Sonic the Hedgehog finds himself on another world and has to defeat Eggman once again.
Set between MLP:FiM Season 3 and 4.
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles find themselves against Dr. Eggman once again, the scientist wanting to use the Chaos Emeralds for an unknown plan.
Unfortunately, the plan involved sending the trio to another world, which he plans to conquer as well as seek what are known as the Elements of Harmony. The fate of Equestria hangs in the balance as the heroes of both worlds must join forces against Eggman's robot army.
Can Team Sonic and the Elements foil Eggman’s latest scheme or will they fail?
It was another calm day in Equestria, especially for a certain Princess of Friendship as she and her number one assistant were in their library performing a few errands for the purpose of Spring Cleaning, which the alicorn had planned months ahead.
Twilight Sparkle used her magic to lift another book into its proper spot on her bookshelf, "Okay, Spike. Mark that down." she stated to the purple baby dragon standing next to her, a piece of paper and a quill in his claws.
"Sure thing, Twi." replied Spike. He flicked his hand down on the paper and checked off another box. "How many more do we have to worry about now?"
Twilight smiled, "Not too much. If you want, you can take a break, I need to readjust a few things anyhow. I'll let you know when I'll need your help." she offered. The dragon gave a quick salute and went off to find something good to eat, leaving the Princess of Friendship to tend to her small library.
Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by a loud banging sound and the faint noise of wind passing by the shelf she was working on caught her off guard. The wind knocking down the stack of books she was currently working on organizing. Hovering behind her was a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail, her wings flapping swiftly by her sides and a concerned look on her face.
"Rainbow. What's wrong?" asked Twilight.
Rainbow growled, "Are you really not aware?"
Twilight tilted her head, "Aware of... what?"
A groan escaped Rainbow, holding her friend's hoof and dragging her outside. "Rainbow!" grunted Twilight as loud as she could while being oulled by her fast friend. Spike lowered his fork upon seeing that and hopped off his chair, following his friends to see what the commotion was about.
The three made it outside, where Twilight noticed it was darker than usual. "What's the matter? Did Princess Celestia and Princess Luna plan an eclipse? It's way too dark out for this time of day." she wondered, gazing at her friend. Looking around, she saw her other friends, and the citizens of Ponyville looking up. So, to see what was happening, she herself looked up.
The alicorn's eyes shrunk to pinpricks.
Hovering over the entire town was a red and black airship, it's entire body covering Ponyville in shadow. "What in Celestia's name is that?!" Twilight shouted the question.
Static echoed for a moment, causing everypony to close their ears and then came a gruff voice that made itself known, "Greetings, citizens of Equestria! My name is Doctor Eggman! I come to you with only one simple request. The location of the Elements of Harmony!" came the voice of the doctor, demanding what he seeks. "For you see, I have traversed dimensions in hopes of using this legendary set of artifacts!"
"What for?!" growled Rainbow.
The voice, Eggman, continued, "My plans. Of which your planet will witness first hand."
Suddenly, strange objects began to fall from the sky. They all stomped on the ground once they landed with a loud clanging sound. They were red, round robots, with a goofy looking face, and some had different weapons. A sword, gun, lance. Basically anything that could be used to harm another living being.
Not only that, but there were also animal looking robots. Some appeared to be bugs, others crabs, bees and monkeys. They all came down, intending to attack Ponyville unless Eggman learned of the location of the actual Elements of Harmony.
Twilight gulped.
In the distance were three figures, gazing upon the airship from their spot near the town. But they were not ponies. Standing in the middle was a blue hedgehog, to his left a yellow fox with two tails, and on the right a red echidna with spikes on his knuckles. From where they were at, they were near the Tornado, and also able to see Eggman's newest fleet, the Egg Carrier Mark 3.
Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails the Fox, and Knuckles the Echidna looked over the horizon in disdain, unable to hear the voice of their longtime nemesis. "Yep. Eggman's already made himself known to this world. Still can't believe he brought us all here." growled Sonic.
Knuckles folded his arms, "You're telling me. Not only does he have the Chaos Emeralds, but I'm leaving the Master Emerald unprotected because of this."
"Luckily, Eggman's here, so you don't have to worry about it getting stolen." Tails assured, putting a finger to his muzzle. "But why would Eggman bring us to a different world? He already has the Chaos Emeralds. It doesn't make sense that he'd want to delay whatever he has planned any longer."
Sonic adjusted the cuff of his white gloves, "Well, we aren't gonna get answers standin' here. Prep the Tornado, Tails. It's about time we gave Eggman a welcoming party."
Tails nodded and ran back to his plane. "Knux. Head there with Tails on the plane, then you can make yourself an entrance. It's about time I reunited with our favorite doctor and check on the locals." Sonic decided. Knuckles looked back at the plane before noticing a blue blur in the corner of his eye.
"Darn it, Sonic! I wanted to kick butt too!" Knuckles screamed. With a low grunt, he sat in the Tornado with Tails, who began to activate the red and yellow plane. "You ready, Tails?"
The fox smiled, "Activating jet thrusters now, Knuckles! Let's go!"
And so, the Tornado flew off. But unknown to them, a hooded pony was watching, her eyes focused on what was happening, 'Quite bizarre. Perhaps this is worth looking into.'
Twilight shot a beam of magic from her horn, destroying one of the Egg Pawns. "What are these things?!" she asked, ducking underneath a small energy pellet from one of their guns.
Nearby her was an orange earth pony, a pink earth pony, a yellow pegasus and a white unicorn. Applejack used her lasso to tie up the pincers of a Motobug, "No clue, Twi." Applejack mumbled, her mouth holding the thick rope. Once the pincers were forcefully removed, Rainbow swooped down and slammed her hooves on it, blowing it up upon impact. "These ain't like any darn ponies I've seen." she added, letting go of the rope.
Pinkie Pie jumped, driving her hooves directly into the head of a crabmeat, dodging its enlarged metal claw. "They're clearly not ponies, Applejack." she commented, coughing a bit from the smoke she accidentally created. "They're metal people! See, I knew this day would come!"
Rainbow swung a hoof upwards, uppercutting a Buzzbomber before its stinger could hurt Fluttershy, who swiftly avoided the dangerous energy org before it could hit her. "Thank you, Rainbow." she said, ducking down from another Buzzbomber swerving. Rainbow nodded, then charged through the flying robot.
Spike took a step back and leaped forward, using his claws to scratch the robots as much as he could. He inhaled, burping out a large burst of green flames from his mouth. The dragon coughed, "Oh man... I gotta practice that..." he muttered, holding his chest.
"What are these monstrosities?" cried out Rarity, using her magic to hold some of them back before they reached her. She was lucky to grab a bomb from one of the Coconuts and threw it at a few Motobugs as they charged forward, blowing them up. A few bystanders ran off in fright at the small battle going on.
Twilight erected a forcefield around a few ponies running, protecting them from any crossfire. "Go!" she ordered.
"It's no use trying to combat my Badniks and Egg Pawns! Your town will fall unless you tell me the location of the Elements!" Eggman demanded, his voice yelling.
"Never!" Twilight yelled back, using her aura to throw an Egg Pawn into the air and having it fall apart upon impact.
Suddenly, a blue blur sped by and circled the Element Bearers. In the process of it moving, every robot it passed exploded. "Heh heh. You really gotta step up your game, Eggman!" said a cocky voice. Hearing it, the ponies gasped as their gaze raised to the blue bipedal hedgehog standing on the roof of a building.
Sonic smirked confidently, "What's up? Never seen a hedgehog before?" he asked with a light chuckle.
"Grr... Not you!" snarled Eggman. "Badniks! Attack the rodent!"
Seeing more Badniks coming towards him, Sonic curled into a ball and charged a Spin-Dash while hopping off the roof he was standing on. His ball form charged through each one like butter. "Woah." muttered Spike in slight awe. "He's like a living buzzsaw."
"How is he moving so fast?" Twilight wondered.
"Yeah! That's my thing!" Rainbow scoffed.
Sonic uncurled himself and landed on one knee, hearing the robots combust behind him in a fiery explosion. "Heh heh. Ya gotta do better than that, Egghead!"
"Curse you, Sonic!" Eggman yelled, "I'm not leaving here until I learn the location of the Elements of Harmony!" more robots began to fall from the sky, descending upon Ponyville again. "Seize the dogooders who attacked you, my minions!"
Sonic looked to the sky, ready to fight once more, "You guys can come at any time!" he shouted.
"Who are you talking too?" Twilight wondered.
The hedgehog faced the alicorn, "Some friends of mine... You all may wanna take a step back." he warned.
A red blur shot from the sky, drilling itself headfirst into an Egg Pawn. Knuckles came out of the smoke, "It's about we caught up. Tails is still up there, taking down any of Eggman's weaponry." he looked around and saw the locals, "Talking horse dimension?"
"Yep." Sonic replied.
Pinkie gasped, "Woah. He has spike things on his knuckles!"
Knuckles crossed his arms, "Yep. They don't call me Knuckles for nuthin'!" he boasted. He turned around and drove his fist straight through a robot which was kicked backwards by Applejack. "Huh. Didn't think you all had the strength to do that."
"You calling us weak?" Rainbow growled.
Sonic waved his hands, "Nah. Just surprised is all." he admitted, rubbing his quills.
Flying in the air was the Tornado piloted by Tails. "What's that supposed to be?" asked Twilight, "And how is it managing to take down that airship?"
Sonic put his hands on his hips, "That's the Tornado, our plane. My pal Tails is flyin' it right now and using his weapons. Something tells me you haven't seen somethin' like this before, am I right?" he wondered, humming to himself.
"You are correct, um..." Rarity paused for a short moment, not knowing the blue newcomer's name. "I do apologize. I do not think we got your name."
The blue blur gave the fashionista a thumbs up, "What you see is what you get. Just a guy who loves adventure! I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog!" he exclaimed. "The red guy is Knuckles the Echidna, and the one flying the ship is Tails the Fox. We didn't mean for this to happen. What does Eggman want with you? Cause he mentioned to us tales of these Elements of Harmony stuff. Seems that legend turned out to be real."
"Pfft. His name's actually Eggman?" Rainbow snickered.
"More dignified than Baldy McNosehair." Sonic replied.
Applejack waved a hoof, "Pardon me, Sonic. But how did the few of ya end up here? And how does this Eggman fellow know of the Elements of Harmony?"
"Not too sure myself. He just brought up some ancient tablets again and mentioned they existed in a far off dimension, uh..." Sonic stumbled on his words as he too did not know the name of these strangers. "Okay, I don't think I got you're names yet." he shrugged.
Twilight replied, "Oh, I'm Twilight Sparkle."
"Rainbow Dash."
"Pinkie Pie!"
"Applejack."
"Rarity."
"F-Fluttershy."
"Spike the Dragon."
Sonic folded his arms, "Nice to meet you all. I just wish it was under better circumstances. Once Tails lands the plane, we'll talk about getting a plan together. Cause somethin' tells me ol' Egghead isn't gonna leave us alone until we spill the beans on these Elements of Harmony."
More robots landed and Sonic smirked, "Like that."
Knuckles smirked, "Finally! More bots to smash!"
The hedgehog looked to the ponies, "Seems you gals got a grasp on this whole robot fighting thing. How about lending us a hand, or hoof, or whatever term you use?" he offered, gesturing to the Egg Pawns and Badniks.
Rainbow slammed her hooves together proudly, "You kidding? Duh!" she shouted.
Sonic, the Elements, Spike, and Knuckles looked around and back up, seeing some more robots descend from the Egg Carrier. Sonic smirked with confidence, "Then let's do it!"
Sonic kicked an Egg Pawn backwards, watching its metal feet clanging and stumbling trying to regain balance. He turned his head and noticed the Equestrians fending off the robots as best they could. "This your first robot fight? Trust me, you'll get used to it." assured, using a Homing Attack to pierce right through a Badnik.
"This Eggman guy has quite the army." Twilight pointed out, shooting back a Slicer as its pincers drew out of its arm, trying to slice the alicorn, but she ducked underneath them.
Knuckles uppcutted an Egg Pawn so hard that it actually flew into the air, where Rainbow Dash drove both of her hooves directly into it, breaking it apart instantly. "You're telling us! We have to deal with this almost every month!" the echidna growled, ducking under a laser beam and reaching his fist so that it could pierce through the robot.
Pinkie hopped over a Motobug and dug her hooves on top of a Crabmeat's body, smashing it. "Woohoo! This is fun!" she cheered proudly, now back on the ground. She zipped over a Slicer and allowed Applejack to buck it backwards, throwing it on the ground upon impact, where the metal shattered in a small explosion.
"Pinkie's got the right idea!" quipped Sonic, charging a Spin-Dash to ram through some Egg Pawns that were lined up perfectly in front of him easily.
Rainbow Dash watched Sonic uncurl in awe, "Heh. You gotta teach me that sometime." she suggested, flying past a Motobug before its pincers could attack her. "In fact, you say you're fast. But I think I'm faster." she boasted, swerving down as she tackled a few Motobugs down as hard as she could.
"We'll see about that!" laughed Sonic, spin-kicking a lance-wielding Egg Pawn while doing a backflip. He then zipped behind and Egg Pawn and uppercutted it, removing its head with a single punch. Rainbow was about to attack a Slicer, dodging its homing pincers with a quick swerve, but Sonic stepped ahead and kicked it into the air, allowing it to fall without a care, "See?" he joked. Rainbow glared at the hedgehog, who didn't seem to mind.
Applejack rolled her eyes, hopping over a Slicer's pincers. "Now's not the time fer showboatin' and makin' yer usual brags, Rainbow!" she yelled in annoyance, turning her body so that she could kick back a Crabmeat that came crawling towards her. She crouched, unknowingly ducking below a Buzz Bomber stinger, the beam barely grazing the top of her stetson, surprising her.
Sonic and Rainbow charged after the Buzz Bomber, the latter bumping into it while the hedgehog curled into a ball and smashed it to pieces with a Homing Attack.
Knuckles drove his fist through an Egg Pawn, "If it makes you feel any better, Sonic has an ego too."
"I'm not that bad." Sonic joked, fistbumping Rainbow for a job well done, "You're the one always challenging me to a fight anyway." he reminded the guardian.
Spike slashed a Coconuts hanging from the side of a building with his claws, leaping into the air using his green fire breath to catch it off guard before it could throw something, "These robot minions are something else all right." he groaned, kicking a coconut back at another monkey Badnik, blowing its head off.
Sonic and Applejack kicked an Egg Pawn at the same time, seeing its body burst into itself, "Not a bad kick. I thought I was the master of it." quipped the hedgehog.
"Well, clearly, ya haven't worked at Sweet Apple Acres." Applejack replied with a smirk.
The hedgehog hit a Motobug with a Spin-Dash, "Nah, i prefer trashin' robots for a living."
Knuckles, while punching a Slicer, said, "You and me both!"
Rainbow pinned down an Egg Pawn Rarity was levitating, "This is awesome! You should bring me on one of your adventures one day!" she cheered as the Pawn exploded.
"Maybe." replied Sonic, using his Homing Attack to reach a Buzz Bomber as fast as he could.
Rarity pursed her lips, "How could you both discuss this at a time like now?"
Sonic held an Egg Pawn's arm up and curled into a ball, tearing it apart with a Spin-Dash, "Eh. I've been doin' this for years, it's sorta like second nature to us three. As if Egghead can make me take this seriously anyway. It's rather lackluster compared to some of his other plans." he quipped.
"I heard that, you filthy rodent!" Eggman spat, overhearing the conversation through the robots.
The hedgehog shouted back, "Ya know it's true!"
Twilight groaned, holding back a Motobug and Crabmeat at the same time with her magic. Spike hopped and drove his feet into the robots, denting the metal a little. "Huh. So it can be done." the dragon realized, avoiding the crab's metal claw, his tail barely getting pinched, earning a surprised yelp.
Eggman laughed, "If you wish the battle to end, then I will repeat myself once more! Reveal to me the location of the Elements of Harmony, or suffer!"
"How does he know about them?!" Twilight muttered to herself again in disbelief.
Knuckles smashed his fists together then uppercutted a charging Motobug. "We'll explain once we trash Eggman's scrap!" he revealed, driving his hands forward to attack a floating Buzz Bomber, gliding and drilling into an Egg Pawn.
