain full of that stuff. It looks pretty bad." Pinkie told her.

"It's fine. It should..." Fluttershy said before she yawned once more. When she was done, everything seemed dizzy as she held her head.

"Fluttershy, you're not in any position to be the judge of our drum off or even be at school now. You should probably head home." Manic suggested.

"Oh, but I know the two of you were looking forward to that competition. I'd *yawn*,  hate to let you down." Fluttershy brought up.

"No ifs or buts!" Pinkie interjected as she started to push her friend out of the halls and towards the door. "You need to go home and give yourself a nice good nap. And don't worry about our drum-off."

"Yeah, I don't a competition to know I'm a better drummer than Pinkie." Manic commented,  making Pinkie turn to him with a slight glare as they were outside.

"Anyway, just go home and rest. Pinkie Promise?" Pinkie said to Fluttershy. 

"Yeah...sure..Pinkie Promise." Fluttershy agreed as she started to do the motion before she started to fall asleep, causing Pinkie to snap her fingers to wake her up.

"Oh, pardon me. I better get going. See you guys later." Fluttershy said as she started to walk away from the school.

"I'll stop by to give you your homework." Manic called out.




Later, it was  night time as the air was misty once more with the full moon being out as well.  The streets of Canterlot were now empty save for a green blur which was moving past them. After a while, the blur then stopped, revealing itself to be Manic as he found himself in front of Fluttershy's house. He looked up to see that the lights were off entirely, which made him frown slightly.

"Ah man, I hope someone's maybe awake." He muttered as he headed to the front of the door.  While he was there, Manic tapped it in order to knock and as he did, the door slowly moved open while making a loud creaking sound, much to his surprise.

"The door's open, weird..." Manic said as he looked inside. It was totally dark and he couldn't see a thing.

"I guess I better check if someone's home..." He decided as he entered the house.

Inside, it was pitch black as Manic started to wander around aimlessly for a while.  

"Why're all the lights off anyway? Hello, Fluttershy? Anyone?" Manic called out. "There's gotta be a switch somewhere."

As Manic moved, he didn't notice the two red glowing eyes which appeared behind him. They blinked before they vanished.

Manic was still lost in the house. He had received no answer and honestly, it was starting to creep him out a bit.

"Ok, this is kind of unsettling. It's so dark I can't even see where I came in." Manic grumbled.

As he took another step forward, Manic then found himself suddenly in front of Fluttershy, who held a candle, which scared him a bit as he jumped back. Her eyes were no longer baggy and bloodshot. They were normal but now colored a red  as her hair was still somewhat wild.

"Ahhhh!" He yelled before he calmed down after seeing Fluttershy. "Oh Fluttershy, it's just you."

"Hello, Manic." She greeted in a mysterious tone.

"I came here to drop off the work you missed. I was gonna come earlier, but I lost track of time with my drumming practice." Manic said as he handed a notebook to Fluttershy, who took it from him.

"Oh, thank you." She said in the same tone as before.

"So, you feeling any better?" Manic said.

"Marvelous. I've never felt better." Fluttershy responded. "I guess a good rest was all that I needed."

"Duh, everyone loves naps. No wonder Sonic loves them so much." Manic replied.

"Are you alone?" Fluttershy suddenly asked.

"Yeah, I am. Why?" Manic told her.

"Perfect." Fluttershy simply said as she formed a smirk, making Manic's eyes dart back and forth. He wasn't sure where this was going.

"So, why are you in the dark? Also, where's everyone else?" Manic quizzically said.

"Oh, they're just out. But enough about them. I want to talk about you, Manic." Fluttershy said, which made Manic confused as he raised an eyebrow.

"Me, why?" He said.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have a great neck?" Fluttershy complimented in a sultry tone, making Manic even more confused as he rubbed that area suddenly. It was such an odd thing to say.

"Uh, nooooo. I mean, all necks kinda look the same...." He slowly said. " Are you sure you're ok?"

"I said I've never felt better. I'm just really glad you're here." Fluttershy said in a pleased manner.

Manic was now totally lost in the situation. Fluttershy was definitely acting weird. He remembered the last time she acted in a similar fashion and he figured it probably wasn't good.

"Uh, huh. Look it's getting late, so I better head back." Manic said. "If you can just tell me where the door is, that'd be great."

"No, you don't want to leave. You want to stay." Fluttershy uttered.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure I-" Manic began before Fluttershy looked directly at him using her 'Stare'. Manic found himself focusing directly on her red eyes as his train of thought started to slip away. He couldn't turn away as her red eyes were now hypnotic.

"You want to stay with me." Fluttershy suggested.

"I want to stay with you." Manic repeated in a zombie-like manner.

"Good boy. You're going to tilt your head and show me your neck." Fluttershy ordered.

"I'm going to tilt my head and show you my neck."Manic repeated as he obeyed the order, causing Fluttershy to approach him.

"Excellent." Fluttershy said as she got near his neck and opened her mouth, revealing two large fangs as she sank her teeth in Manic's neck.

"Aaarrrgh!!!" Manic yelled out in pain as Fluttershy continued to bite. As she did, she was enveloped in a crimson aura as her hair grew longer and two bats like ears formed on her head. A pair of bat wings emerged from her back as she now wore a tattered yellow robe with three pink bats on it and she became a duller shade of yellow. When she stopped biting, Manic backed up while gripping his neck in agony.

"Ah! Fluttershy, what did you do?!" Manic cried as he was on his knees due to the pain with his eyes closed.

"Liberated you." She answered. "Now rise, my servant."

Upon uttering those words, Manic's eyes suddenly opened, revealing they were now red. He then slowly rose up from the ground in a zombie-like manner as he faced Fluttershy as if he was in a trance of some sort.

"Good." Fluttershy said. "Now, I need you to do me a very special task."

Manic's response was to reveal his jaws, which showed two large fangs at the top of his mouth as he hissed.




It much later in the night and in his lit room, Sonic was strumming his guitar while in his bed. After doing this for a while, he heard the sound of something tapping at his window, which caught his attention. 

"What could that be?" He wondered as he put his guitar aside and headed for his window.

Sonic looked through it and below he saw Manic, which made him raise an eyebrow as he opened it.

"Manic?" Sonic called out to his brother.

"Good evening, brother." Manic said in a monotone manner.

"What're you doing out here? Did you give Fluttershy her stuff?" He asked.

"Yes. The Mistress gathered what she desired." Manic answered, which caught Sonic off guard.

"Ok. Don't know why you're calling her mistress, but why are you out here? Why didn't you just use the door?" Sonic questioned.

"My apologies brother, it appears to be locked." Manic said.

"Really? Ugh, must've been Shadow when he left." Sonic said with mild annoyance. "Hold on, I'll let you in, bro."

Sonic dashed down in almost no time. The door then opened as Sonic was facing Manic.

"There." Sonic told him. Despite the door being open, Manic was still just standing there, much to Sonic's confusion.

"Dude, the door's open." Sonic said.

"Why don't you invite me in?" Manic requested.

"Why? You can step in or out on your own. You live here too." Sonic pointed out.

"Invite me, my brother." Manic said once more.

Now Sonic was just stumped at Manic's behavior as he gave him a strange look.

"Ok...come on in?" Sonic said as Manic walked or more like hovered inside the house as Sonic continued to look at him strangely.

"I don't know what's going on with you dude, but whatever it is, knock it off. You're creeping me out, bro." Sonic told him before he turned his back to go head upstairs.

With Sonic's back turned,  Manic then barred his fangs as he started to slowly approach Sonic. 

"Hiissss!"Manic yelled once he got close enough,  which made Sonic turn around at the last minute.

"Manic, what the-Arggh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sonic screamed as Manic lunged towards him.




In the city, Rainbow Dash was moving past it as she left behind a rainbow streak. After she zipped around doing a few turns, she came in front of the entrance of CHS as she came to a stop. By the statue where the rest of the Rainbooms save for Fluttershy and Twilight along with Knuckles, Tails, and Silver. At this hour, her friends were looking either tired or irritated.

"Ok, does anyone know why the heck Sonic sent us a text to meet him out here  at midnight?!" Rainbow Dash expressed with annoyance.

"Beats me.  I tried texting him back asking why but I didn't get a response. He said it was urgent." Tails answered.

"Well, I hope it's something worth interrupting my beauty sleep for." Rarity said as she did a small yawn.

"This better not be a prank of his otherwise." Knuckles said as he cracked his knuckles.

"I don't think so. He did say it was really important and we were needed ASAP." Sunset brought up. "Is it a new threat maybe?"

AppleJack looked around her friends and noticed that some people were missing.

"Hey, where are Manic and Fluttershy? I know Twilight's probably busy with some experiment or book or something, so she'll see the text later but they got the message too, right?" She asked.

"I'm not sure about Manic. When I was at the house, he and Sonic weren't there either." Silver explained.

"And Fluttershy wasn't feeling too well, so she's at home resting. She Pinkie Promised!" Pinkie cheerfully explained.

The group started to wait around as the area started to feel a bit more misty than usual. 

"Where is Sonic anyway? If he called us, he should be the first to be here." Rainbow Dash stated.

"He'll be here shortly." Everyone heard Fluttershy's voice say as the turned to see her approaching them, much to their surprise, especially Pinkie's, who dashed up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Fluttershy, what are you doing?! You Pinkie-Promised that you would stay home until you got better?!" Pinkie yelled with anger rising in her voice.

"Oh, I'm just feeling wonderful. Never felt better." Fluttershy said with a sly smile.

"How do you know when Sonic's going to be here? Do you know about what he called us for?" Tails asked.

"Of course I do." Fluttershy cryptically answered. "He is my loyal minion after all."

Hearing this made everyone else turn to each other as if they didn't hear right.

"Loyal minion? What's with the-" Rainbow Dash began when she suddenly felt a sharp pain on her neck as she yelled out loud and fell to her knees, causing all of her friends to turn to her with worry as Pinkie let go of Fluttershy to head towards her.

"Rainbow Dash!" Tails yelled out before he felt the same pain as he came to his knees as well, which alarmed everyone else there even more.

One by one, the group started to feel punctures on their necks as they came down to the floor in pain due to it, eventually leaving only Knuckles and Pinkie as they looked around.

"Guys, if this a freak your friends out party, I'm not liking it." Pinkie said uneasily.

"What's going on?" Knuckles demanded as he rose his fist up.  "Pinkie, we have to-"

Pinkie let out a shriek as she clutched her neck as she rolled over on the ground as Knuckles was the only one left.

"Pinkie!" He shouted before he grit his teeth. "Fine, whatever you are, I'll hand you myself."

Knuckles prepared to throw a punch before he felt his neck being pierced as pain spread from it to his entire body. He struggled to stay up, but the pain was too great and he began to feel nauseous  before he collapsed. 

With everyone on the floor, Fluttershy walked through her friends with a smile on her face. A blue streak then came next to her, revealing itself as Sonic who bared his fangs. Manic then appeared on her left.

"Excellent work my minions. We have the big problem out of the way." Fluttershy said as she petted Sonic on the head as her friends wriggled in agony.

After a short while, the others stopped moving as each of them started to rise up with their eyes open, which were now red as they each displayed their fangs. When this happened, Fluttershy's body glowed red as she entered her vampire form. Her former friends and now minions began to crowd around her.

"Now, let us increase our ranks." Fluttershy  declared as she spread her arms out wide and let out a loud hissing noise that made a red echo throughout the entire city.  After she did, large flapping was heard as many swarms of bats began to fly where Fluttershy was before they all perched themselves on her. As they did, Fluttershy's body glew red, which came in contact with the bats, making their eyes a deep crimson color.

"My dear friends, please go invite others into our fray," Fluttershy instructed as all the bats leaped off her and began to fly and spread out through all of Canterlot, looking for any open windows they could find.




At her lab, Twilight emerged from iy as she was holding 3 books in her hand and wiped her brow.

"Phew! Nothing beats spending the evening reading up on some theoretical physics." She said as she set the books down.

Just then, Spike came rushing towards her as he held her phone in his mouth. When he got near her, Twilight knelt down as Spike placed the phone down.

"Spike? Why do you have my phone?" Twilight asked.

"It was beeping for some time in the living room." Spike replied. "Looks like you got a message."

Twilight picked up her phone from the ground and examined it to see Sonic's message...which had been sent 30 minutes ago, causing her eyes to widen.

"Oh, no! Sonic wanted to meet me and the others around 30 minutes ago! He said it was urgent!" She exclaimed as she then quickly put her phone in her pocket. "Come on, Spike! We have to go now!"

Twilight then rushed out towards the city with Spike following her.