"As if!" snarled Rainbow.
Sonic chuckled, "You're gonna need a better battle tactic than that, Baldy McNosehair!"
"Is that nickname really sticking?" groaned Knuckles in disappointment.
Rainbow snickered, "Baldy McNosehair...? Ha!"
Sonic smiled, "Wait until you see him. He lives up to the name."
"Shut up!" yelled Eggman. "Now tell me, or I'll have you vaporized on the spot!"
Pinkie chimed in, "Yeah! We'll never tell you they're in Canterlot!"
"Pinkie!" the girls shouted at the same time, scolding the pink party pony in anger. Upon realizing what she just said, Pinkie shrunk, a sheepish smile on her muzzle.
Eggman could be heard laughing, "Why thank you, pink one! Come back to me, my minions. We have another town to conquer!" at that, the robots all warped away from Ponyville, confusing Sonic, Knuckles and especially Tails who noticed the Egg Carrier taking its leave.
Knuckles shook a fist to the sky yelling, "Eggman! Come down here and face us, coward!"
"Nah!" boomed Eggman's voice, the carrier slowly getting away right above them. "To Canterlot we shall head to!"
Twilight gulped, "W-What...?"
Sonic growled loudly, "Egghead! Get back here!" with a sigh, he looked to the sky and noticed the fox's biplane making a slow descent, and then he had to find a spot to land the plane.
The alicorn frowned and glared at Sonic, "What the hay is going on?!" she finally blurted out, "First he shows up, then the robots, and now you three do?! And now Canterlot is at risk...! What does he want with us and thr Elements?!" she groaned in pure frustration, unable to comprehend the series of events that comprised of her day.
"I'm sorry, Twilight..." Pinkie sighed, disappointed in herself, taking the fall for Sonic and Knuckles.
Twilight's gaze softened and she frowned at Pinkie, "Pinkie... I-I'm not mad... Just really confused."
Spike wiped some sweat from his scales, "Thank goodness... I didn't want to see the aftermath." Sonic looked down and put his hands on his hips in confusion at his vague comment, but he shrugged it off.
"Look, Twilight," Sonic began, "We didn't mean for this to happen. Trust me, the last thing we wanted was for Eggman to bring our battle to another world. Trust me, we're going to bring him down. It's not the first time my friends and I stopped him and it certainly won't be the last." he explained in a calm tone. He noticed the alicorn calming down slightly, judging by how her wings curled back to her side and her softened gaze and breathing.
Then, the Tornado finally landed, the wheels grazing the grass as it slowly halted. Hopping out of the air vehicle was the two-tailed fox, and he looked around, "What did I miss?" he wondered. "And where did Eggman go?"
"Not much. Egghead just sent some robots down, and apparantly the Elements of Harmony he's lookin' for are in a place called Canterlot, which we gotta head to." Sonic explained.
"Where I'll finally get payback!" Knuckles declared.
Fluttershy tilted her head, "Are you Tails...?"
Tails looked at the meek pegasus, "Huh? Oh, yeah, that's what my friends call me. Who are all of you?" once the Equestrians introduced themselvrs to Tails, the fox continued.
"Nice to meet you all! Sorry about being late."
Twilight then immediately looked at the Tornado with interest and curiosity, "What is that machine you were just flying in? I've never seen magic or technology like this until you all showed up."
Applejack cleared her throat, "Well, pardon me, ya three. But how the hay did the likes of you end up here? And just how does Eggman know of the Elements of Harmony?"
Knuckles folded his arms, "The Chaos Emeralds... That's what brought us here."
"The what?" Rarity wondered.
"Chaos Emeralds." Knuckles repeated, "Seven gems that once collected together wield infinite power. The user can use that power for any purpose they wish. As guardian of the Master Emerald, they are my responsibility as well."
Tails added, "We're always trying to keep them away from Eggman's hands. Even though he hasn't been after them lately. It's better to be safe than sorry. They're, as Knuckles said, immensly powerful."
Spike gulped, "Uh, how bad are we talking here?"
Sonic raised a finger, "He kinda broke apart our planet into chunks at one point and destroyed all of time and space."
"...What?" Rarity gasped.
Rainbow blurted, "That sounds awesome!"
The fashionista put her hooves to her head, "How could you say that over such a perilous situation?!"
"Look, Rarity. I'm not sure what goes on in this world, but those incidents are nothing new for me." Sonic added.
"What do you mean?" Twilight wondered.
The hedgehog shrugged, "I mean, it's no weirder than saving genies in magic books, or rescuing enslaved aliens from an interstellar amusement park/secret energy factory, I guess. Heck, Eggman tore apart the planet twice already."
Applejack asked, "Did... did any of that really happen?"
Knuckles nodded, "Yeah, well I wasn't for those events. But I did notice the planet getting torn apart, I had my duties as the guardian of the Master Emerald."
"What happens in this world anyway?" Tails questioned, "Because it sounds like this is something that's never happened to you."
Twilight nodded, "Not like this anyway. The worst we had to face was Discord and Sombra, who didn't want to destroy Equestria but conquer it. But Discord reformed now."
"I destroyed Sombra." Spike bragged.
Sonic put his hands at his sides, "Really? I guess you know something about saving the world. At least you lot can fight."
Knuckles shook his head, "Well, Eggman has destroyed before. We just don't want anyone getting hurt."
Rainbow blinked, "How can a guy named Eggman do so much damage?" she wondered.
"Not too sure about that, but that's not what we should talk about." Sonic insisted, "I think you all could use a quick recap of how we ended up here and why."
Tails turned around from adjusting the Tornado's propeller, "Yeah, we knew of the Elements of Harmony when we were attacking Eggman before ending up here."
"You did?" Fluttershy asked.
Knuckles scowled, recalling the events, "Yeah, he explained it right befor we were about to stop him."
The cyan pegasus rolled her eyes, "Make it quick. We can't waste anymore time.
Sonic and the others gave her a deadpan stare, then the blue blur smiled again, "Luckily, quick is my middle name!"
"I thought it was 'the'!" Pinkie commented.
The hedgehog, fox, and echidna all looked at one another before Tails cleared his throat, "Right. Anyway, it probably wasn't even an hour ago when we were about to chase Eggman's Egg Carrier..."
Sonic stood on the wing of the Tornado, his arms crossed over his chest, a confident smirk seen on his face. Sitting in the pilot's seat was Tails of course, and in the back seat was Knuckles. The three of them eyed the obvious airship that floated in front of them. The hedgehog looked behind him, "Time to land this thing, Tails!" he ordered. The fox nodded and gave his friend a thumbs up.
"So, what's the plan Sonic?" Knuckles asked.
"Same thing as usual! Go in, smash some bots and scramble that Eggman." Sonic revealed.
Knuckles smiled, "My kind of plan then!"
And with a nod, Tails dove the plane downward aiming it so that it landed on the deck of the Egg Carrier perfectly, its wheels skidding on the metal surface for a few moments before finally stopping. Tails was the first to hop out of the plane, "It's strange... Eggman didn't have any aerial defenses to stop us this time. No Badnks, no Egg Pawns... Nothing." the fox noticed.
"Maybe he finally gave up. It will make our lives certainly easier." quipped Sonic.
The team heard the sound of rumbling coming from below them. Appearing in front of them were robots, Egg Pawns, Motobugs, and a few more of Eggman's elite models. The hedgehog smirked, "Heh heh. Guess I was wrong then." he looked to the echidna, "You wanna take charge for this, Knux?"
Knuckles nodded, smashing his namesakes together proudly, "Don't mind if I do!"
And with that said, Knuckles charged ahead of the two in a red blur with Sonic and Tails by his sides. The team smashed their way through the robot army as fast as they could, the metal beings exploding in their wake with ease. Knuckles raised his right arm upon nearing an Egg Pawn, launching it into the air where it met the ground with a powerful thud. Sonic slid for a second, tripping another robot before Spin-Dashing back up, where he tore through some more bots like butter. Tails spun for a moment, his two tails rotating with his body at a speed where they could damage some of the bots in front of them.
The echidna grunted, driving his fists directly into a charging Motobug. Knuckles then threw its head at a hovering Buzz Bomber, causing its stinger to go haywire. Sonic and Tails jumped as high as they could, where the hedgehog kicked the bee bot back with assistance frm his flying partner. The two landed and continued their sprint, crashing through the remaining opposition.
Team Sonic noticed a metal door, and Sonic looked to Knuckles, "Looks like we gotta make ourselves a house call. Knux, I think it's about time we knocked."
"With pleasure!"
So, Knuckles reared his arm back and punched the door with enough force to break it upon contant. The three skidded to a halt and Tails pulled out his Miles Electric, "Strange... I'm picking up next to no energy readings from here." the fox pointed out in confusion, "Why would Eggman want his Egg Carrier known if he wasn't planning on attacking any city?"
"Well, that's what we're here to find out, bro." Sonic said, reminded his friend. "Cause Eggman plus giant ship equals evil plan."
Tails tinkered a little more with his machine while Knuckles spoke, "Well, it won't matter, cause this time we have the Chaos Emeralds. Eggman won't be boasting for long this time."
The three walked into a room, noticing a scientist clad in red with a bushy mustache standing on the other end. Sonic frowned as he clenched his fists in anticipation, "Eggman!" he shouted, getting the mad doctor's attention.
Eggman turned around, "Ah, if it isn't the Sonic Heroes. Come to foil my devious schemes again?" he asked in a condescending tone. Something was off about hid behavior, Sonic noticed, but he chose to play along for the moment.
"What do you think, doc? You brought your Egg Carrier to our attention, and we're not just gonna let you out for a joyride without asking some questions first." Sonic reminded his longtime foe.
Knuckles growled to Tails, "I don't like this... No machine... No device in here. He's up to something..."
"And I'm trying to figure out what that is." Tails whispered back.
Sonic noticed that Eggman had an arm behind his back the whole time while talking and scowled, "Ah, yes. That's exactly what I anticipated. Now, here!" his arm was held out in front of him, revealing a button, which he pressed. Suddenly, a purple forcefield erected itself among the three. Knuckles tried to punch it and got shocked instead, "Like it? It's a new device I'm trying out. The more you attempt to escape, the harder the knockback!"
"That's harsh!" Tails whined.
The scientist raised a finger, "Of course it is. But that's not all it can do!" he added, pressing the button again. The three felt a powerful shock enter their bodies, leaving them practically frozen in pain. However ehat they failed to notice were the seven colorful gems that left their possession and into the doctor's, where he then gave them a moment of relief, watching them pant. "It also acts as a chaos energy dampening field and a magnet to gain what I seeked: the Chaos Emeralds!"
Sonic got to a knee, "Real twisted of you, Egghead! What's your game this time?! You have no defenses here... This is different."
Eggman laughed, "Oh, Sonic you are correct. It is a little different this time. See, I need the Chaos Emeralds for a different reason."
"Of course... No wonder I didn't detect any outside any surges... There were none." Tails realized, "You needed the Chaos Emeralds for this!" he shouted.
"How astute of you, fox. It is quite brilliant how I conducted this scheme, hm?" Eggman called out, "It's quite simple, I need the Chaos Emeralds for a different reason."
Knuckles put his hands on his hips, "As if. Whatever it is, I'm sure it involves nothing but trouble anyway."
Eggman folded his hands, "Heh heh. See, I do not plan on using the emeralds for another Death Egg this time."
"Then what for, huh?" Sonic groaned.
The scientist replied, "I've been reading some more ancient tomes, and have learned of a mythical set of artifacts similar to that of the seven Chaos Emeralds: The Elements of Harmony. But there is a problem, I cannot obtain them from here."
Tails put a finger on his muzzle, deducing what the team's nemesis meant, "You mean they exist in a parallel dimension?" he realized as he asked.
"Correct. These so-called Elements exist in a plane separate to ours, similar to the Mushroom Kingdom or the parallel Earth with the other blue pest you've met. With the Chaos Emeralds in my possession, I can finally reach it and use their power to take over the world!" Eggman revealed.
Sonic scowled, "And why would you need these Elements, doc? You already have the emeralds. What can these elements do that Chaos Emeralds can't?"
"Oh, I cannot reveal the exact details... But they can purge away any nonpure magic, power and the like as they represent a positive ideal. And I need the power of the Emeralds, so they shall act as... reserve batteries..." the scientist gloated. "To allow me to use the emeralds to their full potential when the time comes!"
Knuckles slammed his fist to the floor, "You're sick! Using another world as a means for conquest? One that doesn't know about us no less? It's too far!" he shouted.
Eggman laughed, "Anything to get rid of you heroes! Enjoy the ride, hohoho!" the scientist pressed a button and the four felt everything around them shake. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles crouched down, while Eggman held onto the arms of his chair, which buckled him in automatically as a sinister smirk formed under his mustache.
Finally, the shaking stopped and the heroes groaned, "My head's spinning..." mumbled Tails, getting his bearings. Sonic grunted and pushed himself up.
"Alright, Egghead! Where are we?!" yelled Sonic.
Eggman never turned around from his spot, "The land of Equestria, the parallel dimension I spoke of. Such a shame we must say our goodbyes here."
"Wait wha--?"
With a press of a button, the forcefield warped Sonic, Tails and Knuckles out of the room, which was then barricaded by the power of the Chaos Emeralds. The team found themselves back where they landed, "Crud. He used Chaos Control." Sonic noticed, reasy to run back in, but Tails held his arm back.
"Wait, Sonic! We can't just go back in there! He has the Chaos Emeralds now." Tails said to his friend, "This time we can't go running without a plan." he added, reminding the blue hedgehog of a series of mistakes he made before, mistakes that nearly led to the extinction of his world and the demise of his friends.
Sonic eased up, "Yeah, you're right."
Knuckles closed his eyes, "I am sensing a major amount of negative Chaos energy within this carrier. No doubt Eggman is using the emeralds as a mean to barricade us from entering that room again. We need to find another way in."
"He is right, Sonic. My device is scanning a major amount of negative chaos energy!" Tails shouted, double checking his Miles Electric.
Sonic inhaled, "Then how the heck do we get back?"
"...The Elements of Harmony." Tails responded. "Eggman said they can purge any dark energy or magic. If we can find them, maybe we can use them like the Chaos Emeralds, their power can break through the negative energy."
"Yeah." Sonic nodded, "But first we need to find them."
The fox looked next to him, "Luckily, we got the Tornado. All we have to do is follow Eggman's trail and we can take things from there." he added proudly.
"That can work." Knuckles replied, "Then I'll get payback for doing this to us."
Sonic chuckled, "Looks like we got another adventure on our hands. Let's get right to it then!"
"So, we tracked Egghead down here and met you." Sonic finished the tale, "Now, we just need to find the Elements of Harmony. You said they were in Canterlot?"
Twilight nodded, "Yes, sealed away in a vault with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Eggman wants to use their power... But I'm not sure how he plans on doing it."
Tails raised a brow, "What do you mean?"
"The Elements of Harmony represent six aspects of friendship: Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, Loyalty, and Magic. And they need the bearers as they are the only ones who can use their power, which are us six." Twilight explained, "Without the bearers, they are nothing more than jewelery."
"Nice looking jewelery, but still." Rarity interjected.
Knuckles smiled, "Luckily, Eggman attacked here first. And with that knowledge, we have the upper hand. I don't think he knew that they needed any bearers at all."
"Sounds like Egghead to forget some important details!" Sonic laughed. "Looks like we gotta head to where the Elements are at first. Now how are we all gonna get there?"
Knuckles replied, "Yeah, I don't think all of us can move that quickly. We should split up at the very least and meet up at Canterlot if we want to get there at the same time."
Tails looked around, "I can probably use the Tornado to bring a few of you up at least, the back seat could fit at least Spike and someone else right next to him. But one of you can stand on the wing."
Spike perked up, "Really? Awesome!"
"That doesn't sound safe." Fluttershy squeaked.
Sonic shrugged, "Tails is the best pilot I know, Fluttershy. And I stand on it all the time, plus I believe he still has the handle you can use in case you're still afraid."
"Yeah, I still have it." the fox assured, "None of you have to worry. I'll try to make it as comfortable a trip as I can."
Twilight hummed, patting a hoof on her chin, "I'll go. Maybe I can learn a thing or two on the way there. Your world and technology are actually quite intruging."
Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Egghead."
"Save the egg quips for Eggman, Dash." Sonic said. "Trust me, he hates it."
Rarity raised a hoof, "I do believe I can share a seat with Spikey-Wikey." she cooed. Sonic swore he saw literal hearts pop out of his eyeballs, but he chose not to dwell any further than that.
Applejack raised a hoof, "Well, what about us?"
"I can run there just fine, but we might need all the Element bearers to use their power to stop Eggman. And I'd rather the three of us separate with them in case Eggman plans to ambush us." Knuckles suggested.
Sonic snapped his fingers, "Good plan, Knux. You can take Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy. Rainbow and I can will find our own way there." he decided.
"So, you wanna think you're faster?" Rainbow wondered.
The hedgehog nodded, "I don't think I am. I know I am. Huge difference there, Dash."
Tails sighed, "Well, I'll prep the Tornado for another flight. I'm sure Sonic and Rainbow are going to race... How are you guys getting there, Knuckles?" he questioned.
"Ooh oh! I know!" Pinkie cheered, "We can take the train, the Friendship Express!"
Knuckles' eye twitched, "Is... Is that what it's really called? I'd rather fight Perfect Chaos at this point."
"Aw, don't be a party pooper, Knuckles!" Pinkie said, wrapping an arm around the echidna's shoulder suddenly, surprising him. Knuckles jumped back.
Sonic held back a snicker, "I think we got everything figured out. Last one there is a rotten Eggman!" he then zoomed off in a blue blur, prompting Rainbow to scowl.
"Oh no you don't!" she shouted, becoming a rainbow blur of her own and trailing him.
The group shook their heads and Twilight was the first to speak, "Is he always like this?" she asked.
"Sometimes, yeah..." the fox rubbed his neck nervously, "Is Rainbow like that too?"
Applejack let out a scoff, "Oh, you have no idea."
Knuckles groaned, "I'll meet you guys there. I got a train to catch. Reminds me of Station Square. Ugh." he then walked off, and Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie to guide him.
The fox spun his namesakes around and hovered while reaching for the propeller, catching Twilight, Rarity and Spike off guard, "Wait... You can fly?!" Spike finally asked in awe.
"Huh? Oh, yeah I can!" Tails replied.
"H-How? That defies all nature!" Twilight nearly shouted.
Rarity pursed her lips, "Though it is quite a sight. Fluttershy would have loved to see it."
Tails pointer behind him, "My two tails. I've learned how to control them and if I spin them fast enough, I can hover." he pushed down on the propeller, testing the engine. "Hm. Still works. Okay, now hop in everyone! Just lead me to Canterlot!"
The Tornado flew in the sky, able to see the Egg Carrier from the distance. Rarity and Spike were buckled into the backseat of the plane while Twilight wrapped her hooves around the handle, keeping her still throughout the relatively comfortable flight. Though she had a levitation spell ready just in case, not that she doubted Tails so far.
But a few questions lingered in the alicorn's mind and the silence that droned among them was a little strange, "So, Tails... Can we talk about your world? Is this... Is this something that happens often? Having to use this machine to fight Eggman?"
Despite their altitude, Tails did in fact hear her, "Huh? Yeah, it does. Though he doesn't have an airship like this one and hasn't for a long while, Usually it's just me and Sonic that are after Eggman whenever he has something planned also. Until it escalates that is. At first he tried to turn animals into robots and now he's usually looking to esclate his schemes on a more grand level, like now."
Spike frowned, "I know Fluttershy's not gonna be happy if she finds that out."
"Escalates?" Rarity wondered, "Are the three of you the only ones who must stop him? That sounds tiresome."
The fox replied, "No, but we're the first to know most of the time. We have Amy, Shadow, Blaze, The Chaotix, Silver, Rouge and Omega to count on when the three of us alone can't handle things."
Spike said, "The three of you act like this happens a lot. That's actually pretty cool, you're like superheroes!"
The fox chuckled, "I wouldn't go that far, Spike. We just don't want Eggman getting his way. And yeah... this happens a lot."
"So you fight all these advanced robots? Our world's barely advanced in technology enough to even consider half of what I've seen and now we're sitting in a flying machine." Twilight pointed out, the alicorn growing curious by this other world's capabilities now. "And these Chaos Emeralds... Are they really powered by chaos?"
Tails nodded, "They are."
Rarity chimed in, "If I may, Tails... We've had a few, er, bad experiences with chaos as it were... How are they able to aid you if they are powered by chaos?"
"Chaos in unpredictable, it is the anti-thesis to harmony after all." Twilight added, "And we were barely able to handle Discord's shenanigans before he reformed, if he really did."
Tails responded, "Well, the power of the emeralds go to the users. It can be used for good and evil, positive and negative energy alike. In our experiences, we use it for good and thwart whatever Eggman has planned. And this time should be no different. Eggman has used it for hid own goals, but we always reverse the effects by the end." he assured, elaborating for the ponies.
"But that does make me wonder... How would the Elements of Harmony do against the Chaos Emeralds? We're dealing with two polar opposte types of equal magic from what I understand." wondered the alicorn to herself mostly, "Would they actually be able to negate this force field you mentioned?"
The fox hummed, "I'd like to think so. From what Eggman described to us, they are powerful artifacts, and he's using negative chaos energy. From what I can deduce, the supposed positive energy from the elements should be enough to negate the emeralds' dark power that he chose to harness around his Egg Carrier."
"That makes sense." Twilight replied.
Spike put a hand to his head, "Now this is starting to become a science tangent..."
"Oh let them, Spike." Rarity playfully hushed, "Twilight seems to be enjoying the conversation at the very least."
Knuckles groaned, holding the side of his head in annoyance, hearing Pinkie droning on about while seriously trying not to... he wasn't even sure at this point, but he did not like it one bit.
"So, are you rougher than the best of them? The best of them? Are you tougher than leather?" Pinkie asked.
Fluttershy tapped the pink mare's in hopes to silence her, but her efforts were pointless. "Uh, Pinkie, I don't think--"
Pinkie continued anyway, "Were you born on an island in the heavens? Does the blood of your ancestors flow inside you?"
Applejack tilted her head, "The heck is she talkin' about? Now yer startin' to not make sense."
Lowering an arm to the leather chair, Knuckles gripped it, a light squeak sound heard as he calmed himself to no avail. His teeth gritted as Pinkie continued, "I think I can make a rap out of this! Just give me a minute and... Aha! I know just what to call it!"
"Shut... Up!" shouted Knuckles, causing the ponies around them to look at the echidna confusingly. He saw Pinkie's saddened expression, and Fluttershy's surprised face and he sighed when he realized he was about to start a scene, "Sorry, it's just... I'm under a lot of stress right now. And how did you figure out where I'm from?"
"Lucky guess." Pinkie said, lightening up.
Applejack raised a hoof, "Under a lot of stress? Stressed from?"
"Not so much this... It's the fact that I'm away from Angel Island... Farther from the Master Emerald than usual." Knuckles revealed. "I was destined to guard it as it's a symbol of my race, the echidnas, and if someone, like a certain bat thief, got their hands on it the island would fall, and someone would potentially have infinite power in their control. And maybe unleash an angered god."
Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth, "W-What?"
The echidna shook his head, "It's nothing to be concerned about here. It's my responsibility. This is only a minor distraction."
"Well, it does look like it's botherin' you, sugarcube." Applejack pointed out, "This here Master Emerald and island mean a lot to you, hm?" she asked.
Knuckles nodded, "Like I said... It's nothing to concern yourself with. It's my business only as the guardian."
Applejack lightly tapped a hoof on her chair, "Now that there is a lie. Ya mentioned a god? That's somethin' to be darned concerned with, and Ah don't care if we're not from yer world. Just sayin'... You'll be better if ya talk about it and not keep it to yerself. Ah know a thing or two about bein' a little stubborn."
Pinkie gagged at the memory, her face turning a slight shade of green, confusing Knuckles. "So long as Chaos isn't angered, we'll be fine. Like I said, it's nothing to be concerned with in this dimension. The island and Master Emerald are my responsibility." he added.
"And the farm is mine, but that don't mean I ain't afraid to admit when Ah'm a little worried about somethin' or when Ah'm bein' too stubborn over it." the farmpony responded sternly to the echidna, "Learnt that lesson the hard way."
Knuckles folded his arms, "Fine, whatever. The Master Emerald being destroyed again... That's the last thing I want now. Sitting here, I have time to think about it. It and the island are the only remnants of the echidna tribe, and I swore to guard it with my life. Now I'm stranded in another dimension with no possible way to reach back to it for a while, and now it's starting to bug me. Happy?"
Fluttershy's expression softened, "So... The other echidnas are...?" she quietly gasped.
The echidna closed his eyes and he sighed out, "Yep. Driven to extinction by the water god Chaos. It's the truth and I've come to accept it for what it is."
"That's so sad..." Pinkie moaned, holding back a sniffle.
Applejack pursed her lips, "Ah had no idea it was that personal fer ya."
"Well, don't apologize." Knuckles insisted, "I have my duty..." a snicker escaped Pinkie, but he chose to ignore it, "and Sonic and Tails are with me now. I've sworn to not only protect the Master Emerald, but our world too. So I can't harp on it for much longer since Eggman is the bigger priority."
"That's noble of ya." complimented the farmpony.
Knuckles smiled and proudly said, "I like to think so. Someone's gotta keep those two in line when the going gets rough." he quipped, easing the mood he brought upon the ponies. "There are robots that need smashing and I'm the echidna for the job."
"I'll put in on your business card." Pinkie chimed in.
Applejack smiled as well, "Glad ya have that figured out."
Knuckles nodded, "So... about this farm, do you have any grapes?"
"Nope. All apples. It's the family business after all." Applejack proudly boasted with a wave of a hoof.
Fluttershy agreed, "Oh, they are good. You should try it one day."
"Maybe when this is all said and done, I'll stop by. I've survived by myself and I can show you a few tricks on farming." Knuckles decided.
Applejack chuckled, "Then Ah guess I'll have'ta put ya to work then. Show what you can do."
"It'll be no different from Sonic challenging me. You're on!" announced the echidna proudly.
Sonic looked to Rainbow Dash, who was flying next to him at a speed equal to his. "You're faster than I thought, Dash! But how long can you possibly keep it up before giving up?"
"Ha! I was gonna ask you the same thing!" Rainbow bragged, her wings flapping faster by the second.
"Here we... Go!" shouted Sonic, a blue aura covering the front of his body as he moved faster, his own legs moving in a blue underneath him, becoming a red figure eight in a moment's time. The forest surrounding him became all but a green tunnel as he sped by the locale as fast as he could.
Rainbow flapped her wings even more, "Oh no you don't!" with that, she sped ahead with a rainbow trail following her body.
Now neck and neck, Sonic and Rainbow spared each other a quick glance and faced ahead, "Not bad, Rainbow! And I thought Shadow and Silver were the only ones to give me a challenge! Heck, I might say you're faster than Metal!"
"You seen nothin' yet!" bragged the cyan pegasus. "Juat wait until I do a Sonic Rainboom! Now that'll blow your mind!"
Sonic chuckled, "Sonic Rainboom? It's got nothin' on my Sonic Boom! I called dibs on the name first anyway!"
Rainbow frowned, "It's a cool name! I'm the only pony in Equestria that can make one!"
"Oh, I'm not doubting your ability to do it. I just doubt it'll be faster than me!"
"Pft. You need directions to Canterlot, and I'm the only pony here who knows where it's at! Let me stick in front!" Rainbow reminded the speedy hedgehog.
Sonic smirked and responded simply, "I'm thinkin'... Nah!"
Rainbow shook her head, "Anyway, out of all the people you raced... I have to be the fastest, right?"
"Maybe. We'll see depending on who gets to Canterlot first. Last one there is a rotten Eggman!" quipped Sonic.
"It's on now!"
Eggman glanced over the Chaos Emeralds, their energy fueling the barrier around his Egg Carrier. The machine was doing its job just fine, but he looked out, seeing a city propped on the top of a mountain, and the doctor figured its importance. "That must be Canterlot. And I guarantee those annoying heroes are on my trail... I need the perfect distraction in order to harness the Elements' power..." he hummed, stroking his mustache with his index finger and thumb.
The scientist turned around and spotted a green capsule and an old bird-like mech he built. "A shame Orbot and Cubot are still back on Mobius guarding my other lair... I could've used their assistance for once. As stupid as that sounds."
"Egh. No matter... This should prove just as viable." he pressed a button and opened the capsule, revealing a certain blue robot that he often considered to be one of his best creations. "Wth the necessary modifications implanted, he will suffice."
Once it opened, the floating body of this robot remained still before it rose its head, it's black optic eyes flaring red pupils. It beeped before standing on the floor with its metallic red feet. Eggman folded his hands, realizing this would do just fine. "This would work... Now we shall go to the Egg Hawk, where the Elements shall be mine!"
Eggman glanced over his Badniks and other robots, "It's time to initiate the assault! Find the Elements of Harmony and bring them to me!" he ordered, ready to deploy his army.
Flying in the skies of Canterlot were two alicorns, seeing the giant airship that covered part of the city in shadow. Coming from it were an army of mechanical beings of various forms. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna looked in awe at the arriving army. The Princess of the Sun noticed the beings wreaking havok as soon as they touched the ground and acted instantly.
"Is this Canterlot, I assume?" asked Eggman.
Celestia gritted her teeth, "Who are you? And what do you want with our kingdom?"
Eggman replied, "Ah, my apologies. My name is Dr. Eggman, and I seek something of importance here. The Elements of Harmony! If you hand them to me, your kingdom will be spared my wrath and I will rule it. Quite a simple deal."
"Our subjects will never bow to a being like you." Celestia declared. Her horn flared and she shot a stream of magic, destroying a Motobug in one shot.
Eggman hummed, "You have made your choice. Minions, find the elements at any cost!"
Luna growled, using a magic field to lift an Egg Pawn upward, using it as a shield from a Buzz Bomber's stingers. "What are these mechanical beings?!"
"I have no idea, sister!" Celestia answered, noticing the ponies around the city panicking, she dove down and erected a shield as she landed, blocking an Egg Pawn's laser from hitting them. She also deflected a Motobug, watching it explode as it made contact with her field. "We cannot give him the Elements!"
Luna nodded, "Then we shall destroy this army!"
Sonic and Rainbow Dash ran up the mountain, finally arriving at the town located right on the side of it. The hedgehog clenched his fists, "Looks like Eggman got here before us, and he isn't wastin' time!" he noticed, watching the Badniks move all around.
"More bots?" Rainbow snarled, "Ugh! Guess we better go smash 'em!" she decided, her wings flared out still. However, Sonic held her hoof, keeping her still. "What's the big deal, Sonic? I thought you were all about this stuff! We gotta make sure he doesn't get the Elements!"
Sonic nodded, "Yeah, I am. But we at least gotta think about this, Dash. But it's just us two against Eggman's entire armada this time. He's not holding anything back. If we just reveal ourselves now, then we're gonna be outnumbered. We should at least handle some bots down here before the others arrive."
Rainbow narrowed her eyes, "Yeah, right. I can handle myself just fine, thank you very much."
"Like it will do you any good, rodents!" Eggman shouted from the Egg Carrier.
Sonic looked up, "Wow, doc. I thought your ears would'a been covered in mustache hair. How the heck did you hear us?"
"My bots have eyes and ears all over, my old foe!" replied the scientist, "I am aware of your every move and conversation!"
The hedgehog clapped loudly, "Wow, Egghead. You sure know how to be a creep!" Rainbow let out a snicker at that comment, "So, uh, are you just gonna sit there? Or are ya gonna face me like a man?" he wondered aloud proudly.
A slam could be heard from the other end of Eggman's microphone, no doubt annoyed from the hedgehog's constant quips, "Just wait, you blue pincushion! I have something in store for the two of you now!" he shouted in near rage.
Sonic replied, "We'll be waitin' doc!" Rainbow noticed a bystanding Buzz Bomber and flew up, kicking it so hard that it shattered on the ground, ending the conversation. "Nice one, Dash." he complimented.
"So, do ya still want to wait around? Or do you wanna go see what this guy has for us?" Rainbow questioned.