In the city, Twilight and Spike were walking through it as they made their way to Canterlot High. The whole city was covered in mist and it seemed like it was deserted at this time. Twilight felt a chill around her as Spike looked around uneasily.

"Twilight, are you sure this was a good idea? I'm kind of getting freaked out." Spike admitted.

"I know this hour can be unsettling but Sonic said it was urgent. He must need us." Twilight said.

As the two of them walked in the street, Twilight saw the back of Flash Sentry, much to her confusion as she and Spike stopped in their tracks.

"Flash?" She called out. "What are you doing here at this hour?"

Flash didn't respond at all, which caused Twilight and Spike to turn to each other.

"Flash? Did you-" Twilight started before Flash turned around, revealing red eyes and a pair of fangs as he hissed.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Twilight and Spike screamed as they jumped back at the sight.

The two of them began to back away as Flash approached them in a menacing manner.

"Flash, what's gotten into you?" Twilight said uneasily.

Flash responded by lunging towards her and Spike. Before he reached them, Twilight stuck her hand out and trapped him a purple aura, making him snarl as he tried to resist it.

"Flash, if you can hear me, what happened to you?!" Twilight demanded.

"Uh..Twilight." Spike said in a small voice full of fright, which made her turn around and she gasped.

Coming towards her and Spike were citizens of Canterlot, many of who she recognized as her fellow students from CHS. Like Flash, they had red eyes and fangs too.  Twilight made a look of horror as she saw what was in front of her.

"Spike...Run!" Twilight yelled as she dropped Flash, making him hit the ground as she and Spike ran for dear life with a mob of crazy citizens coming after them, including Flash.

"Twilight! What's going on?!" Spike shrieked.

"I don't know!" Twilight yelled.

As the two of them continued to run with the hoard in hot pursuit, Twilight used her power to levitate objects in front of their paths such as trash cans, mailboxes, and containers in order to slow them down. It worked somewhat as many of them started to trip and fall over. As Twilight was going to levitate a few stop cones, her eyes widened with shock as she saw a green glowing car headed her way. This forced her to drop the cones and grab Spike with her powers as she jumped out of the way as the car smashed to the ground while she and Spike sprawled on the floor.

"Spike, are you ok?" She asked her loyal companion.

"Twilight, look!" Spike said as he pointed ahead.

Twilight looked up to see in front of her was Silver floating in the air with Pinkie Pie joining him shortly. The two of them hissed at her.

"Silver? Pinkie?" Twilight said with fright.  "What's going on? Why is everyone like this?"

"Twilight...I think... they're vampires." Spike said.

Before Twilight could respond, Pinkie tossed a series of explosives, forcing Twilight to gather more objects to defend herself as an explosion occurred in front of her.  When the smoke died down, she suddenly found herself and Spike trapped in a green aura as they rose up the air. Twilight was frozen as she could only look on to see more vampires coming in the area. Her eyes then landed on Pinkie and Silver as the latter started to draw her closer to him. As he did, he made Twilight tilt her head, revealing her neck as he displayed his fangs, much to her distress.

"Twilight!" Spike called out as when she got close enough, Silver prepared to sink his teeth into her as Twilight shut her eyes.

Suddenly, a green flash appeared as Shadow came and kicked Silver in the back of the head, releasing Twilight and Spike as they came to the ground. Shadow landed on the floor with them as all the other vampires hissed in response.

"Shadow!" Twilight said with relief as he clenched his fist. "Am I glad to see you."

Shadow looked around to see the vampires closing in on him as Silver rose from the ground with Pinkie by his side. 

"You mind explaining what's happening? I've noticed people lurking around the city like their animals." Shadow questioned.

"They're not people. They're vampires!" Spike said, causing Shadow to look as if he didn't hear right.

"Shadow, look out!" Twilight said as a group of vampires lunged towards him.

In response, Shadow released a spin kick, knocking the vampires away from him. Silver started to levitate two cars in preparation to smash down Shadow,  but Twilight used her powers to trap him a purple field before she pushed him back on the floor as the cars fell down. More vampires came to Shadow, but he teleported in a flash as they crashed into each other as he reappeared once more.  As he did, he didn't notice Pinkie charged up an explosion, which she then tossed towards his face just as he turned to see it coming. The result was a blinding explosion, forcing Shadow to cover his eyes as he staggered back.

"Argh!" He said as he couldn't see. 

Seeing his weakness, Pinkie jumped on his back as Shadow struggled to get her off him.  Twilight used her powers to knock over some vampires using a few signs as she turned to see Pinkie sink her teeth into Shadow's neck.

"Nooo!" Twilight and Spike yelled as Shadow grunted in pain. 

Shadow's hands reached Pinkie as he tossed her off of him. He then backed away and gripped his neck as Twilight and Spike came towards him with looks of concern.

"Oh no! Pinkie got Shadow! He's going to turn into a vampire!" Spike exclaimed as Shadow began to open his eyes. "Look, his eyes are red!"

"Spike, his eyes are always red." Twilight pointed out. "Shadow, are you-"

"Annoyed by this pain in my neck? Yes." Shadow grunted, much to Twilight's and Spike's confusion. He was bitten by a vampire but he seemed perfectly fine.

"(That's odd. He should've turned into one of them, right?)" Twilight thought as she observed Shadow wince in pain as he held his neck. She then looked up to see that the vampires were now crowding around them.

"(We need a diversion. There are too many of them.)" Twilight realized as she looked around the area. Her eyes landed on a fire hydrant, giving her an idea.

Using her powers,  Twilight made the fire hydrant glow as she then turned the knob, causing shake violently before it fired a high pressured blast of water. Twilight grabbed both Shadow and Spike as she ducked and the vampires were blown away by the blast of water.

"Shadow, can you teleport us back to my lab?" Twilight requested. "We need to lay low there."

Shadow then grabbed both Spike and Twilight as they all vanished in a green flash, leaving behind the soaking wet and angry vampires, who all snarled and hissed loudly.




Back at Twilight's lab, a green flash appeared in front before it died down to reveal Shadow, Spike and Twilight as the former let go of the two of them.

"Whew, made it." Twilight said. 

"Yeah, now we just need to figure out what's going on with all of those vampires!" Spike said in a panicked tone. "Where did they come from?"

"And how did they get Silver and Pinkie? What if the others are like that?" Twilight said with alarm at the thought.

"I haven't seen them around when I went around the city. We have to assume that they must have been turned as well. I think it's just us." Shadow said, much to Spike's dismay. 

"That's nice to know." He said in a glum manner as he rested on the floor.

Meanwhile, Twilight looked on at Shadow with curiosity. 

"Shadow, how are you feeling now?" She asked.

"Fine, though that bite slightly stings." He said with mild annoyance.

"How come you didn't get turned into a vampire when you got bitten?" Spike asked.

"As if I would fall to some petty bloodsuckers. I'm the Ultimate Lifeform." Shadow stated.

Hearing this made Twilight hit a realization as she snapped her fingers.

"Of course! Since you're the Ultimate Lifeform, you're immune to all diseases! Vampirism is like a disease, so it's natural you wouldn't be infected! Ingenious!" Twilight gushed. "This is a scientific breakthrough!"

Shadow and Spike gave her strange looks, which made her blush slightly as she regained her composure.

"Ahem, sorry.  But it's still good news. We can use you to make the cure and turn everyone back to normal." Twilight went on.

"And find whoever's responsible and make them dust." Shadow said as he placed his fist in his hand.

"Hold on. First, you said the whole city is like covered with vampires. And not to mention they're people we know. We can't hurt them by charging in. We'll have to find another way." Twilight brought up.

"But what else can we do?" Spike wondered.

Shadow put his hand to his chin before he let out a smirk.

"I know who can help." Shadow said as he disappeared in a flash once more. After a while, he returned with a slightly startled Rouge as she frantically looked around as Spike and Twilight were surprised by her presence.

"What the? Shadow? Why did you-" She started before he cut her off.

"I'm going to cut to the chase. Our city has been overrun with vampires, who are the citizens of the city, including Twilight's friends." Shadow explained as he pointed to Twilight. "That makes thing problematic and we need your stealth skills to get past them."

Rouge looked back to Twilight and then at Shadow as she let out a sigh.

"Vampires? That's something you don't see every day." Rouge stated. "You know, you could have called first instead of abducting me. Anyway, you mentioned that your friends are vampires? What are you going to do about that?"

" Shadow was bitten but he didn't get turned into one. Using him, we can probably make a cure." Twilight informed her as Rouge let out a small smile.

"You're even too stubborn to be turned into a vampire." Rouge joked as Shadow simply turned away from her. Rouge then turned to Twilight.

"Well then genius, you better get started on that cure then while we wait around. When it's done, we can head out." Rouge said before her eyes landed on Spike, making him blush slightly. "In the meantime, I'm going to get to know this adorable puppy."

Rouge then tapped Spike on his nose, making him blush even more as he shyly turned from her. Twilight then turned to Shadow.

"She's right. Shadow, I'm going to need to see your neck." Twilight said as Shadow came over to her workplace in her lab.

Twilight took a look at Shadow's wound and extracted some blood from the area, which she placed in a test tube that she hooked up to the computer in her lab. A series of data appeared on the screen as she analyzed the contents as her face broke out into a smile, indicating she had figured out the process of the cure.  She then turned to Shadow as she gave him the thumbs up before she took out another needle, which made him raise an eyebrow. Sometime later, Twilight had extracted roughly 3 pints of his blood in a container, which was connected to a filter machine of hers connected to her computer as she typed on it while Shadow seemed a little dazed. The filter machine began to fill up with a bluish liquid as the pints of Shadow's blood decreased from the container.  Rouge was tickling Spike's belly as this happened in the background.  Eventually, the filter machine was entirely full and made a ding sound, which caught everyone's attention as they all turned to see it.

"Yes! The cure is made!" Twilight cheerfully said. "Shadow, you're a lifesaver!" 

Shadow was still somewhat dizzy which Twilight noticed as she put her hand to her mouth.

"Oh and sorry about making you give 3 pints of your blood for it." She added.

"Hmph, this is nothing." He just said, though he still held his head.

"You better not pass out." Rouge teased as she raised her hand and stretched her glove. "Now that we have our cure, it's time to we get to work.




In the city, it was still night out as the vampires roamed across the street, looking out for any nearby prey. As this was happening,  Rouge peered out from a dark alley with Shadow, Twilight, and Spike not too far behind her. Twilight had a large container filled with glowing blue liquid strapped to her back. Rouge then turned to the face them

"This is nothing compared to what I've been through. Just follow my lead." She instructed.

Using her skills in stealth, Rouge began to lead the others past the vampires. Whenever their attention was elsewhere, Rouge gave the signal to move as they progressed forward in the city.  Whenever it seemed like a close call, Rouge gave the command to sit back to wait for an opening or hide back in the shadows. She also knew where to go in order to not draw too much attention. Combined with the vampires mindlessness, the group was able to move through the city relatively easily. 

"I'm kind of sad that this is too easy." Rouge expressed.

"Stay alert, Rouge. Don't let your guard down." Shadow reminded as Rouge let out a sigh.

"Lighten up. So far, so good." Rouge dismissed. "You let me worry about my job."

Before they moved again, Spike noticed something in the sky.

"Guys, look up." He said as all the heads turned to see what she saw.

It was Silver as he was flying through the city. However, it didn't look like he was searching for something. It seemed like he was heading somewhere.

"Silver's acting differently from the other vampires. It looks like he's following a certain direction." Shadow observed.

"Could that be where we find the vampire behind all of this?" Twilight wondered.

"Only one way to find out." Rouge stated before she came to pet Spike. "Nice eye, doggie." She praised as Spike blushed a little while forming a smile.

Following Rouge's lead and pattern, Shadow, Twilight, and Spike began to follow Silver through the city.




After a while, the four of them followed Silver to the front of Canterlot High, which was unexpected for them as they stopped in their tracks for a bit.

"CHS? The vampire's headquarters are here?" Twilight said in a quizzical tone. It seemed odd for a vampire to choose this place.

"We'll find out more if we go on ahead." Rouge decided as she marched forward with the others following.

The four of them saw Silver float down in front of the entrance of the school. The doors then opened up in a cryptic fashion as he walked in and then closed shut afterward as the group looked on.

"That wasn't creepy or anything." Spike nervously commented.

"We can't just walk in front and hand ourselves over on a silver platter." Rouge said. "We need to find another way."

Shadow looked up to the top of CHS as he got an idea for how.

"I know how we can get it. We can use the roof." Shadow explained. "Everyone hang on and I'll teleport us there."