"Not like we have any other choice. Let's meet ol' Eggman and see what he has in store for us now!" the two zipped off, destroying any robot that stood in their way in a blur, leaving their destroyed remnants all over the place.
As they pushed forward, they noticed two ponies taking care of the army. The blue blur raised a brow at that, "Huh... Who are those two supposed to be? And why do they have wings and a horn like Twilight?" he asked Rainbow.
"Princess Celestia and Luna?" Rainbow gasped, getting the two mares' attention, "The two of you are actually fighting? Awesome!"
Celestia tilted her head, "Rainbow Dash? I did not think to see you here so soon. Where are Twilight and the others? And who is this with you? He does not look to be an equine like these beings."
"Sonic the Hedgehog, your highness." Sonic bowed politely, "I didn't think I'd meet more princesses here. And the others are on their way, with some friends of mine. That guy in the ship is Dr. Eggman, a bald genius with an army of robots. He wants the Elements of Harmony."
Luna responded, "He has told this to us, but how can we trust you or your supposed friends in aiding us and not use the Elements for your own deeds?"
Sonic smiled and wagged a finger, "Cause trashin' Egghead's bots is what I do best, your majesties! Just watch us!" he curled into a ball and attacked a charging Motobug with a Spin-Dash, crushing it on impact like he was a rolling sawblade. "Plus, I don't like seeing others get hurt. It's not how I roll."
Celestia smirked, "Very well, Sonic. Perhaps your aid and experience could be valuable in this battle."
Luna put a hoof to her muzzle, "If thou are as experienced as you say you are, Sonic, then tell us how to destroy the airship he is using to supply this army."
"That's what we're tryin' to figure out, princess." Rainbow answered, "Twilight's usually the one with a plan!" she drove both of her hooves forward, knocking an Egg Pawn down. "And we don't know what else he got for us!"
Sonic agreed, "Yeah, his ship is covered in an aura of negative chaos energy." Celestia narrowed her eyes at that, "It's gonna be hard to get in unless we do somethin' about it."
The Sun Princess shook her head, "Chaos... Of course. How did one such as him get that type of magic? Was it the work of Discord?" she asked, shooting a beam of magic strong enough to paralyze a Slicer in its spot, allowing Sonic a chance to destroy it with a Homing Attack before it could even think to move.
"The seven Chaos Emeralds," answered the hedgehog, "Long story, but I'm sure my pal Tails and Twilight figured somethin' out about it. In the meantime, we should thin the amount of bots running around here." he chuckled.
Luna blinked, "So it wasn't Discord?"
Sonic shook his head, "Nope. I don't even know who that is." he replied simply, "Now let's get to smashin' some bots!"
"Not if I have anything to say about that, rodent!" the voice prompted the hedgehog and pegasus to groan. Sonic tapped his foot, looking at an imaginary watch before smashing an Egg Pawn to pieces thank to Celestia reflecting one of their laser blasts. "Feast your eyes upon your destruction!" Sonic yawned at that.
Lowering itself from the sky was a giant bird shaped robot, with Eggman in the seat. Rainbow tried to hold back a snicker while Sonic looked a little disappointed, "...Really, doc? The Egg Hawk again? Heh, I don't even need Tails or Knuckles to trash it this time!" he boasted. He ran up the side of a building and backflipped off of it, dodging some lasers shot out of the wings of the robot.
"Heh heh... Now I see why they call you Baldy McNosehair!" Rainbow Dash laughed.
Eggman shook his head, "Cursed nickname... I will destroy you all for that!"
"Wow. Moody much, doc?" Sonic curled into a ball and dented one of the Egg Hawk's cannons with a Homing Attack before landing on one knee. Celestia noticed a stray laser coming towards the hedgehog and leaped in front of him, erecting a forcefield in front of him. The hedgehog gave the Princess of the Sun a thumbs up, "Nice save!" he complimented.
"It seems you know of this foul creation, Sonic." Luna pointed out, "Does thou have any tips?"
The blue blur nodded, "Yep! This is one of the doc's starter mechs! So, it's a lot easier to trash! Just keep hitting it until it explodes!"
Eggman slammed his fists on the rim of the cockpit, "Do not give them help! They are my enemies too!"
"Don't care!" Rainbow shouted, flying past some shots blasting out of the Egg Hawk's mouth. "It just makes it all the more satisfying to trash that tin can!"
Sonic smiled, "Now you're talkin'!"
Celestia and Luna hovered next to each other, drawing more magic from their horns. Their magic was able to destroy any opposing Badniks within the area, lighting them up in bright flames. "We shall face you in combat as well, Eggman!"
Eggman pointed a finger at the princesses, "If you insist! Just prepare to be roasted!" he turned the jets on the wings of his Egg Hawk and aimed the mouth of the robot at the princesses. Luna growled and swiped her horn upwards, creating a small barrier strong enough to absorb the blast with ease.
Celestia scowled, "You will pay the consequences of your insane actions, doctor." she declared, "For harming our kingdom and subjects."
"I do not care. I am only here for the Elements of Harmony, princesses." Eggman revealed, clenching his fists, "With their power, I shall accomplish what I've desired for years!"
"Sorry, Egghead! No dice there!" Sonic announced.
Rainbow rolled her eyes, taking care of any Buzz Bombers that dared to halt their battle, "Is he always like this?" she wondered, driving her hooves directly into the metal bees before circling around another and causing it to short circuit.
The hedgehog ran up another building right next to the princesses, "Oh you have no idea..." he sighed and charged a quick Spin-Dash to gain some momentum as he kicked himself off the wall, before landing a Homing Attack on the jet again, noticing some flames bursting out of both wings. Eggman's eyes widened under his glasses, noticing the ever growing smoke around him.
"Yo, Celestia! Luna! How about a quick hoof!" Sonic shouted. Rainbow Dash grabbed his hand while he was in midair, helping in making sure he had a safe landing while flying. She lowered her flight trajectory and dropped Sonic on his feet, where he nodded approvingly. The hedgehog ran then slid, tripping a Motobug that was aiming its engine towards him and he trashed it.
Celestia looked to the jets on the wings of the robot, and knew what the blue hero meant. However, the Egg Hawk aimed more lasers at the alicorns, intending to end them. Luckily, the Princess of the Sun and Princess of the Moon hovered from their crossfire high in the sky, making Eggman hit dead air as a result. Celestia looked to her sister and said loudly, "It seems this mechanical beast is damaged. Shall we be rid of it for good?" she asked with a playful smirk.
"Indeed, sister." Luna said.
Rainbow Dash flew upwards and dove right for the mouth of the Egg Hawk, kicking it so hard that the metal beak dented. "Alright!" she cheered. "Now let's take this mustached buffoon down!"
"Impudent pegasus." Eggman growled under his breath, rubbing his amazing mustache.
Celestia and Luna each shot magic volts at the jet wings, watching as they burned in flames, causing the Egg Hawk to crash down. Eggman coughed, crawling out of the destroyed mech, covered in ash. He punched the ground, "Curses..."
Sonic ran forward and looked at the scientist lying on the ground, "Alright, Egghead! Looks like your little game is over!" he decided. "But I gotta admit, the Egg Hawk is still more menacing than the wrecking ball and chain you used when I was a kid, so some props there for not rehashing that again." he admitted.
Eggman coughed, "This isn't the end, you rodent!"
The alicorns and pegasus landed next to the hedgehog and ash-covered doctor as Rainbow scoffed, "Yeah! Call off your goons! Or we'll smash you into next week!" she threatened.
Eggman managed a smirk and then suddenly he turned into a puddle of grey goo, melting before everyone before him. Sonic took a step back upon witnessing that, "Woah..." he gagged.
"Is... Is that normal?" Celestia gulped.
The hedgehog's eyes widened, "No... I think I've seen that before."
"Where?" Luna asked.
Rainbow crouched down, noticing the grey goo moving about, suddenly growing into a lump. "What the hay is it doing?" she whispered in disbelief over what was happening. Sonic stepped forward, memories flooding back into his mind.
The goo took the form of a robot and gained color. Its metallic sheen was blue, its cold red optics scanned the heroes and it clenched a metal fist upon finishing his transformation, "Alicorn and pegasus data successfully copied." he announced in a dead robotic tone, its eyes glaring at the four.
Celestia and Luna scowled, "Who is this supposed to be? It seems to act like a changeling with its ability to change forms like that..."
Rainbow tilted her head, "Yeah. Why does it look like you, Sonic? What the heck is this bucket of bolts anyway?" she asked.
Sonic gritted his teeth and pointed at the new blue robot that nearly looked like him.
The Tornado landed right on the town placed on the side of the mountain right near the train station. The first to hop off was Tails, hiding the Miles Electric in the white furs of his tails. "What happened here?" asked Twilight from behind.
"Eggman. He isn't wasting time." Tails pointed out.
Rarity bit her lip, overlooking the large amount of robots flying and roaming, "Whatever shall we do?"
"Knuckles and the others should be here soon. I'll go ahead to find Sonic and Rainbow Dash while you go where the Elements of Harmony are located." he raised his glove for a moment and pressed a button on a watch strapped to his wrist. Suddenly, a red arm cannon took form over Tails' hand, and he placed his free hand on the barrel of the mysterious weapon.
Twilight blinked, "W-What is that?"
Looking at the alicorn, "This? This is my Energy Ball Blaster. It was my main form of combat for a while. With it, I'll be even more prepared for Eggman's assault. Now go find the Elements while I hold off the robots here."
"Hold on, I wanna come too." Spike said.
"Oh dear, but Spike, have you seen the terror Eggman has wrought?" Rarity told the dragon.
The dragon looked at the fox, "Yeah, but I wanna help Tails fight these robots. I don't think he'd want to do this alone anyway." Tails smiled at that.
"I'll make sure he's safe, Twilight." Tails assured, "In fact..." he removed the cannon from his arm and placed it on Spike, who looked at the weapon in awe, "Now he's even more prepared for this. Plus, his fire and scales will make a good match against Eggman's robots."
Twilight put a hoof to her mouth, "O-Okay... If you find Applejack, Pinkie, and Fluttershy, tell them we're in the vault."
"Do be careful you two." Rarity warned.
The two ponies ran off, leaving Tails and Spike to fend on their own. The dragon asked, "Are you sure you don't need this, Tails? I mean, I can always use my flames and claws or whatever to fight."
The fox shook his head, "Don't worry, Spike. If you saw Sonic in action, I've pretty much learned everything he did, and I ever used that weapon a few times." he looked to the Tornado, "Plus, I may have a secret weapon if things get worse. Now come on, we gotta find Sonic and Rainbow Dash."
Sonic chuckled at the blue robot that glared at him menacingly, "So, I guess you're up for another beatdown. I wasn't expectin' this rematch, Metal!"
"What? So, Eggman's been hidin' up there like a coward this whole time!?" Rainbow groaned.
"Eggman has those moments." Sonic replied. "And I actually forgot Metal could do that."
"What can this machine do?" Luna asked.
The hedgehog kicked the ground, "He was built to be my equal in speed and can copy data from any living thing or something. He mentioned copying alicorn and pegasus data, i'm not honestly sure what that means." he admitted,
Metal Sonic didn't say anything and stretched his limbs out, suddenly two electric beams shot out of his metal fingers, catching Sonic offguard and shocking him. Sonic got to a knee, "W-What the heck? You haven't done that before... Oh, I see."
The jet on Metal Sonic's back activated, a flame burning. He flew into the air and hovered towards Rainbow Dash, directing his elbow towards her face, it colliding. "Ah!" screamed the pegasus, floating back for a moment before getting her bearings. "What the hay?! He just dashed forward like it was nothing!"
"He copied our magic and your speed, Rainbow Dash." Celestia realized. She stood in front of Sonic and shot a volt of magic towards the blue robot, who smacked it aside with ease, his hand glowing dark purple in the process. "He has strange potential for a metal being."
Sonic inhaled, "Oh, you have no idea, Your Highness. This bucket of bolts just doesn't know when to quit. At least he didn't turn into that Metal Overlord junk again. Now that was pretty stupid. But with magic or whatever, this could be a lot trickier than I thought." he said, pushing himself to stand. Metal Sonic landed on the ground, his feet clanging on the stone surface as he did.
"Then we must combine our forces to overwhelm him." Luna decided.
The hedgehog smirked, "I like that plan. Let's show this creep the real superpower of teamwork!"
Rainbow blinked, "Did you just say that?"
"It's cheesy, I know." Sonic admitted.
He, Rainbow Dash, Celestia and Luna stood next to each other, the four of them glaring at the blue robot with ferocity. Metal charged first after the heroes, his upgrades allowing him a better sense of flight. Rainbow flew in after him, but the robot calculated this and spun his body vertically, driving his knee to the pegasus's chin. But Rainbow caught her bearings and pushed both of her hooves upon the robot, shoving Metal down on the floor. "I think he could track my moves!" she said, "I guess I gotta do things differently!" she flew around, a rainbow trail following her body. Metal pushed himself upwards and intended to chase after the pegasus with great speed.
But Celestia used her magic to hold Metal Sonic in an aura, slowing his ascent down, "It seems you are still affected by some spells." she said, "Now, do not hurt any of our subjects." Metal shook his head and raised a hand, it glowing purple again and it shattered the field. Once that was done, Metal charged after Celestia, but Rainbow Dash came down with him and knocked him in the back of the head, "Thank you for that, Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow saluted, kicking the robot back down on the floor before taking to the skies once more. Metal stood up, but was greeted by a magic beam shot by Luna, "Halt! Foul creature! This is where your destruction ends!" she snarled. Metal crossed his arms, a black shield covering his entire body, "What is this sorcery?!"
Sonic revved a Spin-Dash and zoomed after Metal Sonic, his ball for, bouncing off Metal Sonic in the process, causing him to uncurl, "Woah. That shield is a lot stronger than I remember!" he noticed, flipping so that he landed on his feet. Metal removed the shield and lunged after Sonic, his entire body covered in electricity. Sonic saw the attack coming and dodged, where Luna landed a shot on him once his guard was down for the moment, "Nice aim, Princess!" he complimented, "I guess Metal forgot the record when its to us winning and him losing." he quipped, dusting his arm from any loose dirt.
"Do not lose focus, Sonic!" Celestia warned, noticing Metal Sonic coming back once again. The robot dashed after Celestia, who raised her head, her horn glowing so she erected a forcefield that mamaged to knock Metal Sonic back once he collided with it. Metal Sonic fell on his back and seemingly vanished before suddenly reappearing behind Celestia, kicking her so that she fell on her face.
"Sister!" Luna shouted.
Celestia spat some stones out of her mouth as she raised her head, "I am fine, Luna."
"Chaos Control..." Sonic snarled. Metal glared at his old rival and shot some dark purple electric orbs at Sonic and Rainbow Dash. The hedgehog watched as Metal flicked a wrist and the orbs came after the two of them and surrounded them. Luckily, Luna teleported in between the two and shielded them from the electricity. She sighed in relief, her horn's aura fading. "Alright, Metal. Looks like we gotta do this the even harder way!"
Rainbow Dash smirked upon hearing that and seeing Metal come towards them. "Teleporting's pretty unfair against us." she admitted, "But we're way faster."
"Agreed." Sonic nodded, "This bot thinks he's any different from the usual Badniks. And this time is no different."
Rainbow slammed her hooves together and flew in after Metal Sonic. The robot dashed past her and went after Sonic, kneeing him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. "Agh!" gagged the hedgehog, his body flying backwards. The blue blur watched as the pegasus swerved around and intended to knock him down. But Metal noticed and held her tail, spinning her aside. Sonic grunted as he panted for air. "R-Rainbow..." he gasped, catching her hoof with a hand, halting her forced launch, "You alright?"
"Yeah, I guess so." sighed Dash, dusing her body off. "This metal creep is a lot tougher than I gave him credit for." her wings flared by her sides, ready for another round. She dashed forward again and ascended, with Metal chasing her. "But I think I have something that can shred this robot to pieces."
Realizing he had to do something, Sonic zipped to Luna and pointed to the sky. "Princess... I know you're worried about Celestia... But can you throw me up to where Metal's flying? It's about time I dished out a good old Spin-Dash special!"
Luna nodded, "Very well, Sonic."
And so, surrounding the hedgehog in a darkblue hue, the Princess of the Moon threw Sonic into the air, where he landed a powerful blow to Metal Sonic's chest with a well-timed Homing Attack, knocking the robot off of his flight course. The blue robot began to fall, meanwhile Rainbow Dash began to fly faster, which surprised Sonic. "Woah." he blurted out, trying to make a perfect landing.
Rainbow Dash flew faster, nearing Metal Sonic. Her face began to get pulled back by the sheer force of the wind blowing on her face. But she didn't stop, her wings flapping faster. Suddenly, an explosion occurred and a circular rainbow appeared behind Rainbow as she dashed downward faster than Sonic expected. Metal Sonic attempted to use his magic field to deflect the attack, but it only hindered the damage made from Rainbow Dash driving her hooves down on the robot before she swerved back upward, slowing down at last.
"Awesome!" shouted Sonic, flipping back on his feet as Metal Sonic tumbled on the ground, the shield phasing in and out, sparks began to fly out of his body as he staggered around. "Look at that, Metal, you look like you're past expiration." he cracked his knuckles, "I guess it's about time we ended this."
The hedgehog leaned back from a punch when Metal teleported, causing the hedgehog to take hold of his arm, throwing him aside and slamming his body down with a charged Spin-Dash. Metal Sonic countered and kicked Sonic off of his body, where the hero tasted the stone floor. Sonic growled and chuckled, seeing the robot ready another "magic" attack to destroy the hedgehog.
Metal Sonic merely raised his arms and shot out more electric energy from his palms, aiming them towards Sonic. The hedgehog skidded to dodge them and notice the sparks growing with each attack Metal Sonic dished out, "Aw, you seem tired, Metal. How about I put you to sleep...?" he smirked, noticing the robot falter once again in a failed attempt to create his forcefield, "...In the scrap heap where you belong!" he revved his feet with a Super Peel-Out and ran forward, spinning his body so that he could deliver a kick powerful enough to send the short-circuiting Metal Sonic flying in the air, where he finally exploded upon taking another midair punch from Rainbow Dash.
Once the explosion ended, Metal's broken body fell from the sky as Rainbow landed, Sonic bumping her hoof with a fist, "That was tight! What did you do up there?" he knelt down and held Metal Sonic's destroyed head and glared at it.
"My totally awesome Sonic Rainboom!" Rainbow bragged. "Yeah, I know, it's cool."
Sonic smiled, "That much I can agree with."
Celestia and Luna looked at the hedgehog, then back to the other robots, "Even though Metal Sonic is destroyed, we still have the matter of Eggman's other robots."
"Sonic?"
Said hedgehog smiled, turning around and spotting Tails and Spike, who looked a little exhausted, "Yo, Tails. Spike. Glad to see the two of you made it. Where are Twilight and Rarity?"
Tails inhaled, "Getting the Elements of Harmony. Sorry it took us so long, we had to destroy some more of Eggman's robots on the way to find you." he apologized.
"No apology needed, bro. And it seems Spike's getting in on the action." Sonic chuckled.
Spike nodded, "Yeah! This stuff is so cool!"
Celestia pursed her lip, "This is one of your friends, I presume, Sonic?" she asked.
"Yep! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, meet my best friend and best genius I know, Tails." Sonic introduced. Tails politely bowed.
"No need for formal introductions, Tails." Celestia assured, "It is better to know there are more people fighting Eggman."
Tails rubbed the back of his head, "Thank you, Your Highness. We have a plan for when the Elements of Harmony are used once Knuckles, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie arrive."
"And what would that be?" Luna asked.
"I have a plane, the Tornado, and once the Chaos field is worn off, Knuckles, Sonic and I will use the power of the Chaos Emeralds to take us back home before Eggman can do anymore damage to this world." Tails revealed.
"I see." Celestia replied.
Rainbow flapped her wings, "Then I gotta go meet the others! Kick a bot in the flank for me!"
"You got it, Dash!" Sonic said back as the pegasus flew away. He saw more Badniks popping out of the woodworks, all focusing their attention to the heroes. Spike held his arm cannon out, Sonic crouched, Tails was ready to spin his namesakes while the Princesses lit their horns, ready to defend.
The train finally stopped at Canterlot, where Knuckles, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy walked out and saw the Egg Carrier and the many robots. Fluttershy gasped, "Oh no!"
"Seems Eggman's already up to no good while we were gettin' here. Darn it!" Applejack growled.
Knuckles folded his arms, "I know it seems bad, but the three of you need to get the Elements of Harmony with the others if we want to end this. I'll meet up with Sonic and Tails to hold off these buckets of bolts." he decided, gesturing for the ponies yo go as fast as they could. The ponies all glanced at him before slowly walking away.
"Okie dokie, Knux!" Pinkie said, following Applejack next to Pinkie Pie.
"Girls, over here!" Twilight called out, the Element of Magic placed over her head. Running through the city to the castle were Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy, the three of them grateful that the robots haven't attacked them. "The Elements are still here. We have to use them to bring down that shield in the ship."
Applejack nodded, wiping the sweat from her brow, "Darn right... Let's get this over with."
Flying out of the room was Rainbow Dash, who was looking impatient and she groaned, "Finally! Hurry up and get your Elements! We gotta take down that eggshaped creep!"
"Um... We're going as fast as we can Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy mentioned, walking in. Twilight levitated the remaining Elements around the girls' necks.
"Yay! We finally got them!" Pinkie cheered. "...Now what?"
Rarity looked around, "Perhaps we should meet back with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Spikey."
Rainbow smirked, "Then let's get goin'! These robots aren't gonna trash themselves!"
"Now hold on there, Rainbow." Applejack scolded. "We gotta go together if we want this done quicker."
The cyan pegasus rolled her eyes, "Fine. Just hurry it up. Canterlot's not gonna save itself!"
Shaking her head, Rarity muttered, "Whatever are we going to do about her?"
"About time you showed up, Knucklehead!" Sonic quipped, destroying an Egg Pawn with a Spin-Dash. He moved his body back and allowed Spike to blast a Motobug to pieces, the hedgehog giving the dragon a thumbs up before turning his focus back on the battle, "I thought we'd have to trash Egghead's army without you!"
Knuckles growled, "It's not my fault the train was slow! You should've waited for us!" he uppercutted another Motobug as it charged towards him, smashing it as his fist collided with the metal bug. "Argh! At least I'm here now. The girls should be on their way with the Elements of Harmony, and we can finally end this."
Celestia used a magic beam to split a Buzz Bomber in half, "That is good to hear. Are you the other friend Sonic mentioned?" she asked, blocking a projectile from a monkey robot.
"Yep. You can call me Knuckles." the echidna introduced, "I'm hear to do what I do best: Trash some Eggman robots."
Luna smiled, "Very well, strange creature. We must hold off this army until the wielders of the Elements return."
Sonic looked at Knuckles with a confident smirk, "That's something we can handle no problem!" he decided. "Yo, Tails. Since Eggman seems to be pulling out all the stops... Don't you think it's about time you brought the Tornado here? We could use all the backup we can get, cause I don't think he's letting up this time!"
Tails nodded, "You got it, Sonic!" he spun his namesakes and flew over the town, doing his best to avoid any crossfire from the robots aiming at the heroes.
"Where is he going?" Luna wondered, deflecting a laser back at an Egg Pawn, allowing it to explode.
Sonic chuckled, "He's gonna grab somethin' real quick. I think it's gonna help us turn things around down here before the three of us head back to the Egg Carrier."
Celestia watched as Knuckles climbed a wall with his spiked fists, gliding around and driving his fists into a Buzz Bomber before drilling dowward to attack a lone Motobug, the shockwave of his dive causing every other robot in the vicinity to shortcircuit. This allowed Spike to blast them to pieces at the same time as Sonic, who used a Homing Attack like he usually did. "I see... I wonder what else this Eggman has if he wishes to find the Elements of Harmony."
"Who knows at this point? I mean, he already brought out Metal Sonic. I really can't see much more being brought out. Plus, we're slowly thinning out his Badniks." Sonic said, kicking back a robot directly towards Celestia, who destroyed it in seconds.
Knuckles uppercutted an Egg Pawn, "What? Metal Sonic was here?! He's pulling out all the tricks." he spun around and backhanded a Motobug before leaping and driving both of his hands downward, "Grr..." he snarled, destroying the robots surrounding him. The echidna leaped and punched a Slicer who's pincers were coming towards him, the metal weapons dropping in an instant once he blew it up. However, he turned around, noticing Spike shooting down a stray Buzz Bomber.
The dragon's smile grew wider, "This thing is so cool!" he cheered, aiming it upwards to destroy a Newtron hiding on the walls. Spike pumped a fist once he got a clear shot and used his fire breath to neutralize a missile coming towards him, burning it to ashes and leaving it to explode in midair.
Sonic smirked and curled into a ball, charging another Spin-Dash. Once he revved it fast enough, the blue blur sped forward like the wind, slicing apart any robot that was in his way before uncurling, landing on a knee, looking satisfied with what he did. "Heh heh... This is gettin' way to easy for us! We got this in the bag!"
"He is right, sister." Luna noticed as she dodged the claws of a Slicer, destroying it once an opening revealed itself, "I do notice that the amount of these vile mechanical beasts are dwindling."
Celestia gritted her teeth and shot a volt of magic back at the hat-wearing Egg Pawn, "It seems that way, but we must be ready for anything, Luna. Eggman has already left us one surprise. Who knows how many others are left in that airship?"
Knuckles ripped off the head of a Motobug, "Whatever it is, I'm sure we can handle it!"
The echidna blocked a Crabmeat's claw with his palm, allowing Luna to break it apart by stomping a hoof on it. "Your reflexes are swifter than I anticipated." said the alicorn.
"And your magic is a lot better than I can utilize Chaos energy." Knuckles complimented, "Makes me wonder what other surprises you ponies have for us."
"And speaking of surprises!" Sonic shouted, looking to the sky, noticing a red plane shooting down any aerial offensives that were still in the sky and nearly ready to blindside the heroes when the opportunity arose for them. "There's Tails!"
"...The Tornado?" Spike asked.
Tails pressed a button, prompting Sonic to say, "Uh, all of you may wanna take a step back. I'm not sure where it's gonna land." he warned, seeing the Tornado suddenly drop down and transform. Once they were cleared, the red plane transformed, its wings and body morphing into legs and the weapons being more obvious to see. Once he landed, Tails immediately shot down some robots in his mech, impressing the Equestrians while Sonic and Knuckles knew what it was.
Spike blinked, "Woah. I wish I had that."
The fox smiled and said, "Thanks. I made it myself. Now I'm not sure what else Eggman has waiting for us, but I just wanted to be prepared. The girls are almost here by the way. I saw them running in this direction and are pretty close. Once they use the Elements, it should be a matter of using the Chaos Emeralds to send us all home."
"If I may interject, that is quite a marvel of technology, Tails." Celestia complimented, "Maybe we can learn a few things from your world." she added.
"Ha, thanks. But it's nothing much. It's just really useful." Tails shrugged off.
"Awesome, bro!" Sonic shouted. "Let's take these things to the scrapheap where they came from!"
"Wait a minute!" shouted Rainbow Dash, flying into the battlefield, looking as determined as ever, "You aren't gonna do anything else before we show up... What is Tails sitting in? I want one."
Twilight panted, "Rainbow... Dash... We told you... To wait up..." her eyes gazed upwards, looking at Celestia and Luna, "P-Princesses? I didn't think you'd be out here."
Celestia smiled, "We must protect our subjects, Twilight Sparkle. I am glad to see you all are okay, and with the Elements of Harmony safely with you. Now, you must get rid of that shield if Sonic wishes to end this battle."
Rainbow nodded, "With pleasure."
Sonic waved as he used a Homing Attack to hit a Buzz Bomber, "We got you girls covered! Just do your thing!"
"Sure thing, sugarhog!" Applejack said.
Twilight inhaled, their Elements glowing. The Elements of Magic, Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity, Honesty, and Laughter all came together and as a result, the girls were covered in a bright aura while they hovered. Suddenly, as a result of the magic, a rainbow appeared from above them, aimed directly from the Egg Carrier. What the six didn't notice was that the robots began to short circuit and falter as a result of the sudden magic surge, allowing the heroes to take care of them with ease. The field surrounding the Egg Carrier vanished, and the girls opened their eyes, the use of the Elements done.
The robots all around Canterlot seemingly shut down, and Sonic smiled as he said, "Finally. Now that's over, we can finally take the fight to Eggman and end this!"
"Good." Rainbow sighed.
"Ohohohohohohoho!" laughed a voice coming from the speakers of one of the broken robots. Sonic knelt down and held the head of an Egg Pawn as the voice continued, "I must thank you all for giving me what I wanted." he laughed.
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.
Eggman continued, "You foolish mares. I was already aware that the Elements needed its wielders to harness its power. Even though the field of Chaos energy faded, I no longer need it, for I have also harnessed and weaponized the power of Harmony at my disposal! You thought you were one step ahead rodent, but this whole time I was!" Sonic growled at that comment, realizing they were tricked. "Now I shall unleash my secret weapon and conquer both worlds after I destroy you once and for all!" he mocked.
Fluttershy gasped and gulped nervously, "Y-You mean, it-it was a part of his plan?"
Tails regretfully nodded, "Yes. I should've known..."
"Don't beat yourself too much, Tails. None of us could've realized this would happen." Knuckles eased, "I guess we underestimated Eggman this time."
Sonic remained silent, which worried Rainbow Dash, "...Sonic?"
"..." the hedgehog inhaled and gritted his teeth as a scowl formed on his face, "I thought it was gonna be easier. That Eggman would give up like usual. Now, because of me, he has what it takes to conquer both worlds. I should've realized he was playing coy this time. It's what he does. He did it when he unleashed Dark Gaia, he did that on the ARK, and when we were on the Lost Hex. But this is different. He has all the Emeralds and the magic of Harmony with him this time. I shouldn't have run in there with the Chaos Emerald back on Mobius..." he growled.
Tails frowned, "Come on, Sonic..."
"Sonic," Twilight started to say, "We may not have known each other for very long, but in the time we did, you, Tails and Knuckles have done nothing but help us against Eggman. None of us knew this would be the result of using the Elements. So, please... We need your help more than ever to take him down."
Knuckles shook his head, "Yeah, seriously. Now's not the time to beat yourself up over this. None of us. We have Eggman to worry about. We can't dwell on that."
"Yeah, Sonic!" Pinkie cheered, "We need Happy Fighting Sonic! Not Sad Sonic here!"
Rainbow folded her hooves, "I mean, I can probably trash Eggman by myself..." that earned a nudge from Rarity, "...But I'm still staying by your side. Us blue speedsters have to stick together you know."
"It's something I keep falling for. Tails, remember what happened on the Lost Hex?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah.. but to be fair, I wasn't acting like myself either." Tails admitted. "In the end we knew Eggman had something planned behind our backs once we defeated the Deadly Six." he reminded his friend.
Sonic sighed, "But I put you in more danger than I thought. I got you captured cause I acted too rash. Like I said, I should've had more of a plan than trashtalk Eggman, and now Equestria is gonna get caught in the crossfire!"
Celestia said, "Sonic, We have all made mistakes. But it is how we learn from them that make us who we are. You could have not anticipated Eggman's schemes from what you have told us about him. None of us blame you for anything that has happened. The three of you in the short time you've been in Equestria have helped us."
"Now let us help you in this hour." Luna said, "Our world will be in your debt."
"..." Sonic managed a smirk, a plan forming in his head, "Heh. You guys are right. I can't be upset about this. Especially since I may have figured something out. It's like something I heard: Live and learn. And I don't expect a reward out of this, princesses. I just do what I gotta do, that's all!"
The ponies were intrigued by this plan Sonic mentioned, but unfortunately something began to drop from the sky, prompting everyone to watch as Eggman fell down in a giant mech shaped like him. "That's your secret weapon?" Rainbow laughed at the design.
"You won't be laughing long, pegasus." Eggman growled from the spot on the top of the head.
"You even gave it a mustache!" Pinkie held back a snicker upon seeing it again.
Celestia hissed, "Your reign of terror ends here, Eggman!"