The others grabbed onto Shadow as they all vanished in a green flash.  They then reappeared on the rooftop of the school as the others let go of Shadow.

"We can head in through there. There's a staircase that leads to the inside of the library." Shadow said as he pointed towards a glass dome in front which had a small tower on top with a flag.

"You sure know your way around here, Shadow." Rouge commented. "Don't tell me you spend your time brooding here instead of socializing?"

Shadow didn't answer as he had already walked towards the staircase. Rouge then turned to Twilight as she crossed her arms while Twilight gave a sheepish smile as Spike looked on in the distance. Rouge was spot on. 

The four of them approached the glass dome and as they did, they were able to see through it, which made them stop in their tracks due what they saw. The glass showed them the inside of the library and in it were the most of the Rainbooms, Sonic, Manic, Knuckles, Tails and Silver as they were surrounding something. A little while later, they heard footsteps coming down the steps before they saw Fluttershy, who had an entirely different look, much to their astonishment.

"Is that Fluttershy?" Twilight said with disbelief. 

Fluttershy stopped to look around at the rest of the group surrounding her as she let out a wicked smile.

"Everything seems to be going well. The entire city is practically mine and soon we will claim this as our new home. I owe it all to you." She darkly said, much to the disbelief of the group looking ahead. 

"Fluttershy's the head vampire?!" Spike nearly exclaimed.

"I've seen her before. She seemed nice." Rouge stated. "Well, they do say beware the quiet ones."

Back down, Fluttershy took in a few whiffs while she formed a frown.

"I smell...living blood!" She suddenly shouted as she turned to the top of the glass roof and hissed, as the entire group save for Shadow formed panicked looks.

Fluttershy's eyes flashed red as she pointed to the roof. In doing so, a giant swarm of bats charged towards the glass as they all crashed through, shattering it and covering the group as they were blinded by the swarm of bats. This then caused them to fall down towards the floor of the library. As they did, Rouge landed on her feet as she caught Spike while Shadow also found his footing and grabbed Twilight as he landed on the floor. Together, the 4 of them looked on to see Fluttershy and the rest of their vampire friends, who were crowding in on them as they displayed their fangs.

"Well..so much for stealth." Rouge simply said.

Fluttershy then walked forward to get a closer look at the group.

"You haven't been turned yet? What a shame. You don't know what you're missing out on." She said.

"Fluttershy, what's happened to you?! This isn't you at all! You're not a vampire!" Twilight pleaded as Fluttershy just shook her head.

"You little fool, I am exactly who I want to be." Fluttershy answered. "And you will soon join my herd."

"Sorry sweetheart, but bat's aren't my style." Rouge denied.

"Fluttershy, you're sick and you need help right away." Shadow stated.

"You're the sick ones. For denying greatness." Fluttershy replied as her vampire hoard surrounded her and she let out a smirk.

"Make them one of us." She ordered as the vampires crowded around the group, who were close together.

"We have to use the cure now, but we can't hurt our friends badly. We have to keep them at bay so we can cure them." Twilight said.

"So act as a tease. I can work with that." Rouge said with a wink.

The 4 of them then dispersed, catching the vampires off guard. Shadow dashed away out of the library as Sonic, Manic, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity followed him.  He left behind a yellow trail as he noticed a blue, a green and a rainbow colored one heading him after. 

"I'll show you true speed." He boasted as he moved a bit faster, causing his vampirized pursuers to do the same.

As Shadow dashed forward, he noticed a series of diamonds came in front of him, forcing him to change his direction. As he did, another wall of diamonds came and Shadow drifted once more. Many diamond shards then tried to hit him as Shadow avoided contact with them while evading the vampire speedsters.

In the library, Knuckles, AppleJack, Tails, and Sunset surrounded Rouge as she backed away from them and her eyes landed on Knuckles.

"Think you can tag me, Red?" She said in a playful manner as Knuckles lunged towards her.

Rouge sidestepped past Knuckles to see AppleJack trying to grab her as well as she flipped over her. Tails and Sunset tried to pounce on her but she leaped high into the air via a backflip as she landed on the floor. She saw the four vampires and invited them to charge after her. Knuckles released a series of punches but Rouge was just too quick to hit as she jumped over him and pushed him down. AppleJack tried to grab her but Rouge caught her arm and threw her into Tails and Sunset.

Lastly, Silver, Pinkie, and Fluttershy were in front of Twilight as she stood her ground.

"Get her!" Fluttershy ordered.

Silver raised his hands as books in the library glowed green and he launched them to Twilight, who trapped them in a purple field with an annoyed look on her face.

"Hey, leave the books out of this!" She scolded. 

Twilight then noticed Pinkie released a series of explosives towards her as her face filled with panic. With much difficulty and not having any options, she reluctantly threw the books in her front of her as a shield as she was slightly blown back due to the force. Much to her dismay, she saw burnt pages everywhere.

"I'm sorry." Twilight said in a low voice. She then lifted up a few desk and tables from the library and launched them around Pinkie, which trapped her. As she charged an explosion to free herself, Twilight took a few drapes from the rooftop and wrapped Pinkie in them, getting her caught in her own explosion as she blown up in the air. Twilight then wiped her brow before she found herself trapped in a green field and immobilized as she saw Silver holding her in place. As she struggled, Silver brought her closer to him. Before he could do anymore, Spike then leaped onto Silver face, throwing him off balance as he held his hair in his jaws. Silver tried to use his powers to remove Spike off, but he tugged at Silver's hair, which made it difficult. On the floor, Twilight let out a sigh of relief before she found herself covered in a swarm of bats, blocking her vision.

"Ahh!" She cried out before she felt herself being blown away towards a shelf, separating her from the container on her back with the cure. When she rose up, she saw Fluttershy toward her, with her wings fully displayed.

"You could have made this so much easier, Twilight. But then again, who doesn't like toying with their prey?" Fluttershy taunted in a menacing manner.

Rouge tripped Knuckles and Sunset while she judo flipped Tails towards AppleJack. When she was done, she noticed Fluttershy had Twilight cornered. Her eyes then shifted to the container that Twilight had dropped, which made them widen as Rouge made a mad dash for it. She quickly reached it and then tossed it towards Twilight.

"Hey, take this!" Rouge yelled as Twilight turned to see the container coming her way.

Using her powers, Twilight quickly brought the container to her just as Fluttershy came to bite her. With it, Twilight opened the top.

"Sorry Fluttershy, but instead of blood, try this!" She yelled as she splashed some of the liquid on Fluttershy's face.

Fluttershy let out a hiss of pain as she recoiled and covered her face as she was now dripping with blue liquid.  She let out a few more hisses before her body started to glow red, which then began to change to a pink color as her bat ears and wings vanished and she fell on her knees.  Dazed, Fluttershy then began to look around in a confused manner.

"What's going on? Where am I?" She wondered.

Suddenly, Tails, Silver, Pinkie, AppleJack, Knuckles, and Sunset crowded around her, much to her fright as she gasped and let out a scream as they bared their fangs. Before anything happened, a splash came over them as they backed away, covered in blue liquid as Twilight came next to Fluttershy along with Spike. Fluttershy noticed the two of them and became confused.

"Twilight? " She asked.

"Fluttershy! It really is you!" Twilight said as she hugged her, making Fluttershy even more lost. The two of them turned to their friends, who were now back to normal and seemed quite dizzy.

"Yes, the cure is working!"Twilight exclaimed.

"Hold on." Rouge said. "We still have to get to Shadow and the ones he's with."

In the halls, Shadow avoided incoming diamond strikes from Rarity as Sonic, Manic and Rainbow Dash still followed him.

"This is absurd. I don't like fleeing. This could take a while." Shadow muttered to himself.

Suddenly at the end of the hall, Twilight appeared as she noticed the scene. 

"Shadow!" She yelled, which made him look back to see her at the other end with the container. "Use this!"

Using her powers, Twilight flung the container to Shadow past the vampires as Shadow stopped himself and headed in the opposite direction. He leaped over the 4 vampires as he grabbed the container mid-air and came on the floor.As the vampires charged towards him, Shadow turned around and covered them in the blue liquid as they all cried out in pain and fell on the floor. Shadow then looked down at them as Twilight came next to him and sighed in relief.

"Ok, now we have all of our friends accounted for." Twilight said.




Back in the library, Shadow and Twilight carried the remaining four of their now cured friends back while the others were still recovering with the cure. Rouge, Fluttershy, and Spike came up to them.

"Can someone please tell me what happened?" Fluttershy asked. "Why is everyone in pain and why are we in the library?"

"You mean you don't remember anything?" Spike asked as Fluttershy nodded.

"I don't remember the past day honestly." Fluttershy admitted.

Shadow and Twilight exchanged glances before Shadow spoke up.

"Well, somehow. You turned into a vampire and infected the entire city." Shadow told her as Fluttershy formed a look of disbelief. "We had to cure you and everyone else you bit."

"Me?! A vampire?! But that doesn't make any sense? How could I-" Fluttershy said before the gaps in her memories started to fill. She remembered ponying up as the bat bit her, her feeling sick, inviting Manic and biting him, having her friends turned and then turning the entire city via a swarm of bats. She then gripped her arm.

"Oh, now I remember..." She said in a soft voice.

"You caused quite a bit of trouble. Shadow even had to call me in."Rouge told her.

"How did you even become one anyway?" Twilight asked.

"It must've been when I was trying to give medicine to a vampire bat and I ponied up. It bit me when I was doing it and the bite must've transformed me when it reacted with my magc." Fluttershy said. "I'm so glad you could cure me and the others. But is the city still full of vampires."

"Yeah. And they won't be cured without a fight." Spike brought up.

Fluttershy put her hand on her chin before her face lit up. She had an idea.

"I think I can solve that."Fluttershy said as she turned around to the swarm of bats still in the library. She then walked over to them.

"Excuse me, bats? I was wondering, could you do me a favor? I want to make up for some mistakes I did." Fluttershy kindly requested as the bats came to her and listened in as she made her request.

The bats then flew away from Fluttershy and towards the container of blue liquid, much to everyone else's confusion. They then began to slurp up the contents before the glass was empty. After this, they each headed out of the window as Fluttershy and the others looked on.

"Fluttershy? What just happened?" Twilight asked.

"Oh well this time, I asked them to take the drink from the glass and go around and spread it to all the infected people." Fluttershy explained.

"Well, that saves us a lot of time." Rouge said with a smile.




Later, the bats had gone around and cured the city of Canterlot of vampires. The others in the library had finally came to and were now with Shadow, Rouge, Spike, Twilight, and Fluttershy as they were going over what happened.

"I can't believe it...I was a vampire?!" Rarity said with disgust before she took out a small handheld mirror. "How does my neck look?"

"Your neck looks fine." Knuckles answered for her. "I just can't believe that Rouge saved us, including me."

"Looks like I was your hero today, Red." Rouge said with a wink as Knuckles turned away in a pouting manner.

"Vampires explains why you were being all creepy when I came to your house Fluttershy." Manic said as Fluttershy formed a shy look. "Though from experience, I should have realized something was up sooner." 

"Just imagine. The entire town was almost overrun by vampires just like that right under our noses. We dodged a real bullet." Silver said out loud.

"And it was all thanks to Twilight being Twilight and Shadow being Shadow." Rainbow Dash expressed with slight disbelief as Twilight did a small laugh and Shadow just turned away.

"I'm actually kind of bummed out. I would've thought it was pretty cool to fight some vampires actually." Sonic expressed.

"It wasn't fun. Believe me." Twilight told him with a tired look.

"But you made a cure from Shadow's blood? That's fascinating. You've got to tell me the mechanism of how it worked." Tails said to Twilight with interest while Shadow shot him a look.

"I'm not giving up any more of my blood for some test." Shadow firmly said as Tails then started to lose interest in the idea.

"Just one question." Pinkie asked as she hung upside.  "We aren't all going to turn into like were-Shadows because of this or something right?"

"Now I'm actually getting scared." Sonic quipped.

"I hope not. We don't need an entire city of brooding loners." Rouge joked which made Shadow frown but he said nothing.

"I'm really sorry about all of this everyone." Fluttershy apologized.

"Don't worry about it, Fluttershy." Sunset told her. "Besides, you made up for it by using those bats to cure the town."

"I'll say." AppleJack said. "I used to think bats were just nothin' but varmints but seeing as how you used em, I guess they aren't all bad."

"Nope. Like all animals, they're my friends." Fluttershy said as a bat came down and rested on her finger.

"I don't know about you guys, but I hope they cancel school tomorrow."Manic said with a yawn. "It's like 3 am now."