"No it won't, Celestia. With the power of Harmony with me, I shall rule this world and mine under the Eggman Empire!" Eggman declared, pointing a finger at the princesses.
Sonic put his hands on his hips, "Not if we say anything about it, Egghead. It's gonna be just like before. Your robots are smashed and gone, Metal's gone and your Egg Carrier is exposed. I say it's about time to pack your bags, cause this Death Egg Robot's not gonna be spared." he chuckled.
Eggman smiled, "I don't need my Badniks this time. This shall be more than enough!" he raised a giant metal hand and instead of it stretching down like he expected, he revealed a large orb of electricity, "My creation can harness your magic in anyway I wish. Now, it is time I softened you up!"
A quiet thunk was heard. Applejack tried to kick the robot down as hard as she could, but nothing happened when she tried to jump up, earning a smack from Eggman's robot's arm, knocking her down to floor, "Applejack!" Twilight shouted.
Celestia and Luna combined their magic in an effort to break down the Death Egg Robot, but it remained still. "Ha ha! It truly works! It's able to withstand the might if alicorn magic!" he boasted, shooting some missiles from the shoulder pads of his robots. The alicorns readied a forcefield to deflect them.
Luckily, Tails and Spike used their weapons to blast the projectiles before anyone could be harmed, the missiles exploding once a few good shots were placed. The dragon and fox acknowledged each other's efforts with a nod before looking at Eggman, "Ah the fox and dragon. It seems the two of you make a good team. Such a shame I may have to end this dynamic for good."
Sonic growled again and charged after Eggman, "You won't hurt them, Eggman!" he snarled, in an attempt to strike the head, but he was pushed aside by Eggman, "Ah!" he screamed, sliding facefirst on the floor once he met it. The hedgehog spat more stones out of his mouth as he got up with a groan, "Eggman..." he hissed.
"Are you okay, Sonic?" asked Fluttershy. Said hero dusted himself off as the meek pegasus looked at the small bruises on his body.
"Don't worry, Fluttershy. I've been through worse." the hedgehog assured and he curled a fist, "Just stay here if you don't wanna fight."
Knuckles tried to climb the Death Egg Robot with his spiked namesakes, but once he held the giant arm, he was electrocuted, surprising him and forcing him to let go, his hand slightly covered in smoke. He shook off the pain as best he could, "All right! Let's try that again!" he snarled before jumping, rearing his fist back before slamming it on the ground, creating another shockwave that should've at least caught the robot off guard and staggered it.
But Eggman was seemingly prepared, since his robot's feet were stil planted firmly on the ground, "Your strength won't do you any good, echidna. The magic I wield is unparallel to anything you can throw upon this robot!"
Sonic looked to Rainbow Dash and gestured to her, realizing he needed to bring his own secret weapon, "Yo, Rainbow Dash. Think you can fly me to the Egg Carrier?"
"Huh? Yeah, why?" Rainbow wondered.
"You're fast enought to fly me there before Eggman could do more against us. We're sitting ducks like this, but I believe I know how to get rid of this Harmony boost." Sonic said.
Twilight blinked, halting her stance once she heard that, "You don't mean..."
Sonic nodded, raising a finger, "Yep. It's time I throw a little chaos into the mix. So, I need you to hold off Eggman in the meantime while I snag the emeralds. Don't let Baldy McNosehair realize we're missing." he revealed his plan to Twilight, who gulped, but understood everything. She watched as the pegasus wrapped her hooves around Sonic and the two took off for the airship.
"Alright, everypony." Twilight said, "I guess we should give Eggman everything we got."
Eggman laughed, "It will be of no use, Twilight Sparkle. This mech wil be your destruction!"
Tails scowled, "We're not standing down, Eggman! I've beaten you once alone! You're outnumbered."
Luna agreed, "He is right doctor. It would be wise to surrender."
Eggman cackled as more magic appeared from his robot, readyong another offensive, "Never! I shall have my victory! And no Mobian or Equestrian is gonna say otherwise!"
Tails launched a few missiles from his mech, aiming them directly at Eggman. The projectiles managed to do a little damage, seen by the small specks of ash on the armor. The fox walked, the Tornado stomping on the ground as he did. "Ha ha! This is a brilliant design! Not even your infernal mech can damage it!" Eggman boasted, pressing a button from his spot.
A large orb began to form around the Death Egg Robot's hand, aimed directly at Tails. As the fox was about to counter with a powerul laser blast to hopefully deflect it, Celestia and Luna flew forward and combined their magic to create a shield strong enough to hold the orb back, "Huh?" Tails asked. "Whew, nice save you two." he complimented, seeing the two alicorns stand their ground against the dark magic, "Now how about I jump in with something?" he pulled a lever, activating another missile aimed directly for the robot's hand.
Luckily, when the missile hit, it faltered Eggman's movement, ceasing the orb and allowing Celestia and Luna to strike. "Very good, young Tails." Celestia said, panting. "Now we must find a way to break this armor. It seems inpenetrable."
Knuckles smirked, "Inpenetrable, huh? Leave that to me!" he boasted, rearing his arm back as he ran forward. Much to the ponies' surprise, his fist began to glow yellow and red.
"Whoa nelly. What's with his arm?" Applejack asked, charging forward with the echidna, intending to team up against the robot. "Alright there, hot shot. Ya ain't gonna take 'em on alone, now are ya?" she asked the guardian.
Knuckles dug his fist downward upon the Death Egg Robot's foot, causing the giant mech to lose balance momentarily. Applejack drove her hindlegs upon the metal being, causing it to lose balance even more. However, Eggman swiped his giant arm so that the echidna and earth pony were swept aside, getting knocked into the wall of a building. From the giant hole, the others could hear Knuckles' groans, "We're okay!" he shouted, climbing back to his feet and holsting a shoulder over Applejack, ready to get back into the fight.
"That's what Ah get for jumpin' like that, huh?" Applejack sighed.
"Don't worry too much about it." Knuckles replied, "If it gets the job done, I'm all for it."
Back in the battlefield, Pinkie held a cannon out in front of her, "Hey, you big metal meanie!" her shouting got Eggman's attention, the robot's head slowly turning, "I hope you get your just desserts!" she shouted, pulling the string of the cannon back, shooting out some cream pies and cakes straight for the mech's visors, blinding Eggman with whipped cream and icing as a result.
"Eh? Cake? What is this madness?!" Eggman shouted.
"Is that normal of her?" Tails asked, "...And where did she find that cannon so quickly?"
Twilight shook her head, "It's best not to question it."
Spike growled and aimed a shot of his new arm cannon directly where Eggman was wiping the cake and pie off his mech in an effort to finish the fight as soon as possible. Twilight stood next to him and aided him by shooting her own beams of magic directly at the mech, "At least she made it somewhat easier..." Spike sighed, his claws holding the holster of the Energy Ball Blaster.
Rarity noticed Eggman wiping the last of the cake off his mech and went right back to attacking. He launched a missile that swerved downward, aimed for Spike. However, in the moment before Rarity could deflect it herself, Twilight jumped forward, tanking the weapon, getting launched as a result. Worried for her friend, Rarity ran forward and crouched, saying, "Twilight! Are you okay, darling?"
The alicorn coughed, "Yeah... I am. I used a shield spell at the last second. It didn't work entirely."
"I can see that." Rarity frowned, overlooking the small burn mark that was seen on her side, "You're quite lucky you weren't hurt too bad from that." she mentioned.
Twilight cringed, "Y-You're right..."
Fluttershy walked forward to check on her friend, "Um... Are you sure you're okay to fight again, Twilight?"
The alicorn slowly nodded, "I'm fine, Fluttershy. I-It just took me by surprise is all." she used her magic to lift the Element of Magic back over her head.
Tails growled, "That was a low blow, Eggman!"
"I'm sorry, I'm supposed to be evil! All of you are in my way, and I have to prove my superiority!" Eggman mocked.
"That's one way to explain it..." Applejack muttered.
The fox shot some more lasers at Eggman, the Death Egg Robot created a dark barrier, absorbing the blasts. "What is this dark magic?" Luna wondered. "How could such a metal being be able to withstand so much opposition?"
"Chaos and Harmony, Luna." Eggman bragged, "My genius intellect combined these two forces into the perfect weapon! All of you shall tremble before my might! Your all weak without that annoying blue rodent here! He ran away like the coward he is!"
"Oh yeah? Well, I bet you couldn't hack a supercomputer with just a toothpick!" Tails bragged, launching more missiles, "Or built a mech of this design at my age! Even with all your weapons and plans, we've beaten you before, and Knuckles and I managed to do the same without any help from Sonic! This time, we have new friends and they want you stopped as well!"
Eggman growled, "As if they can do anything against my new Death Egg Robot! It was designed to withstand this world's magic! None of you pathetic ponies have what it takes to defeat me! The Magic of Friendship is meaningless here!"
Fluttershy gritted her teeth and shouted, flying into the air to look Eggman in the eyes, "Now hold it right there, Mister! I don't care if you're evil! But you cannot talk to my friends like that! We are not 'pathetic ponies' and Harmony has helped us more often than not! Now you better stop or I'll have to use the Stare on you!" her sudden assertiveness caught Tails and Knuckles off guard, not seeing the usually shy pegasus stand up for her and her friends like that in the short time they've known each other. But they were impressed.
Eggman fake gasped, "Oh no, I'm gonna get looked at menacingly! Whatever shall I do?" the pegasus gulped, seeing dark magic overtake Eggman's metal hand. In a sudden haste, Knuckles climbed, jumped and glided to catch Fluttershy before the attack could hurt her, taking the blunt of the electric shocks.
"AGH!" screamed Knuckles, focusing his efforts in making a safe flight back to the ground. He panted, managing to land on his feet safely and he rubbed his back, "You alright?" a slow nod was his response, "Not a bad threat if I say so myself. But Eggman's crafty. Threat's aren't gonna cut it with him."
"S-Sorry I got you hurt, Knuckles." Fluttershy apologized.
Knuckles grunted, "Hey, don't worry about it. I've taken worse from Eggman. That wasn't the first time he electrocuted me either. You just wanted to stick up for your friends..." he said, turning his head to focus back on the battle.
Celestia shot some beams of magic directly at Eggman, strong enough to force the mech backwards slightly. The doctor growled from his spot, unprepared for Luna to strike with her own magic, a volt of electricity struck the mech's foot. "Impudent princesses..." he hissed, aiming a stretched metal arm after the two. Luna wasn't able to create a shield in time and as a result, was pushed down by his giant fist, the drills missing her figure. Celestia gasped, flying over to help her younger sister, creating her own barrier to deflect said drills, forcing Eggman to take a step back as a result.
"You will not hurt my sister." Celestia hissed. "And I will ensure you will never harm my subjects ever again."
Eggman yawned, "Oh please, I can rule this inferior world if I so desired, princesses. Your greatest weapon has finally been used against you. Nothing can counter it."
Tails hummed, blasting the shoulder pads of the Death Egg Robot, "Nothing can counter it..." he repeated, recalling that Sonic and Rainbow Dash suddenly vanished, a smile seen on his face, "I know something that can counter it, Eggman!"
"You do?" Applejack asked.
"Oh, and what is that fox?" Eggman wondered.
The fox nodded, "You mentioned you used the power of Chaos and Harmony, but knowing you, you've only harnessed the power of Negative Chaos Energy! There is something that can counter such a weak balance of magic! Positive Chaos Energy!"
Twilight blinked, "Positive and Negative... Chaos is a lot more complex than I took it for. What do you mean? What does it have to do with Sonic and Rainbow Dash?"
Tails merely pointed to the sky, gesturing for the ponies to look up. Eggman did so as well, his eyes widening under his glasses and his mustache drooping. "Oh no..." in the sky, he saw a yellow aura trail fly into the scene, coming towards him.
"Alright, Eggman! It's about time you got scrambled! Super Sonic style!"
Moments Ago...
"Wow. This thing is huge!" Rainbow shouted, finally landing on the deck of the Egg Carrier, letting go of Sonic. "Do you remember where you wanted to go?"
Sonic nodded, "Yeah. Just follow my lead and we'll be there in no time at all!" he declared. The hedgehog and pegasus moved ahead as fast as they could, Sonic noticing how empty the ship was, "Huh. I guess Egghead wasted all his budget on the army he brought to the ground. That makes our job easier."
"Thank Celestia for that." Rainbow murmured.
Eventually, the two speedsters found themselves in a large lab where seven gems were entrapped in capsules, "Bingo!" Sonic shouted, looking at the gems.
"What the heck are these? Gems for Rarity?"
"Nope. These are the Chaos Emeralds, Rainbow." Sonic said, "Luckily, they still have their color, just like I hoped. That means we have a chance at trashing Eggman's mech in a matter of seconds."
Rainbow blinked, "And how are we supposed to do that? They're glowing rocks!"
Sonic shook his head, "Like the Elements of Harmony, their power can be used to do anything. Luckily, I'm able to do something Eggman wishes he could dream of doing." he used a Spin-Dash to break the capsules and grabbed each of the seven Chaos Emeralds, putting them in a circle surrounding himself and Rainbow Dash. "There we go. Now, Eggman used Negative Chaos Energy, we can destroy it with Positive Chaos Energy and neutralize it to only leave some Harmony magic. This will be a cakewalk!"
"...And what are we supposed to do now? Look at them?"
The hedgehog said, "No, their power can be used by anyone. Tell me, do you feel something weird going on?" he asked, watching the Chaos Emeralds hovering.
"...Yeah... I am..."
Sonic smirked, "Good. That's me sharing their energy with you. It may not be much, but it should be enough to destroy Eggman's robot. Now let's do it!" he crossed his arms in front of his chest, feeling a surge of power overtake him. His spikes began to point upward and his blue body began to turn yellow, the Chaos Emeralds merging with his body as a result, finally achieving his true form.
Rainbow Dash gasped, noticing that she was flying without aid of her flapping wings and a yellow shield enveloped her body. "Aw... I don't get a cool form?"
"It's the best I could do for now since we're in a hurry. Now how about we trash Baldy McNosehair?" Sonic asked.
"Heck yeah!"
Super Sonic grinned, "Here we... GO!"
The two then bursted out of the Egg Carrier, their Super Forms enhancing their speed greatly as they readied to lower themselves to finish the battle once again. "Alright, Eggman! It's about time you got scrambled! Super Sonic style!"
"And Super Rainbow Dash style!" the pegasus added.
"Rainbow Dash and Sonic...? What happened?" Celestia wondered.
Knuckles said, "The Chaos Emeralds. Sonic used them to turn into his Super form as we call it. Tails and I have it too, but in that form, he's basically invincible, and it looks like Rainbow has the shield he gave us that one time."
"I didn't think Chaos could be used like this... Maybe I made the right choice in reforming Discord." Celestia mused.
Eggman shouted and launched another missile, "I'm not going down this time, you rodents!"
Super Sonic laughed, kicking a missile back with ease, simply flying through the smoke he created, "As if! I've beaten you time and again! Score another win for Sonic the Hedgehog!" he mocked, flying through one of the arms, destroying it. "Ha! Let's see you dish out what you can't take!"
"Save some for me!" Super Rainbow Dash said, swerving, leaving a bright rainbow trail behind her as she kicked the torso of the mech back, causing the Death Egg Robot to move backwards. "Aw yeah! I could get used to this!" she saw an orb of dark magic come towards her, but her form allowed her to absorb the damage, allowing her continue her flight path seamlessly.
Eggman grunted, shooting lasers, missiles, and magic at the two Super beings with no luck from his end, "Just! Stay! Down!"
Twilight's jaw was agape, "Amazing. I didn't think Rainbow Dash could fly faster and more powerful like that."
Tails pumped a fist, "Yeah, Sonic!"
Turning his body around, Super Sonic looked at Eggman from his giant robot eyes, piloting the mech, "Yo, Dash! How about I get Egghead while you trash this giant oil can!?"
"With pleasure, Sonic!" Super Rainbow agreed.
Deciding the battle was over now, Super Sonic flew directly into the head of the robot and grabbed Eggman at the same time Rainbow Dash destroyed the robot, "No!" screamed the scientist. "I was supposed to win this time!"
Super Sonic said, "In what world will that happen?"