"I'm sure they will. I mean we all had a  a very bat day!"Pinkie said as she spread her arms out.

Pinkie was met with groans due to how bad her pun was and everyone started shaking their heads.
> Tails Doll
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tails Doll

Early in the morning in Canterlot, Tails had stepped outside of his house as he was prepared to head to school. As soon as he closed the door behind him, he noticed something at his feet. In front of him was a brown packaging box. He knelt down and picked it up with curiosity.

"A package for me?" He said out loud. Before he could check it, Tails heard a beeping soundcoming from his wrist, which made him turn to look at his watch as his eyes widened.

"Oh man. I better head to school or I'll be late. I'll open it there." He decided as he then left for school while carrying the package.




At Canterlot High, Tails entered through the hallway, which was full of students.  Still holding the package, he then walked over to the CHS band room. He then opened it up to find the Rainbooms, Sonic, Manic, Knuckles and Silver as usual, who turned to see him enter.

"Yo, bro." Sonic greeted before he noticed the box he was carrying. "What's the package?"

"Beats me. I found it in front of my house this morning. I decided I'd open it here." Tails explained. As soon as he did, Pinkie eagerly came up to him with an excited look.

"Oooh, I just love surprises! Don't open it, I wanna guess what's inside first! Wait, actually do, the suspense is killing me! Wait, don't, I mean do, don't, do..." Pinkie said as started to go off on a tangent before AppleJack covered her mouth as Pinkie muffled.

"Just open it, partner." AppleJack told him.

Tails opened up the top of the box.First, he noticed a card, which indicated where it was from as he read it.

"It says it's from Cream and her mother." He said. "She's a friend of ours from New Mobotropolis."

Tails then reached in to pull out something that was contained in the box. As he did, he formed an unsure expression on his face as the others looked on with slightly appalled looks. 

What was in the box was a doll of some kind. However, it appeared to be one of Tails and was somewhat raggedy with visible stitches everywhere. It had large emotionless eyes, no mouth, and it's most striking feature was a red gem on top of its head. Tails and the others just looked, not sure what to make of it.

"This is...um..." Tails began.

"Just what the heck is that? Is this some kind of joke?" Knuckles questioned.

"Could be." Tails said with a shrug as he still examined the doll. He then noticed it had a letter attached on it's back. He then took it off the doll and read it out loud.

'Dear Mr. Tails. While I was out in the city, my mother and I came across this doll that happened to look a lot like you. I figured you must have a fan and they didn't know you weren't currently in the city. I decided to send it to you as a favor to them. I hope you enjoy it. Sincerely, Cream.' Tails read out loud. "Huh."

"That's from a fan? Yeah right, I'm pretty sure they hate you if they made that."Manic stated.

"It's not that bad." Fluttershy said. "The doll is..."

"Creepy? Unsettling?" Silver suggested. Fluttershy couldn't really argue with him there.

"Well, whoever it's from, they don't know the first thing about sewing. The craftsmanship is awful." Rarity observed as she came up and examined the doll before she recoiled a bit.

"Hey, you know what they say, it's the thought that counts." Tails said before he looked back at the doll in an unsure manner.

"The gem on the top is a nice touch, though." Twilight added as she took a closer look at the jewel before she backed up a bit due to the doll's appearance."Though I'm not familiar with the type. It doesn't look like any of the gems I've studied before."

"So, what're you gonna do with it, bro?" Sonic asked.

Tails still eyed the doll. It was personally kind of creeping him out. Before he said anything, Pinkie interjected.

"You can't throw it away! One of the written  rules about gifts is that no matter what a gift is, you can't toss!" Pinkie told him.

"And you know this from where?" Knuckles asked before Pinkie came to him with a large pink book that read '1001 do's and do not's of gifts." Knuckles was speechless as she brought it out of thin air but decided it was best not question Pinkie.

"I'm with Pinkie. Whoever made it, it looks like they went through a lot of trouble to make it for you. The least you can do is keep it around." Sunset suggested.

"I guess so. I'd hate to be rude after all." Tails started to agree.

"Rude, schmude. If you ask me, something isn't a gift if you can't play with it, eat it or watch it." Rainbow Dash said. "If I were you, I'd kick that doll as hard as I could. Just like I'm going to do today in the game this morning to any soccer balls that come my way. Speaking of which, I better get ready. See you all later."

Rainbow Dash then dashed out of the room, leaving everyone else behind. As soon as she did, the bell rang, which signified that the day had started. The group had started to leave as Tails was left behind, conflicted as he held the doll. Though as Pinkie did the 'I'm watching you motion' towards him as he sighed.




Later in the morning, most of the students were out on the bleachers. It was time for a soccer game between CHS's soccer team and Crystal Prep. During this time, Rainbow Dash was leading the CHS team as so far, the game was tied for the most part.  As the next round started, Rainbow Dash dribbled the ball as she was headed towards Crystal Prep's goal. She had managed to avoid any incoming plays from the rival team and it seemed she would be able to make the shot. So far, so good. 

However, unknown to anyone in the bleachers, while Tails was holding the doll, the gem on its head flickered a bit. A small surge of red electricity was sent down towards beneath the bleachers as it reached the ground and traversed across. The red energy was heading towards Rainbow Dash, who was just about to kick the soccer ball in the goal. The red electricity covered the ground she was underneath. As soon as Rainbow Dash's leg touched the ball, the ground below her suddenly exploded, much to her and everyone else's shock.

"Ahhhh!" Rainbow screamed as she was covered in debris from the ground as it violently overcame her. This resulted in her being sent sprawling across the ground for a while before she skidded to a stop.

"Rainbow Dash!" Sonic yelled as he and the rest of the group went to check in on her alongside her teammates, the referee, and the opposing team. They came to see her and her body was covered in cuts and bruises as she moaned in pain.

A while later, Rainbow Dash was being taken in on a stretcher by some doctors. It seemed as if during the event, she had badly sprained her ankle and had a slight concussion. She still slightly groaned as she was taken away while her friends looked on with concern.

"Y'all saw that right? I'm not the only one?" AppleJack asked a she turned to others.

"Of course not! The ground just suddenly exploded out of nowhere!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"But how? We're not on any fault lines and the earthquake just wouldn't strike a specific location without leaving everything else around it intact." Tails said as he put his hand on his chin.

"Was it magic going out of control or something? Or maybe she was running too fast and got excited, which made her magic give a sudden burst?"Silver suggested.

"I don't think so. I can feel  Magic and I didn't sense anything around." Sunset debunked.

"Ok, so Rainbow gets attacked by a ground explosion and we don't anything about it. Swell." Sonic said as he crossed his arms.

"Once school's over, Tails and I will head over and examine the area to see if we can deduce anything." Twilight said as Tails nodded in agreement. As he did, the Tails Doll's gem did another spark, which no one else seemed to notice.




Later, it was lunchtime and most of the group was sitting at their table as they were having lunch. Tails then came in to join them, with the Tails Doll still in his hand. As he did, Knuckles noticed it and frowned.

"I get that you're trying to be courteous to whoever gave it to you, but can you at least put it away while we're eating. The doll creeps me out." Knuckles requested as Tails sat down.

'"Oh, sure thing." Tails agreed as he put the doll in his bag and zipped it up. Due to this, he didn't notice from the inside that the doll's gem gave a bit more electricity. The red surge spread from Tails's backpack to the ground and spread out across the entire lunchroom.

Rarity then reached to pick up her fork on the table. Before she could touch it, it suddenly floated in front of her, which made her lower her eyebrows.

"Oh, haha. Very funny, Silver." She said, much to his confusion.

"It's not me." Silver said, which made everyone else a bit taken aback at what happened. All eyes turned to Twilight, who shrugged.

"I'm not doing anything either. I have full control over my powers." Twilight reminded everyone.

"If it's not you two, then who i-" Manic began before he was violently taken out from his seat as he slipped from it as he crashed to the ground.

After this, all the utensils in the lunchroom began to float as they were surrounded by red electricity. The same thing happened to all the tables and chairs, much to the student's astonishment as they all looked around. They floated harmlessly for a while before they suddenly began to go out of control, as the students panicked and duck as tables and desk were thrown around the cafeteria. The utensils started to rain down as people ran.

'Eeeek!" Fluttershy shrieked as utensil headed towards her and the others, though Rarity made use of her diamond shield to protect themselves from the incoming blows.

It was like a total hurricane of objects as everyone came down to avoid being it.

"Ok, what now?!' Sonic yelled. 

'I'm not sure! I'm still not feeling any traces of magic anywhere!"Sunset called back.

As the objects started to go out control. A surge of red electricity also reached the top of the ceiling. As it did, the top of the ceiling began to crumble and crack before it collapsed entirely. As it did, it revealed Shadow as he started to fall down towards the ground, though he landed on the floor with an irritated look.

"Ok, is this some kind of-"He started before Pinkie called out to him.

"Shadow, duck!" She yelled, making him turn to see a table coming straight him, which he narrowly avoided by ducking as he crouched on the ground alongside the others.

"We have to do something before this gets even more out of control!" Tails yelled.

"I have an idea. Twilight! " Silver said as he rose up, making Twilight do the same. "Just follow my lead."

Silver spread his arms out as did Twilight.  The two of them closed their eyes and focused.

"Ok, now!" Silver said as he and Twilight stuck their hands out, putting all of the objects to a stop in green and purple glows. The two of them struggled a bit as it seemed there was some force which was moving against their powers. After a while, whatever seemed to be against them had given up as the two of them felt they could hold the objects with ease, which they all set down as the other students rose up from the ground. 

"Anyone care to explain the cause of all of that?" Shadow demanded as he crossed his arms.

"We don't know either." AppleJack answered. "First, Rainbow Dash gets hurt and now everything in the cafeteria goes crazy out of nowhere. Somethin' really weird is goin' on around here."

"Maybe CHS's haunted?" Manic suggested.

"You don't think it is, do you?" Fluttershy said with fright at the idea.

"Nah, get real Manic." Knuckle said, which made Fluttershy relieved. " The ghost we've dealt with don't act like this and we can actually see them, remember?" 

This addition caused Fluttershy to regain her fearful look as she gripped herself.

"Well, whatever's going on, Twilight and I are bound to find something after school." Tails said with determination as Twilight nodded in agreement.

Just then, the door to the cafeteria opened to reveal Principal Celestia. As soon as she saw the state of the cafeteria, she looked like she was about to pass out as she backed up in fright. Her eyes then landed on to the group.

"Uh, it's a long story." Sunset just answered as she rubbed the back of her head.

In Tail's backpack, the gem on the Tails Doll's head sparkled once more.




Later, it was the end of the day as students poured out of CHS. Instead of heading for the school's exit, Tails and Twilight went out to the field where Rainbow Dash was hurt. Twilight took out a handheld portable scanner as she went over the area to find energy signatures as Tails knelt down and closely examined the ground to see if there were any traces of what had caused the event after the two of them placed their backpacks down near the bleachers. So far, they hadn't had much luck.

"So, what do you think the cause of all this could be?" Twilight asked Tails.

"Well, we can cross magic off the list and I haven't seen anything like this before." Tails answered before he frowned. "And I can't seem to find any trace of what was responsible here. Nothing."

"And my readings are blank too." Twilight added.

As the two of them continued their work, from the inside of Tails' s backpack, the Tails Doll's jewel had another spark as red energy came off from it and outside. The bleachers then started to be covered in a red glow, throwing Tails and Twilight's bags to the ground and the doll was now partially exposed. The bleachers then rose and started to hover over an unsuspecting Tails and Twilight, who were still conducting research on the site. However, Tails noticed the large shadow coming over himself and Twilight, which he found odd before he turned around and gasped at the bleachers above.

"Twilight, out of the way!" Tails yelled as he tackled Twilight just as the bleachers came down to crush the two of them. Due to Tail's quick thinking, they were spared, though now the bleachers were now crooked and messed up as they covered the area where Tails and Twilight were doing research.  Twilight looked in utter disbelief at what had just happened as Tails let out a deep breath.

"Ok, just what is going on?!" Twilight frantically shouted as she and Tails rose up.  

"Whatever this is, we better find a way to deal with it and fast before someone gets really hurt.  Tails said before he noticed that the bleachers had covered up their research area as he let out a defeated sigh. "Looks like that's it our investigation today."

The two of them then walked away from the wreckage as they went to take their bags on the other side. As they did, Tails noticed the Tails Doll coming out from his backpack. As he picked up his bag, he removed the doll from it as he looked at it and squinted.

"You know, Twilight, I'm starting to feel that something's off with this doll." Tails said as Twilight turned to him.

"The doll? Why do you say that?" She asked.

"Well, when you think about it, all this weird stuff has been happening ever since I got that." Tails brought up.

"What are you getting at? Like it's some kind of bad luck charm or something?" Twilight answered.

"With what we deal with, maybe." Tails said. "Anyway, for the time being, I'm not comfortable having this thing around. I'm going to get rid of it."

Tails picked up the Tails Doll and then threw it in a trash can nearby and closed the lid. He then walked back to Twilight as the two of them left CHS and headed home.




The next day in the morning, Tails had already woken up and was getting ready to head out as he had already gotten dress and brushed his teeth. He was making breakfast as he put two pieces of bread in the toaster and was waiting for them to pop out. As he did, he then heard a strange rattling noise coming from his left. He then turned to examine it and as he did, he saw a red gem was descending down from the window, much to his slight shock.

"That gem....it looks like.."Tails said before he shook his head. "No, that can't be. I threw the doll away yesterday."

Tails started to feel nervous. He wanted to believe he was just seeing things but another part of him was compelled to go outside and check. After feeling conflicted for a while, he let out a heavy sigh.

"I hope I'm wrong." He muttered as he headed for his door and walked outside.

Tails turned around to the back of his house and much to his relief, there was nothing there as he relaxed.

"Phew. Guess it all was just in my hea-"He started before he turned to his right to see the Tails Doll right on the floor, which made him utterly stumped.

"What? No, I threw this thing away in the trash yesterday." Tails said. "How did it get here? Is this a prank or something?"

Tails looked around but there was clearly no one else there, just him to face the doll. Tails looked at it and was really starting to feel even more unnerved.

"Objective: Finish Operation Deadly Cuddles." The doll suddenly announced in a monotone robotic voice, which left Tails speechless. The doll had just talked.

"What?!" He cried as the doll started to rise up and the gem on its head starting glowing red, which Tails recognized after he got over his disbelief at seeing the doll move.

"That glow...You were behind all of those things at school?!" Tails realized.

The doll then suddenly seemed to be growing larger and larger as Tails began to back up. As it was, it looked like it was going to burst as its form became unstable. During the process, it's body opened up, revealing red grid-like circuit under its exterior. The doll had now transformed into a large behemoth creature of some sort with many large tentacles like appendages and sharp teeth in the center.  It' head was eyeless with a mouth containing the red gem as Tails looked on in horror at the monster before him.

"OBJECTIVE: DESTROY TAILS!" The monster yelled in a distorted voice.

"I should've have thrown this thing away from the start!" Tails screamed as the Tails Doll tried to smash him down with one of its tentacles.

Tails leaped out of the way to avoid the incoming smash as he sprawled over the floor and looked up to see the Tails Doll roar once more. It continued to try and smash him with its tentacles but he managed to avoid each of the strikes as they crashed to the ground. After the most recent one, Tails gave the monster a glare.

"Y-You're not so tough!" Tails said in an attempt to be brave, though he wished he believed what he was saying.

Tails clicked a button on his wrist as a red arm cannon enveloped his arm. He turned around and aimed it at the Tails Doll as he fired many yellow spheres of energy. Much to his dismay, they dissipated once they came in contact with the dolls hide.

"Ok, don't panic yet." Tails said as he backed up and the doll tried to crush him once more as Tails dodged it.

Tails kept rolling and shooting the Tails Doll but it had no effect. A few tentacles headed his way but Tails pressed another button on his wrist which made the cannon vanish and he pointed outward. Just as the tentacles were going to crush him, a giant hand flicked them away as the doll let out a shriek.

"Come on, there has to be a way for me to beat this thing."Tails said as he studied the doll. "Maybe those open circuits...no, a few of my shots already hit them. What else?..."

Suddenly a tentacle wrapped around Tails leg as he suddenly found himself being hung upside down and was dangling in front of the doll. It let out a loud roar as Tails was drawn towards it. He flailed in resistance before he noticed the open mouth on its stomach, which gave him an idea. As he got closer to it, Tails released a series of Dummy Ring Bombs, which exploded as they reached the chest mouth. This stunned the Tails Doll for a bit as it dropped Tails, giving him time to run and duck for cover behind a nearby tree. He looked back to see the doll recovering from his latest attack.

"That'll slow it down for a bit, but I have to find a better way to take it out commission." Tails said to himself. "Come on, I know there's a weak point."

Tails studied the Tails Doll from his distance as he looked over its entire body. He saw the doll yell out another a roar, exposing the gem on the top of its body, which made Tails hit a realization as his eyes widened.

"Of course, that gem is the key!" Tails said. "It allowed it to transform and cause everything, so disabling should defeat it. But how do I get myself close enough?"

Tails pondered this for a while before he sighed. 

"I hope this works." He said as he emerged from his hiding spot.

"Hey, over here!" Tails yelled, getting the doll's attention as he waved his arms around.

"DESTROY TAILS." It yelled as the doll released tentacles to try and smash him.

Again, Tails was too quick for the dolls blow. He then began to run away but a tentacle ensnared his entire body. The doll then brought him towards above its mouth as it roared towards him as Tails flinched.

"Gotcha." Tails said with a smirk as his from his right hand, he dropped a yellow and gray flash grenade towards the mouth of the monster. The grenade came in contact with the gem in its mouth and exploded, releasing a large yellow explosion as Tails was dropped to the ground as the monster roared.

The explosion shattered the gem entirely as the Tails doll began to regress back into its normal form and fell to the ground, lifeless and smoldering. Tails walked up to it as he huffed and puffed and examined it. He then got his arm cannon and destroyed the doll with a charge shot.




Later, Tails arrived at the CHS band room to see all of his friends in there, even Rainbow Dash, who had some crutches. When they saw him, they noticed his unkempt hair, bruises, and lowered eyelids as they each rose up.

"Goodness, Tails, what happened to you?! You look awful!" Rarity noticed.

"Yeah, you look like you were in a fight or something. Are you all right?" Sunset wondered.  commented as Tails walked into the room towards them.

"Well, I was. It turns out that doll I had was responsible for all of the crazy things happening." Tails explained. "It was using that red gem on its head to manipulate the surroundings."

"That makes sense." Twilight realized. "It explains why weren't able to find any leftover traces at the different scenes. 

"But why are you so beat up then?"Manic asked before he formed a small smirk. "Don't tell me a doll beat you up?

Tails frowned due to Manic's remarks.

"For your information, that doll transformed into a giant monster and tried to kill me." Tails said. "I managed to stop it by destroying its gem."

"So it was that doll, eh? Figures, it was creeping me out."Knuckles said as he folded his arms.

"Where is it now anyway? If it's normal since you broke the gem, I'd like to kick it around for some payback." Rainbow Dash asked.

"It's gone for good. After I took down the ruby, I destroyed its body." Tails answered.

Suddenly, Pinkie came up to Tails and gripped his shoulders tightly.

"You got rid of the doll?! Didn't I say you should never get rid of a gift?!" She screamed as Tails gave her a bewildered look.

"What are you talking about?! It tried to kill us, remember?" Tails brought up as Pinkie let him go.

"Oh, right." She remembered.

"I'm just glad that awful thing is gone and won't hurt anyone anymore." Fluttershy expressed with relief.

"About that, do you have any idea of who sent it?" Silver questioned.

"It was Eggman of course." Tails said. "Though I have to admit, it's unfair. Sonic has Metal Sonic and I get that?!"

"Honestly Bro, I'd rather have some doll over Metal anyway." Sonic commented though that didn't make Tails feel any better.

"I've learned one thing. Next time I get a gift, I'll strike first to make sure nothing's funny." Tails stated, which made everyone else in the room chuckle or snicker at his comment.
> Transdimensional Friendship
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a typical sunnyday in the city of Canterlot . At her farm, AppleJack was getting some chores done. Specifically, she was sorting out apples based on how ripe they were by taking them out of a large barrel and placing them into two smaller containers. She had been it at it for quite some time, but she didn't mind. She enjoyed hard work.

"AppleJack!" Twilight's voice said, which made AppleJack look up from her work.

Coming in front of the farm was Twilight Sparkle. The farm girl rose from where she was sitting to greet her friend.

"Hi, Twilight." She said. "What brings you by here?"

"As you know, things have been pretty quiet. Sunset's off to that fencing meet, Sonic, Amy, Manic and Tails are out of town visiting friends, likewise with Pinkie visiting her family, Rarity went to Manehattan for a fashion show, Knuckles is watching his emerald with Silver helping, Fluttershy got called for an emergency at the Animal Shelter and Shadow's with G.U.N. "Twilight listed in a long manner.

"Ah know. You didn't need to remind me of all that." AppleJack said with an amused smile.

"Since it leaves you and me, I was thinking maybe we could do something together." The lavender genius offered. "Unless you're too busy, that is."

"Sounds good to me. Ah'm almost done with this batch." Her friend replied. "After that, we can find somethin' to do."

Suddenly, a green energy spark then began to appear on the right of the girls, startling them.  Smoke then began to appear and from it, a silhouette was seen. This put Twilight and AppleJack on the offensive, with the latter glaring.

The smoke then began to clear and coming from it was a dazed young girl.  She had light orange hair with blue eyes and  two upturned "pigtails" tipped in dark brown with yellow ties. She wore a green top with a white trim and short black leggings, green and orange shoes, and tan gloves. Dark brown and cream markings surrounded her eyes. This made the two Rainbooms ease up while the girl wobbled around, clearly off balance.  In her right hand, she held an ornate device that resembled a shepherd's hook. It consisted of a black staff with a purple hook, and the pommel, the joint between the hook and the staff, and the hook itself were adorned with several gems.

"Uh...are you ok?" AppleJack asked.

The girl then shook her head and regained her composure. She then saw the duo in front and instantly stood up straight, while pointing her scepter at them, much to their surprise.

"Take me to find Sonic!" She demanded, which confused the two girls even more.

"Wow, just wait a minute." Twilight answered. "First things first, who are you and why are you looking for Sonic?"

The girl brought her staff down.

"My name is Marine." She answered. "I'm looking for Sonic because I need his help. Now tell me where he is! We gotta go now!"

The energetic girl grabbed AppleJacks wrist and began to walk with her out of the farm. However, AppleJack stopped her in her tracks.

"Hold on partner."The hat wearing teen said. "There's still a lot we need to discuss. How and why did you come here?"

Marine then faced AppleJack and Twilight.

"I came here using this, the Jewelled Scepter." She started. "I need Sonic's help because I was told to find him. My world is in danger."

"An interdimensional traveler?" Twilight said. "Fascinating, but I'll leave the questions for later. Sorry to say, Sonic isn't here."

Hearing this made Marine form a look of dismay.

"What?!' She cried out."Oh no! This is terrible! We really need backup."

"But don't you fret." AppleJack reassured. "The two of us can help."

Marine then gave shot her  a skeptical look.

"How? You two look pretty normal." She said.

"For now." The scientific Rainboom said. "Observe."

Twilight and AppleJack clicked the pendants on their necks and suddenly transformed in their Crystal Guardian forms. Marine looked on in awe by what she saw.

"I changed my mind!" She excitedly said. "That looks cool! I hope you'll be enough!" 

Marine then raised her scepter. 

"Grab on." She told them.

"Wait. First, what are we up against?" Twilight questioned.

"I'll explain when we get there. Hurry up! Let's move!" Marine urged.

AppleJack and Twilight shrugged and did as they were told.  The scepter then started to glow before it released a green energy wave, launching the 3 holders in the air, while leaving behind a green smokey trail.

From behind, Granny Smith looked on, having witnessed the whole thing. She seemed stunned before she put her hands on her hips with a frown.

"Ah never expected AppleJack to be like this. Going off on interdimensional adventures to get out of chores." She said with disapproval. "These young folk today."




Twilight, AppleJack and Marine arrived in what appeared to be an enclosed dock near the ocean.  They looked around to see where they had arrived.  Suddenly, Marine appeared extremely tired and nearly collapsed. Luckily, AppleJack caught her.

"Are you ok?" She asked her.

"I'm *pant* not doing so *pant* hot..." She weakly said. "Looks like travelling is....harder than I.....

Marine slumped while AppleJack held her still.

"She should stay here." Twilight said. "But we still don't know what we're up against."

"We'll just have to go and see." Her partner said.

"On...the  outskirts...." Marine pointed.

"Thanks. Let's go." The Rainbooms main singer said.

The two then ran off ahead in a hurry.