The Death Egg Robot exploded once Super Rainbow Dash emerged from the other end of the whole she made. Celestia and Luna decided to encase the explosion in a bubble to preserve Canterlot from anymore unnecessary damage. Once the smoke subsided and all that was left were scraps, the princesses sighed in relief, watching as Super Sonic and Super Rainbow Dash landed gracefully, the former holdong Eggman by the back. "Wow! That was super duper awesome! You were all vwoom and boom! And then you totally saved that day!" Pinkie cheered, holding her hooves to her cheeks.
"It was awesome, right?" Super Rainbow boasted.
Eggman huffed and folded his arms, "We cannot thank you three enough for aiding us against this terrorist." Celestia said, wrapping a limb around Luna to keep her steady, "It seems his reign of terror on Equestria is finally over."
Super Sonic grinned, "Looks to be that way, princesses."
"We should totally have a party to celebrate us saving the day again!" Pinkie suggested.
The superpowered Sonic frowned, "...Sorry, Pinkie. But the three of us have to head back to our world as soon as possible." the pink mare also frowned, disappointed.
"You're leaving already?" Twilight asked.
Tails slowly nodded, transforming his mech back to the Tornado. "We have to. Now that we have Eggman apprehended, we should return to Mobius before anything else happens while we're gone. We're sorry about this."
"Plus, I have to return to the Master Emerald and hope a certain bat thief didn't get her hands on it." Knuckles added.
"That Ah could understand." Applejack said. "Just... Take care of yerselves back home."
"Likewise to you girls." Super Sonic nodded. "You got something cool here. Friendship and Harmony? I like it."
Spike looked at the fox, "Hey, Tails..." he pointed to the Energy Ball Blaster, "Do you want this back?"
"You can keep it, Spike." Tails replied, "As a little memento. Plus, I can always make another if the time calls for it."
"Awesome!" he climbed on top of the wing and fistbumped the fox, who returned the gesture.
Super Sonic added, "Speaking of mementos..." he tossed a golden ring to Twilight, "It was awesome saving the world with you guys. I can say I made some new friends today, that's for sure."
"We're friends already?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yep! You guys were awesome out there and like how you keep thanking me, I owe all of you one as well! You girls have some good chemistry, kinda like my friends. Just keep doing what you're doing. And who knows? Maybe we'll find a way to meet again!" Super Sonic declared, "I'll never doubt that."
Super Rainbow smiled softly, "Just stay being cool, Sonic."
"Same to you, Dash." Super Sonic replied.
Tails looked at the ring Twilight held, "Hey... Maybe we'll find a way to meet again and compare our worlds and technology. One of us will have to find a way to meet again."
"I'd... Like to." Twilight said, "We'll make sure we'll never forget you."
Knuckles shook Applejack and Pinkie's hooves, "Gotta admit, none of you were half bad. It'd be great to team up with you all again sometime." he admitted.
"Just remember yer responsibilies, Knux." Applejack said.
"Remember to care for your family always. Trust me, I wish I had that."
Luna lowered her head, and gestured to Sonic and Tails, "You may have one yet, Knuckles." said echidna climbed into the backseat of the Tornado and smiled, acknowledging her words.
Super Sonic inhaled, holding Eggman's mouth shut, "Well, I guess this is goodbye."
Twilight and the girls nodded.
And so, Super Sonic and the Tornado took off. The ponies watched as they arrived at the Egg Carrier. And in just a few moments, it vanished in a flash of white, leaving Equestria for good. Rainbow's super form faded once it did, "Aw man..."
Celestia inhaled and saw Pinkie wipe tears from her eyes with a tissue, "It seems they've gone home. Now we must clean the mess Eggman made and tell everypony the good news."
As the girls slowly walked away, Twilight looked to the sky and said, "Sayonara, Sonic the Hedgehog." she whispered, "In the short time we met, the three of you proved that friendship can succeed in any world. I'll never forget that."
Twilight sighed. A whole lot has happened in such a short time. From chasing Sunset Shimmer into a parallel world, the Plunder vines, Tirek destroying her library and subsequent appearance of her castle, the Battle of the Bands, and former tyrant Starlight Glimmer's reformation, each trial putting her to the test as a friend, princess and now mentor. Her mind wandered back to the mirror, however a voice snapped her out of her thoughts, getting her attention.
"Um, Twilight?"
The alicorn's eyes looked at her student and new friend, Starlight Glimmer, "Yeah, Starlight? Is everything okay?"
Starlight scratched her head, "Kind of. I found this sitting in the library on a small desk." she used her magic to levitate a golden ring in front of Twilight's eyes. "What is it?"
"It's a gift... From some old friends." Twilight answered. "Friends we haven't seen in a long time."
The unicorn frowned, "Oh. Are they okay?"
Twilight managed a smile, "They should be. That was a long day, and I know they're safe even after they left."
"What happened? Is it like me and Sunburst?"
"Not quite..." Twilight replied, "See... It started when a giant airship covered Ponyville in shadow..."
Rainbow Dash flew as fast as she could. As a new recruit for the Wonderbolts, she wanted to put herself to the test more than ever before. Inspired by a certain hedgehog and her super form. She knew she could reach that if she tried.
And so, her body swerved upwards, reaching the clouds once again from nearing the ground. Her eyes began to water as the wind blew on her face. But she had to fly faster. Faster in case they ever met again.
She wanted a rematch against Sonic. And she knew that day would come.
Mobius...
Sonic sniffed the fresh air and walked back into Tails' Workshop, "Ah, nothing beats a good jog through the forest. Now if only I could find where Eggman went. I can't believe he got away once we warped back here." he hummed. "Yo, Tails, any luck on that device?"
Tails shook his head, "Sorry, Sonic. I seriously wish I had a way to track how Eggman found their world. But I'm trying. It's been taking forever though."
"Nah, it's cool, bro. If we could find Mario's world or Mega Man's world, finding Equestria should be a cake walk for a kid as smart as you." Sonic assured. "We just have to keep trying."
The fox nodded, "Right. How do you think they're doing?"
Sonic shrugged, "I'm sure they're fine. Just living their lives like we are, probably having adventures like us or something. Think of all the stories we could share like we do with Mario whenever we meet up." he lightly laughed.
"It has been a little silent though." Tails hummed.
"Tell me about it. I just wish I knew what Egghead had planned so I could end it before things got out of hand again."
Looking outside Sonic's window at the two conversing heroes was what looked to be a mare cloaked in a hood, her frown evident despite her covered face, 'Perhaps he could help me. The Warriors need to be forged together soon, and he seems to be the perfect hero. I must confront him to seek his aid.'
Eggman grumbled, looking at the many computers in his secret lair hidden from Sonic and the rest of the planet. "Finally. After spending so much time harvesting data and building what I needed, it's about time I begin my greatest plan yet!"
Orbot raised a finger, "And what would that be?"
"Yeah! I thought your last plan blew up in your face!" Cubot countered.
The scientist grinned, "I had more Chaos and Harmony energy in power reserves. My trip to Equestria was merely phase one. Using the technology at my disposal and the magic I still have, I cam finally enact phase two."
"...Which is?" Orbot wondered.
"First I must send a message to my past self, as I discovered a mystical artifact on Angel Island, and handling matters this way shall throw my foes for a loop even back then. It is called the Phantom Ruby, and it has the power that I seek. It is able to distort time and space to a great effect to which I could use it to my benefit as well as the benefit of my past self, who seems to be in a bit of a slump following those rodents destroying the Death Egg again."
"But what about the Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles of back then? They still beat you back then!" Cubot shouted.
Eggman folded his hands and growler, "Oh, even they shall be surprised. That little blue rodent won't know what hit him by the time phase three truly begins!" he began to laugh maniacally, and three a coughing fit as a result. Once he was done he cleared his throat, "Now to reveal this information to the Eggman of the past."
Super Sonic charged after the Heavy King one more time, seeing him explode. He was satisfied now that the last of the Hard-Boiled Heavies were down. But once the robot exploded, he watched as the Phantom Ruby fell down. Right into Eggman's grasp. Super Sonic looked up, seeing Eggman rising up from his hiding spot, the mysterious ruby now back in his possession.
The two have been dueling within a purple void as a result of the Phantom Ruby's strange power to distort reality on a whim. Super Sonic knew that kind of power, like the Chaos Emeralds, Time Stones, or Chaos Rings, could be dangerous in his enemy's possession. The superpowered hedgehog decided that it was time to end this. Eggman slammed a fist on his Egg-Mobile, growing more desperate to destroy his hated nemesis once and for all.
It all started when Sonic and Tails tracked Eggman's Eggrobos on Angel Island upon discovering a strange energy source, their excavating somehow bringing the island back into the sea as a result of this new power, the so-called Phantom Ruby. Once they encountered the robots, the Phantom Ruby created a distortion that led to them being altered into the Hard-Boiled Heavies and ended up in Green Hill, where they discovered that Eggman was up to no good once again, and they gave chase right away.
Their adventure led them across locations old and new, sometimes while chasing Eggman and others as a result of Eggman harnessing the Phantom Ruby. It was then that they discovered his plan to chain Little Planet to Angel Island. Nothing stopped Sonic, Tails and Knuckles from stopping their foe and his new minions. And now they were at his new fortress, the Titanic Monarch, where the leader of the Hard-Boiled Heavies, the Heavy King, turned traitor and seeked to use the ruby for his purposes, having gained sentience, leading Sonic into a battle against him and Eggman using the power of the Chaos Emeralds.
Now here they were.
The arms of the floating hovercraft smacked themselves forward towards Super Sonic, who simply jumped from the floor and into a flying position, intending to do what he did best, trash Eggman's machines. And so, with one last dash, Super Sonic charged forward and crashed onto Eggman's machine. It exploded, leaving the doctor to fall and reality to fix itself in an instant.
However, the Phantom Ruby began to float, and enveloped Super Sonic into its pull, reverting him from his super form back to normal and leaving the Chaos Emeralds to scatter back to the Special Zone. Sonic was helpless as a purple vortex opened up behind him, dragging him inside to parts unknown.
From their spot on the edge of Angel Island, Tails and Knuckles watched the Titanic Monarch collapse as well as Little Planet getting unchained from Knuckles' floating island, the planet making its way to the sky to be free once more for its grand return to Never Lake in about a year without interruption. The two watched with concern, wondering where their blue friend had ended up.
However, Tails pointed to the sky with a smile, seeing Little Planet vanish in a bright light. And once it faded, he and Knuckles saw sparks, shaped like Sonic's head, and giving them his usual confident wink. They knew right then and there that whatever happened to Sonic, he was going to be just fine.
As for Sonic, he rolled through the vortex into the unknown. He didn't care where he ended up this time, but he had a theory as to where and when, and he knew he'd find a way back with some help. Luckily, judging by what he saw on the other side, he knew exactly what that help would be.
Himself. And he looked to be in trouble.
Without any further hesitation, Sonic jumped out of the rift, and even though he may be unsure as to what was happening, he was still ready for a new adventure.
Giant robots terrorized the city. Everything was in flames, and each of them shot lasers out of their one eye, towering over even the tallest buildings. They only left destruction in their wake with each little movement. The darkest of times have come, and in its darkest hour, the world needed a hero.
Standing near a mansion was a blue hedgehog, his fist clenched, and a scowl evident on his features. He had enough. It was about time he acted and saved his world. Sonic the Hedgehog knew that he had to go and make things right.
So with determination, Sonic curled into a ball and jumped down, landing on a knee as he gritted his teeth while looking up, running as fast as he could, right as a giant piece of debris was about to fall on him, leaving it to shatter once he vanished in a blue blur. He slid underneath an obstacle in his path and side-stepped past each billboard and debris that came so much as near him.
He leaped quickly and turned his head back in front of him, seeing a shadow coming towards him, a giant boulder. He looked surprised for a second, wondering if he could do something get rid of it in time before it dug him in the streets. Sonic was about to act, his arms and legs already stretched out.
However, another blue blur jumped into the scene, catching Sonic off guard. Once the ball uncurled, Sonic realized it was his younger self, evident by his chubbier body, black eyes and smaller stature. The young Sonic seemed to have kicked the debris away, and blue sparks surrounded him for a strange reason. Despite the grim circumstances, he still had a smile on his face, glad to have helped his older self. Taken aback, but still happy, by his younger self's appearance, the older Sonic gave himself a proud thumbs up. He was certainly glad to have some help beyond the Resistance. And who better than himself?
The two Sonics landed, running as fast as they could as one of the giant robots saw them, shooting a giant laser to the floor and missing as the blue duo passed the corner.
Six mares and a dragon stood on top of a building, surprised by the destruction that was around them. Twilight squinted her eyes, "Where in Celestia's name are we?" she wondered.
"I have no idea! One minute we were just sitting there, and then woomp! We were just warped here!" Pinkie explained.
Applejack tilted her head, "But why? Where the hay is here anyhow?"
Fluttershy gulped, nervously pointing to one of the giant robots, "I-I think I know what that is..." the girls and Spike instantly recognized the design and although it was larger than they remembered, they knew that it was something they haven't seen in an while: an Eggman robot. But that could only mean one thing...
"Look down there!" Spike said, halting the girls' thoughts. What they saw down there confirmed their theory. They saw a blue blur speeding by the road... No, two blue blurs. "Is that... Sonic? Does that mean we're in his world now?"
Rainbow looked down, "Who's the smaller one? He kinda looks like Sonic too! What the heck is going on here?" she wondered.
"Perhaps it'd be wise to ask Sonic and his... company, whoever he might be." Rarity suggested.
"With all the giant robots still there?" Fluttershy whimpered.
Twilight sighed, "We just have to evade them. I'm sure Sonic and the smaller Sonic can do this. We just need to see what happened here and if there's anything we can do to help."
Standing in the smoke was a new figure, he growled as he looked over the towering robots. It was a red wolf wearing glasses with a headset, metal gloves and boots, strapped to his back was a gun, his Wispon, able to convert the Hyper Go-On energy of Wisps into a weapon, which they seem to be okay with considering the harsh circumstances and he was glad they accepted his assistance.
It was time for a new hero to rise to the occassion.
The wolf ran forward straight for the giant Death Egg Robot, he looked to his left and right once he heard footsteps and saw the two Sonics, giving them a nod of acknowledgement. The lasers from the robots shot at them and the three instantly jumped, the Sonics readying a Spin-Jump and Homing Attack as the new guy extended an arm.
The robot kept its scanner on the wolf as he ascended and flicked his wrist, releasing a wire that wrapped around the robot's shoulder. The laser barely missed the new guy as he swung away, moving as fast as he could to get the three bots as close together as possible. Once he saw they were close, he released his grapple and gave the blue blurs a thumbs up as a signal.
The two Sonics charged a Spin-Dash and sliced right through the giant Death Egg Robots, their mighty forms falling as the two landed on a knee. The wolf did the same as their back was turned away from the smoke. An explosion occurred when they stood up, making the moment more climactic than usual.
"Holy moly! That was super-duper amazing!"
The older Sonic recognized the cheery voice, his eyes widening. "Wait... Is it actually them?" he wondered to himself. The younger Sonic and wolf shrugged at each other. But they looked in the distance and saw six ponies and a dragon, all of which Sonic recognized. The taller hedgehog waved to them. "Girls? Spike? Man, am I glad to see you guys!" he shouted,
"Likewise, Sonic!" Twilight said in relief.
The younger Sonic tapped his foot and pointed a thumb, wondering who these newcomers were, "Oh right." Sonic introduced the Equestrians by name and debriefed his teammates. "...Now I'm wondering is how you got here."
"We are just as curious about this as you are, Sonic." Rarity replied, "Speaking of confusion, may we get an introduction to the little one and wolf? I do not believe we met before." young Sonic fumed at being called little and crossed his arms.
"Aw, he looks cute..." cooed Fluttershy. Young Sonic simply tapped his foot in annoyance.
Sonic gestured to his new friends, the first being the young Sonic, "Yeah, the one that looks like me actually is me. We met when Eggman and his younger self took control of a time god called the Time Eater and destroyed time, but the two of us kicked his butt. You should've been there. It was awesome." he then pointed to the wolf, "And this guy here is Buddy the Wolf. One of the top guys of the Resistance. He proved his worth and I'm letting him out on the frontlines with me while the rest of my friends and the Resistance dismantle Eggman's Empire across the planet." he introduced at last.