On the outskirts of the dock and inside a small dome,  a girl the same age as the newly summoned duo was wearing a long, purple, flared, mantle-like coat of sorts with a dark pink hemline, white tights, a gold collar, a red hairband and possessed a  similarily red gem on her forehead, was in battle. She also wore white gloves with fuzzy cuffs and high heeled, dark pink shoes with white stripes, which also had fuzzy cuffs. Her hair had four plumes of done up in a high ponytail with dark purple tips and on the side, it swept slightly upward.  She was unleashing flames from her body. Around her, the steps were swarmed with dark purple, small featureless creatures. The girl released a fire wave to blast some of them of them away. Next to her, a man wearing a blue captain uniform was helping with a sword. However, his cuts passed through the creatures and he started get overwhelmed.

"Princess...help!' He shouted as the creatures engulfed him.

The fiery girl turned with worry.

"Hold on!" She declared as she unleashed a blast of fire to try and free the man.Much to her horror, it was too late as the blast missed due to the man starting to sink. The man then sunk fully into a dark portal while the girl looked on helplessly. From the darkness, more of the dark creatures emerged.

"What are these things?" She wondered.

Unknown to her, more of the dark creatures came behind her. It seemed as if they  were going to engulf her. Suddenly, they were shrouded in a purple aura, which surprised the princess. The minions were then slammed on the floor,making them vanish in dark smoke. The warrior girl turned to see Twilight holding her hand out. More creatures then came her way but AppleJack leaped forward and punched them away with brute force. She then came next to the princess before Twilight joined them.

"I appreciate the help, but who are you?" The flame wielder questioned. 

"Ah'm AppleJack and that's Twilight." The magical fighter introduced. "We're here to help. Marine came to our world and told us there was trouble. Looks like this is it."

"But I instructed her to find Sonic?" The princess questioned in a confused tone.

"Well, he wasn't there. But we'll take his place. He's a friend." The purple magician  said. "How do you know him?"

"My name is Blaze." The princess said. "Sonic has helped me before. But we can talk later. We need to fend off these creatures."

Blaze unleashed a stream of flames from her palms, blowing creatures back. Twilight lifted the monsters and smacked them into each other while AppleJack hit them away with her fist. Blaze moved down the stairs where more creatures were climbing and clapped her hands to unleashed a giant fire wave.  After this, many of the small creatures began to regroup near the bottom, which caught the eye of the 3 girls.

"What's are they doing?" Twilight asked.

The creatures came together and started piling up on each other. They then began to merge and take shape. The minions formed into an unknown creature, who was  colored purple with green eyes. Its forehead, chest, hands, and feet were colored white. It had a light purple face, with its inner eyeball colored a darker purple. Immature spikes were growing on its back. The creature was then dripping purple matter, which formed into more smaller servants.

"Well, you're putting up more of a fight than I expected." The unknown being said in an echoing, distorted voice.

"It spoke!" AppleJack said with surprise.

"Who are you and why are you here?!" Blaze angrily demanded." What did you do to my friend?!" 

The creature then let out a smile and opened his arms.

"I am Null." It announced after it took a bow before rising up in an unnatural manner.  "I have but one purpose. Assimilate all beings and erase individuality. Your friend is part of greatness."

"Release him!" The flaming monarch demanded.

"I am afraid I cannot do that, Princess Blaze." Null answered, which took her off guard.

"How do you-?" Blaze questioned before Null cut her off. He then opened his hand to reveal a purple flare. It held an image of her.

"I know of you." The mysterious individual said. "I watched your performance and this drew me here. Now, I offer you the greatest gift of all. Become part of me."

"Never!" The burning fighter declared. She then motioned for the magical pair to stand back. "Stay put. This monster is my responsibility."

"Sorry, no can do." AppleJack said, as she walked forward, which put Blaze off a bit. "Ah can't just sit by while someone is in trouble." She then put her fist together. "Ah help ya get rid of this varmint."

"I'm with AppleJack. We still don't know anything about this creature, so it'd be dangerous to handle this alone alone." Twilight said. "Please, let us back you up."

Blaze looked  at the two of them, slightly stunned by the fact that she had just met them and they were ready to risk their lives for her. She then let out a small smile. She shouldn't be too surprised. After all, she already knew people like this.

"Alright. I will accept your aid." She agreed.

The trio then faced Null, who smirked.

"I am unfamiliar with the other two, but I'll be happy to include you in the assimilation." He decided as minions began to drip from his body and started to swarm towards his enemies.

Blaze's fist lit up with fire and she unleashed a large steam of flames that decimated Null's servants and covered the monster himself. 

"Did that get im?" AppleJack asked.

"No, it didn't." Null responded from behind, which cause the 3 heroines to turn around to see him reforming from a dark pool of ooze.  He then placed his hands behind his back.

Small creatures then started to emerge once more. Twilight held back as many as she could and flung them away. AppleJack placed her fingers in the ground and lifted the stairs apart, which blew the minions back and also reached Null. However, he disassembled himself into smaller minions who moved around the debris. He then reached the side at the top and reformed partially above the girls, much to their shock.

"Your struggle is pointless." He declared as he extended his hand out and released a flood of dark imps.

To counter this, Blaze spun her body around. She then caught on fire and made a flaming twister, which deflected the incoming enemies. While she did this, Twilight then stuck her hand out and caught Null in a purple field.

"Got you. You aren't going anywhere." Twilight boasted.

"Nice work, Twilight!" AppleJack cheered.

"Hold him still." Blaze requested as her hands filled dangerously with fire. "Monster, you're going to pay for what you've done."

"My my, it seems you've bested me." Null lamented. "I'm trapped and all of my minions are vanquished. Oh, pardon me, it seems you missed one."

Suddenly, a piece of the sly enemy dripped from his foot to form a dark puddle, catching the trio off guard. It then transformed into a small minion which then leaped onto to AppleJack.

"Arrrgh!" She cried as she fell back. The creature was now a dark blob on her body, which then started to spread. AppleJacks eyes widened with shock and she suddenly fell the ground in immense pain.

"AppleJack!" Twilight yelled as she and Blaze turned to see their ally writhing around. The darkness was starting to spread all over her body. The telekinetic teen let go of Null to check on AppleJack, who began to cry out in pain. 

"AppleJack! AppleJack!" She yelled, while the royal warrior turned to the now freed Null with anger.

"What have you done?!" She demanded.

"I am simply assimilating her." Null casually answered. "She should be thankful. I'm ridding her of the disease of individuality."

"You're the disease!" Blaze shot back. AppleJacks's cries then turned worse, which worried her and Twilight.

"AppleJack, stay with me!" Twilight pleaded.

"Twilight...." She weakly said. "You have to....beat....that...thing.... Don't..worry...about..."

"No!" Twilight denied. "I won't leave you AppleJack!"

Twilight grabbed her close friends hand to show that she would stay by her friend side no matter. When she did, both her and AppleJack's geodes began to glow. The two girls then became enveloped in their respective magical colors. When this happened, the darkness on AppleJack started to fade away slowly. The strong Rainboom felt her strength returning and  slowly rose up. Blaze looked on in amazement while Null was stupefied by what was happening.

"What-what is going on?" He demanded before his face turned into one of rage. "No! You dare deny assimilation when I offer it to you! Impossible! I will not let this happen!"

Null quickly moved past by a surprised Blaze and headed straight towards the two friends with his claws out. AppleJack and Twilight faced him head on and with determination, hand in hand.

"We'll show something better than your assimilation. Our friendship!" AppleJack declared.

Twilight and AppleJack extended their conjoined hands and fired a combined yellow/purple ray at Null. When the beam made contact, Null stopped and was starting  to be torn apart by the blast.

"Aaaaaaaaarghhh!" He shrieked as his body started to fall apart. 

When the blast was over, Null's top half was missing. Purple liquid was dripping from where it was supposed to be. The drops then started to turn into small minions.

"That will not happen!" Blaze announced as her entire body was surrounded by flames. She then placed  her hands together to release a gust of fire that obliterated Null's remains and any other lingering servants of his. The flames then died down and when they did, the person who Null had absorbed from before was lying on the ground unconscious. This sight filled Blaze with relief. She then noticed Twilight and AppleJack, the latter still had dark matter on her body. The latter then slumped to the ground, much to Twilight's concern.

"AppleJack!" Twilight called out.

"Allow me." Blaze offered as she approached the two of them.

Blaze came in front of AppleJack and placed her hand over her, generating a small amount of heat. This caused the remaining dark patches on AppleJack to vanish. She then opened her eyes fully.

"Wow, I feel a better already." She said. "Thanks a bunch."

"It is you two I must thank for helping me vanquish that creature." Blaze said. "You have my utmost gratitude."

"So, it's safe now?" Marine's voice said from the corner, which caused everyone to turn to her.

"Yes." Blaze reassured. "It is."

Twilight helped AppleJack from the ground and they faced Blaze.

"I'm curious. What was that power the two of you used?" She questioned.

"Oh, that was our friendship power." Twilight said. "Fuelled by the magic of friendship. With it, we can deal with almost anything."

Blaze seemed a little taken back that it was actually called that, but just let it be.

"It was certainly useful."She said. "Now, I have another question. Just what is your connection to Sonic? I am thankful for your help but I did ask Marine for him."

"We're friends of Sonic. When your friend over there came to find im, he wasn't there. So we decided to go instead."." AppleJack explained?

"What's your history with Sonic exactly?" Twilight then asked. 

" "I am the guardian and princess of this world, known as the sol dimension. Marine over there and I met Sonic when our worlds interacted. He helped me a great deal."The sol princess elaborated.

"Sounds like im." AppleJack said. "Nice to meet ya, Blaze. And a princess from another world? Sounds like someone we know."

"And I'm glad I brought you two here!" Marine quickly said as she grabbed Twilight's hand and shook it.  "That was so cool how you won in the end!"

"This was quite the teamup." Twilight said. "AppleJack and I should get going back to our world. But we'd love to come by when it's not in danger. I'd really like to study this world's features and history to compare how it differs to our own."

"Of course. And if you ever need my help, I shall be there." Blaze vowed.

"Likewise." AppleJack responded.

Blaze took the Jewelled Scepter from Marine. She then gripped it with both hands, causing the top to glow.  A swirling green portal then appeared in front of the group. Twilight and AppleJack began to walk through it but not before they turned around to wave farewell to their new friends. The other dimensional travellers made their way through the portal, which closed afterwards.
> Zazz vs Pinkie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a typical sunny morning in the city of Canterlot.  Sonic was racing around the city as a blue blur, leaving strong winds blowing as a side effect. He was taking a morning run before heading off to CHS.  It was a routine he did almost every day.  Sonic then headed towards the outskirts of the forest near the city.

"I'd say I have about time for 3 more laps." He guessed as he ran past many trees.

From behind,  a figure was moving across the differences tree trunks, following his trail.

Sonic got a little deeper into the forest in front of a stream. Before he could take another step, he heard someone calling out to him.

"Hold it, ya stinkin' punk!" An erratic and angry voiced yelled.

The blue hero turned around to see the source just as whoever had shouted jumped down in front of him.  It was a very tall and very lanky being with very thin limbs and body structure. The upper half of his body appeared to be vibrant pink, while his body from the waist down was pure black, ending in two-clawed feet with purple toes. A third much smaller claw appeared to jut out from his heels. He had a long tail that appears to be bent into a vague "Z" shape.  He also had a row of small black spikes running down his back, from the base of his neck to the middle of his spine. His thin arms ended in proportionately large five-fingered hands, each finger tipped with purple nails. He had an oblong head with a large gaping mouth.  His mouth was filled long, thin, sharp teeth and a long cyan tongue, which was hanging out the side of his mouth. He had green irises with yellow sclera and black markings under each eye. On the top of his head, a  pair of horns appeared that point outwards, colored in alternating rings of black and light purple. Between them was  a mohawk of purple hair.  He was wearing a pair of black wrist cuffs with grey spikes on them, and a matching spiked collar. This was the  Zeti known as Zazz, one of the Deadly Six Sonic had faced on the Lost Hex.

Seeing Zazz made Sonic let out an annoyed sigh.

"Of all the people today, couldn't it have been Metal Sonic?" The speedster complained.  

"Hey, what does that mean?! You sayin' I'm not good enough to fight ya!" The pink Zeti angrily questioned.

"Wow, you actually understood that." Sonic mocked. "I'm impressed. You're only slightly less stupid than I thought."

"Thanks." Zazz said. Suddenly, he realized what Sonic said and let out a shrilled scream. "You little punk!"

"What do you want Zazz? You're ruining my morning run." The blue blur questioned.

"Isn't it obvious?! I'm here to kill you!" His unhinged enemy declared. "It's payback time for what you did to me! No one makes me look stupid!"

"You do a pretty good job of that yourself." Sonic quipped.

"Arghh! Mouthy, little! It's beatdown time!" Zazz shrieked.

The deranged Zeti charged to his foe and unleashed a fury of slashes using his sharp nails. Thanks to his superior speed, Sonic easily avoided each of Zazz's strikes as he moved back. 

"Hold....still!' Zazz ordered as his claws kept missing the hero's face.

Zazz unleashed another swipe and Sonic leaped over him to dodge it. He landed on top of a tree branch.

"Come on, big man! I'm right here!" The cocky teen invited.

The psychotic Zeti lunged towards Sonic in a feral manner. Before he got close, the blue youth leaped off the branch as if it was a spring. This made it bend back before it came forward and smacked Zazz right in the face.

"Yow!" The feral foe screamed in pain as he placed his hands over where he got hit.

"Right in the nose! Wait..do you even have a nose?" Sonic jokingly wondered

"You are so dead!"Zazz threatened as he charged to Sonic with his forearm out. 

In response, Sonic ran ahead as Zazz kept following him. When Sonic reached the forest outskirt near the city, he stopped and turned around. His enemy stopped as well and began to huff and puff.

"Ok, Zazz, I'd love to enjoy our playdate a little longer but I got places to be. So I'll just beat you here and now." The fastest thing alive said as he brought his fist up.

"Bring it on you cocky little louse!" The nasty Zeti agreed.

"Hi Sonic!" Pinkie suddenly greeted before Sonic and Zazz could throw down. 

Hearing Pinkie's voice made Sonic surprised as he turned to see the smiling pink teen.

"Pinkie? What are you doing here?" He questioned.

"I was headed for school but realized I was early, so I decided to start skipping around." She explained.

Pinkie then noticed Zazz.

"Who's your friend?"She asked.

"Oh, that's Zazz. He's a nobody not worth remembering." Sonic dismissed.

"Hey, I can introduce myself!" Zazz shouted. "I'm Zazz. The toughest and meanest of the Deadly Six!"

"Why would you want to be mean?" The partying girl quizzically said. "Is it cuz you don't have any friends?"

"What the? I don't need friends!" The angry demon retorted.

"That's silly! Everyone needs a friend." Pinkie said as she appeared behind Zazz, much to his confusion.  He looked back and forth from where she had originally been.

"I know! I'll be your friend!" Pinkie offered as she grabbed Zazz's hand and strongly shook it up and down, leaving the Zeti somewhat taken back. "We'll be good friends! We're both pink!"

"Get away from me!" Zazz barked as he pulled his hand back. 

"Wait, since you're new here. I need to welcome you!"Pinkie remembered.

Pinkie then disappeared and reappeared with a cart filled with cupcakes, pies, and trumpets sticking out.  This made the crazy Zeti scratch his head.

"Welcome, Welcome, Welcome...." The fun filled girl started to sing before Zazz covered her mouth with his hand.

"Shut up!" He yelled.  "I don't care about your stupid song! What I care about is putting that blue boy over there in a box! So go away!"

Zazz lifted his hand to hit his enemy but she moved to the side. He then angrily turned to her.

"Oh, you wanna play tag? Tag, you're it!"Pinkie cheerfully said as he was suddenly behind the Zeti and poked his head with her finger.

Zazz felt his temper rising and frantically tried to hit Pinkie, who was too fast for him to hit. In doing so, he spun around so much that he began dizzy and wobbled for a bit.

"This is fun."The hyperactive teen simply said.

Zazz shook his head and looked at Pinkie with pure rage on his face.

"That is it! You're makin' me really mad!" He warned.

"Oh, I know what you'll cheer you up. A party! You look like one mean party animal!"Pinkie decided.

Pinkie then pulled out two party cannons out of nowhere, making her thought to be friend even more clueless. She then filled them up with 3 handfuls of sprinkles and grabbed the two strings attached to them, ready to pull.

"I've had enough of you!" Zazz yelled. He then lunged to Pinkie to try and cut her with his claws.

The manicial Zeti's  attemp to hurt Pinkie made her lean back. As she did, she pulled up her two party cannons directly towards Zazz and released the strings. This resulted in them firing two large shots that hit the mad ogre directly.

"Yeaoooooooow!!!!!!!!!!" Zazz cried as he was blown away high up in the air while the pink colored girl looked on.

Sonic, who had witnessed the whole thing, looked incredibly amused and on the verge of laughing.

"Huh, guess he partied a bit too hard." Pinkie simply said with innocent

"Pinkie, never change. Come on, let's get to school." Sonic offered.




Inside the doors of Canterlot High, Sunset was walking around with Amy Rose through the halls. 

"And this is the bandroom, where our band plays." Sunset explained, showing her around.

"You have a band. That's pretty cool. I should hear you guys play sometime." Amy enthusiastically said.

Suddenly, Amy saw something which caught her eye. In front of her was the back of a blue haired teen.

"Sonic! There you are!"The pink haired girl happily announced as she ran and gave the teenager a giant hug from behind.

"Wow, Sonic?" A surprised and confused Flash Sentry said as he felt Amy hugging him.

"Amy, that's not Sonic." Sunset told her.

Amy opened her eyes and she looked up to see Flash Sentry's bewildered face. She realized her mistake and let him go.

"Oh my gosh. I'm sorry. This happens to me all the time." Sonic's number one fan apologized.

"Haha, it's fine." Flash said before he turned to Sunset. "So, who's this?"

"Flash, this is Amy." The Rainbooms bass player introduced. "Amy, this is my friend Flash." 

Amy waved happily, while Flash returned a smile.

"She's-" Sunset began before the school doors opened to reveal Sonic and Pinkie entering.

"So basically, that was-" The blue blur started explaining before he and Amy made eye contact.

Amy's eyes widened with happiness while Sonic's with surprise.

"Sonic!!!!!!" The Rosy rascal  screamed as she quickly lunged forward and embraced him in a giant bear hug before he could even react.

"Amy?!" Sonic shouted, while a confused Sunset and Flash looked around while Pinkie just smiled at the whole scene.

"Wh-what are you doing here?!"Sonic questioned through grunts due to the tightness of his self proclaimed girlfriend's hug.

"After that whole thing when you went missing, I realized I couldn't bear the thought of losing you again. So I decided to transfer here to be with you!" Amy gleefully explained while Sonic seemed...less thrilled.

"That's the gist of it. I was just showing here around." An amused Sunset said. This made Amy let Sonic go on the ground as he saw Sunset and Flash. 

"Yeah! Now we can be even closer!" The rose colored heroine squealed.

"Yeah, that's just great." The quickster tiredly and dryly said before he made a small smile. Though truth be told, he actually kind of missed having her around. Things were too quiet without her for his taste.

"Hi Amy!" Pinkie greeted, which made Amy turn to her.

"Pinkie, so great to see you again!" Amy greeted as she and Pinkie entered a hug. 

"So, does this mean we have two Pinkies or what?" Flash whispered to Sonic.

"Yes and No." Sonic answered.

"It's so cool that you'll be here at school with us. You're the second pink friend I've seen today." Pinkie said, much to Amy's confusion.

"Oh, right. On the way to school, Zazz showed up." Sonic nonchalantly said, with his wanna be girlfriend looking somewhat worried.

"Who?" Sunset questioned.

"He's some crazy Zeti, a kind of ogre-demon thing. Tried to cause trouble, but Pinkie showed him a thing or two. It was hilarious." The blue hero  explained as he fondly remembered Zazz's humilation.

"Wait, so he wasn't your friend?" The element of laughter asked.

"No way.  Of the Zeti, he's the meanest and nastiest!" Amy declared. 

"Awwww, I guess I only have one other pink friend..."Pinkie said in a somewhat dejected tone before her face lit up. "Or do I? Maybe I can be his friend!"

"I wouldn't hold your breath." Sonic muttered.

"I wouldn't hold yours. I mean, we've befriended a lot of villains in the past." The Rainbooms empath brought up.

"She's got you there, Sonic." Flash agreed.

"Yeah, how many of those were actually villains and not just some misguided people or whatever." The quick adventurer pointed out, which made Sunset stop to think over his words.




Later, Sonic and Amy were seated on the bleachers in the field during lunchtime. Rather than eat in the cafeteria, Amy insisted that she and Sonic eat alone so that they could catch up on all the time they missed. As much as he didn't want to do it, Sonic did feel he at least owed Amy this and reluctantly agreed.

"Isn't this romantic? Just you and me."  The pink heroine happily sighed as she took food from her tray to try and feed her crush, who rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, totally. Couldn't think of a better place to be." He sarcastically said.

Amy held out her fork towards Sonic.

"Say Ahhhh." Amy requested.

Sonic sighed and slowly opened his mouth unenthuasitically. However, before Amy could feed him, there was a rustling sound found in the bushes, catching the duo's attention. Then, a crazed Zazz leaped out onto the field, clearly ready for battle.

"Time for round two,punk!" He shrieked.

"Oh no, Zazz. Guess we'll have to cancel lunch. "The fastest thing alive quickly said while feigning disappointment.

"Go away. You're ruining our lunch date!" Amy ordered as she took out her trusty hammer, while Sonic entered a fighting stance.

"Not until blue boy here is in a ditch!" The vengeful Zeti angrily responded. 

Before a fight could start, confetti suddenly appeared around Zazz, stumping him as he looked around for the source.

"Hi Zazz!"Pinkie said, which made Zazz  turn around to see her behind him.

"Not you again! Beat it! I'm here for that stinkin blue punk! " The angry demon yelled.

"Aww, don't be like that. You and I could be the best of friends!" The happy girl offered as she clutched Zazz next to her. This only enraged the latter as he tried to slash her, but she simply ducked.

"No! I don't want to be your friend!" Zazz refused.

"But you haven't even tried. I know! I'll make you a cake!" Pinkie suggested. "What flavor would you like?"

"Are you making fun of me?! That's it! I'll get rid of you, then Sonic! " The self proclaimed meanest of the Deadly Six declared.

Zazz rushed towards his would be target and tried to skewer her with claws but she appeared behind him.

'So, do you like whipped cream?" Pinkie quizzically said before Zazz tried to attack her once more.

"Oh and what fruits? Strawberries? Just normal berries? Oranges?" The hyperactive Rainboom went on as she effortless dodged the deranged ogre's claws. This made him angrier as he continued his attack on her. Much to his dismay, she was too quick for him as he went in a frenzy, trying to slash her.

"Also, what should the cake say? Do you want me to come out of it? How many colors do you want? Do you want ice cream with the cake or just ice cream cake? Actually, do you event want a cake? How about a pie?" Pinkie kept asking as she avoided each of Zazz's strike. This left her would be killer panting and exhausted. 

"I got it! How about a Cherrychanga? Or a Chimicherry?" The motor mouth teen questioned. "Which one do you like more. CherryChanga or Chimicherry? CherryChanga or Chimicherry?CherryChanga or Chimicherry?CherryChanga or Chimicherry?CherryChanga or Chimicherry?CherryChanga or Chimicherry?CherryChanga or Chimicherry?CherryChanga or Chimicherry?CherryChanga or Chimicherry?

Pinkie's question started driving Zazz crazy as he let out a loud shriek. 

"JUST....STOP....TALKING!" He demanded as he gripped his horns.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Amy observed the whole thing. The former looked as if though he could barely contain his laughter while the latter seemed totally lost. Suddenly, Sonic got an idea as he got a slice of cake from his and Amy's tray.

"Pinkie, catch. Why not let Zazz try the cakes for himself?" The speedy teen suggested as he tossed them to his friend.

"Great idea!" Pinkie agreed as she took the now two glowing pieces of cake in her hand and placed them in Zazz's mouth while he was doing a shriek.

"You're in for a treat. Your taste buds will explode!" The funny drum player promised.

The inside of Zazz's mouth began to glow before a large explosion emerged from it, blowing the pink demon back as he started tumbling and bouncing away from the field while Pinkie looked on before she was joined by Sonic and Amy. Sonic then burst out laughing while Amy let out a smile.

"Huh. Maybe he only eats sugar-free food." Pinkie simply wondered.




Later during the day, Sonic, Amy, Sunset, and Pinkie entered the band room with the latter two getting their instruments.

"I'm excited to hear you guys play.."Amy praised.

"Thanks. Believe me, we won't fail to impress." Sunset told her.

"Shoot. I think I left my drumsticks in my locker. I'll be back." Pinkie realized as she sped out of the room.