Twilight tilted her head, "Resistance? What happened? I thought Eggman couldn't do much! How could all of this happen?!"
Older Sonic put his hands on his hips, "I think we should explain everything back at HQ, and maybe you could explain how you girls ended up here. The short story, Eggman took over the world and we have to take it back. But first we should clean things up in the city before we finally head out. I was just on my way looking for Shadow when the three of us ran into those Death Egg Robots."
Rainbow raised a hoof, "Can I ask a question? How are we gonna be able to call you two separately? I don't blame him if he doesn't want to be called Little Sonic. But it is funny."
"Ooh ohh! I got an idea!" Pinkie chimed in.
The two Sonics rolled their eyes, with the older one speaking, "Yes, Pinkie Pie?"
"We can call you Modern Sonic, and the younger you Classic Sonic! Everypony reading will expect it and it'll be easier to tell you two apart now!" Pinkie decided. The Resistance members all shared a confused glance.
"Uh, sure. Let's go with that, Pinkie." Modern Sonic decided, scratching the side of his head in confusion.
Classic Sonic nodded with a light smile, "The two of ya don't talk much do ya?" asked Applejack, referring to Classic and Buddy.
"Back then, I usually let my actions speak." Modern Sonic explained for his younger self, who shook his head in agreement, "And Buddy's not much of a talker either. It doesn't matter to me honestly. At the very least, we can get things done together. The rest of my friends are on communicators as well, I may have to hand you some when we head back to the hideout."
Spike poked Twilight's hoof, "Speaking of friends... Do you think Starlight is here?"
"Who's Starlight?" Modern Sonic wondered.
"A pony who tried to rule over time, but she changed her ways and is living with me to learn friendship." Twilight explained. "She wasn't with us when we were warped here."
Modern smiled, "Awesome. Glad to see you girls are still doing alright beyond this. Maybe we can figure this whole warping thing out together. Perhaps it's how my young self ended up here?" he suggested with Classic Sonic pumping a fist at that. Buddy shrugged, thinking the same thing.
A small explosion caught the team off guard and they noticed something towards them. "Look out!" Twilight shouted, using a shield to cover her friends from the green beam. Modern Sonic, Classic Sonic, and Buddy jumped then crouched to a knee as they and the Equestrians looked up where the sudden beam came from. "Who shot that at us?" the alicorn asked herself. "Something about it seemed familiar."
Modern Sonic's eyes widened once he saw a group of figures standing together over a pile of rubble. He saw a familiar blue robot designed like him, he saw a giant red and black beast with yellow eyes and black horns, there was a strange creature that looked to be made of water, and to his surprise, a black hedgehog with red stripes on top of his quills, someone he once called a friend. "No way..." Modern gasped upon the sight of the villains.
"I know Metal Sonic, b-but who are the others?" Rainbow wondered. Classic Sonic looked to his older self for answers, only recognizing two of them.
"Zavok... Chaos... And... Shadow...?" Modern replied, "I-I can't believe this, all my enemies and him banded with Eggman. But who shot that green beam?"
Three more figures stepped near the four, none of them familiar to Sonic, but the Equestrians' pupils shrank once they laid eyes on them. One was a black buglike creature with a mishaped horn, one was a black unicorn dressed in a red regal robe and a dull crown, but the third made the girls' jaws agape even more than the first two. She was a purple unicorn with a mane a shade darker and a mintgreen stripe in the center of it. Fluttershy gasped, unable to believe what she and her friends were witnessing.
Modern Sonic growled, "Who are they?"
"Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra... A-A-And Starlight...?" Twilight gasped out, unable to speak. "W-Why...?" she was taken aback by her student and friend's betrayal. Her eyes actually began to water, believing tha everything she did was a lie.
"I should'a known Chrysalis and Sombra would be back." Applejack hissed. "But Starlight... Ah can't believe this. We thought she was actually learnin' about friendship..." she wrapped a hoof around the saddened Fluttershy, who didn't want any part of this anymore.
Modern Sonic clenched a fist, "Something's definitely up then." Classic Sonic agreed with him as did Buddy. He raised his gaze and noticed something else once he saw the legion of villains looked to the sky as well.
In the sky was a mysterious figure covered in a red aura, his palms open and arms stretched. He wore a strange mask over his face, a hole in a lense, revealing an eye that looked like that of a serpent or demon, with something on his chest that looked to be a gem, which gave Classic Sonic deja vu. He had spikes on the back of his head and a bizarre taile. Buddy looked even more curious at this.
"Who in Celestia's name is that?!" Rarity gasped.
Modern Sonic gritted his teeth, "I have no idea."
The red floating being then summoned a barrage of red cubes. Classic Sonic silently gulped, recognizing the sound the being made when he summoned these objects, wondering if they were somehow connected to the very object that brought him here. Buddy stood up, readying a grapple for retreat. "Uh everybody... We may have to make a hasty retreat now!" Modern suggested, gesturing for the team to escape as fast as they could now.
Then, the stranger crossed his arms and brought down the cubes towards the heroes.
Luna wandered the void that was the Dreamscape, wondering if there were any ponies in need of guidance. Her eyes gazed upon the many dreams of her subjects. However, something strange caught her attention. "Hm? What is that?" she asked herself.
There was what looked to be a gateway into a dream, except the rift was green. She peeked inside curiously, having never seen something like it before. "That is most peculiar..." she told herself, wondering where it came from.
Then, she noticed something. A horrifying dark creature in a robe stood over what looked to be a black hedgehog with red stripes on his quills, the two of them were in what looked to be a laboratory. "Is that... Sonic?" Luna asked before shaking her head, "No, it cannot be. Sonic did not look like that. Yet, how am I able to see these dreams if they are from another world?"
Luna listened into the dream, "You are my creation, Shadow the Hedgehog... The perfect weapon." it growled, "It is about time you fulfill your purpose. Destruction, death... To end the weak pathetic humans that you desired to protect..." he murmured,
The hedgehog, Shadow, growled, "N-No... Never..." he sounded like he was struggling.
"It is a futile effort, Shadow. You shall join the Black Arms!"
Shadow hissed, getting to a knee, as though the entire world was weighed over his shoulders. "D-Damn it..." he cursed, "Grr..." he held his aching head, hoping for the pain to end, that he wouldn't bow down to his creator's evil.
'Shadow...'
"Hm?" Luna asked at the same time as Shadow upon hearing the foreign voice of what sounded like a little girl.
'I beg of you... Please do it for me, for all the people on that planet...'
Those words echoed in Shadow's mind, snapping him out of his trance. He stood up, no longer trembling, "I am no longer the weapon you created me to be, Black Doom. Even in my mind, you and my past cannot haunt me." he declared aloud.
"What?" hissed Black Doom.
"I am Shadow the Hedgehog..." Shadow began, taking a step forward towards the stunned Black Doom. "The Ultimate Life-Form. Created by Professor Gerald Robotnik to protect Mobius! Not a slave to you, the doctor, or anyone else! This is who I am!"
"You cannot hope to fully triumph over your nightmares!" Black Doom mocked. "The time will come when you will betray everything you stand for!"
Shadow managed a smirk, "Hmph. Chaos..." his entire body was covered in a red aura, "Blast!" then Black Doom evaporated in a red aura, vanishing without a trace. A scream of agony heard as Shadow repressed his powers once Black Doom was gone. He closed his eyes and exhaled sharply, "I can sense your presence." he pointed out, knowing that Luna was there.
Luna slowly nodded and walked into the dream, standing on the strange surface near a window that peeked out to the stars, "Pardon my intrusion, but does thou know a Sonic the Hedgehog?"
Shadow huffed, "What's it to you?"
"He is a close ally to my world, my name is Luna. Princess Luna." Luna explained, holding a hoof to her chest, "I am most surprised to have some form of connection to his world though if I am correct."
"Hmph. You must be one of the ponies Faker mentioned then. What are you doing in my mind? How did you even find a way to this world?" Shadow asked.
Luna responded, "As Princess of the Night, I am tasked to guard the dreams of our subjects. I was not anticipating to find your dreams, and I do apologize for my appearance."
Shadow sneered, "You should. I am not one of your lowly subjects." he dismissed.
"...But it looks like something haunts thou mind." Luna pointed out. "May I be able to aid you? Your mind looks to be burdened. Burdened with a hidden darkness."
Turning around to glare at the alicorn, Shadow said, "No. Leave now. What I deal with is none of your concern. My past is over, what happened then doesn't matter. Now go before you really get on my nerves." he grunted.
"..." Luna paused, wondering if she could get the black hedgehog to thaw only a little, she didn't want him to deal with these types of nightmares now that she knew about them. It was the least she could do for a friend of Sonic's, "I too had a darkness in me." she slowly revealed.
Shadow looked at the alicorn, wondering what she meant, "Yes, Thy watched the little display and was ready to intervene to aid you. It seems as though you were conflicted with who you were."
Gritting his teeth, the black hedgehog scowled and snarled, "That. Is none of your business."
Luna gulped, "Y-Yes, I am aware... But I just wish to aid you. To mayhaps end these night terrors." she suggested, "I only want to help."
Shadow folded his arms, "I do not need help. Now leave before I repeat what you saw with Black Doom." he walked away from the alicorn, desiring for her to leave her mind. However, something fell in a light breeze in the station, a small picture. Seeing it, Shadow snatched it in his hand and glanced at it.
On the picture was him, an older man that looked like Eggman with a gray mustache, and a little girl with blonde hair wearing a blue blouse. Shadow merely narrowed his eyes at it before his gaze softened, memories good and bad flooding his mind again.
'Maria!'
BANG!
"Who are they?" asked Luna, taking a peek at the picture.
Shadow huffed, "None of your concern."
Luna pursed her lips, "That doesn't seem the case for you."
"Hmph. You're rather persistent." Shadow admitted.
Luna nodded, "I only wish to remove the darkness that clouds the minds of anypony. Including you. I solemnly vow to not disclose anything. The minds and inner thoughts of everypony are private. It is a daunting task, but it is my sole responsibility."
The black hedgehog frowned, "I did not ask for a therapist. My mind doesn't need to be dissected. It's a recurring dream, nothing more, nothing less. It's nothing I can't handle. What you saw are remnants of my past, that's it. I moved on." he insisted. "I don't have any issues that you should concern yourself with."
"I too had a darkness in me, Shadow." Luna revealed, "It clouded my mind until it took complete control of my actions. Jealousy of my sister, our subjects loving her day while they feared the night. I seeked total conquest of my world for eternal night, and waited a thousand years on the moon to have my revenge. It took the purity of the Elements of Harmony to return me to my senses. But I had my sister, and my friends to guide me to earning the trust of my subjects after so long. I was feared for a millennia, Shadow. Is it not fair to keep that fate from befalling you?" she wondered, glancing at the black hedgehog.
It was strange for Shadow once he finished listening. He could feel something else in his mind. Another voice, not Black Doom, but a stranger, mocking him. Yet it also sounded familiar.
The landscape changed into a volcano to fit the strange memory. Standing on a pillar was someone who looked like Shadow, but he had no mouth and his stripes were bright purple and another Shadow, possibly to fill the memory, 'After the world was devastated... What do you think happened? A search for the guilty. Who did this, you may ask? Humanity wasn't just jealous of your power. They feared it.' he raised a finger once that sentence was finished, 'They used this incident as an excuse to hunt you down...' he saw a cage, where Shadow was trapped.
"What is this?" Luna asked.
The real Shadow shook his head, "I am not sure... I do not recall this happening."
The memory Shadow closed his eyes, 'That's absurd. Whatever it is you wanna do, you can do it alone.'
The fake Shadow huffed, 'You forgive humanity for this folly then?'
The strange memory of Shadow declared, 'I determine my own destiny.'
Then, the dream faded back to the station Shadow and Luna started off at. Luna blinked, "What was that?"
"As I said, I do not know." replied Shadow.
The Princess of the Moon sighed, "I see... P-Perhaps I should take my leave then." her wings unfurled and she was ready to leave the dream, believing Shadow didn't need help.
"Whoever that was is right." came a deep voice.
Shadow silently folded his arms, looking at Luna, who stopped walking to listen, "Humanity does fear my power, like your subjects did for you. But no matter what, I won't stop fighting for them. It is what I promised to Maria all those years ago. It is what the Professor created me for before he went insane."
"Maria... The girl in the picture." realized the alicorn. "Who is she and this professor to you? You were created?"
"People I held close to me... But then the day came. They were taken from this world. I was created with the DNA of a barbaric alien race and the military didn't like the implications so they raided this place, the Space Colony ARK. Maria..." he closed his eyes, "After her untimely demise, the Professor went insane and implanted false memories into my mind before he was executed, allowing me to swear revenge for her. But I came to... I remembered what she promised. To protect the planet she loved. Sonic thought I perished."
Luna's mouth was agape, "I was conflicted without my memories, the leader of the alien race came to me saying he could explain my past to me if I did his bidding. I brought terror to the world for a bit as I went on my mission. I gave him the Chaos Emeralds, but learned that the Professor created me to destroy this race, the Black Arms. So I did. I am unsure of what fate has in store for me now that I know the truth of my past, but I will protect my world. In honor of Maria, and no longer shall I dwell on it." Shadow finished.
"I.. See..." Luna whispered, "To know you endured so much is hesrtbreaking. I can see why your mind is so... clouded."
Shadow manages a thin smirk, "Hmph. I guess we share a little something in common then. We want to move on from our pasts, and it takes the aid of others to guide us. The burden of what I've done is mine alone though, that much is certain."
Luna nodded, "Thy share that sentiment. But the burden was too much for me. I was so blinded by guilt, I nearly destroyed this very mindscape with the Tantabus. I too do not wish for anypony else to share that fate." she admitted.
"Then don't let your mistakes bother you."
"Huh?"
Shadow slowly nodded, "We've made mistakes. It is a matter of how we move on from our past that defines who we are. Even if your subjects fear you, even if you feel guilty, do not let that change who you are and your purpose. You are a princess, your kingdom comes first. I do not dwell on what I've done and focus on the present. Perhaps you should do the same."
"Hm... I see..." Luna muttered. "I have faith you shall never go the dark path of what you endured. Even if the world was against you, if you are tempted with evil, just do not lose focus if who you are. It seems we both learned that lesson that hard way. Do not burden yourself with these inner nightmares even if you don't show your guilt. Follow your advice, focus on the present. Even if it means getting some help. I had my sister and my friends to help me move on. Perhaps you should do the same?" she suggested.
"...We'll see." Shadow stated.
Luna wiped her eye, "It was quite nice meeting you, Shadow the Hedgehog. It's nice to see heroes besides Sonic, Tails and Knuckles protect your world, especially somepony who's gone through so much in their lifetime."
"Hero... No, I'm not one." Shadow denied with a shake of his head, "I'm just doing what I think is right."
Luna smirked, "Very well, Shadow. For now I must bid you farewell, though. For there are other ponies in need of guidance."
"Hmph. If you must." Shadow huffed, "Farewell."
And so, Luna flew out of the rift that was Shadow's mind, leaving her to her own thoughts, 'How did I end up there? Why was the mind of Shadow the Hedgehog there? Is there perhaps a connection to Sonic's world I am unaware of? Maybe I should speak with Celly about it.'
Back in his mind, Shadow looked down at the picture taken all those years ago. He then walked away after gazing at the stars, "Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog."
Outside in the mindscape was somepony in a cloak, 'I hope that was enough to clear his mind. I sense dark times coming. And I do not wish for Shadow to befall the twisted fate that awaits him when the darkest hour of his world occurs.' whispered Illumina, having reached Equestria from Maginaryworld, 'HIs dreams have been crowded in corruption and I fear there is a reason for that.'
Now...
Shadow the Hedgehog stood among the legion of villains among the rubble, his red eyes glaring down upon both Sonics, the ponies, and the new fighter with them. He stood with Chaos, Zavok, and Metal Sonic, all allied with Eggman, a few rogue Equestrians and a new entity called Infinite. Chaos and destruction had successfully been brought to this world.
And he was playing a part in it.
"...S-Shadow...?" gulped Sonic, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Shadow didn't say anything, and instead looked up to the entity with the red aura, Infinite. The darkest hour had come, the villains have banded together, the Eggman Empire had won, and Sonic will be destroyed by his hand.