As soon as Pinkie left, scratching was heard at the window, getting everyone's attention. The remaining three people in the room turned to see it was Zazz clawing at the glass, which alarmed Sunset and Amy while Sonic just seemed more annoyed.

"Is that-?" The element of empathy began before her rose colored friend nodded

"Yep, that's Zazz. He sure is persistent." Amy said with annoyance.

"This time, you and me, blue boy! One on one! Now that that pink pest isn't here, I'll finish you for sure! The bloodthirsty foe angrily stated.

Unknown to Zazz, a figure started to creep behind him. Sonic noticed who it was but kept silent and motioned for Amy and Sunset to do the same. 

"Tag, you're it!" Pinkie said to Zazz, which freaked him out as he leaped in the air and screamed. He then turned to the partying Rainboom with fury.

"You! No, no, no, no, no!"  He said with utter dismay.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes!" Pinkie said to him. "Wow, that's fun!"

"This time, you're dead meat!" Zazz declared. "Go to Hell!"

"*Gasp* You can't say that!" Pinkie said in shock. "This story is rated for everyone!"

"What are you talking about?!" The Zeti said in fury and rage. "Hold still, you little!"

Zazz then rage ran towards Pinkie who leaped over him, which caused him to crash into a tree.

"No, silly. You're still it." The oblivious magic user told him.

Zazz got up and shook his head to regain his focus. He then leaped towards Pinkie, intending to impale her with his claws. Instead, he found his claws stuck on the ground while Pinkie was behind him.

"Wow, ever thought of getting a manicure?" The fun loving youth said to him while she pulled the nasty demon's claws out of the ground to examine them.

Zazz furiously took his hand from Pinkie and kept trying to swipe her, while Pinkie hummed and moved away from each of his strikes.  

"Ok, no more playing around!" Zazz said.

From his hands, Zazz unleashed pink energy blasts in the form of orbs.  However, Pinkie simply sidestepped from each attack as the spheres hit the ground. This made the fighting oni's anger grow as he began to fire a volley of energy attacks but to no avail. 

"I almost feel bad for the guy," Sunset commented as the whole thing unfolded.

"Wow, I didn't know you could do that." The laughing girl said in amazement. "I can kinda do it too."

As Zazz's blast came towards her, Pinkie took out sprinkles and released explosions, making their attacks collide and making a giant pink smoke cloud. 

"Pretty!" Pinkie said with awe.

"I can't see!" Zazz complained."But she can't either. This is my chance!"

The rampaging Zeti barged into the smoke cloud. Unknown to him, Pinkie started shaking up her can of sprinkles.

"I want it to be bigger!" She happily yelled as she tossed the can into the cloud and then....

*BOOM*

The pink smoke cloud grew quite larger in size and from the top of it, Zazz came out,covered in pink poofy smoke as he was sent far away in the air while Pinkie and the others looked on, with the former seeming amazed by how far he flew




Near a grassy hilltop, Zazz suddenly crashed to the ground and tumbled around, covered in green grass. He then got and coughed, spitting out little green flakes.

"Lose again, Zazz?" A voice said from behind.

Zazz turned around to see Zavok, the leader of the Deadly Six, appear behind him. He then jumped to face his superior.

"Arrrrgh! This time, I'm gonna win for sure!" The determined Zeti screamed.

"That's the spirit, Zazz. Keep fighting against Sonic." Zavok encouraged, though not out of good will. He was hoping to learn more about his blue nemesis through Zazz's various lossess.

"Forget Sonic!"Zazz announced. "I'm going after that poofy, pink princess! I'm gonna pound her into pink mush!"

"Who?" The red Zeti questioned.

"She's this annoying pink girl who won't shut up and is like an itch I can't scratch! She's made a fool out of me too many times!" Zazz explained, while an intrigued Zavok listened.

"(Another foe besides Sonic. Interesting. I need to learn more.)" Zavok thought. " Well, then, go on Zazz. I'm sure you can win this time.  4th time's the charm as they say. The rest of the Deadly Six are rooting for you."

"Really? Thanks, boss! This time, I'll bring her head on a pike!" Zazz promised as he then ran away at incredible speed, leaving Zavok behind.

"Now then, just who or what is giving Zazz so much trouble?" The Deadly Six leader pondered.




At CHS, it was the end of the day and the students began pouring out to head home. Sonic, Amy, Pinkie and Sunset walked out together.

"So Amy, how'd you like your first day?" Sunset asked.

"So far, I like what I've seen. I just know that I'm going to have a great time, especially with Sonic by my side." Amy replied while the target of her affections tried to avoid eye contact.

"If you're here, you have to go to the sweet shop!" Pinkie insisted. "The dessert is the best in the entire world!"

"Sounds like a treat. Let's get going, Sonic!" Amy said.

"I'll pass. Gonna take a run." Sonic declined.

"Should you really go out alone. I mean, with that Zazz guy still out there?" Sunset cautioned.

"That's a good point." The hammer using heroine agreed.

"Relax. I can handle Zazz. If Pinkie can do it, then it'll be a walk in the park. Besides, if he knows what's good for him, he'll stay clear." The confident hero dismissed.

"I hope  he comes again! We've been having so much fun! I'm sure we'll be great friends!" Pinkie wishfully said.

"Well, later ladies." Sonic said as he dashed away, leaving a blue trail and his 3 friends to head back to the cakes shop.




On the way to the shop, Pinkie kept telling Amy about the different kind of sweets at the store, gaining her friends interest while Sunset just listened on.

"And then, they have this triple caramel chocolate fudge covered cake with a marshmellow and gooey chocolate center!" Pinkie excitedly said.

"Really?!" Amy questioned.

"I don't think they have it." Sunset said quietly, so as to not ruin their fun.

"I can't wait any longer to head there!" The sweet loving teen announced.

"I know a quicker route!" The sugar addicted Rainboom revealed. "We can go through the forest!"

Pinkie took charge as her two friends followed her. While they were in the forest, Pinkie started skipping happily before she suddenly stopped while her hair stood on its end.

"What's up, Pinkie?" Sunset asked.

"Yeah, why'd you stop?" Amy further wondered.

"My Pinkie sense is picking up something..." Pinkie revealed as she scanned the area. This made Amy turn to Sunset with confusion, who mouthed 'don't question it.'

"Something's coming.....from above!" Pinkie then said as she pointed up, causing everyone to look up. There was nothing for a bit.

"What are we looking at?" Amy said in a stumped manner.

Suddenly a gleam blocked where the sun was, making the girls cover their eyes. When they looked again, above them was  a spherical yellow mech that has a diameter slightly longer than Zazz's full height. It closely resembled the Moon, with rimmed and round openings in its surface resembling craters. It also had a face which included two blue eyes with black sclera and a serrated mouth with a blue glow within. On the top, Zazz revealed himself and let out an insane roar. He then began to twitch with agitation.

"Zazz!"Sunset exclaimed.

"Not again!"Amy groaned.

"Hiiii!" Pinkie waved from the top.

"Sonic's not here, so why don't you just leave us alone." An annoyed Amy said.

"I don't care about, Sonic!" Zazz said, which surprised his enemies. "I'm here for her!"

The demented Zeti pointed a finger at Pinkie, who pointed at herself.

"Me? Does it mean that you wanna play?!" The joyful teen said as eagerness filled her voice.

"Nooo! I'm here to make you pay for everything you've done to me!" Zazz threatened. "Eat this!"

From the mouth of Zazz's Moon Mech, projectiles shaped like five pointed stars were sent towards Pinkie and the others. 

"Ooooh, pretty!" Pinkie said with amazement.

"Take cover!" Sunset called as she and Amy moved out of the projectices while, making yellow sparks emerge from the ground.

Pinkie zipped around the area, breaking no sweat as she dodged the stars, which infuriated Zazz.

"Hold still!" He ordered.

Zazz's mechanical sphere unleashed more projectiles but this time, the carefree drummer started doing a series of breakdance moves as not a single star touched her


"Wow, this is fun!" She said amongst the ongoing attack.

Zazz grit his teeth and moved his moon mech closer to Pinkie, trying to crush her with his attacks. Pinkie saw this and skipped on ahead, with the evil Zeti in hot pursuit with the star blasts failing to hit their target.  Zazz then increased the ferocity of his attacks, which made Pinkie start to jump up and down as if she was a pogo stick. Amy and Sunset then watched on ahead.

"We gotta help Pinkie!" Amy said.




Up ahead through the forest, Zazz had still not managed to hit Pinkie once, much to his dismay. 

"Why can't I hit you?!" He shrieked.

"Come on, keep up the pace, Zazz!" His annoying target called from ahead.

Zazz's rage reached a new level as he jumped off from his Moon Mech and went underneath it, carrying it over his back.  He then let out another insane roar.

"I'm coming for you!" The determined ogre cried as he ran at an incredible speed.

"Wow, carrying out on your back must be a great workout!" Pinkie observed. "I'll help you out!'

Pinkie increased her speed as she started running ahead much quickly while Zazz chased her.

Meanwhile, at a stream across the river, two pink figures crossed it.

NAME: PINKAMENA DIANE PIE
SPECIES: HUMAN?
TRAITS: PARTY, PARTY, PARTY

NAMe: ZAZZ
SPECIES: ZETI
TRAITS: GET THAT PINK PARTY GIRL!

Pinkie and Zazz dashed through the end of the forest, while the Moon Mech from the behind began throwing up stars towards Pinkie, who still was out of their reach.

"Good form, Zazz. Keep it up." The pink party girl called back.

"Stop disrespecting me!" The furious oni demanded.

Zazz stopped in place, which made Pinkie do the same out of curiosity.  With great strength, he then tossed the Moon Mech at Pinkie, causing it bounce on the ground and leaving large shockwaves. Pinkie followed the Mech's movements with her eyes. 

"A giant Bouncy ball!, So cool!!!!" The childish Rainboom shrieked as her eyes lit up with delight. 

Pinkie jumped up and down to mimic the ball's movements, which caused her to avoid being crushed. When she took another jump, it looked like she would land on Zazz, whose eyes widened with fright.

"Get away from me!!" He yelled as he ran across to avoid his dreaded foe as she landed.

Zazz grabbed his Moon Mech when it landed and turned to Pinkie. This time, he rolled it towards her.

"Time to splat!" He sneered.

Pinkie looked as the rolling sphere came towards her and she created a crazy grin.

"Let me ride it!" The fun seeking heroine decided as she jumped up ahead and landed on the Moon mech, changing the face into one of anxiety. This shocked Zazz as Pinkie then started moving her feet on the mech, causing it to roll forward. The face on the mech turned into a queasy one as she rolled quickly towards Zazz, whose face turned into one of fear. Before he could react, he found himself crushed as the mech rolled over him. But it didn't stop there. The Moon Mech rolled back and forth, further crushing the Zeti. Unfortunately for him, his pink opponent didn't notice, too caught up in her fun and she didn't notice Zazz's cries of pain. This went on for a while until Pinkie stopped.

"So rolly!" Pinkie happily said as she jumped down. She then noticed the Moon Mech's expression, which seemed to look very broken and hurt.

"Awww, what's wrong? You don't look so good." Pinkie observed. "I know, this will cheer you up!>

The kind hearted teen pulled out a tray  of cupcakes out of nowhere and dumped them in the Moon Mech's mouth with her hands.  Once she was did, the mech started shaking uncontrollably which Pinkie noticed. It then rolled off Zazz, who groaned in pain. The Mech then rose in the air and looked as if it was going to hurl as pink smoke leeked from its mouth. The Mech looked down and released an explosive 'belch'...right on top of Zazz,  making a mini explosion on top of him.  Once it was clear, Zazz was left smoldering and suddenly started waving a small white flag as the Moon mech crashed next to him.

"Wow, I guess you're party pooped." Pinkie commented as she looked down at her defeated adversary.

Just then Amy and Sunset entered the scene.

"Pinkie, are you ok?" Sunset said to her before she and Amy stopped to see Pinkie having triumphed.

"I'm fine. Just was having some fun with my buddy." Pinkie cheerfully said.

"Maybe you had too much fun." Amy said with a slight laugh. "Well if you're done, I'd like to head to the shop."

"Oh right, I almost forgot! Let's go!" Pinkie said as she dashed on ahead, with Amy and Sunset not too far behind.



Later, a still pink-charred Zazz was slowly crawling on top of a grassy hilltop at a slow pace. Unbeknowst to him, Zavok was observing him from afar.

"So Zazz failed again. Just as I expected. But it doesn't matter. Thanks to his efforts, I know that aside from Sonic, it seems my attention is required elsewhere." The Deadly Six Leader declared.